Throughout his American career, acclaimed Yiddish writer, Isaac Bashevis Singer, published many of his short stories in Playboy Magazine. Together we will explore "A Tale of Two Sisters," written exclusively for Playboy Magazine in 1974. Using Freud's theory of "castration anxiety" and the literary motif of the uncanny, we will examine how Singer queered the biblical story of Jacob and the American sexual imaginary through Playboy Magazine.

Please note that this event will include blunt descriptions of sexuality and sexual acts.

Leah Trachtenberg (she/they) is a rabbinical student at Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion. She has a BA in Near Eastern and Judaic Studies, and Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies from Brandeis University and received Highest Honors on their thesis, "Bunnies and Nachashim: Jews in Playboy Magazine." She is also an active learner with Svara. Outside of Jewish learning, she continues her quest to watch every Disney movie ever made while painting.