All We Need is Vav with Rabbi Amichai Lau-Lavie

What can an obscure Iron Age feud between two rival kingdoms teach a fractured, anxious 21st‑century society about belonging, justice, and the dignity of difference? In this provocative presentation, Rabbi Amichai Lau‑Lavie turns an often‑ignored episode of ancient Jewish history - the schism between the two kingdoms that birthed the Bible - into a vivid mirror for today’s increasingly polarized world. “All We Need is Vav” offers a surprising journey from the Biblical Age to the Age of Instagram, where a single Hebrew letter — vav, “and” — becomes a transformational tool for living beyond either/or politics of division. Blending history, critical biblical scholarship, and contemporary social critique, Rabbi Lau‑Lavie offers a fresh framework for holding complexity; for cultivating a third space between tribes and certainties; and for asking how we can transform inherited trauma and division into resilience, courageous conversation, moral clarity, and new social covenants grounded in dignity.

When 5:00 pm - 7:00 pm on 17 March 2026
Building Photonics (8 St. Mary's St)
Room Colloquium Room (906)
Contact Name Jenna Riedl
Phone 617-353-8096
Contact Email ewcjs@bu.edu
Contact Organization Elie Wiesel Center for Jewish Studies
Fees free
Open To public
Speakers Rabbi Amichai Lau-Lavie, Prof. Abigail Gillman