Registration for Winter “Intro” Now Open!

Image: Two hands fit two puzzle pieces together, with the words “Introduction” above and “To the Jewish Experience” written below. Artwork from pixabay, modified by Rabbi Ruth Adar.

On January 2, 2022, Introduction to the Jewish Experience will begin its winter session. There will be two separate classes offered every Sunday afternoon, Pacific Time:

Jewish History Through Texts

What is the Torah? Where did it come from? What are Midrash, Mishnah, and Talmud? What is “Jewish Law”? Where did antisemitism come from? How did the modern State of Israel come into being? How are these questions all connected?

This class is a look at Jewish history from the earliest times through about the year 1000 CE, with a quick look forward to the 20th century.  Sessions will alternate between stories about history and the texts of the Jews in that time. In the text weeks, we’ll experience the ways that Jews study text. 

No Hebrew is required, and no previous knowledge is assumed. This is one of three terms of Introduction to the Jewish Experience, but anyone is welcome to take this class.

Tuition is $200 for 8 sessions, or pay what you can. 

Class dates & times: January 2, 9,16, 23, 30 and February 6, 13, 20. Sundays, 3:30-5:00pm Pacific Time, via Zoom.

Please note that registrations will close–no exceptions!–before class on January 2. Please register before the end of 2021! Jewish History Through Texts will be offered again in January, 2023.

REGISTER HERE for Jewish History Through Texts.

Traditions of Judaism (Jewish Diversity)

Some things hold the Jewish world together, things we all share. Other things express the cultural, historical, and geographic diversities of Judaism. This class looks at both. Topics include those things we share, such as Shabbat, the synagogue, and the prayer service. Then we’ll look at the diversity of Jewish traditions: Sephardic, Ashkenazi, Mizrahi, and other groups, as well as North American Judaism. We’ll look at the movements of Judaism: Reform, Orthodox, Conservative, Reconstructionist, and Renewal. We finish up by looking at Jewish food customs, which are both shared and diverse.

No Hebrew is required, and no previous knowledge is assumed. This is one of three terms of Introduction to the Jewish Experience, but anyone is welcome to take this class.

Tuition is $200 for 8 sessions, or pay what you can. 

Class dates: January 2, 9,16, 23, 30 and February 6, 13, 20. Class dates & times: January 2, 9,16, 23, 30 and February 6, 13, 20. Sundays, 1:30-3:00pm Pacific Time, via Zoom.

@Please note that registrations will close–no exceptions!–before class on January 2. Please register before the end of 2021! Traditions of Judaism will be offered again from March – May, 2022.

REGISTER HERE for Traditions of Judaism.

Registration will close with the beginning of each class – no late registrations. After January 2, write to me at CoffeeShopRabbi -at- gmail.com to get on my mailing list for the next classes, which will begin in March, 2022.