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
BERESHIT RABBAH: CREATION AND CREATIVITY
Instructor: Rabbi Mira Wasserman, Ph.D.
Meeting Details: Tuesdays 11:15 am to 12:35 pm and 1:40 to 3:00 pm EST
Tuesday Dates: Aug 25; Sept 1, 8, 29; Oct 6, 13, 20, 27; Nov 3, 10, 17, 24; Dec 1
Credit: 3 RRC credits.
Prerequisite: Introduction to Rabbinic Literature
Mode of Instruction: Hybrid. Instructor will be on campus.
Course Description: This course is an investigation of midrash as both an interpretive discipline and an imaginative discourse. We will engage in close reading of select passages of Bereshit Rabbah, analyzing the exegesis and the theological and mythological content. Our study of key rabbinic teachings about God’s creation of humanity and the world will serve as a foundation for explicating the nature of rabbinic creativity in the classic rabbinic period, and for creatively engaging midrash in a way that speaks to contemporary experience.
REBBE NAHMAN
Instructor: Joel Hecker, Ph.D.
Meeting Details: Wednesdays 1:40 to 3:00 pm EST and Thursday 9:30 to 10:50 am EST
Wed Dates: Aug 26; Sept 2, 30; Oct 7, 14, 21 28; Nov 4, 11, 18, 25; Dec 2, 9
Thursday Dates: Aug 27; Sept 3, 24; Oct 1, 8, 15, 22, 29; Nov 5, 12, 19; Dec 3, 10
Credit: 3 RRC credits
Pre-requisite: Hebrew 3, Medieval Thought, Midrash
Mode of Instruction: Hybrid. Instructor will be on campus.
Course Description: Rebbe Nahman of Brazlav oscillated between despair and joy, acknowledging the theological inevitability of the former and always striving for the breakthrough to the latter. This course will spend most of the semester studying Liqqutei Moharan, the primary text of Rebbe Nahman’s discourses. Students will explore his world, probing the parallels between his and our theological meanderings. Toward the end of the course, we will turn to the Rebbe’s stories, his chosen method for teaching after his spiritual crisis.
Current Tuition Schedule
| Non-Matriculated Fees | |
| Non-Matriculated students (not for credit) | $350 per credit for total of $1,050 |
| RRC Alumni/RRA Member (not for credit) | $72 Per Credit for total of $216 |
| Member of affiliate Congregation (not for credit) | $250 Per Credit for total $750 |
| Jewish Professionals (not for credit) | $250 Per Credit for total of $750 |
* If interested in taking this course for credit, please refer to our course fees on our website.
Please reach out to Mary Buhring to get registered.
