The Bible on One Foot What is the Hebrew Bible? Discover the three parts of the Tanakh - the Torah, the Prophets and the Writings. Delve into the central themes and over-arching questions of the five books of the Torah and learn how a Torah scroll is written. Study popular biblical stories along with some of the more esoteric books and characters featured in the Prophets and the Writings. Through an examination of its historical context, explore modern and traditional theories about who wrote the Bible and when and how it was canonized. No prior knowledge needed.
Back to the Beginning: Genesis In this course, we will focus on identifying and exploring the emerging central themes of the Torah as they appear in Genesis. These include: the beginning of the world, life and death, good and evil, sacred and profane, free will and divine omniscience, perceptions of and relationships with God, redemption and exile, and divine promises of land, seed, and covenant. No prior knowledge needed. Recordings of 10 2-hour class sessions with instruction and discussion: $180
Exodus: Healing From Trauma, Finding God This course will explore the central themes of Exodus: Is God with us or not? Does trauma change our relationship with God and the world? Can we find God and heal in a world that can seem to be chaotic and random? How do we find and communicate with God? We will seek to find new meaning in the Book of Exodus. If you have studied Torah your entire life or are entirely new to the endeavor, there will be something new for you to discover in this book, and in yourself. No prior knowledge needed. 10 2-hour sessions $180
God at Heart: Looking for God in All the Right Places What is at the heart of the Torah? Where does the Torah teach us to find God? Where can we find God now? This class will dive into the heart of the Torah to discover ways to find God in ourselves, in each other, and in the world. This knowledge is the most important teaching of the Torah. No prior knowledge of God, Torah, or Hebrew is needed, only willingness to look into the heart of Torah, and your own heart, and be open to what you find there. 5 2-hour sessions, $100
BaMidbar: In the Wilderness What happened in the wilderness following the Exodus? Why in the most desolate place do the Children of Israel learn how to become a community in whose midst God can dwell? Did the 40 years of wandering have a reason and a purpose? What was the fate of the generation that was freed from Egypt? Why? If you have studied Torah your entire life or are entirely new to the endeavor, there will be something new for you to discover in this book, and in yourself. No prior knowledge needed. 10 2-hour sessions $180
Deuteronomy: In the Plains of Moab Presented as Moses’ final words to Israel before his death, the book of Deuteronomy finds Israel in the Plains of Moab, about to cross the Jordan River and enter the Promised Land. Most if not all of the major themes that are present in the Chumash are present here, and more; we will struggle with these themes as they trouble and challenge us to ask questions as we work our way through this important final book of the Torah. Major new themes that appear in Deuteronomy are an emphasis on strict monotheism and obedience to the Torah of Moses, as well as a shift from experiencing God in primarily a visual way to experiencing God’s presence through the hearing of God’s word as taught and expounded by Moses. Found here as well are discussions of both prophecy and kingship, the beginning of the struggle for balance between them and the question of who is fit, or chosen by God, to lead the people. It can be said that Rabbinic Judaism has its origins in Deuteronomic thought; we will strive to find these origins of modern Judaism as we work our way towards understanding the text. Recordings of 10 2-hour class sessions with instruction and discussion: $180
Women in the Torah The Imahot, our biblical maternal ancestors, have been added to the liturgy by most liberal Jewish communities in North America. Perhaps neglected in our study of the earliest biblical narratives about Israel’s relationship with God, the Foremothers as depicted in Torah clearly had their own relationships with the Divine. Torah depicts them as both agents of the Divine Will and occasional challengers. This course will explore the biblical narratives about Eve, Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel, Leah, Miriam, Jocheved, and the midwives in Egypt. Occasional midrashim (legends) will be shared as well, including the story of Lilith, the first woman. No previous knowledge of Hebrew or the biblical text is required for this course. Recordings of 10 2-hour class sessions with instruction and discussion: $180
Finding God: Leviticus and Deuteronomy Leviticus and Deuteronomy are arguably the two most important books of the Torah, with Leviticus setting out a wide variety of ways that we can be in relationship with God, and Deuteronomy offering an alternative view of approaching the Divine that can be seen as the birthplace of rabbinic Judaism. Indeed, these books wildly diverge from each other in their views of finding and approaching the Divine. In this 10-session course, each book will be set in its own time and place, demonstrating the views of God that each has, and that emerge from their own context and understanding of how the world works. Recordings of 10 2-hour class sessions with instruction and discussion: $180
Spirit Dreams The "Joseph Cycle" of stories, found at the end of the book of Genesis, is longer than any other individual person's story in the Torah. As a result, we have an opportunity to learn about Joseph in depth and see his spiritual growth depicted in the biblical text in ways that we can see no other figure in the Torah. The Joseph Cycle always falls around Chanukah; which itself raises interesting questions. From what causes and in what ways does Joseph experience this growth? How does he come to see the world and his place in it in new ways, and how can we apply this insight to our own spiritual growth? How can we learn to see God in unfolding events in our lives, find our purpose in the world and honor the gifts we have been given by using them to make the world a better place? Recording of 1 class session with instruction and discussion: $36
Jews for Exegesis: Interpreting the Torah Jews have been interpreting the Torah almost since it was written. Some of our most important and well-known commentators, however, wrote their commentaries in the middle ages and very early modern period, and are known as the Rishonim, the early Rabbinic commentators, and the Acharonim, the later commentators. We will meet these great Jewish thinkers, learning about their contexts and thought through the introductions that each of them wrote to their commentaries on the Torah. Among others, we will read Rabbi Solomon son of Isaac (RASHI), his grandson Rabbi Solomon son of Meir (RASHBAM), Rabbi Moses Maimonides (RAMBAM), Moses ben Nahman (RAMBAN), Rabbi David Kimchi (RADAK), Rabbi Obadiah Sforno, and Don Isaac Abrabanel. No prior knowledge needed. Recordings of 5 2-hour class sessions with instruction and discussion: $100
Who Will Lead Israel? The books of Joshua and Judges follow the final book of the Torah, Deuteronomy, and contain two important voices. One voice, that of the “Deuteronomist,” finalizes the form and content of the Torah during the Babylonian exile, setting out a new way to find God in the book of Deuteronomy and continuing the story of promise and fulfillment that is at the heart of the Deuteronomic History (Joshua, Judges, Samuel and Kings). A companion voice, the storyteller, shares many important stories about strong men and women in Israel’s “history.” Starting with Rahab, the woman who greets Joshua as he first enters the Promised Land, and continuing to Samson and Delilah and more, we will read Joshua and Judges closely. We will view the texts through both the lens of Deuteronomic thinking and the eyes of the storyteller. No prior knowledge of the Hebrew Bible is required. Recordings of 8 2-hour class sessions with instruction and discussion: $150
The Books of I and II Samuel: Prophets, Kings, and the Women and Children of the Royal Circle The Books of I and II Samuel continue the Deuteronomic History (Joshua, Judges, Samuel and Kings) with the birth and election of Samuel the Prophet, the selection of Saul as the first King of Israel, and Saul’s succession by David, perhaps the most famous of all Israelite kings. Included are the stories of King David’s prolific love-life, soap-operatic tales of his many children, and battles over who will ascend the Davidic Throne. These books give the history of Israel from the concluding days of the period of the Judges—Samuel being considered the last of them—through the reigns of the first two kings, Saul and David, and continue the story through David’s old age. No prior knowledge of the Hebrew Bible is required. Recordings of 10 2-hour class sessions with instruction and discussion: $180
The Books of I and II Kings: Majesty and Divinity, Exile and Destruction The Deuteronomic History, which is found in the biblical books of Joshua, Judges, Samuel and Kings, comes to a stunning and tragic conclusion with the destruction and exile of the Northern Kingdom of Israel and the destruction of the First Temple accompanied by the death or exile of the Judean leadership. Included in these books are the exciting and magical tales of the prophet Elijah, as well as the stories of King Solomon the Wise. We will explore the author’s (the “Deuteronomist’s”) view of these destructions, reading the Books of I and II Kings in some depth. We will seek to gain an understanding of their place in the Hebrew Bible, their role in describing Israelite history and the history of the divided monarchy of Judah and Israel. No prior knowledge needed. Recordings of 10 2-hour class sessions with instruction and discussion: $180 The Prophets: First Isaiah and Jeremiah First Isaiah (chapters 1-39) prophesied in Jerusalem c. 740–700 BCE and witnessed the destruction and exile of the Northern Kingdom of Israel. The beginning of Isaiah’s prophetic career coincided with the onset of a highly critical period in the kingdoms of Israel and Judah. Babylonia and Syria raised a looming threat to the future independence and existence of both kingdoms. Jeremiah is the longest book among the Latter Prophets. He prophesied from the 13th year of the reign of the Davidic King Josiah, c. 627 BCE, until after the destruction of Judah by the Babylonians in 586 BCE. Jeremiah came from a priestly family of means and experienced the dramatic events from the dissolution of the Assyrian Empire to the fall of the Judahite kingdom in 587 BCE. No prior knowledge needed. Recordings of 10 2-hour class sessions with instruction and discussion: $180
The Prophets: Second Isaiah and Ezekiel This course will include the prophecies of Isaiah, who is believed to have written chapters 40–66, and which reflect the events of the Babylonian Exile (ca. 540 BCE). We will also delve into the book of Ezekiel who is said to have begun prophesying seven years before the final fall of Jerusalem. Ezekiel is an important witness to the hearts of the Israelites in exile and will shed light on how they understood their relationship with the Divine. No prior knowledge needed. Recordings of 10 2-hour class sessions with instruction and discussion: $180
The Minor Prophets The Minor Prophets are known in Jewish tradition as “The Twelve,” reflecting their much smaller size compared to Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel. We will explore the books of Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habbakuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi. No prior knowledge needed. Recordings of 10 2-hour class sessions with instruction and discussion: $180
Born Too Late? Jewish Literature Between the Bible and the Mishnah Written between 300 BCE and 70 CE, the 13 works of Jewish literature referred to as the Apocrypha were written in the land of Israel in Hebrew or Aramaic, except for two which were written in Greek, most likely in Alexandria. This course will provide an overview of these books, and a taste of some of the most important of them. Beginning with a brief history of the return of some Jews from the Babylonian Exile and the continuing dispersion of many Jews, we will read selections of these books that were written as responses to the Dispersion, the wake of Alexander the Great, the Romans and Herod the Great, and on through the Second Jewish Revolt. The Book of Judith, the Books of Maccabees and more will be explored. No prior knowledge needed. Recordings of 6 2-hour class sessions with instruction and discussion: $75
I’ve Heard of the Torah, But What’s a “Nakh”? This 7-session course will provide an overview of the books that comprise the Hebrew Bible. We will briefly introduce the Prophets (the Nevi’im) and the Writings (K’tuvim) and devote one session each to explore the five books of the Torah - their themes, main ideas, and over-arching questions. These three sections, Torah, Nevi’im and K’tuvim, comprise the Hebrew Bible, also known as the Tanakh, an acronym made up of the first letters of each section: Torah, Nevi’im, K’tuvim Tanakh. In addition, the course will offer an introduction to modern theories about who wrote the Bible. No prior knowledge needed.
Daniel, Ezra and Nehemiah At the end of the sixth century B.C.E., the kingdom of Judah was dismantled by the Babylonian empire. Jerusalem and the Temple were destroyed,and thousands of Judahites were exiled to Babylonia. The hero of the Book of Daniel is one of the exiled Judahites, a soothsayer at the Babylonian court under Nebuchadnezzar and Belshazzar, and at the Median and Persian courts in Babylon under "Darius the Mede" and Cyrus (died 529 B.C.E.). Return came about in 538 B.C.E., when the Babylonian empire was conquered by Cyrus the Great of Persia. Cyrus issued a famous edict, narrated at the very beginning of the book of Ezra, allowing Jews who wished to return to "Jerusalem that is in Judah” and build a “House for the God of Heaven” to do so. The book of Ezra and Nehemiah tells of the challenges and practical difficulties that the returnees faced, and the institution of the first public Torah readings in our history. Parts of Ezra and Daniel are written in Aramaic, the common language of the Middle East at the time of Ezra and Daniel. They are the only books of the Hebrew Bible that are not completely in Hebrew. Recordings of 10 2-hour class sessions with instruction and discussion: $180