Parallels

Up to 100 participants (ages 25 to 45) from Moscow and the FSU spend four days at a retreat center near Moscow involved in text-based study. Eshkolot’s November Festival focuses on comparative reading of classical Jewish books alongside their non-Jewish counterparts. With lectures and master classes by leading international and local scholars, study groups, and a strong focus on continuing to strengthen a well-educated Jewish community and follow-up activities.

Festival tracks:

“AXIAL TIME”

Founders of Religions

Life of Moses according to Josephus Flavius

Life of Buddha (Buddhacarita) by Aśvaghoṣa

Taught by: Dimitri Bratkin and Alexei Kirichenko

LATE ANTIQUITY

Feasts and Sages

Talmud Narratives

“Satyricon” by Petronius

Taught by: Reuven Kiperwasser and Vsevolod Zelchenko

MIDDLE AGES

Plato, Aristotle and Creation

“Guide for the Perplexed” by Maimonides

“Six Days of Creation” by Thierry of Chartres

Taught by: Uri Gershovitch and Oleg Voskoboinikov

XX CENTURY

Tales of Violence and Fantasy

Stories by Isaac Babel

Stories by J-L. Borges

Taught by: Valery Dymshitz and Boris Dubin

RUSSIA AND ISRAEL

Absurd, Grotesque & New Theater

Plays by Hanoch Levin

Plays by Daniel Kharms

Taught by: Asya Waisman and Valery Shubinsky

PLENARY LECTURES:

Aminadav Dykman

Click here to download full program and speakers' bios in PDF