Course Topic: Jewish Texts & Contexts

Survey Course on the Modern Period of Jewish History: Tuesday Mornings In Person at Hebrew College

Program: Hebrew College Me’ah Classic
Instructor: Rabbi Leonard Gordon (Modern)  (Read Bio)
Dates: 11 Tuesdays, Winter/Spring 2024: 1/16, 1/23, 1/30, 2/6, 2/13, 2/27, 3/5, 3/12, 3/19, 3/26 & 4/2
Time: 9:30 – 11:30 a.m.
Cost: $360, financial aid is available
Location: In person at Hebrew College:  1860 Washington Street| Newton, MA 02466
Hosted by: Hebrew College

Beginning with the 17th century Age of Enlightenment, modernity posed a significant challenge to traditional Jewish culture, community, and identity, creating new social and economic opportunities but also threatening traditional Jewish values and society. As in each of the previous eras, modern Jews remained preoccupied with sacred texts, suggesting that however great the impact of rupture and discontinuity, their passion for reading and re-reading classical Jewish texts became the creative wellspring for modern Jewish thought.

You’ll delve into some of these modern primary texts representing differing ideological viewpoints — works of Jewish philosophers such as Martin Buber and Franz Rosenzweig, and Zionist thinkers such as Ahad Ha’am and Micha Josef Berdyczewski — that mirror the issues faced by Jews of that era.

And you’ll wrestle with the subtle points of comparison and contrast between Jewish modernity and the civilization we’ve inherited. Texts will examine the emancipation of European Jewry; the rise of Hasidism; the Jewish cultural revolution of Eastern Europe; and the birth of Modern Zionism.

NOTE: This course is part of our Me’ah Classic program that we are opening to all who wish to learn about Modern Jewry. We hope you will enjoy taking this course and then register for the other sections of Me’ah Classic.

For more information, contact meah@hebrewcollege.edu

Survey Course on the Rabbinic Period of Jewish History: Tuesday Evenings In Person at Hebrew College

Program: Hebrew College Me’ah Classic
Instructor: Rabbi Benjamin Samuels (Rabbinics)  (Read Bio)
Dates: 11 Tuesdays, Winter/Spring 2024: 1/23, 1/30, 2/6, 2/13, 2/27, 3/5, 3/12, 3/19, 3/26, 4/2 & 4/9
Time: 7-9 p.m.
Course fee: $425, financial aid is available
Location: In Person at Hebrew College: 1860 Washington Street| Newton, MA 02466
Hosted by: Hebrew College

The Rabbinic Period — the millennium from the Second Temple to the completion of the Babylonian Talmud (500 BCE to 600 CE) — refers to a time when new Jewish leaders, sages and rabbis emerged and developed rich texts of their own. Some of those texts took the form of extensive commentary about the earlier world of biblical Israel. During this seminal period, rabbinic scholars created a legal system which led to a Jewish belief system that has informed and ordered Jewish community, culture, and behavior for the past millennia.

Your instructor will guide you through enduring questions:

What is the relationship between God and human beings?
How do we understand Jewish history and Jewish ethics?
What is the role of ritual, holy days and life-cycle events?

Readings illustrate the development of the rabbinic mindset and talmudic beliefs. As with the Hebrew Bible sequence, you’ll first cover selected historical, textual, and conceptual areas, then examine core concepts in conjunction with Bible study to illustrate how beliefs and practices evolved over time.

NOTE: This course is part of our Me’ah Classic program that we are opening to all who wish to learn about the Hebrew Bible. We hope you will enjoy taking this course and then register for the other sections of Me’ah Classic.

Please contact meah@hebrewcollege.edu for more information.