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

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 larg... Read more

“Create me not!” cries the Golem’s spirit at the beginning of Leivick’s legendary play. Hear why the Golem has become a powerful embodiment of the ethical crisis facing modern Judaism from Dr. Michael Chemers, an expert on monsters in performance. How do Jews survive with ethics intact when the enemies of Judaism will stop at nothing?

Join world-leading Kabbalah scholars Dr. Melila Hellner-Eshed and Dr. Daniel Matt in Berkeley for an unforgettable night. Come experience an evening of ecstasy and enchantment at Chochmat HaLev’s modern take on the Hassidic tisch. Join us as we reimagine the rituals of the Jewish mystics by gathering around a long candlelit table, sacred teachers illuminating ancient wisdom, wordless nigun melodies, libations... Read more

There has been discussion over the past thirty years about the vision of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state, as well as the compatibility of observant Jewish life and American democracy. Can the two—Jewish and democratic—be reconciled? The two presenters, one a Jewish historian, the other a scholar of American law, will explore the consonances and tensions between Jewish and democratic values in Israel and ... Read more

How does the Talmud portray its heroines? Why are they never as they first seem? And what does this tell us about the rabbis’ views of marriage, sex, childbirth, and what it means to be a woman in the world? Gila Fine discusses her new book on the six named heroines of the Talmud.

Join Rebecca Kaplan in finding Torah in unexpected places, from the Liberty Bell to area murals, contemporary community work, and her years of work (and some recent battles) at the Oakland City Council.

Contemporary art can offer us limitless opportunities to connect with the complex world we live in. But how does one start to uncover the many possible meanings behind an artwork? Discover how to understand contemporary art and how it can help us interpret the world by exploring artworks by today’s Jewish artists looking at the many aspects of Jewish culture, identity, and community.

The Bible has been a font of inspiration for composers throughout the ages. This course pairs passages highlighting dramatic Biblical stories with their interpretations in opera and oratoria spanning Baroque to 20th-century music.

Grab a taste of the course in this specially-curated Spotify playlist – featuring operas from the curriculum!... Read more

For millennia, the vine and its products have been an essential part of the Biblical world. In this richly illustrated class, we’ll explore the origins and growth of viticulture in ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia, Greece and of course, the land of Israel. We’ll also delve into the wisdom that comes from the vine: anc... Read more