Acher: When the Fire Fades Pt.1 (Part 1 of 5)

Shavuot celebrates the moment we received the Torah. But what happens after the mountain? What happens when the fire fades? When a brilliant sage walks away from his faith entirely — and his devoted student refuses to walk away from him? This course follows the haunting relationship between Elisha ben Avuyah (known as "Acher") and his devoted student Rav Meir, weaving together the Midrash in Ruth Rabbah, the Book of Job, and the Book of Ruth to ask some of the hardest questions in Jewish thought: Can a person become unredeemable? What does it mean to hold onto Torah — and hold onto someone — when everything falls apart?