Jewish Spirituality & Mindfulness Archives

Create A Personalized Me’ah Select Course

Each semester, our Me’ah team works closely with groups who want to learn together, offering them unique course topics that meet their interest.

See a course you like in our online course catalog? Looking for something different? Interested in studying with a particular instructor? If you have a group of learners, from a synagogue, organization or just friends, who may wish to learn together and have a course designed to fit your specific interests, please contact us at meah@hebrewcollege.edu and we would be happy to work with you!

Sample Me’ah Select Courses from our Me’ah Faculty

Note: This is only a selection of courses and faculty from 2021-2023. Choose from these courses and instructors or the Me’ah team can work with you to create a course for your group.

Instructor: Dr. Jacob Meskin
An Introduction to the Modern Reading of Rashi
The Diverse Cultures of Contemporary Israel
Crucial Moments in Israeli History Through the Lens of Short Stories: Parts I & II
Tradition on the Screen II: Challenges & Joys of Traditional Jewish Life in Film
A Modern Introduction To The Thought Of Maimonides

Instructor: Rabbi Or Rose
Hasidic Narratives of Spiritual Growth, Loss, and Renewal
Abraham Joshua Heschel: Spirituality & Social Justice
The Mystical Quest: Kabbalah & Contemporary Jewish Experience

Instructor: Dr. Susie Tanchel
Ancient Responses to Modern Challenges
Honoring Many Voices
Connections and Disconnections: The Biblical World

Instructor: Rabbi Neal Gold
Sages and Dreamers: The Lives of the Rabbis of the Talmud
Encountering God Today
Beyond Statehood: How Early Zionism Transformed Jewish Life & Culture
The Passover Haggadah
Discovering the Art of Midrash

Instructor: Rav Rachel Adelman, PhD
The Problem of Evil Love and Marriage in Rabbinic Tales of the Talmud

Instructor: Rabbi Benjie Samuels
The Biblical Book of Judges: Leadership Amidst Lawlessness
Profiles in Leadership and Resilience: Exploring Biblical & Jewish Historical Personalities
Changes and Challenges for a New Generation

Instructor: Rabbi Nehemiah Polen
Music and Melody in Jewish Spiritual Practice
Gender Symbolism in Bible, Talmud & Midrash, Kabbalah and Hasidism

Create an Open Circle Jewish Learning Class

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.

Advanced Mussar Study/Practice Group

Program: Hebrew College Open Circle Jewish Learning: Mindfulness
Instructor: Rabbi Marcia Plumb (Read bio)
Dates: November 8, 15, 29, December 6, 13, 2023; January 10, 17, 24, 2024 (8 sessions)
Day and Time: Wednesdays, 4:30-6 p.m. Eastern Time
Session: Fall 2023
Cohort: Temple Shir Tikvah Winchester
Location: Online via Zoom
Fee: $320 Generous financial scholarships available

The instructor, and students at times, present texts from Jewish tradition and contemporary sources. The class engages with these texts in full group session, and in small breakout rooms. Between class sessions, students explore the middot through ongoing textual study, reflection, journaling, and kabbalot, or small mindfulness exercises. Essential questions are how do we understand the selected middot? How do we engage with the middot, the instructor, and each other to enhance our personal spiritual growth, our daily behavior, and the alignment between the two? How can each of us contribute to the growth of others in the group, and bring our learning to repair the world?

Hebrew College Open Circle Jewish Learning is for learners of all backgrounds.

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.

Parenting With Mussar

Course Title: Parenting with Mussar
Program: Open Circle Jewish Learning: Parenting and Grandparenting
Instructor: Rabbi Marcia Plumb
Day and Time: Wednesdays, 9:15-10:45 a.m. Eastern Time
Dates: Oct 25, Nov 8, 15, Nov 29, Dec 6, Dec 13, 2023 (6 sessions)
Location: Online via Zoom
Fee: $150 Financial scholarships available.

Parents often wish for an instruction manual as they raise their children, especially in challenging times. Parenting is one of the hardest jobs, and we need all the help we can get. Mussar is an ancient Jewish method for inner spiritual development. It gives us texts and guidance for finding balance, calm and objectivity in all aspects of life. In this course, we will use Mussar to help us become the best parents, and people, we can. Parents of all ages and stages are welcome. No prior experience with Mussar is necessary. Texts will be available in English.

Hebrew College Open Circle Jewish Learning classes are for learners of all backgrounds.

Canadian and other registrants from outside the US: please email Anna Katsevman to complete your registration. We apologize for the inconvenience.

Street Mussar (a.k.a. Applied Mussar)

Course Title: Street Mussar (a.k.a Applied Mussar)
Program: Hebrew College Open Circle Jewish Learning: Texts and Traditions
Instructor: Rabbi Eric Gurvis (Read bio)
Dates: March 5, 12, 19, 26; April 2, 9, 2024 (6 sessions)
Day and Time: Tuesdays 7-8:30 p.m. Eastern Time
Location: Online via Zoom
Session: Winter/Spring 2024
Fee: $240 Financial Scholarships available

Interest in the study and practice of Mussar has been expanding exponentially in recent years as the teachings of Dr. Alan Morinis, founder of The Mussar Institute; Rabbi Ira Stone, founder of the Center for Contemporary Mussar; along with other groups and individuals.

Reaching back through the generation of writers and teachers and picking up on the practices established by Rabbi Yisrael Salanter and his followers in establishing the Mussar Movement in 19th century Lithuania, growing numbers of Jews, and others, have been discovering the authentic spiritual path which emerges from the riches of Jewish tradition.

Studying and practicing Middot, “measures” or “soul traits” guide an individual along their life’s path with an eye towards becoming the best version of the person they can hope to be. Middot such as humility, honor, gratitude, truth, equanimity, simplicity, attentive listening and so much more can help us strive to be better people.

What happens when we take the teachings of the Mussar tradition and apply them to real life situations and circumstances in our lives and our time? How can Mussar inform our behavior and mindset as we find ourselves in the midst of difficult conversations, not an uncommon occurrence in our time? What might we draw upon from the Mussar tradition as we think about social media, and even media itself more broadly?

In this series we will explore the application of teachings from the Mussar tradition (as well as other aspects of our rich Jewish heritage) as we consider how these teachings can offer us guidance for our lives in the rapidly changing realities of the 21st century.

All texts will be presented with English translation.

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.

Living in the Image

Course Title: Living in the Image
Program: Hebrew College Open Circle Jewish Learning: Texts and Traditions
Instructor: Rabbi Eric Gurvis (Read bio)
Dates: October 17, 24, 31; November 7, 14, 21, 2023 (6 sessions)
Day and Time: Tuesdays 7-8:30 p.m. Eastern Time
Location: Online via Zoom
Session: Fall 2023
Fee: $240 Financial Scholarships available

One of the most profound teachings of Jewish tradition comes from the opening chapter of our Torah, the notion that each person is created B’tzelem Elohim – “in the image of God.” In this series we will explore how this concept evolved over the course of the development of Jewish tradition. How did the concept expand, and what does it mean for us, in our lives, to live mindful that we are created b’tzelem Elohim? How does and should this concept impact our lives and relationships?

We will explore texts (in translation) from the Bible, to the Rabbis, to medieval philosophy (such as Maimonides), the Mussar and Hasidic traditions, as well as contemporary Jewish thought.

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.