| Reform Judaism

Introduction to Judaism Online Classes

August 19, 2020

Class Type

Class Meeting Time

Classes begin every 2 - 3 months. Registration is open for upcoming cohorts. Class options include: Sunday AM or PM, Tuesday PM, Wednesday PM, and Thursday PM

Number of Sessions

20 Sessions

Introduction to Judaism online is a live weekly video conference class where students join classmates for an engaging 20-session course offered in three consecutive trimesters. The program is suitable for adults who wish to gain a deeper understanding of Jewish life through a Reform lens.

Classes and Learning

female and male symbol combined and written with chalk

The title of your new book, How the Bible Became Holy, implies that the Bible wasn't perceived as holy—in other words, authoritative—from the outset. Is that right? Yes. The standard perspective has long been that the biblical texts become authoritative, more or less, at their moment of composition. This prevailing

Building A Jewish Framework To Live By

Sue Levi Elwell and Nancy Fuchs Kreimer, editors

Review by

Deborah Rood Goldman

These essays are written by strong women who are strong thinkers, well-versed in articulating Jewish teachings and values. Judaism provides the foundation and the framework of their lives. For this writing endeavor, each woman looked at her life experience through her “Jewish lens,” and chose a single snapshot to share.

Little Failure

Garry Shteyngart

Review by

Rabbi Anne Perry

The Yiddish phrase lachen mit yashtsherkes literally means "laughing with lizards" but is usually meant as "laughing through the tears." It's an idea that is prevalent throughout Gary Shteyngart's latest book, Little Failure, a memoir of his childhood as a Russian immigrant in America and his journey to becoming a

A Town of Empty Rooms

Karen Bender

Review by

Rabbi Anne Perry

In an essay for the New York Times, author Karen Bender writes about how both writing and reading helped her develop her sense of compassion: It seemed a spectacular achievement to be able to step out of yourself to listen to someone else. Why was this? How did we end

Holy War in Judaism: The Fall and Rise of a Controversial Idea

Reuven Firestone

Rabbi Reuven Firestone is professor of Medieval Judaism and Islam at the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in Los Angeles and author of numerous books, most recently Holy War in Judaism: The Fall and Rise of a Controversial Idea (Oxford University Press, 2012), which explores how the concept of

Kabbalah: A Love Story

Lawrence Kushner

Review by

Bonny V. Fetterman

When is a predictable love story more than a predictable love story? When a teacher of mysticism like Rabbi Lawrence Kushner uses it as a parable. Kushner spins fables within fables to explain the history and worldview of the Kabbalists-and has them all taking place concurrently, colliding with and illuminating

Emma Lazarus

Esther Schor

Review by

Bonny V. Fetterman

Emma Lazarus' poem, "The New Colossus," affixed to the base of the Statue of Liberty in 1903 (twenty-five years after her death), identifies this icon as the "Mother of Exiles." It took time for Lady Liberty to grow into this role. The statue, a gift from France to America, was

One Hundred Jewish Books: Three Millennia of Key Jewish Conversation

Lawrence A. Hoffman

Rabbi Lawrence A. Hoffman, the Barbara and Stephen Friedman Professor of Liturgy, Worship and Ritual at HUC-JIR in New York, talks to RJ 's editors about his latest book, One Hundred Jewish Books: Three Millennia of Key Jewish Conversation (Bluebridge Press, 2011), which offers commentary on key Jewish writings from

Pledges of Jewish Allegiance: Conversion, Law, and Policymaking in Nineteenth- and Twentieth-Century Orthodox Responsa

Review by

Bonny V. Fetterman

Fiction writer Edith Pearlman came to the attention of a broad readership when she was awarded the PEN/Malamud Award for short story writing in December 2011. In the same year, her third collection, Binocular Vision, was selected as a finalist for the National Book Award and featured on the front

Subscribe to