Public Courses – Fall 2025

Fall 2025 Public Courses

Hazzanut

North African Jewish Music

Instructor: Dr. Samuel Thomas
Mondays 11 am to 1 pm (eastern)
Starting on August 25 

Students are expected to read and write music notation. If you have questions, please contact the AOP office: ordination@aleph.org or (215) 247-9700 x210.

This course explores the musical traditions associated with North African Jewry – herein defined as Maghrebi Jewry and including Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, and al-Andalus (historical Sepharad or Spain) – from both ethnomusicological and practical perspectives. The scope of the course will include exploring different historical periods, regional and interregional connections between Jewish communities, intercultural connections between Jewish and non-Jewish communities, through the vantage point of liturgical, paraliturgical, and non-liturgical musical expressions. Students will attend group classes in an online classroom environment and work on practical performance and analysis projects outside of class.

hazzanut

Leynen for the Rest of Us

Instructor: Hazzan Diana Brewer
Wednesdays 1:45 to 3:15 pm (eastern)
Starting on August 27

Course fee: $750 for Public Student, $550 for Public Auditor (plus 3% T’rumah Financial Aid Fund fee)

Welcome to a step-by-step approach to chanting Torah. Even if you think you “can’t sing,” you can learn to leyn Torah. Yes, we will be dealing with music and singing together, but there’s so much more to it than the notes.
In this course you will:
1) learn the names, functions, and sounds of the symbols that hold the musical AND grammatical notation that inform the chanting of the five books of the Torah. Known as the “ta’amei hamikra” – literally, the tastes of the reading – these symbols unlock the meaning of the text for reader and listener.
2) learn how to use them to inform a meaningful (dare I say “dramatic?”) rendition of the Hebrew text – sung OR spoken.
3) be able to chant full verses of Torah.
4) explore applying the ta’amei hamikra to your creative translations of Torah texts.

Prerequisite: Ability to read and pronounce Hebrew.

hebrew language

Biblical Hebrew 101

Public Student is the only enrollment option for this intensive language course. Course fee is $1,133 per semester.

Instructor: Michal Nachmany
Mondays 4 to 6 pm (eastern)
Starting on August 25

A rigorous and fast-paced foundational course. Students of varied backgrounds are welcome to enroll but are expected to be able to read Hebrew phonetically and to write Hebrew.  Primary textbooks are The First Hebrew Primer, 3rd edition, published by EKS and J. Weingreen’s A Practical Grammar for Classical Hebrew.

Students will work with a hevruta partner. Plan on five to ten hours of study per week. Areas covered: nouns, verbs and other topics in grammar. 

hebrew language

Biblical Hebrew 102A

Public Student is the only enrollment option for this intensive language course. Course fee is $1,133 per semester.

Instructor: Rabbi Hannah Laner
Thursdays 5 to 7 pm (eastern)
Starting on August 28

Areas covered: nouns, verbs and other topics in grammar. The goal of these courses is a solid grounding in translation of Hebrew texts from TaNaKH and Siddur. 

If you have passed Biblical Hebrew 101, you will be prepared for Biblical Hebrew 102A. If you have not taken Biblical Hebrew 101 you need to have tested out of it: please contact the AOP office: ordination@aleph.org . 

hebrew language

Biblical Hebrew 102B

Public Student is the only enrollment option for this intensive language course. Course fee is $1,133 per semester.

There will be two sections, one taught by Rabbi Fern Feldman and the other taught by Dr. Marian Broida.
Rabbi Feldman’s section will meet on Wednesdays from 4 to 6 pm (eastern) and will start on August 27.
Dr. Broida’s section will meet on Tuesdays from 5 to 7 pm and will start on August 26.

Areas covered: nouns, verbs and other topics in grammar. The goal of these courses is a solid grounding in translation of Hebrew texts from TaNaKH and Siddur.

Biblical Hebrew 102B employs texts from Genesis, parashiot ha-shavuah, and Siddur.

If you have passed Biblical Hebrew 102 or 102A, you will be prepared for the Biblical Hebrew 102B. If you have not taken Biblical Hebrew 102 or 102A you need to have tested out of it: please contact the AOP office: ordination@aleph.org .

hebrew language

Liturgical Hebrew 1

Instructor: Hazzan Abbe Lyons
Tuesdays 3:30 to 5 pm (eastern)
Starting on August 26

Course fee: $750 for Public Student, $550 for Public Auditor (plus 3% T’rumah Financial Aid Fund fee)

Prerequisite: Hebrew 101 or equivalent prior study. Students with prior decoding experience may request permission from the instructor to take concurrently with Hebrew 101.

Gain fluency in reading aloud, chanting and singing Hebrew text effectively. Bring your knowledge into real life and deepen your understanding and ability in this practical workshop. Students will be guided to improve pronunciation while making the connection between understanding and bringing out the meaning of phrases, passages and entire prayers. We will study texts from weekdays, Shabbat, holiday, and/or lifecyle liturgy.

hebrew language

Rabbinic Hebrew Workshop

Instructor: Rabbi Carl Woolf
Thursdays 4 to 5:30 pm (eastern)
Starting on August 28

Course fee: $750 for Public Student, $550 for Public Auditor (plus 3% T’rumah Financial Aid Fund fee)

This workshop will offer practice and instruction in Rabbinic Hebrew, both Rabbinic Hebrew Level One: Mishnaic Hebrew, which is relatively similar to Biblical Hebrew, and Rabbinic Hebrew Level Two, Medieval Rabbinic Hebrew, which includes a number of Aramaic terms that are common in the Talmud. We will also work on some commonroshei teivot (abbreviations) reading without vowels and reading Rashi script. (For those who have taken Reb Natan’s Reading the Rabbis courses through Hebrew College, this will follow a similar format). We will be primarily studying texts from the Mishnah along with medieval commentaries.

The workshop may be taken by students who have passed Biblical Hebrew 102 or 102A or an equivalent level of Biblical Hebrew as approved by the instructor. (Please contact the AOP office to request permission: ordination@aleph.org .)

JEWISH history

Antisemitism in Context: A Historical and Deep Ecumenical Perspective

Instructor: Rabbi Dr. Nancy Fuchs Kreimer
Mondays 11 am to 1 pm (eastern)
Starting on August 25

Permission of the instructor is required to enroll. If you are interested, please contact the AOP office: ordination@aleph.org or (215) 247-9700 x210.

Bigotry against Jews has a long history that includes both secular and religious, Christian and Muslim, left and right. Jews have responded to threats against their wellbeing in a variety of ways. Untangling today’s manifestations will require a dive into that history.
In addition, Deep Ecumenism suggests that we also look at today’s antisemitism in the context of Islamophobia, racism, Christian Nationalism and more.

The course will include readings, speakers from different perspectives and religious traditions. It will also explore challenges to Jewish leaders today through actual case studies.

JEWISH history

A History of Jewish Leadership Styles

Instructor: Dr. Yosef Rosen
Mondays 6:30 to 8:30 pm (eastern)
Starting on August 25

This course offers a global history of Jewish leadership from the late biblical age to the threshold of today’s emerging spiritual communities.  Our focus will be on how new leadership styles arise, are contested, renewed, and continuously adapted. Framing Jewish history through the lens of guidance allows us to map the shifting balance between tradition-keeping and boundary-pushing in communal leadership.

Leadership styles that we’ll explore include: The eclipse of the Prophets after the Bablonian exile and the attempted reinvention of prophecy in apocalyptic literature; the changing roles of priesthood in the second-temple period and the breakaway sect of priests at Qumran; The rabbinic revolution, whose interpretive audacity transformed Torah into an accessible and portable homeland; The melodic craft of the medieval Jewish poet/paytan, whose liturgical artistry allowed dispersed communities to share longing and prayers; The mystical renaissance of the Kabbalists, whose mystical maps reimagined exile as cosmic repair; The shamanic healing modalities of the Ba’alei Shem, who used amulets, herbs, and trance to offer psycho-spiritual remedies; The Maskilim and early Reformers, architects of a Judaism conversant with modernity’s promises and perils; The charismatic Tzadik of Hasidism, a figure of radical empathy and ecstatic practice; The Neo-Hasidic authors and artists who repurposed that fervor for a post-war, pluralistic landscape; The Feminist leaders of the late 20th century who expanded the covenantal circle; and the contemporary rise of DIY/Entrepreneurial innovators who remix tradition through start-ups, pop-ups, and open-source liturgy. By tracing these evolving archetypes of guidance, future Jewish leaders can gain a panoramic understanding of Jewish history and build a toolkit for crafting their own leadership in the unfolding story of Jewish renewal.

JEWISH history/Tanakh

Narratives of Bible

Instructor: Rabbi Dr. Leila Gal Berner
Tuesdays 11 am to 1 pm (eastern)
Starting on August 26

TaNaKH offers us ideas about revelation and covenantal promises. Its texts conceptualize a society based on divine law and built in a promised land. Students will explore the wide-ranging theologies in these texts, how they were composed, and how they present “revelation” through law, rites, prophecy, and more. Students will become familiar with the major methodologies and disciplines of biblical studies and will explore how to teach biblical narratives from a Jewish Renewal perspective in ways that make the texts meaningful and relevant for today’s Jews.

Prerequisite: Hebrew 102 or 102A or equivalent.

JEWISH THOUGHT

Foundations of Jewish Philosophy and Theology

Instructor: Dr. Sarah Pessin
Wednesdays 7 pm to 9 pm (eastern)
Starting on August 27

This course offers an introduction to foundational concepts in Jewish philosophy and theology by a diverse selection of thinkers, placing their ideas in the context of contemporary debates. In building a lexicon of foundational concepts in Jewish philosophy and theology, we will continually be considering their relevance and applications for thought leaders and activists within and beyond a Jewish Renewal context of community building. 

LITURGY

Exploring the Siddur

Instructor: Rabbi Sherril Gilbert 
Thursdays 2 to 4 pm (eastern)
Starting on August 28

The siddur is not just a prayerbook. It is a repository of Jewish wisdom, spirituality, and communal tradition. It contains inspiring words of Torah, Talmud, Tehillim, brachot, and liturgical poetry that comfort, transport, and transform us. In this practical and highly participatory course, we will explore the organization and flow of the siddur, learning how the different elements of prayer connect to create cohesive prayer experiences as we engage with both the structure (keva) and the intention (kavanah) of Jewish prayer. Participants will examine the similarities and differences among daily, Shabbat and holidays prayer services. We will dive into the origins and evolution of key prayers and explore the diverse theological and philosophical themes embedded within the liturgy. Participants will examine and compare siddurim across different Jewish denominations, geographical regions, and historical periods, drawing insight from the diversity of Jewish religious expression and the ongoing dialogue between tradition and innovation. We will explore various approaches to creating prayer experiences that reflect the plurality of Jewish life using strategies and tools for facilitating meaningful engagement with prayer with individuals from a range of backgrounds and levels of observance. This course will also provide participants with opportunities to reflect on their own relationship to prayer, and how this may influence their approach to pastoral guidance and spiritual care.

Rabbinic Texts

Foundations of Jewish Practice

Instructor: Rabbi Dr. Natan Margalit
Wednesdays 1 to 3 pm (eastern)
Starting on August 27

In this course, we will survey the Jewish traditional practices pertaining significant aspects of Jewish life, including Shabbat, Kashrut, and practices concerning the body. The course will be organized according to eight different dichotomies intrinsic to the system of applied Halachah (Jewish Law and Custom). As we explore such categories as the permitted and the forbidden; the pure and the impure (tahor/tamei); liability and exemption; we will simultaneously frame and examine specific practices pertaining to Shabbat, kashrut, sex, mikveh, tallit and tefillin. A major goal of this course is to introduce a Renewal perspective on rabbinic concepts, thus giving students the building blocks to continue learning and using Rabbinic Literature as an integral part of their Jewish outlook and practice.

Rabbinic Texts

Jewish Traditions of Sacred Time

Instructor: Rabbi Jhos Singer
Tuesdays 4 pm to 6 pm (eastern)
Starting on August 26

This course will cover the annual cycle of Jewish holidays from Pesach through Purim, paying attention to the ways that Jewish seasonal time reconciles lunar and solar cycles in order to both lock the Jewish holidays into the cycles of nature as well as allowing Jewish culture to adapt to conventional calendars. Course goals:
1. To understand the patterns, practices, and moods of the Jewish calendar as an exploration and expression of agricultural, mythic. biblical, rabbinic, spiritual, and mystical communal experiences.
2. To become familiar with particular practices and liturgies associated with each of the festivals and their seasons, as well as their origins and cultural underpinnings.

TanaKH

Leviticus: Entryways into Earth-based Perspectives

Instructor: Rabbi Dr. Natan Margalit
Tuesdays 1 to 3 pm (eastern)
Starting on August 26

Permission of the instructor is required to enroll. If you are interested, please contact the AOP office: ordination@aleph.org  or (215) 247-9700 x210.

In this class we will focus on the book of Leviticus as an entry point in re-visioning the TaNaKH from an Earth-Based point of view. Many of us have come to view Leviticus with a sense of its difficulty and perhaps even distaste at its description of priestly sacrifices and purity rituals. Yet, with its focus on human/animal relationships, on bodies, the seasons, agriculture and ritual, Leviticus can be an excellent entryway into understanding the TaNaKH’s earth-based character. Using an intertextual approach in which understanding of one biblical text is enhanced by comparisons with other texts to create richly layered patterns, we will usually start with a text from Leviticus but will end up exploring many parts of TaNaKH from Genesis to Deuteronomy to Song of Songs to Kings and the Prophets. In addition, we will explore the writing style of Leviticus (and other parts of TaNaKH) as it exemplifies an organic mode of thought which puts humans, land, and other beings, living and divine, into dynamic networks of relationship. Subjects will include: the Israelite Dietary System, Blood as a complex symbol, Animals and the wild, Death, Life and Purity, Shmitta, Pe’ah and our relation to agriculture, Sexuality, Priests and Gender, Society and Ritual.