Sandra E. Rapoport – Learning By Example
 Sandra
E. Rapoport has been a continuing education student at Drisha Institute
since 1989. Formerly a litigation attorney, she and Shera Tuchman co-authored
The Passions of the Matriarchs. |
I attended yeshiva, but only first picked up a Gemara
at Drisha. My first teacher at Drisha was Devora Steinmetz, who taught the
weekly Parsha class. Her lecture on Noah and the vineyard, the first
class I ever attended at Drisha, was intellectually riveting, and I have not
left Drisha since.
No matter what else is on my "plate," I've worked Drisha into my
week for the past 15 years, studying Tanakh, Gemara, topics
on women in Halakha, the Apocrypha, Rav Soloveitchik's concept of
prayer, Megillat Esther as well as the Passover Haggadah. This year
I am studying the Book of Chronicles with Rabbi Silber, who takes us back
and forth between the Books of Samuel, Chronicles, and Kings, enhancing our
understanding of Saul, David and Solomon. The class is enthralled by this
weekly comparison of text and character.
The most life-altering aspect of my learning at Drisha, aside from learning
side-by-side with extraordinary women of all ages, is that through my ongoing
studies with exceptional teachers, I learned by example how to read and dissect
the texts and to understand and appreciate the commentaries.
Over time, I began to engage in biblical exegesis, following their model,
bringing to the analysis my personal intellectual stamp and rigor. It was
this empowerment that led me to partner with a teacher, Shera Aranoff Tuchman,
to author a book on the biblical matriarchs. My learning at Drisha has quite
simply enriched beyond measure my personal and professional life and that
of my family.
