5768 Summer School
Ve’Hashavota El Levavecha: Integrating the Head and the Heart
Rabbi David Ingber, of Kehilat Romemu
This course will be a hands-on exploration in the methodology of “hearting” our Torah. The great Rav Nachman of Breslov once said, “all Torah that we learn should become Tefillah (prayer)” During our time together we will discover how to make a teaching into Torah, how to davven our learning so that our heads and hearts are aligned and integrated. This course will count toward Tefillah and Seminar, or 0.5 toward Tefillah and Seminar and 0.5 elective. (1.0 course point)
Leviticus
Dr. Diane Sharon
Every rabbi is called upon to speak meaningfully about the 10 Parshiot in Sefer Vayiqra The Book of Leviticus, one of the most difficult books for contemporary clergy and their congregants. This course will offer rabbis and cantors approaches to some of the most challenging issues raised in this biblical book, and will include a bibliography for course reading as well as for future study. This course can count as a Bible elective or as Parashat HaShavua. (1.0 course point)
Bar and Bat Mitzvah
Rabbi Robert Freedman
This class will look at Bar/Bat Mitzvah as a rite of passage. It will examine the children themselves, issues affecting their families, and synagogue policies. We’ll examine Bar/Bat Mitzvah as a path to Jewish identity development and study classical texts as they relate to Bar/Bat Mitzvah. We’ll look at the Bar/Bat Mitzvah service and the role of the Rabbi and Cantor. The class will focus on difficult issues that inevitably arise during the planning of this rite of passage. This course can count as congregational dynamics, a professional skills elective, or as a professional skills Critical Issues class. (1.0 course point)
Hafokh bah va-hafokh bah-Integrating the Spiritual and the Scholarly
What is the relationship between academic study and talmud Torah? Are modern approaches of research antithetical to developing a religious vision? How can the commitment to objectivity be conjoined to a commitment to spirituality and faith? In this interdisciplinary course, taught by a number of faculty members, we will explore various texts and areas of study, such as Bible, Rabbinics, Liturgy, History, Critical Studies and Comparative Religion, with these questions in mind. The goal is to acquaint ourselves with current approaches to this struggle, with the hope that such acquaintance will help each of us, as spiritual leaders, meet this essential challenge with integrity, whether personally or as influences in our communities. This course can count toward two of the following: 0.5 text, 0.5 spirituality, 0.5 critical issues or as an elective. (1.0 course point)
