Tag: thursdays

Ancient Jewish literature was far more varied than most people realize today. The Hebrew Bible that Jews eventually canonized represents only a small slice of what was actually written, read, and valued by Jewish communities in antiquity. Many other Jewish texts didn’t make it into that final canon, yet they didn’t simply vanish. Ironically, it was Christians, not Jews, who preserved a great number of these works, copying and safeguarding them for centuries even as Jewish tradition moved on without them. As a result, anyone wanting a fuller picture of ancient Jewish thought has to look beyond the traditional Jewish canon entirely.

Come read through some of these lesser-known Jewish texts, including the Gospels, Jubilees, and Maccabees, and see what a wider window they open onto ancient Judaism. Some of these works contain ideas that never found lasting acceptance within mainstream Jewish tradition and were essentially left behind. Others contain concepts that, despite being sidelined at first, eventually found their way back into normative Judaism through more roundabout paths. And still others reveal something more troubling: Jewish ideas and texts that were later taken up and turned against the Jewish people themselves, repurposed in ways their original authors surely never intended.

Class Schedule

Thursdays from 12PM to 1:30PM

Classes can be attended in-person at Har Zion Temple or over Zoom. Participants are encouraged to attend the full series.

Please complete the short form below to register.

Join us for an in-depth, verse-by-verse study of the Book of Exodus, one of the most foundational and dramatic narratives in the Torah. We begin each session grounded in the commentary of the Hertz and Etz Chaim Chumash, offering a solid foundation in the text and its plain meaning. From there, we go deeper, drawing on the rich wellspring of the Talmud, Midrash, and the great commentators who have shaped Jewish thought across the centuries, from Rashi and Ramban to more modern voices. Each session builds on the last, weaving together textual analysis, rabbinic insight, and historical context into a fuller picture of the text.

This is not a passive lecture; it’s an active exploration. We’ll wrestle with the text’s toughest questions: what really happened at the burning bush, why the plagues unfolded as they did, what the giving of the Torah at Sinai means for us today, and see how generations of scholars have grappled with these same questions before us. Along the way, we’ll discover how ancient debates and interpretations continue to speak to modern life, offering wisdom and perspective on everything from leadership and faith to justice and identity.

Whether you’re a seasoned learner or coming to Torah study for the first time, this class welcomes all levels of background and experience. No prior knowledge of Hebrew or textual study is required, just curiosity and a willingness to engage. It’s Torah as you have never studied it: layered, alive, and endlessly relevant.

Class Schedule

Thursdays from 10:30AM to 11:30AM

Classes can be attended in-person at Har Zion Temple or over Zoom. Participants are encouraged to attend the full series.

Please complete the short form below to register.

In this eight-unit course, Hartman scholars guide participants through the core tensions and values of liberal Zionism in a post-October 7 reality. Rather than avoiding the dominant critiques of Israel and Zionism, the course engages them directly, offering thoughtful, text-based responses rooted in the liberal Zionist tradition and building frameworks for holding moral complexity without retreating into easy answers.

Participants will gain practical tools for teaching about Israel in a time of war and for engaging their communities, whether congregants, students, or family, with courage, compassion, and clarity. Ideal for rabbis, educators, and communal leaders, the course offers not a single “correct” position, but the intellectual and moral grounding to navigate disagreement and lead meaningful conversations about Israel today.

Class Schedule

Thursdays from 6:30PM to 7:30PM

Classes can be attended in-person at Har Zion Temple or over Zoom. Participants are encouraged to attend the full series.