IAJS Program

Course # 1 • JEWISH MAGIC AND MYSTICISM AT THE MOVIES
Instructor: Rabbi Raphael Adler, Woodbury Jewish Center
Journey with me into Jewish tradition’s twilight zone inhabited by ghosts and golems, spirits and séances, apparitions and angels, live on screen and accompanied by insights shaped by Kabala and the Sacred texts. Each week we will explore with fascinating film clips and rabbinic commentary these and many more topics:
• Angels Accompanying Us from Death to Shiva
• Golems amongst Us
• Cemetery Weddings and Appeasing Demons
• Woody Allen’s Jewish Mother Back from Beyond
• Ghosts of Auschwitz
• Replacing Oblivion with Children—Levirate Marriage and Chalitza
• Saul’s Séance, Heavenly Guests, Marriage Brokers from Heaven

Course # 2 • EVERYDAY SPIRITUALITY: HOW JUDAISM BRING US CLOSER TO GOD ONE DAY AT A TIME
Instructor: Rabbi Steven Conn, Plainview Jewish Center
Judaism asks us to perform lots of rituals. But these rituals are not ends in themselves. Jewish rituals give us a key to spiritual awareness. In this course, we will unlock the spiritual dimensions of everyday Jewish rituals—including blessings (berachot), the mezuzah, wearing the talit (prayer shawl) and tefilin, daily prayer, and Shabbat— that heighten our awareness of God. We will also explore Jewish teachings on the everyday spiritual care of our bodies and souls and the spirituality of our interpersonal relationships. Classroom sessions will focus on discussion, text study and hands on experiences. No prior knowledge of Jewish ritual is necessary to benefit from this course.

Course # 3 • NOT THE SAME OLD STORY – GENESIS IN THE LIGHT OF KABBALAH AND CHASSIDUT
Instructor: Instructor: Rabbi Yitschak Hassine, West Hills Torah Center, Hebrew School teacher at North Shore Synagogue
The stories in the book of Genesis are full of the deepest secrets of G-d, creation and the meaning of your very own life. Through the study of Kabbalah and Chassidut we will identify with the characters of the Torah and unravel the meaning of their stories and their relevance today. "Kabbalah turned G-dliness into a Man, then Chassidut made man G-dly" (a Chassidic saying that must be explained!). According to Kabbalah people are potentially the most important manifestation of G-d on earth.
• Adam and Eve: exiled from the Garden, when G-d became homeless
• Noah: the quintessential leader
• Abraham: the first Jew to live
• Sarah: the first Jew to die
• Yitschak and Rebecca: the struggle within
• Jacob and Esau: turning our two souls into identical twins
• Rachel and Leah: two letters in G-d’s name that represent thought and speech
• Yosef and Chanukah: when potential and actual meet even the darkness shines

Course # 4 • THE SHORT STORIES OF SHMUEL YOSEF AGNON
Instructor: Rabbi Perry Raphael Rank, Midway Jewish Center
S. Y. Agnon, a Nobel Laureate in literature, may be identified as one of Israel’s superior literary talents, but his true place belongs within the company of the great contemporary writers of the twentieth century. The miracle of his writing emanates from the ability to draw universal lessons from the confines of the Polish shtetl or the nascent Zionist settlements of Pre-state Israel. His themes touch on issues which resonate with us today—the dissolution of tradition, the loss of identity, and the waning of faith—delicately woven into a literary fabric replete with allusions to Torah, midrash and Jewish traditions. The influence of the Hasidim in his early childhood also surfaces as he teases the reader with mystical and kabbalistic realities. Each week, the class will receive a new story to read and the following week, that story will be examined, analyzed and discussed. This is an opportunity for the People of the Book to delve into the mind of a master writer. No knowledge of Hebrew is required
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Course # 5 • JUDAISM & MODERNITY – AN HISTORICAL & THEOLOGICAL EVALUATION OF HOW THE REFORM CONSERVATIVE, MODERN ORTHODOX, & RECONSTRUCTIONIST MOVEMENTS HAVE FACED THE 19TH , 20TH & 21ST CENTURIES
Instructor: Rabbi Marvin Richardson, Jericho Jewish Center
Most of the movement/denominations are a far cry from what their origins are. One might make the case that the founders of these movements wouldn’t recognize the direction these denominations have taken over the course of the past few decades and years. Is Reform as radical as it used to be or does it realize that at some point they may have thrown out the baby with the bath water? Whereas “tradition and change” was the watchword of the Conservative movement for so long, has there been more change than tradition in recent years? Has Modern Orthodoxy been hijacked by the Ultra- Orthodox causing the “haredization” of what once was a progressive Orthodox movement? Is Mordechai Kaplan rolling in his grave seeing the way Reconstructionists now pray or is he laughing all the way knowing how many of his ideas have now been incorporated into other movements? These and other questions will seek to be answered over the course of this 8 week series.

Course # 6 • ATAH TZAREK L’CHAYYOT AD ME’AH V’ESREEM B’SIMCHA - YOU SHOULD LIVE TO A HUNDRED AND TWENTY WITH JOY: HOW WILL YOU MEET OUR CREATOR? HOW WILL YOU SHARE YOUR JOURNEY WITH THOSE WHO REMAIN?
Instructor: Rabbi Jay Weinstein, Congregation Simchat HaLev
Using text, written expression, prayer, chant, sharing and imagery, Rabbi Jay will guide each participant through the process of creating a personal Viddui—deathbed “confessional” prayer and an ethical will. As we journey through this experiential workshop, participants will learn how to transition from this life to life eternal and how to share their story, wishes and values with their loved ones so that life continues from this generation to the next.

Course # 7 • CONVERSATIONAL HEBREW
Instructor: Rabbi Yacob Gil, Hebrew Academy of Nassau County
Requirements are a familiarity with very basic Hebrew vocabulary, an ability to read Hebrew, and a desire to formulate and express ideas in this beautiful language.

Course # 8 • BEGINNERS HEBREW
Instructor: Cila Klingher, Solomon Schechter Day School of Nassau County
Come learn how to read Hebrew the Sephardic way along with its vocabulary words which will help you pray with Kavannah (sincerity). At the end of the course you will feel comfortable at any daily and Shabbat services held throughout the world and in your very own community. *Required Text: Men’s Club Shalom Aleichem (available for purchase through the IAJS at first class meeting).

Course # 9 • ISRAELI FOLK DANCING
Instructor: Ellie Tepper
Ellie Tepper teaches Israeli dancing at the Suffolk JCC and at Stony Brook University. She attends weekly sessions, camps and weekends to enjoy and enhance her knowledge of new and older dances.