Judge Dennis Davis
The Message of Pesach for 2024: A Tour Through Seder Text and Song
Summary
Judge Davis explores the contemporary meaning of Pesach through seder text and music. He highlights that the Seder’s 15 steps, rooted in both physical and spiritual liberation, offer opportunities for deep interpretation and discussion, balancing education and commemoration. Drawing on examples from the Talmud and Martin Buber to illustrate the Seder’s enduring relevance and ethical significance, the lecture emphasizes the importance of critical thinking and moral choice.
Judge Dennis Davis
Dennis Davis is a judge of the High Court of South Africa and judge president of the Competition Appeals Court of South Africa. He has held professorial appointments at the University of Cape Town and University of the Witwatersrand, as well as numerous visiting appointments at Cambridge, Harvard, New York University, and others. He has authored eleven books, including Lawfare: Judging Politics in South Africa.
Of course you can. I would want to think that’d be wonderful. I have no hesitation, even today under difficult circumstances, to express the cosmopolitan nature of the Jewish tradition proudly and expressly, because not only do I not fear it, I embrace it, and for me, it guides the way I think of the world.