- Pacific Time
Prof. Ariel Evan Mayse: Exploring Hasidism (In person or on Zoom)
In partnership with and at BASE-Bay, Rockridge
Come learn about the spiritual legacy and theology of Hasidism, a movement of mystical renewal founded in the 18th century whose fire continues into the present day. We'll pay special attention to teachings on devotion, prayer, community, ecology, and the possibility of finding the sacred in ordinary moments.
Wednesdays, January 10 and 31 @ 7–8:30, hybrid
Location
Base Bay Area
Base Bay Area is on the Berkeley-Oakland border in Rockridge. Exact location will be provided upon r
CA + Google Map
CA + Google Map
Instructor
- Pacific Time
Multiple Presenters: The Art of the Ketubah (Hybrid—on Zoom and at the Magnes Museum)
Hybrid Program
In partnership with the Magnes Collection of Jewish Art and Life
With ketubah artists David Moss, Deborah Ugoretz & Rachel Biale
The art of illuminating ketubot (Jewish marriage contracts) spans Jewish communities from India and Iran, to Europe, North Africa, and America. In the late 1960s several calligraphers and artists revived and re-envisioned this art, key among them David Moss in Berkeley (housed at the Magnes Museum) and Stuart Kelma... Read more
- Pacific Time Series
Multiple Instructors: Friday Torah Study 2025
Virtual Program
Join the Friday Morning Torah Study Group which has been meeting for 50+ years! Every week features a different teacher from among rabbis, scholars, Jewish educators, artists, and the lay leaders with which our community is blessed. Each session begins with the week's parasha (Torah portion) and emphasizes deep conversation and multi-faceted perspectives. We offer this program tuition-free, but ask that you please consider a donation to Ne... Read more
Register ➜Total Program Fee: Free74 spaces open
- Pacific Time
Profs. David Myers & Nomi Stolzenberg: Jewish Values vs. Democratic Values (on Zoom)
Virtual Program
This program is in memory of David Biale.
There has been discussion over the past thirty years about the vision of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state, as well as the compatibility of observant Jewish life and American democracy. Can the two—Jewish and democratic—be reconciled? The two presenters, one a Jewish historian, the other a scholar of American law, will explore the consonances and tensions between Jewish and democratic values in Israel and ... Read more
- Pacific Time Series
Daniel Matt: Exploring the Zohar in English
Virtual Program
Read and study the Zohar, the masterpiece of Kabbalah. Earlier series are available via Zoom session recordings. There is one free introductory session that is recommended for new students but not required.
Tuition ranges from $150–$300 (sliding scale). Full info (including sample videos) is available here.
Tuesdays, January 7, 14, 21, 2... Read more
Instructor
- Pacific Time
The Queen’s Table: An Evening of Mystical Delight
In partnership with Chochmat Halev, Berkeley
Join world-leading Kabbalah scholars Dr. Melila Hellner-Eshed and Dr. Daniel Matt in Berkeley for an unforgettable night. Come experience an evening of ecstasy and enchantment at Chochmat HaLev’s modern take on the Hassidic tisch. Join us as we reimagine the rituals of the Jewish mystics by gathering around a long candlelit table, sacred teachers illuminating ancient wisdom, wordless nigun melodies, libations... Read more
Register for this ProgramTotal Program Fee: $180.00
- Pacific Time
Deborah Apple: Moon, Mikveh, Magic
Virtual Program
This class will focus on the moon cycle’s connection to water and traditions of immersion from ancient Mesopotamian myths and rituals to Abrahamic religions—the Jewish mikveh, Christian baptism, and Islamic wudu. Participants will engage with traditional texts, and be given the opportunity to create a prayer or symbolic action echoing these texts.
Wednesday, April 2 @ 7–8:30pm, on Zoom
Instructor
- Pacific Time Series
Daniel Matt: Exploring the Zohar in Aramaic
Virtual Program
A partnership program of New Lehrhaus
Read and study the Zohar, the masterpiece of Kabbalah in the original Aramaic with Daniel Matt. The upcoming Zohar course (Series 31) runs from April 1 through May 20 on Zoom (including April 3, 24; May 1, 8, 15, 22) from 11am–12:15pm, Pacific. This course will explore volume 3 of The Zohar: Pritzker Edition.
Tuition ranges from $150-$300 (sliding scale). Full info (including... Read more
Instructor
Register for this ProgramTotal Program Fee: $300.00
- Pacific Time
Rabbi Yoel Kahn: Hineini! Here I Am!: Early Queer Jewish Liturgy
Hybrid Program
In partnership with Sha'ar Zahav, San Francisco, Congregation Beth El, Berkeley and Congregation Beth Am, Los Altos
“Hear the gay shouts of liberation in the tents of the just!” (Psalm 118:15). Reciting the festival liturgy on Pride Shabbat was an important innovation—first celebrated at Congregation Beth Simchat Torah in New York in 1973—and so was this early gay-inclusive new translation of the psalm. This session, in honor of LGBTQ Pride, will e... Read more
Instructor
Register ➜Total Program Fee: FreeZoom: Early Queer Jewish Liturgy 97 spaces openIn Person: Early Queer Jewish Liturgy 99 spaces open
- Pacific Time
Rabbi David Kasher: Torah from Sinai vs. Torah from Pumpedita
Virtual Program
In anticipation of Shavuot, this program will explore the relationship between the Torah given at Sinai and the Torah developed in the academies of Pumpedita. Through close readings of Talmudic texts and later philosophical and theological interpretations, we will examine the radical concept of the Oral Torah, and try to understand how rabbinic tradition balances sacred origin with human creativity.
Wednesday, May 28 @ 7–8:30 pm, on Zoom
Instructor
Register ➜Total Program Fee: $15.0095 spaces open
