Interested in deepening your Jewish learning and studying alongside our rabbinical students? Every semester, we invite members of the general public to take selected courses. We hope to see you in our virtual classrooms.
Upcoming Semester Courses
STORIES OF POWER: THE RISE AND FALL OF THE UNITED MONARCHY
Instructor: Amanda, Mbuvi, Ph.D.
Meeting Details: Tue and Thur from 9:30 a.m. to 10:50 a.m. EST. Classes are hybrid.
Pre-requisite: Tanakh 2 and able to be ready for close reading of the biblical text in the original Hebrew.
Course Description: This course will focus on 1-2 Samuel through 1 Kings 12, which depicts the emergence of Israelite monarchy and features some of the most memorable characters and stories in the Tanakh. We will pay special attention to the literary features of the text, the distinct approaches to leadership embodied by prophets, priests, and kings, and the role of story in forging communal identity and creating power.
SACRAMENTAL MATERIALITY: THE POLYPHONIC SPIRITUALITY OF HASIDUT
Instructor: Joel Hecker, Ph.D.
Meeting Details: Tuesday 1:40 p.m. to 3 p.m. EST and Wednesday, 3:30 p.m. to 4:50 p.m. EST. Classes are hybrid.
Pre-requisite: Highest level of Hebrew, Midrash and Parshanut.
Course Description: Seeking to understand issues such as hasidic prayer and Torah study, mystical leadership, worship through materiality, mystical union, and the centrality of Jewish ritual, we will study some of the movement’s early texts. These will include texts written by the Baal Shem Tov, his students the Maggid of Mezheritch and Ya‘aqov Yosef of Polonoyye, and from the Maggid’s students, including Menahem Mendel of Vitebsk, Levi Yitshaq of Berditchev, Menahem Nahum of Chernobyl, Elimelekh of Lizhensk and Shneur Zalman of Liadi. We will conclude with teachings of Nahman of Brazlav and ‘the Ishbizer’, Mordekhai Yosef Leiner.
Classes run from February 3 to May 8, 2025.
If interested, please contact Mary Buhring, Director of Academic Administration at MBuhring@RRC.edu.
Current Tuition Schedule
| Non-Matriculated Student Fees | |
| Not for Credit | $600 per course |
| For Credit | $1,350 per credit |
| Biblical Hebrew Online Course | $750 * |
| RRC Alumni/RRA Members | $72 per course |
| Member of a community affiliated with Reconstructing Judaism (not for credit) | $500 per course |
| Jewish Professional (not for credit) | $300 for the first course, $360 for additional courses |
* For more info on the Biblical Hebrew Online Course, contact Rabbi Melissa Heller.
