Beit Midrash Study Session | Women, Water, and Care
Apr 19 @ 1:30 pm - 3:00 pm
A FLOWING THROUGH TIME AND TRADITION PROGRAM
Readings and Discussion with Author Elissa Strauss
Join us for Women, Water, and Care, the seventh in a series of Beit Midrash Study Sessions inspired by the art and objects on view in Flowing through Time and Tradition.
Sunday, April 19, 2026 / 22 Nissan 5786
1:30 – 3:00 pm
In person at the Magnes Collection of Jewish Art and Life, 2121 Allston Way, Berkeley, CA
RSVP
Water has always been a medium for domestic work and caregiving. Washing bodies, preparing food, and cleaning require procuring and using water. In this Beit Midrash we will examine two stories of biblical matriarchs, Rebecca and Rachel, focusing on their relationship with water. We will also incorporate readings on care ethics and care economics to consider the true value of the care provided with and through water.
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
Elissa Strauss is a journalist, essayist and cultural critic who has been writing about the politics and culture of parenting and caregiving for more than fifteen years. Her work appears in publications like the Atlantic, the New York Times, Glamour, ELLE, and elsewhere, and she was a former contributing writer at CNN.com and Slate. Her book, “When You Care: The Unexpected Magic of Caring for Others,” is out now from Gallery Books.
In addition to writing, she is a curator, speaker and artistic director of LABA: A Laboratory for Jewish Culture.
Photo credit: Laura Turbow Photography
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.
