Every time we study a text, hear a lecture, watch a movie, discuss or share an idea, listen to a sermon, react to a lesson, or especially ask a question we are engaged in the business of learning: la-asok b’divrei Torah. This institution and our Lifelong Learning program exist to provide as many opportunities as possible for people to engage in that business.
Just as the liturgy shows us loving is a two-way street (God loves us, and we have to love God back), so too is learning in community a two-way street. We can provide as many opportunities as possible, but you have to take us up on the offer. So please, put aside whatever may be obstructing your path to learning and sign up. Whether it is a busy schedule, a feeling of inferiority, a sense of confusion about where to start, or a concern about being lonely or left out, we can do our best address any of these things. But you have to take the first step.
If you do not know where to begin, contact ShowClick Here to View Contact Information, ShowClick Here to View Contact Information, or any member of the staff, and tell us and we will help you find your way to a life enriched by the power of Torah. Join us and enjoy the fruits of learning.
Catalog of Courses
ON ZOOM
Fifty Years of Women in the Rabbinate, Rabbi Gold, Tuesdays, 3/1, 3/8, 3/15, 3/22, 11:30 a.m.-1:00 p.m.
The year 2022 marks 50 years since Rabbi Sally Priesand was ordained by the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion. We will celebrate by looking at the history of women in the rabbinate and the impact women rabbis have had on Jewish communal life.
(Did you know that NVHC was among the first congregations to welcome a woman rabbi to a solo position?!)
Registration is limited to 25 households. Click here to register! You will receive the Zoom link prior to the beginning of class.
ON ZOOM
Israel’s Changing Collective Identity, Fred Lazin, Thursdays, 7:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
1/6 – Sabra culture and Israeli society of 1948
2/3 – Mizrachim (adot hamizrach), Jews from Arab Lands
3/3 – Orthodoxy – the Charidim (ultra-Orthodox) versus the religious Zionists (Modern Orthodox) focusing on messianism and redemption after 1967
4/7 – Palestinian citizens of Israel from 1949 through 2021
5/19 – Russians, Ethiopians, and the Americanization of Israel
Registration is highly recommended. Click here to register! You will receive the Zoom link prior to the beginning of class.
This five-part series surveys the transition of Israeli society from the Sabra culture of the pre-state Yishuv to the present multi-cultural Israeli society.
ON ZOOM
Tuesdays, 10/19, 11/30, 12/14, 1/18, 2/10, 4/19, 5/10
6:30 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
Last year, we studied Volume 1 of Rabbi Joseph Telushkin’s Code of Jewish Ethics, a gateway to the numerous things Jewish text, tradition, and culture have to say about how we conduct our lives and our obligations to the world. This year, we continue our studies, diving into Volume 2. Purchase of the book is optional, but highly recommended. Click here to purchase the book!
Click here to register! You will receive the Zoom link prior to the beginning of class.
*Possible guest teacher due to sabbatical
ON ZOOM
Jewish Ideas of the Messiah, Rabbi Gold, Tuesdays, 11/9, 11/16, 11/23, 11/30, 11:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.
We will look at both ancient and contemporary texts exploring messianism in traditional and progressive Jewish thought.
Registration is limited to 25 households, Click here to register! You will receive the Zoom link prior to the beginning of class.
ON ZOOM
Jewish Short Stories, October 11, 2021, then the first Monday of every month beginning in November, 7:30 p.m.
“Last year some of us Lifelong Learners so enjoyed Rabbi Wainer’s class on Jewish short stories that we decided to extend it as a lay-led discussion group this year.” Join us for our first session on October 11, when Ellen Rugel will lead a discussion of Joan Leegant’s “Beautiful Souls.” Then, on November 1, Michele Probst will introduce “The Abandoning” by Zeeva Bukai. From November through May or June, all our sessions will take place on the first Monday of the month, and all will be held on Zoom at 7:30 p.m. for 45 minutes to an hour. All the stories will be available online. To participate and receive links for the stories in advance, email shortstories@nvhcreston.org. You will receive the Zoom link prior to the beginning of class.
IN PERSON
Mussar, Understanding Jewish ethical character traits in the unfolding of daily life, Cantor Caro, Wednesdays, 10/20, 11/17, 12/15, 1/19, 2/16, 3/23, 4/27, 5/18, 6/15, 12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m.
Through conversation, study and practice, we will explore middot – character measures. By cultivating these virtue-based measures, this practice helps us to reflect upon the challenges of daily living and grow toward who we hope to be.
Registration is highly recommended. Click here to register!
ON ZOOM
P’tach Libi, Open My Heart: A monthly Jewish mindfulness practice, Cantor Caro, Thursdays, 10/28, 11/11, 12/9, 1/27, 2/10, 3/17, 4/7, 5/12, 6/2, 10:00 a.m.
Practicing mindfulness helps develop a spaciousness of heart and mind that supports compassionate awakening to the truth of one’s own experience. We will gather for inspiration, teaching, and a time to sit together in practice, supported by one another.
Registration is highly recommended. Click here to register! You will receive the Zoom link prior to the beginning of class.
ON ZOOM
Strange Women of the Hebrew Bible, Rabbi Bass, Sundays, 3/13, 4/24, 5/15, 6/12, 10:45 a.m. – 11:45 a.m.
Class 1: Rahav (Book of Joshua, chapter 2)
Class 2: Jezebel (Selected texts from the Book of First Kings)
Class 3: Gomer, daughter of Diblayim (Book of Hosea, chapters 1-2)
Class 4: The image of a stranger/alien woman in the Book of Proverbs.
Registration is highly recommended. Please click here to register. You will receive the Zoom link prior to the beginning of class.
ON ZOOM
The Gift of Boundaries, Rabbi Bass, Sundays, 10/17, 11/21, 12/12, 1/9, 2/13, 10:45 a.m. – 11:45 a.m.
The Talmudic rabbis understood quite well that human beings have desires that cannot be negated. Instead of labeling these desires as sins, or forbid them altogether, the Talmudic rabbis created a system to limit our impulses, through which we can live a more productive (and guilt-free) life.
Class 1: The idea of Mitzvot as boundaries, and rabbinic authority.
Class 2: Work
Class 3: Money
Class 4: Sex
Class 5: Food
Registration is highly recommended. Click here to register! You will receive the Zoom link prior to the beginning of class.
The History, Structure, and Meaning of Jewish Prayer
with Andrew Stein
Sundays, below. 9:30-10:30
The late Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz wrote that the Talmud was “the central pillar supporting the entire spiritual and intellectual edifice of Jewish life.” This 10-part course will speak to the origins of Jewish prayer in the Hebrew Bible, rabbinical literature, and subsequent development over the past two thousand years in the Land of Israel and the Diaspora, especially in the US over the past century-plus. We will explore the link in Judaism between prayer and study, how prayer conveys the intellectual, spiritual and emotional yearnings of the Jewish people, and how synagogue prayer balances the traditional, set order and spontaneous prayer on the one hand, and speaks at once to the individual and the community, on the other hand. Finally, we will discuss the centrality of prayer in Hebrew over the course of Jewish history, but also discuss prayers composed in Aramaic, Greek, Yiddish, Ladino, and other Jewish and vernacular languages.
February 6 – An overview of Jewish prayer and the prayerbook, per Hoffman, Hammer
February 13 – The evolution of the Reform prayerbook, 1890s to 2007
February 27 – The evolution of the Reform machzor for Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur
March 6 – An examination of the Passover Haggadah as a prayerbook, liturgy
March 13 – Other prayerbooks: Orthodox, Conservative, and Reconstructionist
March 20 – Torah and prayer—origins in the 5 Books of Moses, the Prophets and Writings
March 27 – The Five Megilot, the Psalms, and Jewish Wisdom Literature and prayer
April 24 – Ashkenazic vs. Sephardi/Mizrachi prayerbooks and varieties across time/place
May 1 – Liturgy in Ladino, Yiddish, other Jewish languages and vernaculars
May 15 – Jewish education and insights gained by study of Jewish prayer, part 1
May 22 – Jewish education and insights gained by study of Jewish prayer, part 2
Click here to view the full syllabus, including suggested readings.
ON ZOOM
The Jewish Calendar as a Tool for Spiritual Growth, Adam Cohn, Thursdays, 10/28, 11/18, 12/23, 1/27, 2/24, 7:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
In the beginning, God created the Heavens and the Earth. But before he created the Heavens and the Earth, He created the beginning. Time was the first and most important creation. It is the foundation for everything that has happened since. This class will look at Jewish tradition through the lens of the various cycles of Jewish time. The day, week, month, year, and multi-year cycles. Why are each of these important and what is the spiritual root of each. How can we use this knowledge to realize our own spiritual potential and position ourselves for growth. Registration is highly recommended. Click here to register! You will receive the Zoom link prior to the beginning of class.
ON ZOOM
The Talmud of Parenting, Rabbi Holzman, Wednesdays, 11/10, 12/8, 1/5, 2/2, 4/6, 7:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
One of the most fascinating sections of Talmud is the in depth discussion about the 5th commandment: “Honor Thy Father and Mother.” In this passage our tradition explores the obligations between children and parents (and grandparents). It is also a relatively accessible section of Talmud. This class is open to all, newcomers included, and will provide an entry way to the textual foundation of Judaism, and a basis for relevant and colorful conversation.
Registration is highly recommended. Click here to register! You will receive the Zoom link prior to the beginning of class.
Adult Hebrew
Beginning Hebrew – Modern
Mondays, 6-7pm
12 weeks, beginning February 28
ON ZOOM ONLY
$132 – members, $185 – non-members
Textbook: Aleph Isn’t Tough
Registration is required. Click here to register!
You’re about to start learning Hebrew and immersing yourself in this unique language and culture. Our beginners course will give you a strong foundation in Hebrew. We start by learning the use and sound of all the Hebrew letters and vowels, which paves the way to reading, speaking, and writing. We teach Hebrew with an Israeli taste, making learning an enjoyable and successful experience for all!
Intermediate & Advanced Hebrew – Prayer & Biblical
Sundays, 7-8pm
12 weeks, beginning February 27
ON ZOOM ONLY
$132 – members, $185 – non-members
Textbook: Aleph Isn’t Enough
Registration is required. Click here to register!
Prerequisites: Beginning Hebrew II or equivalent. Knowledge of the Aleph Bet and beginning proficiency with reading Hebrew.
Class participants will have the opportunity to hone their Hebrew reading skills using the Siddur (prayer book), learning blessings and prayers.
This class is for anyone who would like further practice in their Hebrew reading skills and who would like to expand their Hebrew vocabulary and understanding of Hebrew grammar, verb tenses, and adjectives.
Intermediate & Advanced Hebrew – Modern
Mondays, 7-8pm
12 weeks, beginning February 28
ON ZOOM ONLY
$132 – members, $185 – non-members
Textbook: Brandeis Modern Hebrew
Registration is required. Click here to register!
Prerequisites: Beginning Hebrew II or equivalent. Knowledge of the Aleph Bet and beginning proficiency with reading Hebrew.
Class participants will have the opportunity to hone their Hebrew reading skills using Modern Hebrew and learning simple stories.
This class is for anyone who would like further practice in their Hebrew reading skills and who would like to expand their Hebrew vocabulary and understanding of Hebrew grammar, verb tenses, and adjectives.
Hebrew Poetry
Tuesdays, 7:30-8:30pm
12 weeks, beginning March 1
ON ZOOM ONLY
$132 – members, $185 – non-members
Text will be provided.
Registration is required. Click here to register!
Prerequisite: Students should be comfortable with reading Hebrew and have basic knowledge of Hebrew grammar.
Hebrew is more than just the grammar; it is a culture, a people and a history. Part of every language is its poetry and songs.
In this course you will continue to enrich your vocabulary while opening a window to Israeli culture. We will learn some poetry of Yehuda Amichai, Bialik, Alterman, Shemer, and other modern Israeli poets & songwriters, then translate and explore what they teach us about our past, our present, and our future.
Registration
Any fees or registration requirements are indicated in the program description. For programs that require registration we ask that you register early; we will cancel classes with insufficient enrollment.
Lifelong Learning at NVHC is supported by donations to the Seldon and Ruth Kruger Fund for Adult Learning and registration fees. Your continued donations to the Seldon and Ruth Kruger Fund for Adult Learning are appreciated.
Participation Open to ALL
All of our Lifelong Learning programs are open to anyone who is interested. We strive to offer a variety of learning experiences which will meet the needs and interests of our members. All programs are free for students registered in our Tamid program.
