Taking a basic Judaism class together is a great way to establish a shared understanding of Jewish traditions and practices. I encourage couples to take a class together and to spend time discussing what they learn.
The Course
(and by that they mean an introduction to Judaism)
With Emanu-El Clergy
“The Course” is a pathway for the adult learner who wishes to discover or deepen Jewish knowledge, non-Jews who are marrying a Jewish partner, and people who are considering conversion to Judaism. Taught by Senior Faculty of Temple Emanu-El. Graduates of “The Course” are encouraged to continue learning in the Tauber Jewish Studies Program.
Conversion students must complete all three trimesters of “The Course” before entering the mikvah (ritual bath for conversion).
The Course takes place Tuesday evenings over three trimesters and has rolling admission. Refreshments will be served.
Winter term topic is Space and Place: The Holy Land, Diaspora, and Community
Date: Tuesday nights beginning Jan. 11
Time: 7:00 – 9:00 pm
Place: Emanu-el, 2 Lake St., San Francisco
$36.00 members, $50.00 non-members (per trimester)
One-time book fee $65.00 (for members and non-members)
Register online at http://www.emanuelsf.org/register
My Big Fat Jewish Learning
With Josh Kornbluth and Rabbi Menachem Creditor
Ok, this is weird but it’s with Josh Kornbluth, what did you expect? Josh is studying with a rabbi and the schedule is all crazy and erratic. But doesn’t that sound fun? They will begin in Afikomen with a public event, they will read different interesting books and then talk. There will be some arguing, I trust. But I think we should go to the first gathering to see how it is.
Date for the first meeting is Sunday, Jan. 16
Time: 11 am
Place: Afikomen Judaica bookstore, 3042 Claremont Ave., Berkeley
Books: Biblical Prophets, The Prophet’s Wife by Milton Steinberg, text from the book of Hosea.
For more info: http://joshkornbluth.com/wordpress/?p=704
Introduction to the Jewish Experience
Part II: Torah, Memory and History
Taught by Rabbi Ruth Adar
As the Jews travel through history, we have recorded our experiences in various texts: Bible, Midrash, Mishnah, Talmud, Codes, Responsa literature, and the Prayerbook, which Jacob Petuchowski, a scholar of Jewish liturgy, has described as “the diary of the Jewish people.” This course will begin with an overview of Jewish history, followed by an examination of how those texts illuminate Jewish life in the past, as well as in the present day. The class will culminate in a study of the Haggadah, the “script” of the seder, and a model seder.
Please visit jexperience.wordpress.com for more on this class.
Date: Eight Wednesdays, January 19 – March 9
Time: 7:30 – 9:00 pm
Place: Congregation Beth El, 1301 Oxford St., Berkeley
Tuition: $95 for the public, $80 for members of Beth El or another Alameda county synagogue.
Introduction to the Jewish Experience takes place over three trimesters and has rolling admission.
Enroll online at: http://catalog.lehrhaus.org/course/2011/winter/I100B-CBE/