Jewish learning New Year Celebration of Jewish Learning: Turn It, Turn It Again with Hebrew College

“If you love learning, keep learning! If Torah feels enriching and life-giving to you, keep making space for it in your week-to-week or day-to-day,” said Rabbi Shani Rosenbaum, one of the teachers at the upcoming free and open to the public Zoom event Turn It and Turn It Again: Renewing Our Torah Journey.

To celebrate the beginning of another year of Jewish learning and community, Hebrew College will host Turn It and Turn It Again on Thursday, Oct. 20, 2022 from 7-7:45 p.m. Whether you’ve been studying with us for years or you’re joining us for the first time, the event is open to everyone and anyone interested in our Community Education programs.

The celebratory event comes a few days after Simchat Torah, the annual celebration of the end of the Torah cycle and the beginning of the new one. Turn It and Turn It Again features an introduction by Rabbi Sharon Cohen Anisfeld, president of Hebrew College, followed by breakout teaching sessions with Hebrew College faculty members Rabbi Nehemia Polen, Rabbi Or Rose, Rabbi Shani Rosenbaum `21, and Dr. Susie Tanchel.

“This event is a meaningful way to put our vision for Jewish learning into practice,” said Vice President Susie Tanchel (right). “With a creative spirit and a value of openness, we seek to bring people into conversation with one another and with the text. We deeply value diverse opinions and are enriched by conversations in which we explore different possible interpretations of a text,” she added.

“At this evening of learning, we are offering multiple breakout groups because we know a singular topic or a particular teacher will not appeal to everyone,” said Tanchel. “Thus, we are offering many possible doors for entry, so more people will find a compelling connection in our community of learners.”

Like the renewal of the annual Torah cycle, it’s fitting to start our year of Jewish learning and community with the Book of Genesis (Bereishit). “In the early chapters of Genesis, God learned some new attributes of human beings that forever transformed their relationship,” Tanchel said of her session. “Through the exploration of a few biblical and rabbinic texts, we will discover ways in which our tradition maps onto our understanding of the educational experience and where it diverges from it.” Additionally, Rabbi Or Rose’s (right) breakout session will explore the relationship between Divine creativity and human creativity in the thought of the early Hasidic master Rabbi Moses Hayim Efrayim of Sudilkov, the grandson of the legendary Ba’al Shem Tov (d. 1760).

Rabbi Rosenbaum (right), whose breakout session Good and Mad? Divine and Human Anger in the Talmud will explore the Rabbis’ relationship to anger, added “if you’re craving deeper access, consider some intensive Hebrew study so you can enter the conversation with your ancestors in the original language. And if you’re finding that the more doors of Jewish learning and living open to you, the more you are yearning for this work to be the center of your life—studying to be a Jewish educator, a rabbi or a cantor could be a rich and meaningful path for you.”

Rabbi Nehemia Polen (right) will teach A Very Brief Introduction to Kabbalah. “Total immersion in the complexities of Kabbalah can take a lifetime—kabbalists might say, many lifetimes! Yet we will attempt to introduce some core ideas and dynamic processes of Jewish mysticism in this twenty-minute session, with an eye for suggesting contemporary resonances and surprisingly modern implications,” said Polen.

Register online to receive the Zoom link for the event. More information about the speakers and breakout sessions can also be found here.

Learn more about Hebrew College Adult and Teen Learning and fall course offerings here. Educators, learn about our professional development offerings through MaTaRoT: Hebrew College’s Center for Jewish Professional Learning & Leadership here.