Making the Familiar Strange: God’s Warning Against Monarchy with Jason Rife

Join Education and Program Associate Ally ZimmerMas and Jason Rife, Tri-Faith’s Education Intern, for this session of Making the Familiar Strange as we explore the story of God’s warning against monarchy in the First Book of Samuel.

Read or review the story: 1 Samuel 8

Send your questions and thoughts in advance to Ally at azimmermas@trifaith.org.

Jason Rife is a 42-year-old intercultural enthusiast working toward his master’s degree in secondary education, with a focus on social science. Hailing from Pennsylvania, he spent his childhood in various Jewish communities, from Chabad to secular, in New York, Maryland, and Pennsylvania. He enlisted in the USAF at age 21 after half a year in Yeshiva and a year and a half in university. Over the next 20 years, he completed three AAs and a BS in IT management. His interest in foreign cultures began at an early age; his experience as a Jew in central PA made almost every culture he dealt with “foreign.” He has tried to be an advocate for minority groups throughout his adult life, as he has always been a part of one, but he also feels that it is important for minority groups to help each other in representation. After all these varied experiences, Jason is well traveled; he lived in England for 2 years, Arizona for 8.5 years, California for 2 years, spent 7 months in Jerusalem, and has traveled to many states and several other countries.

Making the Familiar Strange is an opportunity for interfaith dialogue that inspires people of different religious and nonreligious backgrounds to read the same text together. Rather than providing answers, creating arguments, or shutting down conversation, Making the Familiar Strange gives attendees an opportunity to investigate and share different perspectives on the same texts.

While not required, the program is best if you have access to the stories, which can be through a physical copy or online copy of a Bible, Tanakh, and/or Quran.

Tri-Faith Initiative events are recorded and archived on our YouTube Channel.