Course For: Intensive Academic Learning (Formerly "Me'ah Select")

From Darkness to Light: The New History of Jewish Christian Relations

From Darkness to Light: The New History of Jewish Christian Relations

Program: Hebrew College Tamid
Instructor: Dr. Jacob Meskin (Read Bio)
Dates: 8 Tuesdays, Fall 2024: 10/29, 11/5, 11/12, 11/19, 12/3, 12/10, 12/17 & 1/7
Time: 9:30-11:30 a.m. ET
Course fee: $400, financial aid is available
Location: In Person at Temple Isaiah, 55 Lincoln Street, Lexington
Hosted by: The Lexington Collaborative (Temples Isaiah and Emunah)
Registration:  Click here

Jewish and Christian researchers have invited all of us to re-imagine, in radical ways, the original emergence of what we now call “Christianity” from the matrix of Judaism in the first century CE.

These and other developments promise new hope for those who seek to repair the complex and often tragic history of Jewish Christian relations, and who look forward to Jews and Christians living side by side, in their respective faiths, as friends and allies.

In this course, we will study the often-painful history of Jewish Christian relations, drawing on the latest scholarship and innovative paradigms. Our focus will be on what happened, on why it happened and, above all, on how understanding the deep reasons behind past events can liberate us to envision a better future. Through this kind of study contemporary Jews and Christians can fully grasp that the future need not be like the past.

Among other topics, we will take up the following: the Jewishness of Jesus, the essential role of Paul and the relationship between his teachings and Judaism, the central nature of Rabbinic Judaism, Church doctrine and theological ideas about Jews in the middle ages, the Crusades, popular prejudices against Jews in Europe, the Reformation and the Jews, Christian Hebraism, British Protestant attitudes toward Jews, Vatican II and the Jews, and the relationships between Evangelical Christianity and Jews.

For more information or questions, contact the Hebrew College Tamid Team

Daf Yomi: The Wisdom of Talmud Study

Daf Yomi: The Wisdom of Talmud Study

Program: Hebrew College Tamid
Instructor: Layah Lipsker (Read Bio)
Dates: Monday and Thursday, Fall 2024: 9/16, 9/19, 9/23, 9/26, 9/30, 10/7, 10/10, 10/28, 10/31, 11/4, 11/7, 11/14, 11/18 & 11/21
Time: 9-9:45 a.m. ET
Course fee: $400, financial aid is available
Location: Zoom
Hosted by: Hebrew College
Registration:  Click here

Talmud study is not simply the study of Jewish law, and that’s why it is so fascinating to Jews of all affiliations. The rabbis often use the legalities as a language for articulating foundational Jewish wisdom. The stories and debates of the Talmud have become the language of Jewish thought. A page of Talmud can often help us tap into ancient Jewish language for our own spiritual growth and add to our toolbox of Jewish thought.

For additional information or questions, contact the Hebrew College Tamid Team

 

 

The Legacy of Sepharad and Modern Judaisms

The Legacy of Sepharad and Modern Judaisms

Program: Hebrew College Tamid
Instructor: Rabbi Leonard Gordon (Read Bio)
Dates:  4 Wednesdays, Fall 2024: 10/30, 11/6, 11/13 & 12/4
Time: 7-9:00 p.m. ET
Course fee: $200, financial aid is available
Location: Zoom
Hosted by: Hebrew College
Registration:  Click here

Our course will examine the afterlife of two grand traditions emerging out of the Jewish experience in Sepharad (medieval Spain): rationalism and mysticism. Our focus will be on Maimonides (Aristotle, reason) and the Zohar/Lurianic Kabbalah (Plato, mysticism). How are both traditions reflected in contemporary Jewish theology and practice? We will learn about the origins of secular Jewish thought in the writings of Maimonides and Spinoza and the origins of many contemporary Jewish rituals and prayers in Kabbalah. All texts will be read in translation and no prior knowledge is assumed.

For additional information and questions, contact the Hebrew College Tamid Team

White Christian Nationalism & the Presidential Election

White Christian Nationalism & the Presidential Election

Program: Hebrew College Tamid
Instructor: Rabbi Or Rose and Reverend Dr. Rob Schenck  (Read Bios)
Dates: 3 Thursdays, Fall 2024: 9/12, 9/19 & 9/26
Time: 7-8:30 p.m. ET
Course fee: $150, financial aid is available
Location: Zoom
Hosted by: Hebrew College
Registration:  Click here

What is the relationship between religion, race, and democracy within conservative Christian circles in the United States? What is the history of these ideologies and alliances? To what extent is white Christian nationalism a danger to our country—particularly in this election cycle? What role can members of different religious and cultural communities play in countering this form of bigotry and work with Christians to promote the rights and freedoms of all Americans?

For additional information and questions, contact the Hebrew College Tamid Team

A New Jewish-Evangelical Conversation on Israel

A New Jewish-Evangelical Conversation on Israel

Program: Hebrew College Tamid
Instructor: Rabbi Or Rose and Reverend Dr. Rob Schenck (Read Bios)
Dates: 3 Thursdays, Fall 2024: 11/7, 11/14 & 11/21
Time: 7-8:30 p.m. ET
Course fee: $150, financial aid is available
Location: Zoom
Hosted by: Hebrew College
Registration:  Click here

The time has come for a new conversation among members of the Jewish and Evangelical communities to discuss our relationships to Israel? Turmoil in the Israel and the Palestinian territories, as well as in the United States call for an honest and searching discussion of our theological, historical, and political connections to Israel. What, for example, is the role of messianism or eschatology (interpretations of “end-times” prophecies) in this context? Do we share some common values and commitments? Where do we differ? To what extent are these differences present within each of our respective communities?

For additional information and questions, contact the Hebrew College Tamid Team.

Succession in Judaism: Joy and Danger

Succession in Judaism: Joy and Danger

Program: Hebrew College Tamid
Instructor: Rabbi Nehemia Polen  (Read Bio)
Dates: 5 Wednesdays, Fall 2024: 11/6, 11/13, 11/20, 12/4 & 12/11
Time:  10-11:30 a.m. ET
Course fee: $250, financial aid is available
Location: In Person at Hebrew College
Hosted by: Hebrew College
Registration:  Click here

Who succeeds the parent/leader/teacher/prophet? This is a key question for any culture, and certainly for Judaism—so focused on transmission of Torah, spirit, historical memory and blessing. Our study explores biblical, rabbinic, kabbalistic and hasidic accounts of transmission of wisdom, leadership and charisma. Succession may be accomplished with grace and generosity, or with tension and rupture—and often with both at the same time. In the biblical period we will focus on prophetic transmission, such as that between Moses and Joshua, Elijah and Elisha. We will also read the narratives of royal succession, especially in the houses of Saul and David. For the Rabbinic period, we look at the many stories of the sometimes kindly, sometimes fraught relationship between teacher and student, as well as tales of both camaraderie and competition among disciples of a great Rabbinic teacher.  We will explore charismatic discipleship in kabbalistic circles and the culture of Hasidism, which views the master-disciple relationship as an intimate covenant binding soul to soul. Finally, we will examine contemporary parallels in the fields of science, medicine and the arts, especially music.  As a case study, we will read composer Philip Glass’s account of his relationship with two great but very different teachers–Nadia Boulanger and Ravi Shankar.

For additional information and questions, contact the Hebrew College Tamid Team