Shaul Magid will speak at Shaarey Zedek synagogue, 561 Willington Crescent, at 7 pm on  October 14: "The Life of Rebbe Nachman's Grave: Two Hundred Years of Pilgrimage" All are welcome Professor  Magid will also  deliver a lecture entitled "Charisma and the Holy Man: Uniqueness, Incarnation, and Sacred Language (Lashon Ha-Kodesh) in Nachman of Bratslav's Self-Fashioning,"  pn October 14  from 3p.m-4pm/. at 409 Tier building 8.

Rebbe Nachman of Bratslav was the founder of the Bratslav movement in Hasidic Judaism and passed away two hundred years ago this fall. A controversial spiritual leader, Rebbe Nachman devoted himself to practical guidance for those struggling with depression, as he himself did. He communed with nature and taught about the aliveness and sanctity of all growing things. He and his disciples created haunting melodies which continue to uplift and inspire. His dreamlike stories are recognized as among the early classics of modern Yiddish literature and are treasured by spiritual seekers today. Rebbe Nachman’s burial place in Uman, Ukraine, has become a place of pilgrimage, where tens of thousands gather each Rosh Hashanah, and Bratslav Hasidism has grown from a small and controversial group to a vital and diverse movement within and beyond traditional Judaism.

Dr. Magid, Chair of Jewish Studies and Religious Studies at Indiana University, is a noted authority on Hasidism and Jewish mysticism, the author of over forty scholarly articles on Jewish thought and many popular essays on Zionism, Israel, and North American Judaism. His books include Hasidism on the Margin and the 2008 American Academy of Religion best book in textual studies, From Theosophy to Midrash: Myth, History, and the Interpretation of Scripture in Lurianic Kabbalah. His forthcoming book is titled Jews and Judaism in Post-Ethnic America: Becoming an American Religion.

Magid’s talks are part of Nachmanifest!, a celebration of the spirit and wisdom of one of the great Jewish mystics and masters of song and storytelling, Rebbe Nachman of Breslov, who passed away exactly 200 years ago. Rooted in Jewish spiritual tradition, this is a cultural festival for everyone.
Please see <http://www.nachmanifest.ca/> for details of all  Nachman Fest events   that occur between October 13-17 or call 474-8696.