Title: How did we get here? Civil Rights, Social Justice, and Race in American Jewish History (4 sessions)
Program: Open Circle Jewish Learning Social Action
Instructor: Professor Marc Dollinger (read bio)
Day and time: Thursdays, 7:30-9:00 p.m. Eastern Time
Dates: , August 15, 22, 29; September 5, 2024
Location: Online via Zoom
Fee: $160, Scholarships are available
Join pre-eminent historian, Professor Marc Dollinger for a deep dive into the important and timely topic of Jews, race, and racism in America. Begin by looking at the question of Jews and ‘whiteness,” a sometimes-controversial topic. The class will then examine anew Jewish involvement in the civil rights movement during the 1950s and early 1960s. Get ready for historical surprises as you investigate Professor Dollinger’s upcoming new edition of his book, Black Power, Jewish Politics: Reinventing the Alliance in the 1960s,on the contributions of the Black Power movement to Jewish ethnic and religious identity in the late 1960s and beyond. Finally, through the examination of historical documents, trace how racism in America intersected with Jewish life. This course is for everyone interested in learning more about this misunderstood topic.
*Hebrew College is organizing a Civil Rights trip to the South in September 2024 with Etgar 36. Details coming soon.
Hebrew College Open Circle Jewish Learning is 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.
Reparations, Restoration, and Renewal through Jewish Redemptive Narratives (4 sessions)
Program: Open Circle Jewish Learning Texts and Traditions
Instructor: Rabbi-Cantor Michael McCloskey
Day/Time: Tuesdays at 8-9:30pm Eastern
Dates: March 26: April 2, 9*, 16, 2024
Fee: $160 Scholarships available
Location: Online via Zoom
* Instructor may work with the class to select an alternate date for the third session.
Zecher L’tziat Mitzrayim, a remembrance of the exodus from Egypt, is a prominent motif within our prayers that we are obligated to remember all the days of our lives. Yet, perhaps because of discomfort or politics, we often leave out an integral part of the narrative: reparations. Our ancestors took them when they departed Egypt. As the call for reparations for people of color, whose ancestors were enslaved, and who have endured generational institutional theft, predation, violence, and more, has grown louder, Jews need to be a part of this crucial American conversation as well as allies for positive change. What insights does Jewish wisdom bring to this discussion? Join Rabbi Cantor Michael McCloskey, who has studied these primary texts with Rabbi Aryeh Bernstein, author of the “The Torah Case for Reparations” for a stimulating and heart-engaging text study around this complex and important concept.
Hebrew College Open Circle Jewish Learning is 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.
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
Love and Marriage in Rabbinic Tales of the Talmud
Bad@ass Broads of the Bible
Moses, A Life: A Study of Avivah Gottlieb Zornberg’s Biography of Moses
Bad@ass Broads in Midrash
Joseph and His Brothers
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
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.
Course Title: The Fragility of Democracy: The Rise of Nazism and its Lessons for Today’s Jewish Community
Program: Hebrew College Open Circle Jewish Learning: Social Action
Instructor: Jan Darsa
Partner Organizations: Shirat Hayam, Swampscott, MA
Day and time: Tuesdays, 7:30-9:00 p.m. Eastern Time
Dates: April 2, 9, 30; May 7, 14, 28; June 4, 18, 2024 (8 sessions)
Location: Online via Zoom
Fee: $200 Financial assistance is available.
How does a democratic society evolve into a dictatorship? What are the choices individuals make that enable this to happen? How does a thriving and socially integrated Jewish community become the target of vicious antisemitism, lulled into a fall sense of security that “it could never happen here?” In this course we will explore how it was possible that people who were thought to be the moral barometers of society, e.g. doctors, lawyers, and judges became enablers and participants in dictatorship and genocide? Just how did the Nazis build such a large and devoted following, and how was propaganda used to create allegiance and promote hatred?
The factors of politics and of human behavior that allowed Germany to transform itself from a democracy into a dictatorship will be examined. By looking at decisions people made during the rise and the subsequent takeover of power by the Nazis, we will explore this period of history and how the responsibility for sustaining a democracy and standing up against hate belongs to both its leaders and citizens. How can we work to prevent something like this from occurring again, and not succumb to the belief that “it could never happen here?”
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.