The third semester of a three-semester sequence, this course is designed for those who have completed New Lehrhaus Hebrew 1 and 2 and have a working Hebrew vocabulary of about 200 words and are familiar with the grammar of nouns,...
The Hebrew Bible is surprisingly candid about the good and the bad of sexual relationships. Marriage may be the Bible's procreative ideal, but variations on the theme are frequently woven into the narrative and poetic texts. Our class will begin...
In partnership with the Jewish Community Library When God sends Moses to lead the Israelites out of slavery, the prophet famously says no. Why? Moses describes himself as “slow of speech and slow of tongue”—in other words, a stutterer. While...
In partnership with Urban Adamah (along with Jewish Studio Project and JewishLearningWorks) Join us as we honor the remarkable life and enduring impact of Rachel Brodie, z"l, in the season of her second yartzeit. Called a master Jewish educator, a...
In partnership with Congregation Netivot Shalom, Berkeley and KlezCalifornia In 1947, Baghdad's Jewish community of 90,000 comprised about 25% of the city's population, and Iraq's 130,000 Jews comprised almost 3% of the total population (higher than the Jewish population in...
Biblical narratives retain a powerful hold on the Jewish imagination, yet many Jewish (and some non-Jewish) writers in the Greco-Roman era rewrote many of these stories despite their ostensible sacredness. What did the authors of these versions have in mind...
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. While members of the Jewish Yishuv were not in a position to impact the course of the...
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...
Part of our “What REALLY Happened on…” series Lag Ba’Omer (the 33rd day of the counting of the omer from Passover to Shavu'ot) first appeared in the Middle Ages as a fairly obscure holiday connected to Rabbi Akiva and Rabbi...
Part 6 of October 7th & the Israel-Gaza War: Behind and Beyond the News 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...
Sex and furniture, really? Really! Beds (of course), tables, lamps, and ornaments: rabbinic texts illuminate attitudes towards sexuality in key texts where furniture appears—either as literal objects or as metaphors. Wednesday, May 22 @ 7–8:30pm, on Zoom
This three-session course will cover the history and lived experiences of Soviet Jews, their fight to leave for Israel and their current life in Russia. Beginning with the history of Jewish communities in Russia and the Soviet Union and widespread...
