From its very beginning, Judaism has been an evolving spiritual tradition shaped, in part, by contact with other cultures and belief systems, and designed to meet the spiritual needs of the Jewish communities of the time. While some Jews find a spiritual home in the different Jewish denominations, so many others are yearning for a Jewish spirituality that will speak to their hearts, minds, and souls and will reflect the psychological, spiritual, and political understandings of our time.

Drop-In Book Club: People Love Dead Jews by Dara Horn (VIRTUAL)

In partnership with the Jewish Community Library

Drought, famine, established powers on the edge of collapse, mass migrations from failed states to other countries: you may be thinking of the Middle East in 2022. Try 1180 BCE! 

We will examine how Israeli men are portrayed in such popular Israeli TV series as Fauda, Shtisel, and When Heroes Fly, and explore how these portrayals could serve as a lens through which we explore Israeli society and the Zionist endeavor more broadly. 

Genesis 24 is a classic tale about finding a wife and also a revealing presentation of the protocols and practices that lead to marriage in the ancient Near East. Isaac has just lost his mother Sarah and his father, Abraham, must begin the process of building the next generation, sending his trusty servant to find a wife for Isaac in the land of the clan’s origin. Our class will travel with him, beginning with a rich visual overview of the lifeways of Patriarchs and Matriarchs in the Biblical period. Then we will read and translate the Hebrew text, drawing on the insights of both modern scholarship and ancient commentators. Students will also receive extensive notes to assist with translation.

This course will complete our study of basic prayerbook Hebrew using the text Prayerbook Hebrew the Easy Way, then begin to introduce the more complex verb patterns of classical Biblical Hebrew and the irregular verb system, while building Hebrew vocabulary. Students will start translating passages from the Hebrew Bible and learn to use Hebrew research references. Text will be provided free of charge by the instructor. 

This class introduces students to all the basic elements of Prayerbook Hebrew: the alphabet, vowels, vocabulary, sight-reading skills, and basic grammar. You'll learn some of the key prayerbook melodies and discuss the meaning of the prayers. It provides a strong grammatical basis for Biblical Hebrew and some of the vocabulary for modern Israeli Hebrew.

In partnership with KlezCalifornia

In partnership with KlezCalifornia

Learn this rich and colorful language in a relaxed, irreverent and heimishe atmosphere.

In partnership with KlezCalifornia

10 sessions. Learn this rich and colorful language in a relaxed, irreverent and heimishe atmosphere.

The course will address the eternal question, "Why Do Bad Things Happen To Good People?" If God is a compassionate and loving God, why do people suffer? In an attempt to answer these questions, we will look at the Biblical books of Deuteronomy, Job, and Ecclesiastes, as well as looking at modern theologians. Bring a Bible.

For over half a century Jewish intermarriage was understood as the next step before assimilation. Using the new Pew 2020 survey, Bruce Phillips will argue that the current discourses about Jewish intermarriage are outdated. For example, asking why Jewish intermarry is backwards. When the dynamics of intermarriage for other groups are considered along with the place of Jews in American society, that Jews marry other Jews is the exceptional finding. Instead of assimilating, the children of intermarriage are maintaining a Jewish identification, and the American Jewish population is changing dramatically as a result.