Martin Buber was born in Vienna in 1878, and was a utopian Zionist. He is best-known for his book I and Thou, which focuses on how people relate to the world. For Buber, our relationship with the Divine, and as much as possible with each other, should be I-Thou rather than I-It relationships.

Many scholars regard King Josiah of Judah (ca. 640-609 BCE) as the founder of a strict one-G-d religion for his kingdom which previously worshipped YHWH but also allowed for other deities. His revolution was both consequential and violent, and paved the way for one of the key precepts of Judaism: monotheism.

This three-semester sequence gives you the essential knowledge and skills to read, understand and appreciate Prayerbook texts and the Hebrew Bible. It starts at the beginning, teaching the alphabet and sight-reading skills, then moves on to build both vocabulary and grammar knowledge using the text Prayerbook Hebrew the Easy Way. And along the way, you’ll learn about related topics, from key Prayerbook melodies to the origins of Hebrew to life in the Biblical world.

Required te... Read more

In partnership with the Jewish Community Library

The Bay Area Community Talmud Circle is a growing, dynamic and welcoming community of adult participants engaged in modern Talmud study and active conversation. While the majority of participants are continuing students, anyone may join!  No prior experience with Talmud Study is required.  Curiosity, openness, and unconditional mutual regard are all one needs.

Join us on Fridays at noon for a look at the Torah Portion of the week through the portal of the Zohar. The gate pictured here is the entrance to the garden of Moses de Leon, the compiler of the Zohar. He published it as a weekly Torah companion, and that is how we will encounter it.

In this richly illustrated course, we’ll start by searching out the beginnings of Jewish Spain over 2,000 years ago, including the Roman and later Visigothic centuries. Then we’ll focus on the Muslim invasion and the Golden Age of Islamic Spain that followed. This was the era of La Convivencia, when Jews, Christians and Muslims lived largely in peace and shared and contributed to a common culture far advanced beyond the rest of Europe’s states. From there, we’ll chronicle the slow but steady advance of Christian armies, finally leading to the Expulsion of Jews (and Muslims) from Spain in 1492 and later years. We’ll close with a look at the fate of Sephardic Jews after the Expulsion as well as the fate of Spain in those centuries right up to today.

In partnership with Congregation Beth Am and CCJCC's "Under One Tent"

A partnership program of New Lehrhaus

In this course we read and study the Zohar, the masterpiece of Kabbalah. Currently, we are exploring the Zohar on the Book of Genesis. Students can enroll in the current series, held live on Zoom.

Martin Buber was born in Vienna in 1878, and was a utopian Zionist. He is best-known for his book I and Thou, which focuses on how people relate to the world. For Buber, our relationship with the Divine, and as much as possible with each other, should be I-Thou rather than I-It relationships.

In partnership with KlezCalifornia

In this strictly reading and iberzetsn (translating) Yiddish class, students will have an opportunity to read various myselekh (stories), pamelekh (slowly) and mit geduld (with patience), so that even those who have only “cheder” (elementary school) level proficiency can participate and follow along. The instructor will provide PDF readers in Yiddish with English translation.

October 9–D... Read more

Gather with 30- to 40-something friends (must be over 21) to hear Maggid Singer reveal some of Judaism's connections to their sacred inebriant, alcohol, throughout the centuries. From references in the Torah to the outsized role Jews played in establishing and perfecting the most American of spirits—Bourbon—alcohol has maintained a steady presence in Jewish culture for millennia. How then did Jews get the reputation for being uninvolved in alcohol? What is kosher... Read more