Me’ah Classic -Year Two Modern: Thursday Evenings Online via Zoom – Spring 2025

Year Two Modern: Thursday Evenings Online via Zoom

Program: Hebrew College Me’ah Classic
Instructor: Dr. Jacob Meskin (Read Bio)
Dates: 11 Thursdays, Spring 2025: 1/16, 1/23, 1/30, 2/6, 2/13, 2/20, 2/27, 3/6, 3/20, 3/27 & 4/3
Time: 7:15 -9:15 p.m. EST
Course fee: $490 for the Spring Modern semester only, financial aid is available
Location: Online via Zoom
Hosted by: Hebrew College
Registration: Click here

The Me’ah Classic Year 2 Program begins with Medieval in the Fall and continues with Modern in the Spring.  Your tuition covers the Spring semester.

Winter/Spring: Modern

Beginning with the 17th century Age of Enlightenment, modernity posed a significant challenge to traditional Jewish culture, community, and identity, creating new social and economic opportunities but also threatening traditional Jewish values and society. As in each of the previous eras, modern Jews remained preoccupied with sacred texts, suggesting that however great the impact of rupture and discontinuity, their passion for reading and re-reading classical Jewish texts became the creative wellspring for modern Jewish thought.

You’ll delve into some of these modern primary texts representing differing ideological viewpoints — works of Jewish philosophers such as Martin Buber and Franz Rosenzweig, and Zionist thinkers such as Ahad Ha’am and Micha Josef Berdyczewski — that mirror the issues faced by Jews of that era.

And you’ll wrestle with the subtle points of comparison and contrast between Jewish modernity and the civilization we’ve inherited. Texts will examine the emancipation of European Jewry; the rise of Hasidism; the Jewish cultural revolution of Eastern Europe; and the birth of Modern Zionism.

We encourage students to take Year One before registering for Year Two. If, however, starting with Year Two would work better for your schedule, please contact Terri Swartz Russell, Program Director at the Hebrew College Tamid Team