Discover the foods of the Biblical world and how they were produced. We’ll learn about farming in Biblical Israel and neighboring lands, and how the basic foods were processed from the crops. Then we’ll look into everything from cooking methods to the seasonings and other ingredients that made Biblical cuisine s... Read more

The third semester of a three-semester sequence, this course is designed for those who have completed New Lehrhaus Hebrew 1 and 2 and have a working Hebrew vocabulary of about 200 words and are familiar with the grammar of nouns, adjectives, possessive endings and past and present tense verbs. It’s also a great choice for students with basic reading ski... Read more

Biblical Israel’s legacy from its ancient neighbors is not just a saga of conflict. Law, literature, early religious practices, and even food and drink owe much to the surrounding ancient cultures. Mesopotamia's cultures contributed to the foundational tales of the Torah—the Garden of Eden, Noah’s ark, the Tower of Babel and the Abraham narrative, the Jewish calendar, and the Hebrew language. Egypt’s hieroglyphs morphed into the Hebrew alphabet and Egyptian art influenced the iconography of... Read more

Writer Mary Antin’s 1912 book The Promised Land, the first autobiography of a Russian Jewish immigrant to the United States, brought her national fame. But only a few years later, Antin abandoned celebrity in favor of exploring non-Jewish religious groups. Her spiritual journey reveals the resilience of Jewish identity, connections between health and religious practice, and the boundaries of religious communities.

Prof. Ron Hendel will discuss his new commentary on the Book of Genesis and its meaning through the ages.

Closing Session: Our Gift to You! Join us for the closing session of this course with international baroque music conductor and expert, Nicholas McGegan!

Not sure who Jephthah is, or his (unnamed) daughter? Watch the video of this week's session about the Judges Chapter 11&nbs... Read more

The John Muir Trail runs 212 miles along the crest of California's High Sierra, from Yosemite to Mt. Whitney. Did you know that its creator was the direct descendant of the only Jewish clergyman in attendance at George Washington's inauguration in 1789? Michael Hoberman tells the story of Theodore Seixas Solomons' explorations of the Sierra in the 1890s, as well as of his tireless (and largely unreco... Read more

Wednesdays, February 26 & March 5 @ 7-8:30pm... Read more

Irving Berlin is best known as the gifted composer/lyricist of hit musicals like “Annie Get Your Gun” and “Call Me Madam” and songs like “God Bless America” and “Alexander’s Rag Time Band.” Less well-known are songs that reflect his Russian-Jewish heritage: “Yiddish Nightingale,” “Russian Lullaby,” and “Cohen Owes Me $47.” Learn about Berlin’s life and work and watch performances of the songs that clearly or subtly illustrate his Jewish heritage, plus video clips of Mr. Berlin performing so... Read more

The history of San Francisco Jewry tends to be told in terms dominated by the experience of Jews from German-speaking lands who settled in California in the mid-nineteenth century with great success. Less attention is given to the lives of Jews from Eastern Europe who arrived in the late 1800s and early 1900s. This presentation will focus on these immigrants through the prism of Yid... Read more