2018-2020

FALL: Worrier to Warrior: Jewish Secrets to Feeling Good However You Feel
Cheshvan 5780 / November 2019

We yearn to feel happy, self-assured, and enthusiastic, yet we’re consumed by feelings of doubt, regret, insecurity, and suffering. Do our delicate positive emotions have a fighting chance at being in control? This course explores negative emotions in a completely new light, offering spiritual mechanisms that allow us to remain upbeat no matter what life brings.

WINTER: Judaism's Gifts to the World: How Major Jewish Ideas Have Become Universal Values
Shevat 5780 / February 2020

Once considered preposterous, many of Judaism’s revolutionary teachings are today’s universal values that are taken for granted. The history of the gradual transition of attitudes on values is as instructive as it is fascinating. An analysis of Jewish contributions past and present allows us to define ways in which Judaism can continue serving as a beacon of light and wisdom for all humanity.

SPRING: Secrets of the Bible: iconic, Stories, Mystical Meanings, and Their Lessons for Life
Iyar 5780 / May 2020

The Bible is rich in tales, from the Garden of Eden to Noah’s Ark, from the selling of Joseph to Moses’s breaking of the Tablets. But what do these stories truly tell us? Review six famous and infamous biblical stories, and investigate the questions and mysteries they raise under the lens of the Torah’s mystical insights. The results bear both cosmic significance and practical relevance.  

FALL: Wrestling with Faith
Cheshvan 5779 / October 2018

This course explores the obstacles and questions—both intellectual and emotional—that prevent many people from fully embracing G‑d. The course’s objective is to make the students more comfortable with their belief in G‑d—and more specifically, the uniquely Jewish understanding of G‑d—and thereby free them to pursue a deeper relationship with Him. The course’s topics include: How is G‑d relevant to me? Can I live a purposeful existence without Him? Does what I do matter to G‑d? Why are His teachings antithetical to many progressive Western principles? Why did He create evil and suffering? Is it unscientific to believe in G‑d? Must I fear Him?

WINTER: Crime and Consequence
Shevat 5779 / February 2019

Criminal justice reform is a hot-button topic in the United States, with a bipartisan consensus that urgent reforms are needed. This course discusses some of the most controversial issues with respect to crime and punishment and offers Torah perspectives that are relevant and insightful. The course examines many areas of criminal law, such as sentencing, incarceration, parole, death penalty, evidence, rehabilitation, crime prevention—all in the hope of generating a safer and more just society.

SPRING: With All My Heart- Registration Now Open!
Iyar 5779 / May 2019

More than half (55%) of Americans say they pray every day, according to a 2014 Pew Research Center survey, while 21% say they pray weekly or monthly. But what is the purpose of prayer? Can we cause G‑d to change His mind? Is He in need of incessant praise? This course aims to make prayer more personally meaningful by addressing some of the philosophical, emotional, and practical barriers that make it difficult to pray. And by examining the history of how the Jewish prayers developed, as well as the meaning of the most notable prayers, participants will become more comfortable with tapping into Jewish prayer as a means of connection to their heritage.