So what’s this all about?

LAASOK is…

• A place to study Jewish texts (a Beit Midrash).
• An inclusive, egalitarian environment.
• A community of learners.
• A virtual community of people from around the world.
• A home of great conversations.
• A place to deepen or begin your journey of Jewish discovery.

Our Vision: At LAASOK we are working to create a reality in which liberal Jews feel Jewishly knowledgeable, authentic, and connected.

We work to achieve this by offering classes, podcasts, and writings that address sacred texts in relevant ways through liberal Jewish eyes.

What does LAASOK mean?

LAASOK – לַעֲסֹק – means “to immerse/to engage/to busy oneself with.”
It’s part of the traditional blessing for Torah study:

בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יי אֱלֹהֵֽינוּ מֶֽלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם אֲשֶׁר קִדְּ֒שָֽׁנוּ בְּמִצְוֹתָיו וְצִוָּנוּ לַעֲסֹק בְּדִבְרֵי תוֹרָה

Baruch Atah Adonai, Eloheinu melech ha-olam, asher kid’shanu b’mitzvotav v’tzivanu LAASOK b’divrei Torah.

Blessed are you, Eternal Source of the universe, whose commandments make us holy and who has commanded us to immerse/engage in words of Torah.

That’s exactly why we’re here….so let’s get busy learning!

What does it mean to study Jewish texts through liberal Jewish eyes?

1. We’re using the term liberal Jews to refer to the progressive/”non-Orthodox” side of the Jewish religious spectrum (including philosophies that align roughly with Reform, Liberal, Reconstructionist, Renewal, and Conservative Judaism, though we are not affiliated with any movement or organization).
2. As liberal Jews we tend to view Jewish texts as “sacred/human documents” –  we believe Torah and other Jewish texts were written by human beings, but also that they reflect our people’s ongoing, ever-evolving search for holiness and meaning. Our search for God, in the many varied ways we conceive God.
3. We operate on the principle that liberal Jews are recipients and full owners of Jewish sacred texts – that our sources “belong” to liberal Jews just as much as to the Orthodox
4. We don’t have to agree with everything our sources say – in fact, they often don’t agree with each other! By studying them, we enter into conversation with the generations of our people who have had similar questions about life, God, and the world.
5. We affirm the following values, and bring them to our study:

• Inclusiveness: We are fully egalitarian. We are fully inclusive of the LGBTQ2+ community, those who are intermarried, and people of all backgrounds.
• Pluralism: We don’t always agree with each other; we make space for differences of opinion, belief and practice.
• Autonomy: We believe in building your own meaningful Jewish practice based on delving into our texts and making informed choices. That’s why we study together!

Ready to learn more?