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Sessions for Monday, 11:00 - 12:10 (Morning Intensive)
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- 'The Wisdom of Love': Philosophy, Religion and the Talmud in the Thought of Emmanuel Levinas (1 of 4)
- And They Pitched Their Tents
- Anthropology and the Holocaust: Primo Levi on Purity and Chaos
- Bintel Brief (1 of 3)
- Engaging and Inspiring Learners Through Objects
- From One God to Another (1 of 2)
- Frum and Female: the Interaction of Psychology and Judaism in the Lives of Girls
- Half the Community - Private Lives: Women and Prayer, Shema, and Kaddish (1 of 4)
- Has Israel Become an Embarrassment?
- Have Fun with Hebrew (1 of 4)
- Introduction to Talmud (Shame 1 - the Day the Talmud Was Created) (1 of 3)
- Is Judaism Just Another Fundamentalism?
- Israel 101 - Israel's Governmental Structure (1 of 4)
- Jewish Theology in an Environmental Age
- Melchizedek As a Prototype for Ancient Jews and Christians
- Morning Has Broken - Shacharit in a New Light (1 of 3)
- Not in Heaven (2 of 3)
- Scandals of the Talmud: the Stories They Wouldn't Teach You in Cheder (1 of 4)
- Scriptural Reasoning - 'Religion and Rebellion' (1 of 4)
- The End of Jewish Sovereignty
- The Luckiest People in the World - a Run Through Jewish History (1 of 4)
- Three Very Jewish Affairs: the Damascus Affair (1 of 3)
- Windows to Israeli Society Through Literature (1 of 4)
'The Wisdom of Love': Philosophy, Religion and the Talmud in the Thought of Emmanuel Levinas (1 of 4)
Tamra Wright
Location: Ram 3
Tracks: Philosophy
Type: Lecture
Emmanuel Levinas, one of the most influential philosophers of the 20th century, encouraged us to re-think the fundamentals of western thought and learn to see ethics as 'first philosophy'. What does that mean, and why is it important for Jews, philosophers, and students of Talmud? Today's session: an introduction to the man and the core of his thought. No prior knowledge of philosophy is required.
And They Pitched Their Tents
Eetta Prince-Gibson
Location: Hum 2
Tracks: Israel, Social Justice
Type: Lecture, Discussion
Following the Arab spring, Israel had its own Summer 2011 of discontent. More than 300,000 Israelis - one of Israel's largest demonstrations ever - demanded social justice? How did the demonstrations start and what kept them going? What were they really protesting about? What does social justice mean in the Israeli context? And where does Israeli society go from here?
Anthropology and the Holocaust: Primo Levi on Purity and Chaos
Robbie Duschinsky
Location: Soc 6
Tracks: Holocaust, Modernity, Psychology
Type: Lecture
Primo Levi's account of life in Auschwitz is the closest thing we have to an anthropological investigation of the concentration camps. Levi was concerned to address the Holocaust as an event that can tell us important things for our lives today. In writing of themes of purity and impurity, Levi offers us a number of brilliant reflections on how and why such themes occur when humans weigh the worth of one another in Modernity.
Bintel Brief (1 of 3)
Liana Finck
Location: Soc 10 (YLC Art)
Tracks: Arts and Crafts, Midrash, Modernity
Type: Creative
In this workshop, you will make a page of a graphic narrative based on one of the letters from the Bintel Brief, a popular Yiddish advice column that ran in New York's Forward Newspaper in 1906. Each participant in the workshop will be given a part of one of the letters to illustrate. The illustrations will be combined at the end of the workshop to create a continuous narrative, and the art will be displayed online as part of a larger project. Each workshop will be inspired by a different letter from the original Bintel Brief.
Engaging and Inspiring Learners Through Objects
Judith Vandervelde
Location: Soc 3
Tracks: Education, History
Type: Workshop / Practical, Discussion
Using the Jewish Museum's 'Take One Object' approach Judith will present artefacts from the Museum's collection. What might a 1920's Trade Union banner have to do with the Fair Trade movement today? What links a Magen David to the Olympics 2012? What does an old, battered typewriter tell us about life in the East End? Lots of questions and plenty of answers!
From One God to Another (1 of 2)
Gabby Dagan
Location: Ram 6
Tracks: Israel, Music Workshops, Spirituality
Type: Creative, Workshop / Practical
Learn gorgeous melodies that track a personal musical journey from an Israeli Sephardi synagogue through Ashkenazi Yeshiva, Orthodox and Israeli Army Rabbinate to the Reform Rabbinate in Haifa. Learn a wide variety of melodies that summarise such different aspects of Israeli life.
Frum and Female: the Interaction of Psychology and Judaism in the Lives of Girls
Leah Malamet
Location: Lib 1
Tracks: Psychology
Type: Lecture, Discussion
When do religious values and morals impact positively on mental health, personality structure and interpersonal relationships? And when might religion contribute towards a less than optimal sense of well being, and why? This session will explore the complex relationship between psychology and religious feelings, experiences and behaviour in both their healthier and pathological manifestations.
Half the Community - Private Lives: Women and Prayer, Shema, and Kaddish (1 of 4)
Lindsey Taylor-Guthartz
Location: Lib 2
Tracks: Age/Gender Issue, Halacha, Tanach/Text
Type: Lecture, Text Study
In this intensive, we'll explore what the halachah says about women's performance of ritual commandments, and investigate how this plays out in practice, plus find out what is happening in the amazingly creative field of women's spirituality. Today we'll consider whether women are obligated to pray; whether they should say Shema twice a day; and whether they can say kaddish.
Has Israel Become an Embarrassment?
David Hazony
Location: Sci 4
Tracks: Anglo Jewish Politics, Current affairs, Israel
Type: Lecture, Discussion
For many liberal Jews, Israel has become embarrassing or even unrecognisable. Citing everything from hawkish security policies to capitalist reforms and religious extremism, many say Israel has abandoned the enlightened, communitarian and peace-loving ideology that the Jewish state was founded on. This talk will cover the last two decades of Israeli history, from Oslo to the summer's economic protests, and will ask whether the problem is really with the Israelis-or with the critics.
Have Fun with Hebrew (1 of 4)
Nurith Cohen
Location: Ram 5
Tracks: Israel
Type: Workshop / Practical
Starter course for beginners, refreshers welcome! Four sessions of practical Hebrew in which to build a foundation of a beautiful and fascinating language. Learn useful words and phrases. Share this fun experience with friends and make new ones.
Introduction to Talmud (Shame 1 - the Day the Talmud Was Created) (1 of 3)
Joel Grishaver
Location: Rootes Chancellors 1
Tracks: Halacha, Leadership, Tanach/Text
Type: Creative, Text Study
Wanna understand and study some Talmud? This is the first of three sessions of an introduction to Talmud. We will look at the Day when Ezra had the whole Torah read to Israel, the changes Ezra made to the Jewish Tradition and will also look at how Talmud emerges from these changes. In addition we will recreate a Talmudic text, Brakhot 27b-28a.
Is Judaism Just Another Fundamentalism?
William Kolbrener
Location: Sci 3
Tracks: Midrash, Modernity, Philosophy
Type: Lecture, Discussion
Looking at Western ideas of truth, relativism, and pluralism, we explore parallel Jewish concepts. Are Truth and Emet really the same? That is, is Judaism just another fundamentalism, and does being Jewish mean a fundamentalist intolerance of the other? Or does it provide models of pluralism and difference which may be relevant to leading an engaged Jewish life in the twenty-first-century world?
Israel 101 - Israel's Governmental Structure (1 of 4)
Daniel Zweig
Location: Ram 4
Tracks: Israel
Type: Lecture
Want to refresh your basic knowledge about Israel? Missed a class or two at Cheder? Israel 101 will teach you about the cornerstones of the State of Israel. Presented by the Jewish Agency for Israel Shlichim, get the facts about Israel like never before. Today we will examine Israel's governmental structure - who runs the Knesset? What is the left and who is right? How did it all begin and why? Come find out.
Jewish Theology in an Environmental Age
Or Rose
Location: Soc 4
Tracks:
Type: Discussion, Text Study
How do we speak of God in the midst of a global environmental crisis? Which Jewish theological teachings might provide us with guidance in our attempts to heal and sustain the earth? How might we weave together insights from Jewish sources with wisdom from other fields of inquiry to create a compelling environmental ethos?
Melchizedek As a Prototype for Ancient Jews and Christians
Joshua Garroway
Location: Soc 5
Tracks: Interfaith, Midrash, Tanach/Text
Type: Lecture, Text Study
The obscure priestly figure called Melchizedek in Genesis 14:18-20 is of little importance to most modern Jews. Not so in antiquity, however. Come learn how ancient Jews and Christians interpreted the significance of this first 'priest of the God Most High' in dramatically different ways.
Morning Has Broken - Shacharit in a New Light (1 of 3)
Ruth Gan Kagan
Location: Rootes Chancellors 3
Tracks:
Type: Workshop / Practical, Training
Birkot Hashachar: The Jewish Secret of Getting Your Body to Prayer. Explore the underlying structure of the morning service and deepen your understanding of the inner process that prayer is offering us at the dawn of each day. We will use writing exercises, chanting, movement and discussions to enliven the davvening practice. For clergy, prayer leaders and those who wish to take their own prayer practice to a deeper level. A siddur is recommended.
Not in Heaven (2 of 3)
Joe Wolfson
Location: Soc 1
Tracks: Leadership, Midrash, Tanach/Text
Type: Lecture, Text Study
The Oven of Akhnai legend and its conclusion that the Torah is 'not in heaven', is to the Talmud what Sinai is to the Bible - the single event that gives sense to the whole. This intensive aims to put the story in a new light by focusing on the biographies of the key characters, and showing how the choices and decisions that confronted post-Temple Judaism live with us until today.
Scandals of the Talmud: the Stories They Wouldn't Teach You in Cheder (1 of 4)
Yaffa Epstein
Location: Rootes Chancellors 2
Tracks: Midrash, Sexuality, Tanach/Text
Type: Text Study
The Rabbi and the Prostitute: Who Owns Holiness? Yes, it's true - Some Talmudic Rabbis would go see Prostitutes... The amazing thing is that the Talmud is not afraid to tell us about this! We will be reading the story, and exploring it's meaning, while also examining the legal context in which this tale is told.
Scriptural Reasoning - 'Religion and Rebellion' (1 of 4)
Zubair Ahmed,
Muhammad Al-Hussaini
Location: Soc 8
Tracks: Communities, Interfaith, Tanach/Text
Type: Text Study, Workshop / Practical
The recent riots across English cities highlight major questions of disaffection, injustice and rebellion affecting all our communities. What do the sacred texts of Judaism, Christianity and Islam have to say about these critical social issues? Scriptural Reasoning is the fascinating practice of Jews, Christians and Muslims meeting to study their sacred texts in order to understand religious differences. This exciting interactive seminar gives you a chance to explore and try it for yourself.
The End of Jewish Sovereignty
Daniel Reisel
Location: Sci 7
Tracks: Israel, Tanach/Text
Type: Discussion, Text Study
When the rabbis of the Talmud look back at the loss of Jewish sovereignty in the Land of Israel in the year 70, the conclusions they draw are startling. We will read the intriguing story as told in Talmud Gittin and ask what lessons it may hold for us today.
The Luckiest People in the World - a Run Through Jewish History (1 of 4)
Clive Lawton
Location: Hum 1
Tracks: Diaspora, History, Politics
Type: Lecture, Discussion
Over four sessions, Clive will look at different periods in Jewish history and seek to support his thesis that the Jews are the luckiest people in history. Enough of whinging. Time to be grateful!
Three Very Jewish Affairs: the Damascus Affair (1 of 3)
Jonathan Wolfson
Location: Soc 7
Tracks: Diaspora, History
Type: Lecture, Discussion
During the 19th Century Jewish communities in Western Europe faced 3 'Affairs'. Each - with its own international dimension - threatened to disturb the sense of progress felt in the Age of Emancipation and necessitated new means of organisation and alliances with the non-Jewish world. The Damascus Affair in 1840 saw the re-emergence of the medieval Blood Libel in a modern setting. As alarming as the events in Damascus themselves, was the credulity and acceptance of the libel in Western Europe liberal and political circles...
Windows to Israeli Society Through Literature (1 of 4)
Rachel Korazim
Location: Sci 8
Tracks: Literature, Poetry, Tanach/Text
Type: Discussion, Text Study
Biblical Motifs - Challenging Views. This session offers a critical reading of modern poems that challenge our traditional view of well known biblical figures. With works by Yehudit Kafri, Eran bar Gil, Uzi Shavit , Haim Guri and others we will revisit Rachel, Eve, Jacob's sons, Bat Sheva and Sisra's mother to explore possible hidden meaning for contemporary readers of ancient texts.
