October, 2015
To our members and friends, Shanah tovah, I hope you have been enjoying a meaningful holiday season. As the end of this beautiful season approaches, our Institute educational programming is about to kick off full-throttle.
Here are some of the upcoming learning opportunities. Year-Long Course: Navigating Through Nach: A Survey of the Prophets Although Tanakh lies at the heart of the vision of Judaism and has influenced billions of people worldwide, many often lack access to these eternal works. Beginning on Wednesday evening, October 14, I will begin a two-year journey through the nineteen books of the Bible from Joshua through Chronicles. The best of traditional and contemporary scholarship will be employed as we study the central themes of each book. This year we will survey the books of the prophets (Nevi'im). The course will be taught at a high scholarly level but is accessible to people of all levels of Jewish learning. Co-sponsored by KJ and the Institute for Jewish Ideas and Ideals
Wednesday evenings from 7-8pm Location: Congregation Kehilath Jeshurun, 125 East 85th Street (between Park and Lexington Avenues in Manhattan). Fall session (Joshua, Judges, Samuel): October 14, 21, 28, November 4, 11, 18, December 2, 9. Free and open to the public, please email me at [email protected] if you plan on attending.
On Wednesday, October 14, 1:00-2:00pm, I will give a lecture at the Allegra Franco School of Educational Leadership on the Tower of Babel in classical and contemporary scholarship. Location: Congregation Beth Torah, 1061 Ocean Parkway, Brooklyn. Free and open to the public.
On Shabbat, October 23-24, I will be the scholar-in-residence at Congregation Anshei Sfard Beth El Emeth, 120 East Yates Road North, Memphis, Tennessee. All are welcome.
On Sunday, November 8, 10:30am, the Institute for Jewish Ideas and Ideals and Congregation Kehilath Jeshurun are co-sponsoring a book reception for Naomi Ragen’s latest book, The Devil in Jerusalem: A Novel. Free and open to the public, books will be available for purchase.
On Shabbat, November 13-14: I will be the scholar-in-residence at Young Israel of Hollywood-Ft. Lauderdale, 3291 Stirling Road, Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. All are welcome. The Institute for Jewish Ideas and Ideals and Congregation Kehilath Jeshurun are co-sponsoring a three-part series, History at Home: Saturday Night Fights: Great Jewish Debates. I will give the first lecture on Saturday night, November 21, at 8:30 pm: “Dogma, Heresy, and Classical Debates: How We May Create Jewish Unity in an Age of Confusion.”
I speak at Kehilath Jeshurun (125 East 85th Street) nearly every Shabbat and on holidays at their Sephardic Minyan, and give additional classes at KJ as well. All are welcome to join our vibrant, growing community, as we develop the ideas and ideals of our Institute in a communal framework.
As part of my ongoing teachers’ training programs, I will be teaching a three-part series on “How to Teach Tanakh in Synagogues” for the Graduate Program of Advanced Talmudic Studies (GPATS) at Stern College for Women of Yeshiva University. These classes, to be held October 28, November 4, and November 11, are open only to the participants in their program.
I also am teaching advanced undergraduate Bible courses full-time in the Isaac Breuer College of Yeshiva University. This semester we are learning the Books of Exodus, Judges, and Isaiah. My forthcoming book, a commentary on Haggai-Zechariah-Malachi is in the editing process, to be published by Maggid Press in Israel as part of their growing series of commentaries on the Bible.
Finally, please check out our Online Learning section on our website, jewishideas.org, for the latest recordings of my classes online. I thank all of our members and friends for their ongoing support and participation as we spread our vision to thousands of people throughout the country and beyond. I look forward to learning together with you and growing the reach of our Institute with your help and involvement.
Shanah Tovah, Rabbi Hayyim Angel National Scholar