Adult Jewish Education @ Midreshet Rockland
Fall 2014
NOTE: Classes begin on Wednesday, September 10 & Thursday, September 11
Sponsored by the Jewish Federation of Rockland Education Center
WEDNESDAY MIDRESHET CLASSES
9:30-10:45 am
W.1 A Flock of Black Sheep
Though we Jews are justifiably proud of so many of our achievers, we also have those we are not so proud of – the Jewish black sheep. We will look at about fifty of these outcasts and study the conditions under which they operated, what made them black sheep, and, surprisingly, why in many cases we may have changed our opinion of them. (This class should not be confused with the Famous & Infamous Jews class that was offered last year that featured only two or three of the infamous.) Marty will continue to offer his “early bird special” from 9:15-9:30 to all registered Midreshet students.
12 sessions (9/10-17, 10/1, 10/22-12/17)
Instructor: Dr. Martin O. Cohen
W.2 Women of Valor
In our male-dominated society the achievements of Jewish women have been downplayed. In this course we will discuss Jewish women who have made a significant impact on the society in which they lived. Meet Dona Gracia Mendes, a New Christian from Portugal, and learn about her secret network enabling Jewish Conversos to leave Portugal; Chana Szenes, who parachuted into Yugoslavia during WW II to assist in the rescue of Hungarian Jewry; Zivia Lubetkin, one of the leaders of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising and one of the only 34 fighters to survive the war; Henrietta Szold, the founder of Hadassah, who, had she been born in 1960 instead of 1860, would have become a rabbi; Lillian Wald, who originated and organized the Visiting Nurse Service and the Henry Street Settlement; and Angela Buchdahl, the Korean-American cantor and rabbi who in 2014 has been chosen as the senior rabbi of the Central Synagogue in NYC, one of the largest Reform synagogues in the US. We will offer a trip to places of interest connected to this course. Men are encouraged to take this course.
15 sessions
Instructor: Leslie Goldress
11:00 am -12:15 pm
W.3 Great Controversies in Jewish History
Two Jews, three opinions. From the Torah to the present, our people have been anything but monolithic in the way we view the world. We will review and discuss major controversies from ancient times to the present. From questions of leadership and prophecy in the Torah, to the authority of Jewish sages in the Talmud, from Maimonides to Shabbetai Tzvi, the Hasidim and the Mitnagdim, pre-1948 Zionism to Christian Zionism and much, much more, we will look at the key players and what they stood for. In this way, we may come to understand the merit of past, current and future controversies, if they are conducted “for the sake of Heaven.”
12 sessions
Instructor: Rabbi Daniel Pernick
Wednesday Lunch & Learn
12.30 – 1:45 pm
W.4 Israel and the Jewish People (Schmooze in the News)
Join our class and study with Timna, who lives in Jerusalem and is here as our liaison to Israel. Timna will keep us abreast of what is going on in her home country. We will discuss important news events from someone who lives the life. Whatever your views are about Israel, you will get so much out of this important class.
12 sessions
Instructor: Timna Mekaiten, Shlicha
THURSDAY MIDRESHET CLASSES
9:30-10:45 am
T.5 A Taste of Hebrew
Join us in this mini-ulpan class to learn Hebrew as it is spoken in Israel today. This course is designed for students with little or no previous experience with the language. We will focus on the communicative skills of listening and speaking. We begin with a review of the aleph-bet, to facilitate communication in both oral and written modern Hebrew as used in everyday life situations. Student participation and group discussion are essential elements of the class.
15 sessions
Miri Burman
11:00 am-12:15 pm
T.6 Science vs. Religion: Do We Have to Choose?
In our society science and religion are considered to be two diametrically opposed systems. The “new atheists” deride religion as counter to modern scientific thought, and blame religion for the worst crimes against humanity. In this class we will examine whether it is possible to live in the modern world and still hold on to the teachings of our religion. Rabbi Jonathan Sacks (former chief Rabbi of Great Britain) argues that science and religion are not mutually exclusive – and we need both. Using his book The Great Partnership: Science, Religion, and the Search for Meaning as text, we will explore science, history, politics, morality, and how we can find meaning in our technological world.
Please obtain a copy of the book before the first class. We will read it over the course of the semester. It is available through Amazon and other vendors. Amazon has hard cover, paperback and Kindle versions.
12 sessions
Rabbi Jill Hackell
Thursday Lunch & Learn
12:30 -1:45 pm
T.7 Christianity Through Jewish Eyes
In this course we will look at Second Temple Judaism to better understand the rise of Christianity, political history from the Maccabees to the Roman procurators, Jesus in Jewish sources and Judaism in Christian sources, the Gospels and parts of the New Testament and more – to better appreciate the relationship of the two faiths.
12 sessions
Instructor: Sharon Halper