Oraita, an exciting Hebrew College continuing education program for rabbis, invites you to delve into classic Jewish texts with 25 to 30 rabbinic colleagues from all denominations, guided by world renowned teachers. The program opens with a four-day retreat and continues via user-friendly online faculty lectures, havruta study and group discussions.
Retreat: Letting go of a rabbi’s daily worries, you’ll delve deeply into Torah learning. Emphasizing bet midrash–style havruta learning combined with presentations by our faculty, this retreat will be an intensive text study experience in a nurturing setting, as well as an opportunity to deepen connections with colleagues. Evenings will include programs on the arts and other areas of life.
Online Program: You will continue the learning and fellowship when you return to your home communities. The semester of study will feature online video lectures, conference call discussions with faculty and participants, and regular havruta study, either long distance or, if there is another Oraita participant in the vicinity, in person. We encourage students to invite other rabbis from their area or friends from rabbinical school to form an Oraita study group.
Oraita Archives: Oraita is offering rabbis the unique opportunity to study with the Oraita faculty in the comfort of their homes and at their own pace. Now you can register for any of the classes offered by Oraita-in-Boston and watch the video, podcast the audio and study the texts taught by Hebrew College’s faculty. Check below for the classes that are available.
Tuition: Please refer to the specific retreat information below.Participants are responsible for their own transportation to and from the retreat. Some scholarships are available in cases of financial need.
Support for Oraita has been made possible by the Legacy Heritage Limited Fund, Lasko Foundations, The Rita Poretsky Foundation and other generous sponsors.
FALL 2010 Oraita-in-Boston and Online Classes with Rabbi Ebn Leader “Hassidic Models of Leadership”
“Ebn Leader is one of the most engaging teachers with whom I have had the opportunity to study text. Over the years I have had the privilege of studying Talmud, Midrash, Hasiddut and more with Ebn. He brings a great breadth of knowledge, the capacity to draw connections I've never considered before, and to challenge the students to enlarge their perspective. I can't wait for his next Oraita-in-Boston session. When it comes to learning with and from Ebn, the topic doesn't matter, as I know that my time will be well-spent and my learning enriched!”
A Tzaddik in the Suburbs
R Elimelech of Lezansk (d. 1786) is the author of the book No'am Elimelech, which is generally recognized as one of the important articulations of what was the new hassidic model of leadership—the tzaddik.
In this course we will study texts pertaining to spiritual leadership of congregations from the No'am Elimelech. Can we, who do not generally think of ourselves as tzaddikim, and who have congregants who do not generally think of themselves as hassidim, learn something from the model of spiritual leadership presented in these writings?
Details
Boston area rabbis will attend the course at Hebrew College on the dates given above. Course material will also be available online. Online participants will access the class through our website. Audio, video and reading material will be available so you can study them at your own convenience.
About Rabbi Ebn Leader
Ebn Leader is Director of the Rabbinical School’s Bet Midrash and Instructor in Rabbinics. He grew up in Jerusalem and was a talmid (student-disciple) of Rabbi David Hartman, with whom he learned Talmud, and a talmid of Amos Hetz, studying movement and movement notation. He is currently a talmid of Dr. Art Green, from whom he has received semikha. He is the co-editor of God in All Moments: Mystical and Practical Wisdom from Hasidic Masters, published by Jewish Lights.
Oraita Retreats
WINTER 2011
Embodied Judaism: Living Spirit in an Earthly World
Jewish spirituality is intimately entwined with physical being and material concerns. We will explore how biblical, rabbinic and Hasidic teachings embrace physicality, and we will ask, “What are the challenges and opportunities that come along with vulnerable, pleasurable, unruly and beautiful bodies? Whether in relation to eating or sexuality, labor or comfort, how can we achieve our heavenly visions of life here in this earthly world?”
Retreat
January 23–27, 2011
Tumbling Waters Retreat and Conference Center
Clayton, GA
Online Follow-up
February–March
Faculty
Tamar Kamionkowski, PhD,Academic Dean of Reconstructionist Rabbinical College Rabbi Nehemia Polen, PhD,Associate Professor of Jewish Thought at Boston's Hebrew College Rabbi Jonah Steinberg, PhD,Associate Dean at the Rabbinical School of Hebrew College
Tuition
$750 (includes double room and board and all sessions)
Participants are required to pay for their own travel expenses.
Discounts
$150 discount if you bring a new rabbi to the program
$100 additional discount if you bring a second new rabbi to the program
Maximum discount: $250/applicant Please ask rabbis you refer to add your name under “Additional Comments” on the application form.
Scholarships
A limited number of scholarships is available and will be analyzed in individual basis. Early application, new to the program, financial need and other information will be consider at the discretion of Oraita’s staff. Please write a 100 word essay on your financial need under “Additional Comments” on the application form. This information will be kept confidential.
More information
Rabbi Natan Margalit
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
617 559-8617
Oraita Archives
Oraita is offering rabbis the unique opportunity to study with the Oraita faculty in the comfort of their homes and at their own pace. Now you can register for any of the classes offered by Oraita-in-Boston and watch the video, podcast the audio and study the texts taught by Hebrew College’s faculty.
Rabbis can register at any time; each class will be available for 2 months.
1. Halakhah and Aggadah with Rabbi Jane Kanarek, PhD
The examination of halakhah and aggadah has long been central to the study of rabbinic literature. All too often, though, these genres are studied separately from one another. In this class, we will bring halakhah and aggadah together. Through the study of selected rabbinic texts, we will look at different models of the intersection of halakhah and aggadah. This course aims to deepen our understanding of Jewish culture by bringing sacred narrative and sacred law into conversation with each other and with us.
2. Tradition and Innovation in Early Hasidism with Rabbi Or Rose
Join us as we explore how the early Hasidic masters (1750-1815) sought to reinvigorate Jewish life, drawing selectively on various strands from earlier periods in Jewish history. Our study will include conversation about Hasidic theology, ritual observance, and spiritual formation. Through this textual exploration, we will engage in a discussion of how the work of the founders of Hasidism might be helpful to us in fashioning lives of holiness today.
3. Blessings: an Exploration of History, Theology and Practice with Dr. Nehemia Polen
Blessing is a central concern of the Torah. At the creation, God blesses fishes, the first humans, and the Sabbath. In Genesis 12, God’s call to Abram (later Abraham) invokes the notion of blessing five times. The patriarchs bless their children; Moses blesses the people at the end of his life. And the Priestly Blessing is a highlight of sacred service from biblical times until today. Our four-part seminar will examine the Jewish theology and practice of blessing in all periods. We will explore such questions as: What does it mean to bless God? Does God need or want our blessings? How and why do we bless other people? What does it mean to “be a blessing?” Is there a chain of blessing which links all creatures? Are there circumstances or conditions of the soul which may impede or block blessing? How can they be healed and turned into blessing?
4. Doing Better the Second Time: Explorations in The Book of Esther with Dr. Judith Kates
Our boisterous celebration of Purim, the holiday of masks, often conceals the very text that claims to generate the holiday, megillat Esther. But this book richly repays serious attention. This class will offer an opportunity to explore and reflect on its literary and spiritual complexities and challenges. Megillat Esther has in fact been taken especially seriously in our tradition and we will also delve into its continuing interpretive life, from the (Jewish) Greek additions and Josephus to Rabbinic imaginative responses in Talmud and midrash to medieval and modern commentary, including Hasidic masters and contemporary feminist scholars.
Oraita Video
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Rabbi Nehemia Polen, PhD Oraita-in-Boston Fall 2009 Shabbat Dance
For more information about Oraita programs, click here.
Support for Oraita has been made possible by the Legacy Heritage Limited Fund, Lasko Foundations, The Rita Poretsky Foundation and other generous sponsors.
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