Discover the amazing Hebrew College program that provides adults of all backgrounds with a foundation in Jewish culture and civilization. During this free “Taste of Me’ah” you will meet with one of our stellar instructors, enjoy a sample lesson, and learn how you can join the Hebrew College Me’ah journey in fall 2020.
Co-hosted by Temple Israel of Sharon & B’nai Tikvah, Canton
Facilitated by Me’ah Instructor Rabbi Leonard Gordon
Me’ah, supported by CJP, is the oldest Adult Learning program at Hebrew College. Me’ah — Hebrew for 100 — is led by outstanding faculty from Greater Boston academic institutions who are attuned to the needs of adult learners. Readings, text study, lectures and discussions focus on core texts from biblical, rabbinic, medieval, and modern times. Students receive a certificate during a graduation ceremony at the end of their second year.
Me’ah Classic welcomes students of all backgrounds. No prior formal Jewish education or knowledge of Hebrew is required. Financial aid is available to those who qualify.
Join us on Sunday, May 24 for Hebrew College Prozdor Graduation. We will be live streaming the ceremony on the Prozdor Facebook page from 11 am to noon.
Miller Center Director Rabbi Or Rose envisioned the project and enlisted long-time interfaith colleague Rev. Paul Brandeis Raushenbush, Senior Advisor at IFYC, to bring the project to life.
The project will begin with an online PsalmSeason Concert on June 8 at 7:30 pm EDT US, followed by the launch of the PsalmSeason digital platform—an 18-week exploration of the Psalms focusing one psalm each week. The selected psalms and contemporary reflections address the feelings of sadness, shock, dislocation, and fear brought on by the pandemic and social upheaval. They also provide solace, strength, and hope for a better future.
The project kicks-off on Monday, June 8, 7:30 pm EDT US with a live concert “PsalmSeason: A Playlist for our Time” featuring 18 musical and poetic expressions from a diverse group of performers from Ireland, Uganda, Israel, and the US. Performers will share pieces directly from the Psalms or inspired by its themes of lament and longing, comfort and strength, and gratitude and hope.
Rabbi Roly Matalon and the B’nai Jeshurun Musicians
Marty Lamar
BETTY
The Yuval Ron Ensemble
Deborah Sacks Mintz
Poor Bishop Hooper
Joey Weisenberg
Reverend Vince Anderson
Danny Maseng
Owen & Michael Padraig o Suilleabhain & Nóirín Ní Riain,
Abayudaya: The Jews of Uganda, introduced by Rabbi Jeffrey Summit
Ariel Horowitz
Paiter Van Yperen
Drew Drake
Alondra Bobadilla
PsalmSeason Summer 18-week Project
The multifaceted project, which will be hosted on IFYC’s Interfaith America website, will last 18 weeks — the number for “life” in Hebrew. The initiative offers individuals with a rich context in which to explore their swirling thoughts and feelings through the prism of this ancient and beloved collection of prayer-poems.
Featured Contributors
Contributors represent a range of religious, spiritual, and secular traditions, and include musicians, artists, poets, storytellers, scholars, and activists.*
Krista Tippett (NPR)
Father James Martin (America Magazine)
Sharon Salzberg (Insight Meditation)
Marilyn Nelson (Poet Laureate, Connecticut)
Imam Taymullah Abdur-Rahman (Massachusetts Department of Correction)
Dr. Ellen Davis (Duke University)
Rev. William Lamar IV (Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal Church in
Washington, DC)
Sarah Hurwitz (senior White House speechwriter for President Obama)
Conversations About Hebrew and the Jewish Experience
Hebrew At The Center is hosting four Compelling Conversations about Hebrew and the Jewish Experience. This second session, co-sponsored by Hebrew College, features Jeremy Benstein, Managing Editor of 929-English and Avraham Infeld, Founder of the Melitz Institute. Register to receive the Zoom link.
About the program
Join Avraham Infeld, a world-renowned educator and Jewish leader, and Jeremy Benstein, an author and trained linguist, as the discuss their shared passion about Hebrew as an elemental component of identity and a connector between a people and their purpose. Bringing their personal journey’s from growing up in South Africa and the American Midwest to living in Israel as committed Hebraists, Avraham and Jeremy will consider the status of Hebrew in America, the ways in which the language connects Jews to one another in time and space, and possible strategies to make Hebrew more meaningful to more people. Participants will be invited to both enjoy the story telling talents of these two thoughtful individuals and to post questions that will inform the lively conversation.
Speaker Bios
Jeremy Benstein is an educator, author and Hebrew lover with a BA in linguistics from Harvard, a master’s degree in Judaic studies and a doctorate in cultural anthropology. Originally from the Midwest, he moved to Israel over 35 years ago and helped found the Heschel Center for Sustainability in Tel Aviv. Currently the managing editor of 929-English (Tanakh: Age-Old Text, New Perspectives – www.929.org.il), his most recent book is Hebrew Roots, Jewish Routes: A Tribal Language In a Global World.
Avraham Infeld is a well-known Jewish educator who founded Melitz, an Israeli education nonprofit that fosters Jewish identity, served as the president of Hillel and was the first international director of Birthright. Born in South Africa and raised in a Zionist family, Avraham made aliyah to Israel and studied Jewish History and Bible at the Hebrew University, and Law at Tel Aviv University. Avraham is the recipient of the Hebrew University’s prestigious Samuel Rothberg Prize for Jewish Education, Hillel’s Renaissance Award, and recently received the Sylvan Adams Bonei Zion Lifetime Achievement Prize,“recognizing Anglos who have made a major contribution to the State of Israel.”
There will be two more session in the series:
Hebrew, Culture And Identity: Thursday, May 21 at 8:30 pm EDT with Nancy Berg, Professor at Washington University and Melissa Weininger, Professor at Rice University
Re-imagining The Future Of Hebrew In America: Sunday, May 31, 5:00 pm EDT with Sharon Avni, Professor at BMCC and Avital Karpman, Professor at the University of Maryland. Co-Sponsored With Hebrew College.
Tova will lead us in an art project to add peace, joy, and “shalom bayit” (domestic harmony) in your home during these complicated times. She will also share a second activity for you to do with your family on Shabbat as a way to add some calm amid the chaos. The art projects are inspired by two books by children’s book author and Boston native Linda Elovitz Marshall,Shh… Shh… Shabbat and Shalom Bayit: A Peaceful Home.
Note: this workshop is for all ages and requires minimal materials, all of which you can find around your house. You do not need to have read the two books in order to participate. Register below to receive list of materials.
Materials list
paper plate
crayons washable markers scissors (for parents only) paint brush cup of water paper towel pencil or sharpie piece of string/yarn to hang printed pdf template (if you don’t have a paper plate, you can use this instead)
Tova Speter is an artist, art therapist, art educator, and arts consultant based at Gorse Mill Studios in Needham, MA. She has a private practice that offers art therapy and mental health counseling services to clients challenged by various forms of anxiety, utilizing active art making as a therapeutic tool for self expression and healing. She is the founder and director of The MEM Project, a Boston-based venture that engages individuals and groups in meaningful Jewish art experiences; and works as a CJP consultant helping congregations and organizations explore innovative ways to infuse more arts-based experiences into their programming. Tova works with people of all ages and abilities, in a range of settings, and utilizes a number of different modalities and materials. Her work has been exhibited in local businesses, independent galleries, and Open Studios since 2003; and her mural projects (over 50!) have been empowering communities since 2005 both in the greater Boston area and internationally in Argentina, China, Panama, and Israel. Tova has a specialty in facilitating Jewish art workshops, and has worked in the intersection of arts and the Jewish experience for the past 20 years. More info at www.tovaspeter.com.
For more information, email Ahava Rosenthal, director of Parenting Through a Jewish Lens, at arosenthal@hebrewcollege.edu.
Conversations About Hebrew and the Jewish Experience
