TWO INTERSESSION COURSES

1. BIB 337 Eliyahu Hanavi
Rabbi Jef Segelman
We will study the life and work of the Prophet Elijah from the perspective of understanding the making of a spiritual leader. We will use both biblical and rabbinic texts, artistic images, and more in seeing how we can use the life of this prophet in understanding and working on clergy formation and spiritual leadership. This class will count as a Bible text class.
2 credits
This course is taught only in person at AJR in Yonkers.

2. PRO 300 The Art of Teaching Contemporary Adults
Leah Kahn
In this course, we will better understand the unique opportunities and challenges that rabbinic and cantorial educators face when teaching the different stages of adult learners. Adults bring independence, self-direction, life experiences, readiness, and motivation to their learning. This class will enable students to acquire the pedagogical skills, tools, and methods to utilize a holistic and cohesive approach for teaching Jewish text while simultaneously building community for adults in various settings. This method enables rabbinical and cantorial students to engage students thoughtfully and confidently while teaching diverse groups of learners with sophistication and rigor. Within a cohort of like minded, reflective practitioners, rabbinical and cantorial students will continue refining their teaching craft by learning specific pedagogical techniques and community organizing methods to fully engage adults in their future classes and programs. By the end of this course, in addition to analyzing and preparing for adult education, AJR students might understand their own learning style better. Whether participants are experienced or aspiring educators, this course will enable rabbinical and cantorial students to embolden their teaching approach with a fresh set of techniques.
2 credits
This course is taught only online.

SPRING 2026 TRIMESTER COURSES

BIB 346 Book of Exodus: Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Blessedness
Dr. Job Jindo
This course will explore the theme of Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Blessedness through a critical reading of the book of Exodus. By the conclusion of this course, each student will also be able to articulate: (1) the structure, purposes, and theological outlook of Exodus; (2) the theology of liberty, happiness, and self-transcendence as reflected in Exodus; and (3) how to teach the book of Exodus to the contemporaries with AJR values (i.e., critical rigor, inclusivity, commitment to the pluralistic, contemporary Jewish and broader communities). The subjects we discuss include: “election and covenant,” “monological liberty and dialogical liberty,” “power and ownership,” “politics and holiness,” “slavery and political violence,” “gender and resistance,” “objective guilt and subjective guilt,” “individuality and collectivity,” “God’s transcendence and exclusivity,” “religious leader as a vessel or partner of God,” “law and the image of God,” “ritual and creation,” “identity and narrative,” “self-deification as idolatry,” “holiness of space and holiness of time,” and “My Country, ‘Tis of Thee.”
Prerequisite: Introduction to Bible
2 credits
Last offered Summer 2023; offered periodically
Required Textbooks:

  • Jewish Study Bible [2d edition]. New York. Oxford University Press, 2015 [The book of Exodus is annotated by Jeffrey Tigay; the 1st edition is also fine], ISBN: 0199978468, Amazon $36.99
  • Zielenziger, Ruth, Exodus: A Teacher’s Guide. 2d ed. New York: Melton Research Center/Jewish Theological Seminary, 1994. ISBN: 1929419074, Amazon $25.00
  • Download available at: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/825vta10tkve8xvm0ep6r/Zielenziger-Exodus-Teachers-Guide.pdf?rlkey=leamqbsqax588ycxinrxkzano&e=3&dl=0

BIB 404 Jeremiah
Dr. Jonathan Schmidt-Schwartz
The Book of Jeremiah stands at a turning point in the history of Judah, between monarchy and exile. Giving voice to a prophet in tense relationship with royal power, it foresees the fall of Jerusalem and the loss of the temple while insisting on divine sovereignty. The book blends poetry, prose, lament, and vivid symbolic actions, and includes both judgment and words of renewal. This course familiarizes students with Jeremiah and its broader place in the Tanakh. We will focus on close readings of the text (peshat) in Hebrew and in translation, engaging its language, structure, and historical setting without reliance on later commentary. Special attention will be given to the book’s Benjaminite vantage point—Anathoth, Mizpah, and the region north of Jerusalem—and how this perspective shapes its frank view of Jerusalem’s fate and its reflections on covenant, responsibility, and repair. We will also consider how Jewish communities—both those exiled and those who remained—drew on Jeremiah to think through crisis and the possibility of renewal.
Last offered Summer 2016; offered periodically
Prerequisite: Introduction to Bible
2 credits
Required Textbooks:

  • Jewish Publication Society. 2014. The Jewish Study Bible. Edited by Adele Berlin and Marc Zvi Brettler. Second edition. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN: 0199978468, Amazon $36.99
  • Stulman, Louis, and Edward Silver, eds. 2021. The Oxford Handbook of Jeremiah. New York, NY: Oxford University Press. ISBN: 0190693061 (Selected readings will be posted to Populi)

CAN 230 Musical Skills III
Phil Rashkin
At AJR, Music Skills III is the culminating course in an intensive three-semester program designed to establish in cantors the rudiments they will need to teach to and perform with their congregations. In this trimester, we will concentrate on sight singing modal and tonal melodies, writing melodies for use in the service, harmonizing these and other melodies for accompaniment by instrumental ensemble and/or choir, and conducting such an ensemble.
2 credits

CAN 388 Shir LaShalom
Rabbi Cantor Michael McCloskey
Peace, viewed as the quintessence of blessing, is elusive, demanding spiritual grit. How does music help us to develop the fortitude, equanimity, sensitivity, and patience that peace requires? What sacred texts can we rely upon that speak to the relationship of music and peace, leading us to insight and growth? What does neuro-science reveal to us about music, equanimity, and conflict resolution? We will engage this topic with the following goals:
(1) Cultivating psycho-spiritual resilience and humility, that we may have resources to draw upon in moments that call for peace-making
(2) Developing a proactive culture of peace in our communities bolstered by music-making and Jewish teachings about music
(3) Learning from the best practitioners of this art who do so from a global perspective.
This course will fulfill the Peace Studies III requirement for cantorial students and the Peace Studies requirement for rabbinical students
2 credits
New course
Required Textbooks: None, Recommended readings will be provided.

CAN 426 Advanced Nusah – Shabbat II
Cantor Sol Zim and Cantor Lisa Klinger-Kantor
This course provides an in-depth and extensive study of the vast liturgy of the Shabbat Shaharit and Musaf services. Students will develop a deep understanding and mastery of the Nushaot, special motifs, and participatory melodies involved in both services. They will also demonstrate strong competence in these areas so as to proficiently lead a Shabbat service.
Prerequisite: CAN 425 or permission of Instructor
4 credits
Last offered Spring 2023; offered periodically
Required Textbooks:

  • The Sol Zim Shabbat Anthology (Musical Siddur), ASIN B071VCLZ5G, Cantor’s Assembly $49.95
  • Siddur Sim Shalom for Shabbat & Festivals (Rabbinical Assembly & Harlow Editions), Leonard S. Cahan, ISBN: 0916219135, Amazon $34.95

CAN 561 Music of the Life Cycle
Cantor Sol Zim
This course will give each student the opportunity to learn how to lead, conduct and perform the ceremonies & services for life cycle events listed below, with fluency. Students will learn and become well versed in the blessings, prayers, psalms, songs & melodies for each event. Events to be covered are: wedding ceremonies, funeral services, aufruf, baby naming, brit milah, pidyon haben, bar/bat mitzvah services, healing service, Yom Hashoah, Yom Ha’atzmaut, Installation of Synagogue Officers & placing mezuzah on door.
1 credit
Last offered Fall 2023; offered periodically
Required Textbooks:

  • The Hazzan’s Manual (Derech Hashatz 2001) : Cantors Assembly $79.95
  • The Cantor’s Lifecycle Manual: The American Conference of Cantors 2000
  • The Rabbi’s Manual (Alef & Bet) : The Rabbinical Assembly 1998 ISBN: 9780916219109, $100.00
  • The Rabbi’s Manual: Central Conference of American Rabbis 1988 ISBN: 0881230049, Amazon (used) $109.99
  • Cantor Zim will provide a ‘Music for Life Cycle Handbook’

HAL 510 Advanced Codes
Rabbi David Almog
This course will focus on Joseph Karo’s Shulhan Arukh, the major medieval code of Jewish law that continues to inform contemporary practice. We will study many of the most important laws related to the observance of laws of mourning and dietary practices with secondary readings that offer more diverse perspectives on a variety of related issues.
Prerequisite: Introduction to Codes and Intermediate Codes or the equivalent
2 credits
Last offered Summer 2025; typically offered every 3-4 terms
Required Textbooks:

  • Lamm, Maurice, The Jewish Way in Death and Mourning, 2000 edition, ISBN #: 0824604229, Amazon $26.86, can also be purchased used on Amazon or e-Bay

HEB 350 Hebrew 2A
Pelleg Halfin
This course will bring students to Chapter 12-13 of Hebrew from Scratch עברית מן ההתחלה ב’. The focus of the course is on reading comprehension of adapted informative and narrative texts in Modern Hebrew, with an emphasis on vocabulary development and dictionary look-up skills. The grammatical component of the course mostly follows the textbook. It includes future tense of Hif’il, Binyan Nif’al, noun declension, prepositions, concessive clauses. Written and oral assignments will enhance communicative skills while improving absorption and integration of vocabulary and grammar.
Prerequisite: Hebrew IB or the equivalent
4 credits
Last offered Fall 2025, typically offered every 3-4 terms
Required Textbooks:

  • Hebrew from Scratch 2 – עברית מן ההתחלה ב’

HEB 351 Hebrew 2B – 2 sections of this course that both meet twice per week, see schedule, register for only one section
Ilana Davidov and Ayelet Amir Rein
In this course students will complete the last four lessons of the second volume of Hebrew from Scratch (עברית מן ההתחלה ב’). It will include an intensive review of the verb system in the active בניינים and their gerunds, and a brief introduction to the passive הופעל, פועל) בניינים) real and unreal condition, comparative and superlative sentences.
Prerequisite: Hebrew IIA or the equivalent.
4 credits
Last offered Fall 2024, typically offered every 3-4 terms
Required Textbooks:

  • Hebrew from Scratch Volume II (עברית מן ההתחלה ב’). ISBN: 084000849X, https://www.magnespress.co.il/book/Hebrew from Scratch Part 2-2464 $39.00
  • תפוחים מן המדבר” – סביון ליברכט (מתוך שלושה סיפורים בעברית קלה) https://hebrewisus.com/books/gesher-series/shloshah-sipurim.html 18.00$

Recommended for additional in-home exercises:

  • Simons, Esti and Noa Weinberg, From Here to There II (מפה לשם ב’), Academon Publishing House, ISBN: 978-9653501942, Magnes Press $16.00

HIS 357 The History of Zionism and Israel – 2 sections, register for only one
Rabbi Menachem Creditor
This course explores the birth, evolution, and impact of Zionism as one of the most transformative forces in modern Jewish life. Tracing the movement from its 19th-century roots through the founding of the State of Israel in 1948 and its ongoing development as a Jewish state, students will examine the diverse ideological, religious, and cultural streams that shaped Zionism
and continue to influence global Jewry today. Drawing on classic and contemporary works—including Gil Troy’s The Zionist Ideas, and Anita Shapira’s Israel: A History, Daniel Gordis’s Israel: A Concise History of a Nation Reborn, and Claire Sufrin’s and Yehuda Potok’s The New Jewish Canon—the course provides a foundation for understanding how the dream of Jewish nationhood redefined Jewish identity, reshaped the Diaspora, and continues to animate Jewish thought and debate. Far from a study of current events, The History of Zionism invites students to build historical and theological literacy, engaging deeply with the questions, tensions, and aspirations that gave rise to the modern Jewish State and transformed the Jewish people’s sense of home, destiny, and belonging.
2 credits
New course requirement
Required Textbooks:

  • Troy, Gil, The Zionist Ideas, ISBN: 0827612559, Amazon $22.98
  • Sufrin, Claire and Yehuda Potok’s The New Jewish Canon, ISBN: 1644693615, Amazon $24.81
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0375711325
  • Sachar, Howard, A History of Israel: From the Rise of Zionism to Our Time, Amazon $8.97, ISBN:10 ‏ 0375711325, ISBN:13 ‏ 978-0375711329
  • All other readings will be provided as pdf’s and made available to students.

HIS 400 Ideas and Debates of Jewish History
Jacob Ferrier

LIT 101 Introduction to Liturgy
Rabbi Rob Scheinberg, PhD
What are the words associated with Jewish prayer, and how and why have they changed over time? In this course we will closely examine the Jewish liturgy for weekdays, addressing the structure, history, and theological implications of texts of the Siddur including the Shema, Amidah, Torah service, Kaddish, and Berakhot associated with food, and more. We will also explore questions of prayer’s personal meaning and spiritual significance in contemporary Jewish life, as well as the role of a religious leader in thoughtfully designing worship experiences.
Prerequisite: Students in this course must be at the level of Hebrew IA or above.
2 credits
Last Offered Spring 2025, typically offered every 3-4 terms
Required Textbooks: None
Recommended Textbooks:

  • Koren-Sacks Siddur, or another unabridged traditional siddur, ISBN: 9653019309, https://korenpub.com or Amazon, $34.95
  • Hammer, Reuven, Entering Jewish Prayer (New York: Schocken, 1994), ISBN: 0805210229, Amazon $15.92
  • Hoffman, Jeffrey, Weaving Prayer (Ben Yehuda Press, 2024), ISBN: 1953829600, Amazon $29.95
  • Readings drawn from Lawrence Hoffman, ed., Minhag Ami: My People’s Prayer Book, volumes 1-4 (www.jewishlights.com, and other sources. ISBN: Vol. 1: 1683362098, Vol. 2: 1683362128, Vol. 3: 1683362101, Vol. 4: 168336211X, Amazon $12.08+

LIT 307 Festival Liturgy
Rabbi Jeff Hoffman, DHL
A study of the liturgy of Pesah, Shavuot, and Sukkot from biblical origins to the present era. Features: Variations from the weekday liturgy, especially in the Amidot; the
development of Hallel customs; the form, function and texts of principal piyyutim, e.g., Hoshanot and Akdamut; Yizkor. These will be studied from historical, literary, and theological perspectives.
Prerequisites: Introduction to Liturgy; Hebrew must be at least at the level of Hebrew IA.
2 credits

Requred Textbooks:

  1. The Complete Artscroll Siddur (Ashkenazic, Orthodox), edited by Rabbi Nosson Scherman, Rabbi Meir Zlotowitz.
    ISBN: 0-89906-650-X $27.99 on the Artscroll website: https://www.artscroll.com/Books/9780899066509.html
  2. Waskow, Arthur, Seasons of Our Joy: A Modern Guide to the Jewish Holidays, 1982 and reprinted many times since.
    ISBN: 9780827609303, 0827609302 $18.45 new on Amazon.
  3. Hoffman, Jeffrey, Weaving Prayer: An Analytical and Spiritual Commentary on the Jewish Prayer Book, 2024. ISBN: 13 978-1-953829-60-3 $27.95 for paperback edition on website of the publisher, Ben Yehuda Press: https://www.benyehudapress.com/
  4. In addition to the three books above, students are required to have available at least one of the following siddurimfrom the major movements in North American Judaism. Students may purchase copies from the various movements or new or used from any other source. Another possibility is borrowing a siddur from a local synagogue: Siddur Lev Shalem (Conservative), The Rabbinical Assembly, 2016. ISBN: 978-0-916219-64, $55 from The Rabbinical Assembly.
  5. Kol Haneshamah: Shabbat Vehaggim (Reconstructing Judaism), The Reconstructionist Press, 1994 and reprinted many times since. (Note that the weekday and Days of Awe versions are also titled Kol Haneshamah; this course requires the volume with the subtitle, Shabbat Vehaggim). ISBN: 0-935457-46-1
    Available for free at this website: www.reconstructingjudaism.org/files/kh/kh-shabbat-hagim.pdf
    Available in hard copy for $65 on the website of the Press: https://readandrite.com/products/shabbat-and-holidays-shabbat-vehagim
  6. Mishkan T’filah: A Reform Siddur, Central Conference of American Rabbis, 2007, ISBN: 0-88123-114-4, $48 on website of the CCAR Press: https://www.ccarpress.org/shopping_product_detail.asp?pid=50203
MEC 150 Mechina III
Ayelet Amir Rein
This course covers the second half of Hebrew from Scratch 1 (עברית מן ההתחלה א‘). It takes the students from learning the mechanics of reading and writing unvoweled Hebrew to active mastery of 1200 words, knowledge of the past tense in all of the גזרות of Pa’al as well as the past tense of regular verbs in Pi’el, Hif’il and Hitpa’el reading comprehension of dialogues relating to everyday life, as well as descriptive, narrative and informative texts on Jewish and Israeli cultural topics.
Prerequisite: Mechina II or the equivalent
0 credits

PHI 301 Bioethics
Rabbi Jill Hackell, MD
Technological advancements in medicine have brought with them bioethical issues of increasing complexity. This course will examine issues pertinent to today’s bioethical dialogue from a Jewish point of view, including issues such as organ donation, end-of-life, assisted reproduction, genetic screening and gene therapy, disease prevention, physician-assisted death, and transgender issues. How does the Jewish way of looking at these issues compare and contrast with the general societal discussion? What are the governing principles of bioethical argument in each of these across the spectrum of Jewish thought? How are ancient Jewish sources reconciled with modern technology in guiding thinking about these issues?

This course will run the first half of the trimester, for six weeks.
1 credit
Last offered Spring 2025; typically offered every 4 terms
Required Textbooks: None
Recommended:

  • Dorff, Elliot N., Matters of Life and Death: A Jewish Approach to Modern Medical Ethics, (1998), The Jewish Publication Society. ISBN: 0827607687 $14.70

PHI 475 Personal Theology
Rabbi Len Levin, PhD and Rabbi Cantor Michael McCloskey
Through taking this course students will be able to: clarify their own theological agenda—the questions and core-concepts that are most central to their own Jewish theological vision; develop a statement of their personal theological visions, through a combination of drawing on previous paradigms and creating their own; and specifically be able to address the issues of revelation/authority/practice, God, Israel/Jewish peoplehood, suffering/evil, and eschatology in a way that will be meaningful to themselves and to their future audiences.
2 credits
Last offered Spring 2025; typically offered every 3-4 terms

Required Textbooks: One of the following:

  • Borowitz, Eugene, Renewing the Covenant, ISBN: 0827606273, Amazon $13.50
  • Gillman, Neil, Sacred Fragments, ISBN: 0827604033, Amazon $14.06
  • Green, Arthur, Radical Judaism, ISBN: 0300152329, Amazon $27.00
  • Hartman, David, A Living Covenant, ISBN: 1580230113, Amazon $17.10
  • Plaskow, Judith, Standing Again at Sinai: Judaism from a Feminist Perspective, ISBN: 0060666846, Amazon $9.32

Recommended:

  • Greenberg, Irving, The Triumph of Life: A Narrative Theology of Judaism, ISBN: 0827615213, Amazon $11.79
  • Held, Shai, Judaism Is About Love, ISBN: 1250371791, Amazon $15.46
  • Brous, Sharon, The Amen Effect, ISBN: 0593543319, Amazon $15.49
  • Fishbane, Michael, Sacred Attunement: A Jewish Theology, ISBN: 0226251721, Amazon $32.00
  • Aglar, Richard & Rifat Sonsino, eds. A God We Can Believe In, ISBN: 978-1666793376, Amazon $9.99

PRO 003 & 004 Core Concepts III and IV
Rabbi Ira Dounn (003) and Dr. Ora Horn Prouser (004)
This is a multi-year sequence of seminars. The seminars cover some of the fundamental values, concepts and vocabulary of Jewish tradition. Students are expected to first gain a basic acquaintance with these terms and to then delve more deeply into them so as to appreciate their range of significance. The goal of the seminars is not simply to gather information, but to develop an integrated way of thinking about and expressing these value concepts, so that students may grow from having an appreciation of the tradition to actively and creatively participating in the discourse of Torah.
Every student is required to take four terms of the seminars given in the sequence, but they need not be taken in order. Core Concepts III begins with the term ahavah, and Core Concepts IV begins with the term nehamah.
These courses are for matriculated ordination students only.
No tuition is charged for these courses but students must also be registered for credit bearing courses simultaneously.
0 credits

PRO 218 Judaism and Artificial Intelligence
Rabbi Geoff Mitelman
When it comes to technology, is AI a difference of degree or of kind? What skills has it eroded, and what skills is it leading us to realize they may not have been as important as we thought? How will Jewish education and Jewish life be changed by the rise of AI, and what Jewish texts can help us inform our response? In this course, we will explore the relationship among intelligence, consciousness and the soul, helping us understand — and perhaps even strengthen — the relationship between humans and AI. While facility with new technology will always be a skill worth knowing, what tools do we need as human beings to navigate this new world, especially as Jews?
Please note that the approach of this course will be different from the discussion of Artificial Intelligence in HAL 373: Critical Issues in Jewish Law from last May intersession.
This course counts towards the Science and Judaism requirement.
1 credit
Course meets during the second half of the trimester on the following six dates: 2/11, 2/18, 3/4, 3/18, 3/25, and 4/15.


PRO 349 Cancer in the Community
Melissa Rosen
This course will provide rabbis, cantors, and other Jewish professionals with the knowledge and skills to provide much needed psychosocial spiritual support to community members facing cancer or other illness. The training covers topics such as introduction to understanding cancer, where being Jewish may intersect with a cancer experience, how cultural nuances can impact diagnosis, treatment, and survivorship, spiritual concerns, and the creation of caring community and how that impacts both healing and the community-at-large. This course will include a variety of traditional learning and interactive modalities.
This course counts towards the Science and Judaism requirement.
1 credit
Course meets for the first half of the trimester (6 sessions).

PRO 366 Teaching Israel
Rabbi Anat Katzir
As a complicated and nuanced topic, teaching about Israel, either in lessons, lectures, sermons or through conversations, is a difficult and taxing mission. At the same time, it is critical for us to wrestle with. As leaders of Jewish communities, we strive to inspire a meaningful and complete Jewish identity. Israel plays different roles in Jewish life. The goal of the course is to try to identify and dissect as many of the different encounters with Israel in our Jewish journey and consider the challenges, importance, and tools for teaching them with proper care.
This course fulfills the Israeli History and Culture requirement or counts toward the Education requirement.
Last offered Spring 2025; offered periodically
2 credits
Required Textbooks:

  • Zakai, Dr. Sivan, My Second Favorite Country, ISBN: 1479808989, Amazon $22.34
  • Sokatch, Daniel, Can We Talk About Israel, ISBN: 1639730486, Amazon $17.31 OR Israel/Noa Tishby, ISBN: 978-1982144951, Amazon $14.99
  • Goodman, Micah, Catch 67, ISBN: 0300148415, Amazon $16.32

Recommended books:

  • Magid, Shaul, The Necessity of Exile, ISBN: 979-8986780313, Amazon $21.39
  • Infeld, Abraham, A Passion for a People, ISBN: 1911175955, Amazon $13.98
  • Yaron, Lee, 10/7- A Hundred Human Stories, ISBN: 1250366283, Amazon $16.13
  • Korazim, Bohnen, Silverman, Shiva- Poems of October 7, ISBN: 1962609073, Amazon $15.00

PRO 560 Counseling II
Cantor Michael Kasper
This course will build on the foundations of Counseling I, exploring in greater depth the various roles and opportunities for counseling that are afforded to clergy, and the various skills needed to provide appropriate help. Ways to effectively listen, communicate, and understand issues likely to be encountered will be reviewed and practiced, with emphasis on developing a repertoire of psychologically sound interventions that relate to Jewish tradition and values, spirituality and healing. In addition, we will review methods of needs assessment, and the role of clergy in making appropriate referrals to other professionals.
We will explore the impact of doing this work on the Rabbi/Cantor and their family. Possibilities for a conflict of roles, especially in congregational settings will be discussed, in the context of ethics and personal boundaries. Part of the course will deal with the relationship between pastoral counselor and those who seek help; learning to set limits when helping others; and what to do when you are in over your head. Specific issues that are likely to arise in congregational settings will be highlighted, such as death and bereavement, life transitions, abuse, family and marital problems, addictions, and traumatic events. Prerequisite: Counseling I or permission of the instructor.
2 credits
Last offered Fall 2024; typically offered every 4-5 terms
Required Textbooks:

  • Friedman, Rabbi Dayle. Jewish Pastoral Care—A Practical Handbook, 2nd edition, Jewish Lights, 200, ISBN: 1580234275, Amazon $24.99
  • Levitz, Yisrael N. and Twerski, Abraham J., eds. A Practical Guide to Rabbinic Counseling, Feldheim Publishers, Jerusalem, 2005, ISBN: 1681629658, Amazon $20.67

Relevant Texts for Reference (not required to purchase):

  • Bloom, Rabbi Jack, PhD. Jewish Relational Care A-Z., ISBN: 0789027062, Amazon $48.99
  • Bloom, Rabbi Jack. The Rabbi as Symbolic Exemplar. The Haworth Press, 2002, ISBN: 0789018667, Amazon $53.99
  • Gottman, John. Why Marriages Succeed or Fail, .Simon & Schuster, 1994, ISBN: 0684802414, Amazon $11.99
  • Rando, Theresa, How to Go on Living When Someone You Love, ISBN: 0553352695, Amazon $10.99
  • Woititz, Janet. Adult Children of Alcoholics, ISBN: 1558741127, Amazon $11.57
  • Viscott, David. Emotional Resilience, ISBN: 0517702401, Amazon $41.00
  • Wallerstein, Judith. What about the Kids? [families coping with divorce], ISBN: 0786868651, Amazon $14.26

PRO 700 & PRO 710 Field Work Support Seminar
Rabbi Lisa Sacks
This seminar group focuses upon issues that arise in the course of rabbinical and cantorial work. Students will explore the challenges that they face in their work and in their developing rabbinate/cantorate through the presentation of a case study. Participation is required of all students whose work is counting as a required internship experience.
All Fieldwork must be approved prior to the beginning of the term by Rabbi Jef Segelman.
PRO 700 – No credit for students on the old curriculum
PRO 710 – 2 credits for students on the new curriculum
If you are uncertain as to which you should register for, please contact Rabbi Matt Goldstone, PhD.

RAB 100 Introduction to Mishnah
Laynie Soloman
This course will introduce students to the study of Mishnah and its place in rabbinic literature. Combining an overview of the Mishnah with in-depth study of a sampling of mishnayot from each of the Mishnah’s six orders (shisha sedarim), we will gain a deeper understanding of this unique text’s structure and the various literary styles reflected within it. Additionally, we will explore the historical context that gave rise to this foundational rabbinic text, and its reception history as part of the classical rabbinic corpus.
Prerequisite: At the level of HEB 350 Hebrew 2A or above
Last offered Summer 2025; typically offered every 3 terms
2 credits
Required Textbooks:

  • Students should have access to a full set of Mishnah. (Free on www.sefaria.org)
  • All other materials will be provided on Populi, including scans of all readings.

RAB 110 Introduction to Midrash – 2 sections, register for only one
Rabbi Jill Hammer, PhD and Rabbi Iscah Waldman
In this introductory class, we will examine the forms, methods and vocabulary of rabbinic midrash and explore the function that midrash plays in rabbinic interpretation of Torah. We will learn some basic midrashic strategies, and become familiar with a variety of midrashic collections from the talmudic to the medieval period. This is a text-based class and we will spend time during each session reading midrashim in Hebrew to improve our fluency.
Prerequisite: Students must be at the level of Hebrew IA or above.
Last offered Summer 2024; offered periodically
2 credits
Required Textbooks:

  • A Tanakh (any version)

RAB 231 Introduction to Talmud II
Rabbi Jeff Hoffman, DHL
In this second half of the two-trimester Introduction to Talmud course, students will continue to develop their skills in decoding the dialectic of the talmudic discourse. This term, the text will be studied in its original languages. Students will prepare the Steinsaltz commentary (Hebrew) with the help of vocabulary sheets provided by the instructor. Modern critical methodologies of Talmud study – identifying the three layers of Tannaitic, Amoraic, and Stam material – will be introduced. Study of basic Aramaic terms and Talmudic organic logic will resume. The content will be the various halakhic and theological approaches to the Amidah found in Tractate Berakhot, chapter 4.
Last offered Summer 2025; typically offered every 3 terms
Prerequisite: Introduction to Talmud I or the equivalent
2 credits
The Thursday morning havruta section is required of all students in this class.
Required Textbooks:

  • Steinsaltz Talmud, volume 1, Berakhot. This is the all-Hebrew edition of the Steinsaltz Talmud. Copies of the textbook from previous trimesters of this course will not be helpful; that edition is quickly going out of print. The best way to order it is through Koren Publishers. Sometimes students have tried to order through other outlets and occasionally the book was shipped literally via ship from Israel and took months to arrive. The following link will bring you to the exact volume required: https://korenpub.com/products/koren-talmud-berakhothardcover
  • Jastrow, Marcus, A Dictionary of the Targumim, Talmud Bavli, Talmud Yerushalmi and Midrashic Literature. This book is available in standard, hard-copy form. While it is available for free on Sefaria.org, it is not recommended to use it online as it is much more difficult to find entries online.
  • Frank, Yitzhak, The Practical Talmud Dictionary. While it is available for free (though not on Sefaria.org), it is not recommended to use it online as it is much more difficult to find entries online.

RAB 430 Intermediate/Advanced Talmud
Rabbi Matthew Goldstone, PhD
In this course students will continue to hone their abilities to critically read, parse, and understand Talmudic material. This semester will focus on sugyot that address “Big Concepts” such as the problem of evil, the value of martyrdom, and the origins of rabbinic Judaism. We will explore the ways that these sources impact us on a personal and spiritual level, as well as possible pedagogical applications for teaching these sources to others.
Prerequisite: Three trimesters of Talmud
2 credits
Last offered Fall 2025; typically offered every 1-2 terms
Required Textbooks: None

SPI 356 “In a Still, Small Voice”: Comparative Meditation and the Renewal of Inner Life
Dr. Job Jindo
This course explores the existential meaning of meditation in liberal societies through a comparative study centered on the seminal guide Shoshikan (A Concise Guide to Stilling and Insight Meditation) by the great Buddhist master Zhiyi/Chih-i/Chigi (538–597). Zhiyi, who stands alongside Maimonides, Aquinas, and al-Ghazali in spiritual stature, left an unmatched legacy that profoundly shaped Buddhist practice throughout East Asia. Each session focuses on a chapter of the Shoshikan, bringing it into dialogue with Jewish sources and other spiritual traditions. Designed for spiritual seekers and future leaders serving diverse and pluralistic communities, the course combines study and meditative practice to explore how disciplines of attention and compassion can renew spiritual depth, relational awareness, and ethical presence in contemporary life.
New Course
This course counts as the Spirituality elective.
2 credits
Required Textbooks: None

SPI 370 Architecture of Ritual
Rabbi Jill Hammer, PhD
The Architecture of Ritual is a course that allows Jewish leaders to consciously explore, from a scholarly and experiential perspective, what ritual is, what ritual does within the life of individuals and communities, what a clergyperson’s role is in creating and performing ritual, and how ritual can be effective in the lives of modern Jews. The course will cover ritual as a phenomenon (what it is, why it exists, how it is structured) as well as explore individual ritual topics with an eye toward determining how ritual works, clarifying ritual structures, practicing ritual innovation, and considering the function of clergy as ritual leaders.
2 credits
Last offered Spring 2025
Required Textbooks:

  • Bell, Catherine. Ritual: Perspectives and Dimensions., ISBN: 0199735107, Amazon $45.99
  • Hoffman, Lawrence. The Art of Public Prayer. ISBN: 1893361063, Amazon $13.53
  • Schildkret, Day. Hello, Goodbye: 75 Rituals for Times of Loss, Celebration, and Change, p. 1-6. , ISBN: 1982170948, Amazon $17.68

Suggested Reading:

  • Driver, Tom. Liberating Rites: Understanding the Transformative Power of Ritual. ISBN: 0367160323, Amazon $43.99