Pregame show

Our study of Sefer Ha-Aggadah will begin at the NHC Summer Institute in August 2008. However, a number of people expressed excitement about getting started right away. Therefore, as a preliminary, as we begin the new cycle of Torah reading, we're going to start an optional related project: following the weekly Torah portion, and blogging our own original aggadot (narratives). (Then, when we read the classical aggadot archived in Sefer Ha-Aggadah, we can decide which ones we like better!) This will give us an opportunity to begin studying and discussing together, and to get used to the interface and fine-tune the details.

If you'd like to be part of the procedural discussion, you can join the googlegroup at http://groups.google.com/group/bloggadah . The substantive discussion will happen right here on the blog. If you're interested in blogging periodically, join the list and drop us a line; if you'd rather just read and comment, that's great too.

Shabbat Bereishit (the first portion in the Torah, Genesis 1:1-6:8) is Saturday, October 6. That's soon! There's going to be very little (or no) time between Simchat Torah and Shabbat Bereishit, so feel free to start blogging your aggadot on Bereishit right away!