- Pacific Time
Jehon Grist: What REALLY Happened on Purim (Zoom only)
Esther's story is exciting, romantic and disturbing. Set in the imaginary lavish court of the Persian king 2,400 years ago, it is an early example of anti-Semitism. Is there actual history here? Why did many Jews oppose its addition to the Biblical Canon? We will explore key parts of the text of the Book of Esther and its world, then fast forward to its ‘movie midrash’ - how Hollywood has interpreted the story.
Read moreInstructor
- Pacific Time
The Dybbuk Century: 100 Years of the Jewish Play that Possessed the World (Zoom Only)
In partnership with the Jewish Community Library
Read moreInstructor
- Pacific Time Series
Rabbi Yoel Kahn: The World of Midrash (In Person Only)
in partnership with Congregation Beth El, Berkeley
Read moreInstructor
- Pacific Time
John Erlich—By the Waters of Babylon: Jews and Music in Iraq (In person or on Zoom)
In partnership with Congregation Netivot Shalom, Berkeley and KlezCalifornia
Read moreInstructor
- Pacific Time
Prof. Azzan Yadin-Israel—Temptation Transformed: How The Story of How the Forbidden Fruit Became an Apple (Zoom only)
In partnership with the Jewish Community Library, San Francisco
Read moreInstructor
- Pacific Time
Multiple Presenters: Community Learning in Memory of Rachel Brodie (In Person Only)
In partnership with Urban Adamah (along with Jewish Studio Project and JewishLearningWorks)
Read more- Pacific Time
Rachel Biale—Purim: The Hangover Edition (In Person Only)
In partnership with Manny's, San Francisco
Read moreInstructor
- Pacific Time
Prof. Eran Kaplan: The Holocaust and the Yishuv (The Jewish Community in Palestine) (Zoom Only)
In partnership with the the JFCS Holocaust Center's San Francisco-wide Yom HaShoah Commemoration and Day of Learning, and the Contra Costa community-wide commemoration.
Read moreInstructor
- Pacific Time
Prof. Yael Zerubavel
What REALLY Happened on Lag Ba'Omer: The Multiple Traditions of Lag Ba'Omer—A Jewish-Israeli View (Zoom Only)
Part of our “What REALLY Happened on…” series
Read moreInstructor
- Pacific Time
Bradley Burston: The End of Israel? (Zoom Only)
A week after celebrating Israel's Independence Day, we look at the current situation "through a glass darkly." Award-winning journalist Bradley Burston's new book "The End of Israel" details how, even before the horrific Gaza war that is still unfolding, Israelis had begun to question whether this year's Independence Day would be the nation's last. It also shows how Benjamin Netanyahu's policies enabled the war and documents a fateful and still-destructive choice Netanyahu made "to contort and sacrifice his country for the sake of his own political longevity." Burston concludes: "He chose. Israel lost. End of story."
Read more