Course Title: Israeli Current Events Beyond the Headlines
Program: Open Circle Jewish Learning Classic
Instructor: Jonathan Golden, Ph.D. (Read Bio)
Monday evenings, 7:30-9pm Eastern Time
February 26, March 4, 18, 25, April 1, 8 2024 (6 sessions)
Location: Online via Zoom
Session: Winter/Spring 2024
Fee: $240 Inquire about partial scholarships based upon financial need
Together, we will explore important topics in Israeli current events and draw connections between those events and broader trends in Israeli history, politics, and culture. Themes will include Israel-Diaspora relations, the possibilities of Jewish democracy, and conversations about Israel and the Jewish future.
Hebrew College Open Circle Jewish Learning classes are for learners of all backgrounds.
Canadian and other registrants from outside of the US: please email Cindy Bernstein to complete your registration. We apologize for the inconvenience.
Thank you for your interest in Hebrew College Open Circle Jewish Learning.
Starting in 2016, Hebrew College Open Circle Jewish Learning courses took place in living rooms and synagogue meeting rooms, creating safe, intimate spaces to strengthen social connections through shared learning journeys. Open Circle Jewish Learning has expanded with online learning to include learners from as far as the FIJI Islands and Australia!
Open Circle Jewish Learning brings groups of friends together to learn with veteran and new instructors. Designed for learners of all backgrounds, sometimes groups approach the Open Circle Jewish Learning team to request a course in a specific topic, and we work to match instructors with groups. Sometimes instructors submit course proposals (in May and November) after coordinating with student groups.
Some topics that groups of students are interested in are: Jewish Texts, Ritual, Israel, History, Jewish Thought, Holidays, Calendar, Social Action, Young Adults, Mussar, Spirituality, Parenting, Grandparenting, Art and Culture. We welcome the opportunity to match your interests with instructors.
For instructors wishing to teach through Hebrew College Open Circle Jewish Learning, we welcome the opportunity to understand your particular passions and keep your name handy for groups looking to learn a topic within your area of expertise.
Student groups and instructors are invited to contact the Hebrew College Open Circle Jewish Learning Team at opencircleregistration@hebrewcollege.edu.
Research shows that learning and knowing about family history helps build resilience in children of all ages. Judaism is a religion of stories. We tell the same Torah stories over and over and each time they have new meaning with the Passover Seder being the most famous example. As grandparents, sharing our stories is one of the most important things we can do for our grandchildren. Today our stories can be told in many ways, from sitting on a lap to sitting at computers across the world. They can be shared in words, in music and in pictures.
Join other grandparents to reflect on our stories, explore the Jewish wisdom around the value of storytelling, and share practical approaches to becoming impactful stewards of our family narrative. We will meet at Lehrhaus – a new Jewish Tavern for Learning in Somerville, MA.
Course Title: Parenting Through a Jewish Lens Chelmsford MA Program:Open Circle Jewish Learning, Parenting and Grandparenting Partner Organization:Congregation Shalom, Chelmsford, MA Instructor:Carolyn Keller Day and Time: Sundays, 9:30-11:00 a.m. Dates: 10/15, 22, 29; 11/5,19; 12/3, 2023 (6 sessions) Location: In-person, Congregation Shalom, Chelmsford, MA Fee: $150 per person *Congregation Shalom members, $100 per person
Financial scholarships available.
Join a group of fellow parents of young children to discuss topics that matter to you as a parent; reflect on the joys and challenges of raising kids today; and find support, encouragement, and connection. Our curriculum helps parents discover the many ways in which Jewish sources of wisdom can inform their choices. Topics will include Towards Joyful Parenting, Shabbat: A time to Recharge and Reconnect, and Finding Peace in Our Homes, among others.
Course Title: I Am My Beloved’s: Navigating Life’s Journey for Young Adult Couples (5 sessions) Program:Open Circle Jewish Learning Young Adult Partner Organization:Modern Jewish Couples Instructor: Rabbi Jen Gubitz Day and Time: Wednesdays, 6:30-9:00 pm * includes Havdalah get together and Shabbat dinner. All Wednesday sessions include dinner starting at 6:30. Dates: October 18, 25, November 1, 8, 29; Havdalah Saturday, November 4th; Shabbat dinner, Friday, December 8th, 2023 Location: In-person, Village Works, Brookline, MA Fee: $125 per person * $100 per person through Modern Jewish Couples. Financial scholarships are available.
Connect with your partner and other couples to explore essential conversations for navigating life’s journey, such as ritual, money, rest, and legacy. This cohort is designed for beloveds – young adult couples on the road to committed partnership or early years of marriage. Whether you identify as Jewish, Jew-ish, interfaith, queer or are in a relationship with someone who identifies as such, Jewish tradition offers a framework for meaningful conversations between partners committed to their shared future, with love. Through guided questions, texts, and discussion prompts, we’ll engage in deep conversation and reflection! Each gathering begins with dinner and an opportunity to connect with other couples, and the chance to dive into Jewish learning and conversation. Registered couples will be asked to fill out an introductory questionnaire and will be offered a 30-minute session with Rabbi Gubitz so she can get to know you! Our session focused on money will be in partnership with Ariel Nathanson from Finances for Feminists.
This experience is generously supported by CJP, the Covenant Foundation and the Natan Fund.
From “Angels in America” to “Transparent”, from “Bent” to “Yentl”, we will set out to explore the intersection of Jewish identities and queer identities in fictional characters from the worlds of film and television. Are these identities separate or interconnected? Do they stand in juxtaposition, or do they complement each other? What does it mean for these characters to be Jewish AND Queer, and how does it shape their trajectories? We will watch excerpts from some of the works above (warning: contains spoilers!) and analyze these questions together using biblical, contemporary and academic texts, layering Jewish history, Jewish thought, midrash and more in our deconstructing and reconstructing of these characters’ journeys. This course aims not only for students to become familiar with diverse examples of queer Jewish characters in film and television, but also, to better equip them in examining these characters’ complex worlds and – through their stories – explore our world today through a queer and Jewish lens.
Hebrew College Open Circle Jewish Learning classes are for learners of all backgrounds.
Registrants from Canada, UK, EU and Australia: please email Cindy Bernstein to complete your registration. We apologize for the inconvenience.
