Rabbi Peretz Wolf-Prusan
Maimonides’ “The Eight Chapters” just might be the best introduction to his philosophy, and perhaps to all medieval Jewish philosophy. It is a prescription to you, his beloved reader, for a healthy mind, body and soul.

Joshua Horowitz
Explore Jewish musical themes in wedding music, the synthesis of “Gypsy” and Jewish music, the case of a 19th-century traveling Hasidic musician, an analysis of the only surviving pre-war Yiddish opera, and an instrument that previously defined klezmer music but has since been forgotten.

Rabbi Peretz Wolf-Prusan
Maimonides’ “The Eight Chapters” just might be the best introduction to his philosophy, and perhaps to all medieval Jewish philosophy. It is a prescription to you, his beloved reader, for a healthy mind, body and soul.

Joshua Horowitz
Explore Jewish musical themes in wedding music, the synthesis of “Gypsy” and Jewish music, the case of a 19th-century traveling Hasidic musician, an analysis of the only surviving pre-war Yiddish opera, and an instrument that previously defined klezmer music but has since been forgotten.

Dr. Tareq Abu Hamed and Prof. Yael Teff-Seker
This session will focus on how research and activism on environmental challenges, with a special emphasis on water, build bridges between Israeli Jews and Arabs, Palestinians, and Jordanians.

Naomi Seidman
Explore the ways Yiddish literature—and in particular Sholem Aleichem’s Tevye stories—expressed Jewish ambivalence toward what Ian Watt calls “the sex religion,” the modern ideology of freedom to choose one’s own mate.

Professor David Biale, UC Davis (Emeritus); Dr. Chen Mandel-Edrei, Open University of Israel; and Professor Marcin Wodziński, University of Wroclaw, Poland
Three academicians representing three generations of research will share their perspectives on Hasidism’s evolution and its shifting role within the global Jewish world.

Orli Bein with New Israel Fund grantees Sally Abed and Alon-Lee Green of Omdim Beyachad (Standing Together) and Ahlam Kasim Ali and Lev Littman of Tzedek Centers

Bonnie Weiss
The essential contributions of composer Jerry Bock, lyricist Sheldon Harnick, director/choreographer Jerome Robbins and book writer Joseph Stein includes recorded interviews, captivating performances, and two fascinating songs cut from the show before opening night.

The series features projects that create bridges between Israelis and Palestinians, as well as neighboring Jordan. SESSION 1: Medicine (Project Rozana) and Technology (Tech2Peace) with Kenneth Bob, Uri Rosenberg and Abeer Bandak

Dr. Sarah Levin
Jews Among Berbers (Imazighen) in the Atlas Mountains (photographs of Elias Harrus)

Presenters: Bruce Phillips, Steve Chester, Brittany Couture and Robin Mencher

Dr. Alma Heckman
Jews & Politics in 20th Century Morocco

Dr. Vanessa Paloma Elbaz
Moroccan Jewish Music: Inner Power & Outer Politics

Howard Simon
This inquiry into violence and non-violence in Jewish tradition employs Gandhi’s model of satyagraha as a benchmark for non-violent resistance.  

Naomi Seidman
Matchmaking and Modernity: The Ambivalent Move from Arranged Marriage to Romantic Love

Howard Simon
This inquiry into violence and non-violence in Jewish tradition employs Gandhi’s model of satyagraha as a benchmark for non-violent resistance.  

Prof. Steve Whitfield
Black lawyers were too few to make a difference in the 1960s, and local white lawyers rarely wished to advance civil rights. Mostly Northern Jewish attorneys stepped in to fill this historic vacuum.

Rabbi Yoel Kahn
A broad introduction to the arc of Moroccan Jewish history

Howard Simon
This inquiry into violence and non-violence in Jewish tradition employs Gandhi’s model of satyagraha as a benchmark for non-violent resistance.  

Bonnie Weiss
A musical journey from “I Have a Little Dreidel” and “Rock of Ages” to original songs, hilarious Tom Lehrer satiric numbers, and Hanukkah-themed new lyrics set to music by Leonard Bernstein and other acclaimed composers

Dr. David Biale
The reason we celebrate Hanukkah turns out to be more complicated than what we learned as children. We may also be surprised at how little the rabbis of the Talmud understood about Hanukkah, the only Jewish holiday not mentioned in the Bible.

Rabbis Chai Levy and Peretz Wolf-Prusan
The Jewish Community and Clergy

Moderator: Riva Gambert
Discussion of Stephen Fry’s documentary film “Wagner & Me”

Profs. Michael Krasny, Robert Alter, Eva Mroczek and Liora Halperin
Cancel culture in literature and scholarship

Robert Alter & Ron Hendel
We explore the poetry and philosophy of Qohelet (or Kohellet, Ecclesiastes) in the context of biblical and ancient Near Eastern wisdom literature.

Robert Alter & Ron Hendel
An exploration of the poetry and philosophy of Qohelet (or Kohellet, Ecclesiastes) in the context of biblical and ancient Near Eastern wisdom literature

Eleanor Shapiro
1988-2008: From Oslo to Stalemate

Robert Alter & Ron Hendel
An exploration of the poetry and philosophy of Qohelet (or Kohellet, Ecclesiastes) in the context of biblical and ancient Near Eastern wisdom literature

Eleanor Shapiro
From the Six-Day War to the First Intifada (1968 – 1988)

Dr. Jehon Grist
Many scholars believe king Ramses II was the Pharaoh of the Exodus. We’ll examine the pros and cons of this claim and also delve into the fascinating world he ruled.

Robert Alter & Ron Hendel
An exploration of the poetry and philosophy of Qohelet (or Kohellet, Ecclesiastes) in the context of biblical and ancient Near Eastern wisdom literature.

Uri Schreter
Musicologist Uri Schreter presents his research on American Jewish weddings in the 1950s, based on recordings, archives, and interviews with klezmorim from that era.

Ken Bob
Israel’s fifth election in 3 years speaks volumes on its deeply divided society and the fragmentation of its political parties.

Eleanor Shapiro
1948 – 1967: Independence / Nakba

Dr. Jehon Grist
Many scholars believe king Ramses II was the Pharaoh of the Exodus. We’ll examine the pros and cons of this claim and also delve into the fascinating world he ruled.

Eleanor Shapiro
Mandate Palestine, part 2 (1936 -1948)

Eleanor Shapiro
Mandate Palestine (1922-1936)

Eleanor Shapiro
Setting the Stage: Late Ottoman Empire – end of WWI

Prof. Daniel Boyarin
The Talmud has been compared to an ocean. Prof. Boyarin offers “beginners’ floaties” so you can start swimming in this expansive, complex, and often enigmatic foundational text of Jewish culture.

Dr. Jehon Grist
This session explores how Jews made their way to Mexico in the early 16th century, and how they suffered and prospered through the centuries.

Prof. Daniel Boyarin
The Talmud has been compared to an ocean. Prof. Boyarin offers “beginners’ floaties” so you can start swimming in this expansive, complex, and often enigmatic foundational text of Jewish culture.

Dr. Jehon Grist
An overview of the history of Mexico from the Olmec to Aztec pre-colonial cultures, through the Spanish occupation, and on to the birth and growth of the independent state

Prof. Daniel Boyarin
The Talmud has been compared to an ocean. Prof. Boyarin offers “beginners’ floaties” so you can start swimming in this expansive, complex, and often enigmatic foundational text of Jewish culture.

Prof. Daniel Boyarin
The Talmud has been compared to an ocean. Prof. Boyarin offers “beginners’ floaties” so you can start swimming in this expansive, complex, and often enigmatic foundational text of Jewish culture.

Prof. Andrew Porwancher
First debunking a string of myths about Hamilton’s origins, Prof. Porwancher arrives at a startling conclusion: Hamilton was, in all likelihood, born and raised Jewish.

Penny Wolin
Over six years, Wolin had in-person encounters with 70 leading American Jewish photographers, including Robert Frank, Annie Leibovitz, and Arnold Newman. With a visual and verbal discussion, we will explore the motivations of Jews in photography.

Dr. Larry Lesser
Explore—in a lively, interactive way—how math concepts can help illuminate some big ideas in Judaism, including the value of life, the value of commandments, and the coexistence divine transcendence and immanence.

Attorney Linda Scaparotti
What’s Next: Legal Implication and Looming Battles

Bonnie Weiss
How are Jewish religion and tradition and the qualities inherent in the Yiddish language reflected in the songs written by Jewish lyricists including Lorenz Hart, Oscar Hammerstein, Ira Gershwin, Yip Harburg, Dorothy Fields, Sheldon Harnick, and Alan Jay Lerner?

Roslyn Banish
Focus on Abortion: Americans Share Their Stories: A Photographic Journey

Bonnie Weiss
How are Jewish religion and tradition and the qualities inherent in the Yiddish language reflected in the songs written by Jewish lyricists including Lorenz Hart, Oscar Hammerstein, Ira Gershwin, Yip Harburg, Dorothy Fields, Sheldon Harnick, and Alan Jay Lerner?

Rabbi Yoel Kahn, Avi Rose & David Weissman
A panel discussion by key leaders/witnesses reflects on the AIDS crisis in the Bay Area and beyond, and on its impact on the Jewish community.

Prof. Carole Joffe & Dr. Debbie Bamberger
The Abortion Wars: The social-political-cultural divide, impact on public health and Jewish values undergird working as an abortion provider

Bonnie Weiss
How are Jewish religion and tradition and the qualities inherent in the Yiddish language reflected in the songs written by Jewish lyricists including Lorenz Hart, Oscar Hammerstein, Ira Gershwin, Yip Harburg, Dorothy Fields, Sheldon Harnick, and Alan Jay Lerner?

Bonnie Weiss
How are Jewish religion and tradition and the qualities inherent in the Yiddish language reflected in the songs written by Jewish lyricists including Lorenz Hart, Oscar Hammerstein, Ira Gershwin, Yip Harburg, Dorothy Fields, Sheldon Harnick, and Alan Jay Lerner?

Panel: Rachel Biale, Shalhevet Sarah Robinson & Rabbanit Michal Kohane
Abortion in Jewish Law (Halakhah) and the Orthodox Jewish Community Today

Rabbi Judy Shanks

David and Rachel Biale
Sexuality in the Jewish tradition

Profs. Bruce Haynes and Bruce Phillips

Prof. Michael Krasny
Philip Roth’s “Defender of the Faith” and Saul Bellow’s “A Silver Dish”

Ron Reissberg
Apparently uncomfortable with various portions of the Torah, the rabbis provide interpretations that tend to neutralize the troubling aspects of those texts.

Eleanor Shapiro
Modern – Post Modern

Yosef Rosen
Learn about the aesthetic-theology of kabbalistic diagrams—full of trees, circles, spirals, lines, and letters—and use these as models to map your own relation to that which is essential but intangible (what might be called spirit, soul, or the divine).

Prof. Michael Krasny
Grace Paley’s “Goodbye and Good Luck” and Cynthia Ozick’s “The Shawl”

Ron Reissberg
Apparently uncomfortable with various portions of the Torah, the rabbis provide interpretations that tend to neutralize the troubling aspects of those texts.

Eddy Portnoy
This talk details the long history of Jews and cannabis, and will delve into aspects that range from religious texts to medieval manuscripts to contemporary artifacts, all of which reveal deep Jewish involvement in the science, the marketing, the legalization, and the usage of cannabis.

Eleanor Shapiro
Modern (Late 18th c – 20th c)

Yosef Rosen
Learn about the aesthetic-theology of kabbalistic diagrams—full of trees, circles, spirals, lines, and letters—and use these as models to map your own relation to that which is essential but intangible (what might be called spirit, soul, or the divine).

Dr. Erich Gruen
The Jew and the ‘Other’ in Antiquity

Ron Reissberg
Apparently uncomfortable with various portions of the Torah, the rabbis provide interpretations that tend to neutralize the troubling aspects of those texts.

Jody Hirsh
Examine stories as they are presented in the Bible, dive into traditional Midrash (Rabbinic interpretations that are themselves stories) and examine how artists of all types have interpreted these stories.

Prof. Natan Meir
Step back in history to the days when Kyiv/Kiev was a flourishing Jewish Metropolis. Populated by urbane Jewish merchants and professionals as well as new arrivals from the shtetl, imperial Kiev was acclaimed for its opportunities but cursed for the often pitiless persecution of its Jews

Dr. Erich Gruen
Displaced in the Diaspora?

Eleanor Shapiro
Pre-Modern to Early Modern

Steve Rosen
This course will delve into periods and aspects of pre-biblical archeology, situated in today’s discourse about what is archeology and how is it harnessed to current national and political agendas.

Vered Weiss
Leah Goldberg: Constructions of Home and Belonging

Jody Hirsh
Examine stories as they are presented in the Bible, dive into traditional Midrash (Rabbinic interpretations that are themselves stories) and examine how artists of all types have interpreted these stories.

Jody Hirsh
Examine stories as they are presented in the Bible, dive into traditional Midrash (Rabbinic interpretations that are themselves stories) and examine how artists of all types have interpreted these stories.

Eleanor Shapiro
What is Jewish Music?

Steve Rosen
This course will delve into periods and aspects of pre-biblical archeology, situated in today’s discourse about what is archeology and how is it harnessed to current national and political agendas.

Steve Rosen
This course will delve into periods and aspects of pre-biblical archeology, situated in today’s discourse about what is archeology and how is it harnessed to current national and political agendas.

Dr. Erich Gruen
Was There Antisemitism in Pagan Antiquity?

Steve Rosen
This course will delve into periods and aspects of pre-biblical archeology, situated in today’s discourse about what is archeology and how is it harnessed to current national and political agendas.

Dr. Erich Gruen
Was Ancient Judaism a Nation, an Ethnicity, or a Religion?

Vered Weiss
Chaim Nachman Bialik: Between the Private and Political

Rabbi Lavey Derby
This course is an invitation to explore our own personal, ongoing spiritual formation as we examine how Reb Zalman Schachter-Shalomi z’l, Rabbi Arthur Green, and others have responded to the spiritual challenges of our age.

Steve Rosen
This course will delve into periods and aspects of pre-biblical archeology, situated in today’s discourse about what is archeology and how is it harnessed to current national and political agendas.

Rabbi Yoel Kahn
Medieval Jews created marvelously illustrated Haggadahs. The pictures in these 14th–16th century books can tell us about how their illustrators and viewers imagined the Biblical story, and about their own day.

Shirelle Doughty
Jacqueline Kahanoff: In Praise of the Levant

Daniel Matt
Explore Elijah’s development from the Bible to Rabbinic Judaism, Kabbalah, and Jewish ritual, culminating in the Hasidic notion that within each of us lies hidden a beḥinat Eliyyahu (an aspect of Elijah).

Rabbi Lavey Derby
This course is an invitation to explore our own personal, ongoing spiritual formation as we examine how Reb Zalman Schachter-Shalomi z’l, Rabbi Arthur Green, and others have responded to the spiritual challenges of our age.

Shirelle Doughty
Yona Wallach: Hebrew and the Sexmaniac

Rabbi Lavey Derby
This course is an invitation to explore our own personal, ongoing spiritual formation as we examine how Reb Zalman Schachter-Shalomi z’l, Rabbi Arthur Green, and others have responded to the spiritual challenges of our age.

Kim Carter Martinez
It is not unusual for a Jew of color to be asked, “How did you get to be Jewish?” The question stems from their appearance—“You don’t look Jewish.” There are a number of ways that an adult from a biracial Jewish or interfaith family can arm themselves for these micro-aggressions.

Ron Reissberg
Uncover a more general characteristic of Seinfeld’s humor, namely the tendency to argue endlessly about everything and nothing. In all cases, it’s the principle that counts. We will study Talmudic passages through the lens of the Seinfeld-Talmud connection. 

Rabbi Lavey Derby
This course is an invitation to explore our own personal, ongoing spiritual formation as we examine how Reb Zalman Schachter-Shalomi z’l, Rabbi Arthur Green, and others have responded to the spiritual challenges of our age.

Prof. Michael Krasny
Isaac Singer’s “Gimpel the Fool” and Bernard Malamud’s The Magic Barrel

Ron Reissberg
Uncover a more general characteristic of Seinfeld’s humor, namely the tendency to argue endlessly about everything and nothing. In all cases, it’s the principle that counts. We will study Talmudic passages through the lens of the Seinfeld- Talmud connection. 

Rabbi Lavey Derby
This course is an invitation to explore our own personal, ongoing spiritual formation as we examine how Reb Zalman Schachter-Shalomi z’l, Rabbi Arthur Green, and others have responded to the spiritual challenges of our age.

Michael Krasny
What does fiction written by major Jewish American authors of the post-World War II period reveal about Jewish identity and values? Why is their work of ongoing importance? Authors include Bernard Malamud, Grace Paley, and Isaac Bashevis Singer.

Ilan Vitemberg
Examine how Israeli men are portrayed in such popular Israeli TV series as Fauda, Shtisel, and When Heroes Fly, and explore how these portrayals could serve as a lens through which we explore Israeli society and the Zionist endeavor more broadly. 

Jehon Grist
While an era of seemingly endless chaos, 1180 BCE marks the birth moment of cultural features that thrive to this day.

Rabbi Steve Chester
If God is a compassionate and loving God, why do people suffer? In an attempt to answer these questions, we will look at the Biblical books of Deuteronomy, Job, and Ecclesiastes, as well as looking at modern theologians.

Ilan Vitemberg
Examine how Israeli men are portrayed in such popular Israeli TV series as Fauda, Shtisel, and When Heroes Fly, and explore how these portrayals could serve as a lens through which we explore Israeli society and the Zionist endeavor more broadly. 

Jehon Grist
While an era of seemingly endless chaos, 1180 BCE marks the birth moment of cultural features that thrive to this day.

Ilan Vitemberg
Examine how Israeli men are portrayed in such popular Israeli TV series as Fauda, Shtisel, and When Heroes Fly, and explore how these portrayals could serve as a lens through which we explore Israeli society and the Zionist endeavor more broadly. 

Janis Plotkin
German Expressionist cinema, a revolutionary innovation, found Jews both in front of or behind the camera. The class features cinematic masterpieces that foreshadow the coming political storms.

Rabbi Steve Chester
If God is a compassionate and loving God, why do people suffer? In an attempt to answer these questions, we will look at the Biblical books of Deuteronomy, Job, and Ecclesiastes, as well as looking at modern theologians.

Ilan Vitemberg
Examine how Israeli men are portrayed in such popular Israeli TV series as Fauda, Shtisel, and When Heroes Fly, and explore how these portrayals could serve as a lens through which we explore Israeli society and the Zionist endeavor more broadly. 

Janis Plotkin
German Expressionist cinema, a revolutionary innovation, found Jews both in front of or behind the camera. The class features cinematic masterpieces that foreshadow the coming political storms.

“A Revolution in Jewish Learning: Lehrhaus — Then and Now”

Uri Schreter
During the 1950s, as Yiddish culture was fading from public view, Mickey Katz (1909-1985) gave it a second wind, performing his “Yinglish” musical parodies to sold-out crowds across North America and produced blockbuster recordings.

Prof. Sarah Abrevaya Stein
A singular story of Jewish culture, global commerce, colonial economic practices, and the rise and fall of a glamorous luxury item.

Janis Plotkin
German Expressionist cinema, a revolutionary innovation, found Jews both in front of or behind the camera. The class features cinematic masterpieces that foreshadow the coming political storms.

Rabbi Steve Chester
If God is a compassionate and loving God, why do people suffer? In an attempt to answer these questions, we will look at the Biblical books of Deuteronomy, Job, and Ecclesiastes, as well as looking at modern theologians.

Bruce Phillips
Using the new Pew 2020 survey, Bruce Phillips argues that current discourses about Jewish intermarriage are outdated.

Janis Plotkin
German Expressionist cinema, a revolutionary innovation, found Jews both in front of or behind the camera. The class features cinematic masterpieces that foreshadow the coming political storms.

Tovah Birnbaum
The social protest movement began in Tel Aviv with young people setting up tents on a major street to protest the prohibitive cost of living, evolving into a process of political change. This presentation tracks the process, and its impact on Israeli politics and society.

David and Rachel Biale
Sexuality in the Jewish tradition
Session 4: Mysticism & Hasidism

Rachel Gross
Examine shifting ideas about who is an authority on Jewish food and what counts as Jewish food in the United States throughout the twentieth and twenty-first centuries.

Rabbi Judy Shanks

Steven Zipperstein
Revisit one of the most explosively controversial—and intriguing—of all contemporary American voices.

Rachel Gross
Examine shifting ideas about who is an authority on Jewish food and what counts as Jewish food in the United States throughout the twentieth and twenty-first centuries.

Rabbi Judy Shanks

David and Rachel Biale
Sexuality in the Jewish tradition

Professors Robert Alter and Ron Hendel present historical and literary readings of the Bible.
Conclusion

Rabbi Judy Shanks

Dawn Kepler
Essential tools for multi-faith and dual-tradition families and households

David and Rachel Biale
Sexuality in the Jewish tradition
Session 2: Onah and homosexuality

Professors Robert Alter and Ron Hendel present historical and literary readings of the Bible.
The David Stories
The Song of Songs

Steven Zipperstein
Revisit one of the most explosively controversial—and intriguing—of all contemporary American voices.

Professors Robert Alter and Ron Hendel present historical and literary readings of the Bible.
Myth and Narrative: Genesis 1 -11

Avi Rose and Fouzia Azizi discuss Jewish values and history on welcoming refugees and the work of Jewish Family and Community Services — East Bay in settling Afghan refugees

Professors Robert Alter and Ron Hendel present historical and literary readings of the Bible.
The David Stories