We have a plethora of new programs starting right after Labor Day. Here's the list: details and registrationhere (//newlehrhaus.org/learn-with-us).

(How many can you identify?)

I recently attended Natan Meir's lecture, Kiev: Jewish Metropolis,offered by New Lehrhau, hoping for more information.  I was really delighted that Prof. Meir filled in many gaps for me and offered explanations for seemingly contradictory information I had.

thrilledto welcome our first staff member (yes, up until now everything had been managed by volunteers)!

(nuanced hermeneutics) was the order of the day (or night).

Nu, what do you think about Intermarriage? Image by Marvin Steindler (marvinsteindler.com) How Interfaith Marriage is Changing the American Jewish Community – But Not Necessarily in the Ways We Think/Fear. This is a topic that every Jew,  should find intriguing and important, not just those who have married non-Jews.

These days, the reminder that goodness can prevail against seemingly impossible odds helps to keep despair at bay.

I asked three of our New Lehrhaus leaders, Rachel & David Biale and Steve Zipperstein to reflect on their longtime friendship. Rachel Biale says this:

Whether you were born Jewish and never learned Hebrew (perhaps despite hours warming the chair at Hebrew School...) or you chose Judaism as an adult, tackling a new language IN A NEW ALPHABET is daunting. Yet mastery of even the alef-bet and some words of Hebrew is tremendously empowering and, the way our teachers teach, great fun! Over the years Lehrhaus had offered numerous Hebrew and Yiddish classes. Many of the teachers are lifers, and will be teaching for New Lehrhaus until someone pries the chalk from their hand!