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Take your Talmud with a shot of tequila

December 25, 2013 10:12

By

Simon Rocker,

Simon Rocker

1 min read

It must have been the hottest class at the conference - because it came with a fiery orange cocktail of tequila, carrot juice and hot tabasco sauce.

When Rachel Kobrin, a Conservative rabbi from Austin, Texas, ran a late-night Talmud class at Limmud this week, she decided to spice things up a bit by serving drinks through the proceedings.

The tequila mix actually had a symbolic purpose: it represented the lethal gaze of Rabbi Eliezer, of whom it was said following his excommunication by his rabbinic colleagues that "whatever he set his eyes upon was burned". It certainly the fired throats of those who consumed it - they were handed chasers of Budweiser to help them cool down.

Still, there was no mistaking that this was still a serious study session which attracted a larger audience than its teacher had anticipated.