Beit Midrash Study Session | Waters of Transformation
Feb 22, 2026 @ 1:30 pm - 3:00 pm
A FLOWING THROUGH TIME AND TRADITION PROGRAM
Visual Art and Discussion with Rabbi Rory Katz and Karen Friedman
Join us for Waters of Transformation, the sixth in a series of Beit Midrash Study Sessions inspired by the art and objects on view in Flowing through Time and Tradition.
Sunday, February 22, 2026 / 5 Adar 5786
1:30 – 3:00 pm
In person at the Magnes Collection of Jewish Art and Life, 2121 Allston Way, Berkeley, CA
RSVP
From the womb to the grave, water holds a transformative power in Jewish ritual. Join Rabbi Rory Katz, who leads tevilah (immersion) rituals for people undergoing major life transitions, and artist Karen Benioff Friedman, a dedicated member of [Congregation Netivot Shalom’s] Chevrah Kadisha (Holy Society), which facilitates the sacred purification of the deceased.
Through text study, personal reflection, and a series of paintings that capture the intimate essence of these transformative moments, Rabbi Katz and Karen Fridman will delve into the spiritual depths of these water-based rituals.
Please join us for a special gallery tour focusing on objects connected to the monthly Beit Midrash theme before each study session from 1:00-1:30pm. Please RSVP for the gallery tour here.
The Magnes’s programs and exhibitions are supported by our community. Click here to make a suggested donation of $10 per session or $55 for the full series.
If you have any questions about accessibility or require accommodations to participate in this event, please contact us at dalter@berkeley.edu or call us at (510) 643-2526 with as much advance notice as possible.
Program is subject to change.
About the guest teacher
Karen Benioff Friedman was born in Boston, Massachusetts. She had a secular upbringing, with most family vacations spent in the wilderness, either the Sierra Nevada in California, the shores of New England, or the forests and lakes of northern Maine. But a gap year in Jerusalem opened up the realms of Jewish religion and ritual, themes she has continued to explore through her art.
Karen received a BA in Fine Arts from Amherst College, concentrating on drawing, printmaking and sculpture. After Amherst she met her husband while backpacking in the Grand Canyon, and moved to join him in Berkeley, California. After the birth of their children they joined a congregation, each for the first time, and in 2004 she joined the chevra kadisha. She began performing taharah (the ritual washing, purification, and dressing of the dead) and for a while was a co-chair of Congregation Netivot Shalom’s chevra. Today, she is an active member of two East Bay chevras.
In California Karen found a private printmaking group in Berkeley and worked there until Covid. Also, she attended Golden Gate Atelier in Oakland, California, from 2012 until 2017. There, she learned the rigorous principles of naturalism in drawing and painting, and gained an in-depth knowledge of human anatomy. After concluding her studies, Karen began painting and drawing in her home studio, and, after Covid, she joined Kala Printmaking Collective in Berkeley as an Artist In Residence. Her principle artistic subject matter is the work of the chevra kadisha and the liturgy of the rituals.
Rabbi Rory Katz is a rabbi, a spiritual leader, and an educator. She was ordained at the Jewish Theological Seminary in 2019 where she also received a Certificate in Pastoral Care. She previously served for six years as the spiritual leader of Chevrei Tzedek Congregation in Baltimore, Maryland. She currently serves as the Assistant Director of the Antisemitism Education Initiative at UC Berkeley. She is also a freelance officiant for lifecycle rituals, whether or not they include ritual immersions. She loves studying Torah and poetry, drinking tea on porches with friends, and hiking in the woods with her tiny dog Arlene.
About the series
Beit Midrash, meaning a house of study in Hebrew, is a series of eight creative, collaborative study sessions inspired by the art and objects on view in Flowing through Time and Tradition. Guided by the curator and guest teachers, we will engage with texts and artistic expressions to delve deeper into the exhibition objects and themes, to draw knowledge, surface reflections, and pour forth new perspectives.
About the exhibition
Exploring the theme of water through the holdings of the Magnes Collection, Flowing through Time and Tradition traces how water flows through and shapes Jewish lives: enacting belief, sustaining life and communities, providing the means for spiritual cleansing, and mapping identities.
