Jerusalem of Agnon — Part 3

“And now we shall lament the fickleness of time. Three or four generations back nothing had been more beloved than Torah, but two to three generations ago Torah began a gradual decline. (God forbid that Torah should decline, rather despisers of Israel should decline!) The study houses remained full, but the students studied for their own gain, in order to be called ‘Rabbi’ and be seated in places of honor. Albeit, the decline was not like that in our own generation, but the beginning of a decline is still a decline.”
– S.Y. Agnon, “Two Scholars Who Were in Our Town”

This week we conclude our 3-part series in English with Rabbi Jeffrey Saks, Director of Research at Agnon House, coinciding with the “three weeks,” to read S.Y. Agnon’s stories of Jerusalem and the Land of Israel, and explore themes of Tisha B’Av in his Nobel-Prize winning writing.

For this Wednesday, July 19, we encounter Agnon’s tragic tale of the consequence sof strife between Jews, “Two Scholars Who Were in Our Town” and its resonances for the causes of Jewish calamity and exile marked on Tisha B’Av.

Wednesday, July 19, at 7:00 PM at Agnon House, 16 Klausner Street, Jerusalem. Cost NIS 20 per session. (This event is taking place live at Agnon House–not broadcast over the internet.)