Course Location: In Person

Torah Mysteries, Scientific Advances, and Secret Knowledge: Ways of Relating Judaism and Science in Jewish Thought and Law – In Person

Torah Mysteries, Scientific Advances, and Secret Knowledge: Ways of Relating Judaism and Science in Jewish Thought and Law -In Person

Program: Hebrew College Tamid
Instructor: Rabbi Benjamin Samuels  (Read Bio)
Dates: 10 Wednesdays, Fall 2024: 11/6, 11/13, 11/20, 12/4, 12/11, 12/18, 1/8, 1/15, 1/22 & 1/29
Time: 9:30-11:30 a.m. ET
Course fee: $500, financial aid is available
Location: In Person at Temple Beth Elohim (TBE) in Wellesley
Hosted by: Temple Beth Elohim (TBE) in Wellesley
Registration:  Click here

In this course, we will explore legal and theological strategies employed in resolving seeming conflicts of Torah and Science. We will discuss how our investigation of these strategies may better direct the use of ancient sources to address contemporary issues. We will also consider how such strategies can help anticipate how Jewish law may respond to changes in scientific understanding and technological capability. The course will be divided into three parts: 1. Theoretical frameworks for relating Torah to Science; 2. Torah and Science in Biblical Commentary; 3. Application to contemporary issues of Torah and Science, such as “Brain Death,” “Assisted Reproductive Technologies,” and “Artificial Intelligence.”

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

The Motif of Isaac’s Binding in Modern Hebrew (Israeli) Literature

The Motif of Isaac’s Binding in Modern Hebrew (Israeli) Literature

Program: Hebrew College Tamid
Instructor: Rav Rachel Adelman (Read Bio)
Dates: 7 Mondays, Fall 2024: 10/21, 10/28, 11/4, 11/11, 11/18, 12/2 & 12/9
Time: 9:30-11:00 a.m. ET
Course fee: $350, financial aid is available
Location: In Person at Hebrew College
Hosted by: Hebrew College
Registration:  Click here

Abraham’s Binding of Isaac (Genesis 22) in Israeli Literature serves as a prism for issues of sacrifice and secularization, collective identity and existential yearnings. We will discuss this motif in the poetry of Yehuda Amichai (among others), in the short stories and memoir of Amos Oz (among others), and in selections from David Grossman’s novel, “To the End of the Land”, read alongside essays about culture and society in the modern nation state.

For more information and questions, contact Hebrew College Tamid Team

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

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 wisdom, spirit, historical memory and blessing. Our study explores biblical, rabbinic, kabbalistic and Hasidic accounts of transmission of charisma, as well as historical examples of tension and rupture between a master and a disciple and examines the pitfalls that can arise. We will explore parallels to contemporary practices of mentoring in education, science, medicine, the humanities and arts, such as music.

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

Introduction to Judaism – In Person Cohort

Introduction to Judaism – In Person Cohort

Program: Hebrew College Tamid
Instructors: Rabbi Leslie Gordon and Rabbi Allison Berry (Read Bios)
Dates: 11 Tuesdays, Fall 2024: 9/17, 9/24, 10/1, 10/15, 10/22, 10/29, 11/5, 11/12, 11/19, 12/3 & 12/10
Time: 7-9:00 p.m. ET
Course fee: $200* (Thanks to the generosity of CJP)
Location: In Person at Hebrew College
Hosted by: Hebrew College
Registration: Click here

Jewish life and living are connected to Jewish history, thought and the cycle of time. This course, taught over two semesters, touches on the cycle of Jewish time, including holidays, lifecycle milestones and prayer. We will explore Jewish history from Biblical times to the present and the evolution of Jewish thought. In addition, we’ll examine Jewish family and communal life, relationship with the Divine and the land of Israel.

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

Eating the Proverbs of Sephardic Jewry

Eating the Proverbs of Sephardic Jewry

Program: Hebrew College Tamid
Instructor: Ariella Amshalem  (Read Bio)
Dates: 7 Sundays, Fall 2024: 11/3, 12/8, 1/26, 2/9, 3/9, 4/6 & 5/18
Time: 10-11:30 a.m. ET
Course fee: $280, financial aid is available
Location: In Person at Hebrew College
Hosted by: Hebrew College and Co-Sponsored by the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion Hebrew Language
Registration:  Click here

“Refranes” are Ladino proverbs that help paint a picture of Sephardic culture. We will look at refranes (pronounced “refranehs”) that are food-centric and cook dishes related to the refran. In this way we will explore the community each dish comes from and learn about the significance of the food, or ingredients mentioned in the particular refran.

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