Care to Make it Interesting
In the 1990s, when I was directing the Center for Jewish Studies at the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, a most unusual PhD student walked into my office: a former yeshiva bocher (Orthodox seminary student) who could recite both complex…
Happy Hanukah – Banishing the Darkness
David Waksberg, recently shared these thoughts with me. These days, the reminder that goodness can prevail against seemingly impossible odds helps to keep despair at bay. This story is from former Soviet prisoner Ari Volvovsky. Among the things I like...
Standing on the shoulders of our predecessors
Board member David Waksberg reflects on his participation in New Lehrhaus My earliest memory of Jewish schooling was learning about Abraham smashing his father’s idols. No surprise, this midrash about Abraham as a child is accessible and relatable for young children and it...
Zipperstein – Biale Friendship as Old as Lehrhaus Judaica
I asked three of our New Lehrhaus leaders, Rachel & David Biale and Steve Zipperstein to reflect on their longtime friendship. Rachel Biale says this: David and I met Steve Zipperstein at UCLA in 1973, when we were all studying...
Hebrew & Yiddish Classes!
Whether you were born Jewish and never learned Hebrew (perhaps despite hours warming the chair at Hebrew School...) or you chose Judaism as an adult, tackling a new language IN A NEW ALPHABET is daunting. Yet mastery of even the...
Reading Yiddish Lit with Naomi Seidman
Naomi Seidman is one of our most popular teachers and we are thrilled she is returning this fall with this remarkable class. You've no doubt heard of Sholem Aleichem, but perhaps not the other Yiddish writers she will discuss. I'm...
Bible Class with UCB Professors
Let’s take a look at an exciting class that is coming in November, The Bible Now: Literature and History of the Hebrew Bible. This course is a multilayered introduction to the Bible, addressing such issues as the relation of traditional texts...
And We’re Back in Business!
We hope you saw the latest article in the J-weekly, It’s back! New Lehrhaus to kick off first classes next month. That's right, our classes begin in October. There is tremendous excitement and enthusiasm amount instructors and students. We hope you'll...
“New Lehrhaus” in the News
We thought it would be useful to give everyone a recap on what's happened in the last two months to Lehrhaus. The J-weekly has covered it well. First, there was the announcement of the closure of HaMaqom (formerly Lehrhaus Judaica)....