Course Topic: Jewish Text & Wisdom

After Anatevka:
Jewish Theatre Today

After Anatevka: Jewish Theatre Today

Program: Hebrew College Tamid
Instructor: Elliot Lazar (Read Bio)
Dates: 5 Mondays, Spring 2025: 4/21, 4/28, 5/5, 5/12 & 5/19
Time:  7-8:30 p.m. EST
Course fee: $200, financial aid is available
Location: Zoom
Hosted by: Hebrew College
Registration:  Click here

“After Anatevka” will explore a wealth of Jewish-themed plays through discussion. Like the 2021 course, “Beyond Fiddler: Jewish Identity in American Theatre” it will have the feel of a moderated, bespoke book club. Each week will explore a different play. Students will be given the opportunity to read or watch the piece in advance of the class, should they choose to. The class will consist of an exploration of the background and legacy of the playwright and work, reading and analyzing excerpts as a group and an open discussion of the piece. Some of the works which will be included are: Tom Stoppard’s Leopoldstadt, which is centered on a largely assimilated wealthy family in Vienna through several decades beginning in the late 19th Century all the way beyond WWII. Joshua Harmon’s Prayer for the French Republic, which follows a French Jewish family as they struggle with their identity due to rising tensions from anti-Semitic attacks. Tadeusz Slobodzianek’s Our Class, the most produced modern Polish play outside of Poland, inspired by the 1941 killing of 1600 Jewish residents of a Polish town, creating a backstory as well as tells us what happened over eight decades to ten classmates, five Catholic Polish and five Jewish Poles who start out as friends in grade school. Stefano Massini’s The Lehman Trilogy, which chronicles the lives of three immigrant brothers from when they arrived in America and founded an investment firm through the collapse of Lehman Brothers in 2008. The Runner, by Christopher Morris, which has become a controversial work in our post-October 7th world, having had two productions canceled in the past year. This award-winning play from Toronto’s Tarragon Theatre follows Jacob, a Z.A.K.A. volunteer. Z.A.K.A is an Orthodox Jewish volunteer force in Israel. They collect the remains of Jews killed in accidents. When Jacob makes the split-second decision to treat a young woman, instead of the soldier she may have killed, his world is changed forever.

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

Sinai and Science:
Conflict or Congruence?
In Person at Temple Emunah, Lexington

Sinai and Science: Conflict or Congruence?

Program: Hebrew College Tamid
Instructor: Rabbi Benjamin Samuels (Read Bio)
Dates: 8 Tuesdays, Spring 2025: 2/4, 2/11, 2/18, 2/25, 3/4, 3/11, 3/18 & 3/25
Time:  9:30-11:30 a.m. EST
Course fee: $400, financial aid is available
Location: In Person at Temple Emunah, 9 Piper Road, Lexington, MA
Hosted by: Temple Emunah
Registration:  Click here

In this course, we will explore ways of relating Judaism and Science in Jewish thought and law including 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 additional information or questions, contact the Hebrew College Tamid Team

 

Zionism Now: Crucial Debates, New Ideas – Online via Zoom

Zionism Now: Crucial Debates, New Ideas – Online via Zoom

Program: Hebrew College Tamid
Instructor: Dr. Jacob Meskin (Read Bio)
Dates: 10 Tuesdays, Spring 2025: 2/25, 3/4, 3/11, 3/18, 3/25, 4/1, 4/8, 4/22, 4/29 & 5/6
Time:  9:30-11:30 a.m. EST
Course fee: $500, financial aid is available
Location: Zoom
Hosted by: Hebrew College
Registration:  Click here

Like any living, vital tradition of thought, Zionism has continued to change over time. In this course we will study contemporary developments both in the state of Israel and within the tradition of Zionist thought. We will also examine some contemporary critiques of Zionism from outside that tradition. We will be focusing on arguments about the state of Israel, the Jewish people, the Palestinians, and the Middle East more broadly. In addition, we will explore certain currents of thought that inform these arguments, e.g., post-colonialism.

After an initial week reviewing the early history of Zionism and familiarizing ourselves with the continuum of Zionist perspectives, we will move on to examine essential issues and debates that have surfaced in recent Zionist thought. These include: –arguments over the status of Zionism as a species of nationalism; –different ways of evaluating the particularism of Zionism in an era of “globalism and cosmopolitanism”; –the intense controversy over the proposed “judicial overhaul” that preceded the tragedy of October 7; –changes in the tradition of religious Zionism; –important new approaches to understanding the challenges of the state of Israel’s being at once Jewish and democratic; –different assessments of the role of Zionism for Jews living in the diaspora; –new, and distinct, views of religion in Zionism and in Israeli life; –radically divergent Zionist and Palestinian narratives of the history of Israel, and –Palestinian critiques of Zionism, and Zionist responses.

In addition to short excerpts from the writings of a number of famous thinkers, every effort will be made to select essays and articles that are accessible. Moreover, wherever possible, film clips, audio of live interviews (with written transcripts), and other alternative media will be included. Depending on availability, we will attempt to have live sessions with important folks in Israel working on these questions.

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

Zionism Now: Crucial Debates, New Ideas – In Person at Temple Beth Elohim

Zionism Now: Crucial Debates, New Ideas – In Person at Temple Beth Elohim

Program: Hebrew College Tamid
Instructor: Dr. Jacob Meskin (Read Bio)
Dates: 10 Mondays, Spring 2025: 2/24, 3/3, 3/10, 3/17, 3/24, 3/31, 4/7, 4/21, 4/28 & 5/5
Time:  9:30-11:30 a.m. EST
Course fee: $500, financial aid is available
Location: In Person at Temple Beth Elohim, Wellesley
Hosted by: Temple Beth Elohim
Registration:  Click here

Like any living, vital tradition of thought, Zionism has continued to change over time. In this course we will study contemporary developments both in the state of Israel and within the tradition of Zionist thought. We will also examine some contemporary critiques of Zionism from outside that tradition. We will be focusing on arguments about the state of Israel, the Jewish people, the Palestinians, and the Middle East more broadly. In addition, we will explore certain currents of thought that inform these arguments, e.g., post-colonialism.

After an initial week reviewing the early history of Zionism and familiarizing ourselves with the continuum of Zionist perspectives, we will move on to examine essential issues and debates that have surfaced in recent Zionist thought. These include: –arguments over the status of Zionism as a species of nationalism; –different ways of evaluating the particularism of Zionism in an era of “globalism and cosmopolitanism”; –the intense controversy over the proposed “judicial overhaul” that preceded the tragedy of October 7; –changes in the tradition of religious Zionism; –important new approaches to understanding the challenges of the state of Israel’s being at once Jewish and democratic; –different assessments of the role of Zionism for Jews living in the diaspora; –new, and distinct, views of religion in Zionism and in Israeli life; –radically divergent Zionist and Palestinian narratives of the history of Israel, and –Palestinian critiques of Zionism, and Zionist responses.

In addition to short excerpts from the writings of a number of famous thinkers, every effort will be made to select essays and articles that are accessible. Moreover, wherever possible, film clips, audio of live interviews (with written transcripts), and other alternative media will be included. Depending on availability, we will attempt to have live sessions with important folks in Israel working on these questions.

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

Women and Water;
Creating Sacred Spaces

Women and Water; Creating Sacred Spaces

Program: Hebrew College Tamid
Instructor: Yoreshet D’Vorah Grenn, PH.D (Read Bio)
Dates: 4 Fridays, Spring 2025: 4/25, 5/2, 5/9 & 5/16
Time:  10-11:00 a.m. EST
Course fee: $120, financial aid is available
Location: Zoom
Hosted by: Hebrew College and co-sponsored by Mayim Chayim
Registration:  Click here

This course will explore how and when Jewish women have used water for sacred purposes, from handwashing to ritual bathing marking times of transition, celebration, grief and a range of lifecycle events. We will discuss the transformative potential of performing or creating our own water rituals, which can be ways of connecting with the Source of Life throughout our day. Resources will include the text Women and Water by Rahel Wasserfall; handouts/online resources, and experiential work.

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

Israel In Jewish Thought

Israel in Jewish Thought

Program: Hebrew College Tamid
Instructor: Matthew Schultz (Read Bio)
Dates: 4 Sundays, Spring 2025: 2/16, 2/23, 3/2 & 3/9
Time:  12 Noon – 1:30 p.m. EST
Course fee: $160, financial aid is available
Location: Zoom
Hosted by: Hebrew College
Registration:  Click here

This online class, Israel in Jewish Thought, explores the profound and evolving role of the Land of Israel within Judaism. The Jewish people’s relationship with Israel is complex, blending theological, historical, and spiritual dimensions that extend far beyond contemporary political discourse.Through close readings of classical and contemporary Jewish texts, this course will delve into the dialectic between exile and return, wandering and settling, exploring how these ideas shape Jewish identity and beliefs. We will examine foundational theological perspectives on the land, as well as the historical development of Jewish ties to Israel, offering participants a chance to deepen their understanding of this central, multifaceted aspect of Jewish tradition.

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