Isaiah’s Lion and Lamb: Animal Inspiration for Justice and Hope

A Limmud Seattle e-Fest Workshop with Rabbi Laura Duhan-Kaplan.

Animal friendship stories help us believe that we humans can bridge our differences, too. Maybe that’s why the prophet Isaiah’s oracle that “the lion will lie down with the lamb” is so famous. It uses unlikely animal friendships to teach the ways of peace. In this text study, we’ll explore the oracle from three perspectives. Poetic analysis shows its hidden instructions for creating a just society. Classical commentators name four ways it offers hope. And a beloved American artist hoped it would come true in Indigenous-settler treaties. As we take Isaiah’s lessons to heart, we’ll combine lecture, small group discussion and Q & A.