Take a look at our past courses to help you get a feel of what we're all about
Please click on the speakers names to read more about them
Rav Soloveitchik on Israel
A ten week course on the Rav's approach to Israel
Rabbi Binyamin Tabory
As well as a great Talmudist and philosopher, Rabbi Joseph Soloveitchik (1903-1993) was the leader of pro-Zionist modern Orthodox Judaism in America. Israeli leaders and politicians sought his advice and blessings in state affairs. He was reputedly offered the position of Chief Rabbi of Israel by Prime Minister Menachem Begin but quietly declined.
The Rav saw immense religious meaning in the State of Israel. In his famous essay Kol Dodi Dofek, ‘The Voice of my Beloved Knocks’, he inspired American Jewry to heed the miracles worked by God in the creation of Israel. So why did he himself only visit Israel once in 1935? And what would he say about Israel today? This course will address these and other issues based on the Rav’s writings and Rabbi Tabory’s first-hand memories of learning from him in Yeshiva University.
1:30 to 3:00pm, Ten Monday afternoons: 21 Jan to 7 April 2008
Four Fathers of Zionism
Meet the men who moulded modern Israel
Dr Colin Shindler
In this course we will look at the life, times and achievements of four giants of Zionist history: Vladimir Jabotinsky, Menachem Begin, Yitzchak Rabin and Ariel Sharon. Each embodies an essential component of the State of Israel. Through looking at the contribution of each, we will address some of the most burning questions that challenge Israel to this day. After sixty years of statehood, what is the future of the Zionist dream?
8:00 to 10:00 pm, Four Monday evenings: 28 Jan, 4,18,25 Feb 08
Midrash and Literature
An eight-week course on the encounter between midrash and contemporary literary theory
Dr Leya Landau
In recent years, literary theory has turned increasingly to Midrash in an attempt to identify an early model for creative and daring acts of interpretation. In this course we will investigate the receptivity of Midrash to literary theory and also, importantly, its resistance to it. Looking at a wide range of midrashim, we will consider different aspects of this relationship including: the ‘plain’ sense (pshat) versus midrash; the significance of different genres; midrash and deconstruction; and contemporary use of midrash by Biblical scholars such as Avivah Zornberg.
8:00 to 9:30 pm, Eight Wednesday evenings: 16 Jan to 19 March 2008
The Book of Isaiah
A seven-week course on Yishayahu
Lindsey Taylor-Guthartz
“They shall beat their swords into ploughshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.” (Isaiah 2:4)
Isaiah’s famous words adorn the walls of the United Nations building in New York and have spoken to the world through the ages. Who was this mysterious prophet of Israel and how has he affected Judaism and the world until today?
Taking a deeper look at this classic book, we will examine the history of Isaiah’s times, the key themes of the book, its superb poetry, and some of our classical commentators’ interpretations of the most difficult passages.
10:00am to 12:00pm OR 8:00pm to 10:00pm, Seven Wednesdays: 23 January to 19 March 2008
Halacha and The State
Explore the real life confrontation between Jewish and Israeli Law
Baruch Baigel
To what extent is Israel a Jewish State? Looking at a wide range of traditional Jewish sources, this unique course will deal with a number of fascinating and important questions: How does Jewish law understand the modern Israeli government? Does the Israeli electoral system have a basis in the Talmud? Is there a cogent Jewish argument for introducing civil marriages in Israel? What is the halachic status of the Israeli secular court system? The practical implications of all these issues for Israel today and tomorrow will be discussed.
8:00 to 10:00 pm, Five Tuesday evenings, 4, 11, 18, 25 March and 1 April 2008
Rav Kook on Israel
Explore Israel through the writings of a unique modern Jewish thinker
Ariel Kahn
What would Rav Kook say about Israel today? Did his messianic vision make sense in his time? What can he teach us about how things could be, and what we could do now to effect change? For Rav Abraham Yitzchak HaCohen Kook (1865-1935), Israel as a place and an idea was the focus of his writing. He felt he was witnessing the birth pangs of redemption. Israel was a crucible in which a new Jew, a new vision, was taking shape. He was uniquely sensitive to the religious role that the secular halutzim played which often put him at odds with the religious establishment.
In this course we will explore the development of Rav Kook’s writing about Israel as a spiritual and political entity, as he set out his vision for its future, and grappled with the political turmoil of the mandate, in his published writings, diaries, and letters. An extraordinarily provocative and original thinker, Rav Kook has something to say to all of us for whom Israel continues to matter.
8:00 to 10:00 pm, Five Tuesday evenings: 11, 18, 25 March and 1, 8 April 2008
A Guilty Diaspora
A four-week course on the Jewish-Israel identity of Jewish novelists living in the Diaspora
Maureen Kendler
How different are Israelis to Diaspora Jews? Through letters, memoirs and fiction this course will unpack the views of a selection of Jewish writers living in the Diaspora. They all have a deep connection to Israel but feel, to some extent, alienated by it. These are not political challenges but rather ones of Jewish identity. Israel makes them feel proud, secure and troubled all at the same time. We will analyse this complex relationship for novelist such as Phillip Roth, Howard Jacobson, Linda Grant and Saul Bellow.
8:00 to 10:00 pm, Four Monday evenings: 10, 17, 31 March and 7 April 2008
OR 10:00am to 12:00pm, Four Tuesday Mornings:
11, 18 March and 1, 7 April 2008
Super Seders III
Enhance your Seder night with great material from a completely new three-week course
Dr Raphael Zarum
Why did the rabbis see the Haggadah as a supreme love story?How did Seder night become the battleground for Jewish identity?Does staying up late make you a better Jew?
For the third time, by popular demand, Dr Zarum will endeavour to uncover all-new approaches to the Pesach story. He will teach creative and fun ways to excite and challenge even the most hard-to-please family and guests around your Seder table.
Morning and evening study options:1:00-3:00pm Three Thursday mornings: 27 March and 3, 10 April 2008
OR 8:00-10:00pm, Three Thursday evenings: 27 March and 3, 10 April 2008
Practical Halacha of Purim and Pesach
Learn the Halachot of Purim and Pesach in a dynamic three week course
Rabbi Binyamin Tabory
The Halacha of Purim
Get to grips with the laws of reciting the Megillah, the Purim meal and giving tzedakah. The truth about drinking and fancy dress will also be looked at.
8:00 to 9:30pm
Three Tuesdays evenings
6 , 11 and 18 March 2008
The Halacha of Pesach
Separate the myths from reality with this very practical course. The recurring challenges of ‘making Pesach’ will be fully presented.
8:00 to 9:30pm, Three Tuesdays evenings 25 March and 1, 8 April 2008 | 
