The Tauber Program offers a joyful, collaborative environment for adult learners who wish to develop authentic knowledge of Jewish ideas and texts that are genuinely relevant to their lives.
NEW! ELUL PROGRAM/SEPTEMBER STUDY
Thursday nights, September 4, 11, 18, 25
The month of Elul, which is the last Jewish month before Rosh Hashanah, has customarily been set aside for reflection and study. Long time Tauber students and first-timers are invited to participate in the Tauber Elul program, dedicated to themes relevant to the High Holy Days. These classes will provide newcomers with a sense for what Tauber classes and teachers are all about. Please join us for these inspiring and interactive text-study classes.
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YESOD/2-YEAR CORE PROGRAM
Yesod is the centerpiece of the Tauber program. This two year curriculum is designed to impart knowledge of the central texts and ideas in Jewish history and life. Each trimester consists of 8-sessions. Classes are in English, taught in an interactive style by Bay Area scholars.
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IKARIM
Is the Holy Land Holy? Can There Be Land for Peace in the Jewish Tradition?
with Rabbi Peretz Wolf-Prusan
We will compare and contrast the teachings of Maimonides, Nachmanides, Rav Kook, David Hartman, and the American Evangelical Christian Zionists.
King David's Wives and Women with Emily Shapiro Katz
Women often play only minor roles in the great Biblical narratives, but the David stories are full of remarkable women.
One People, Two Worlds: An Exploration of Reform Judaism and Chabad
with Rabbi Jonathan Jaffe and Rabbi Gedalia Potash
Co-facilitated by Emanu-El Rabbi Jonathan Jaffe and Chabad of Noe Valley Rabbi Gedalia Potash, the class will discuss major topics of connection and difference between these denominations, such as: God, Mitzvoth, Israel, Messianism, etc.
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TEXT AND THE CITY:
How does the Talmud describe the development the character of the ideal person? Is there a standard view? Can we find feminist perspectives? Join this discussion of the Talmud in translation and commentary.
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THE TAUBER BOOK CLUB - MASTERS OF FICTION
Led by author Michael Lavigne, the new Tauber Book Club invites you to a delicious feast of Jewish fiction from Europe, South America, Israel and the United States. Meeting once a month at Mr. Lavigne's house, you will encounter full-length texts in a thought provoking, intensely personal, and enlightening atmosphere. Bring your right brain and your left, because you're going to need them both. Michael, for his part, will supply context, point of view, interpretive guideposts, author background, and excellent refreshments. Space is limited.
Wednesdays 7:00-9:00 pm
10/29 Dovid Bergelson, The Shadows of Berlin; and Bruno Schultz, The Street of Crocodiles
11/19 David Grossman, See: Under Love
12/17 Aaron Appelfeld, Badenheim 1939
1/21 Meir Shalev, A Pigeon and A Boy
2/18 Clarice Lispector, Hour of the Star
3/18 Romain Gary, The Life Before You (Momo)
4/22 Allegra Goodman, Intuition
5/20 Arnon Grunberg, Phantom Pain
NEW! ELUL PROGRAM/SEPTEMBER STUDY
Thursday nights, September 4, 11, 18, 25
The month of Elul, which is the last Jewish month before Rosh Hashanah, has customarily been set aside for reflection and study. Long time Tauber students and first-timers are invited to participate in the Tauber Elul program, dedicated to themes relevant to the High Holy Days. These classes will provide newcomers with a sense for what Tauber classes and teachers are all about. Please join us for these inspiring and interactive text-study classes.
A TASTE OF TAUBER
Thursday, September 4, 7:00-9:00 pm
"The Akedah": Interpreting the Binding of Isaac
Genesis Chapter 22, The Binding of Isaac, is one of the greatest and most problematic texts in Biblical literature. Come experience our teachers and their presentations on this story from the perspectives of Maimonides, Kierkegaard, Rembrandt, and others.
Presenters will include: Rabbi Peretz Wolf Prusan, Rabbi Jonathan Jaffe, Deena Aranoff, Emily Shapiro Katz,
ELUL THREE WEEK MINI-COURSES
Thursdays, September 11, 18, 25, 7:00-9:00 pm
Understanding High Holiday Liturgy with Rabbi Jonathan Jaffe
The liturgy of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur is both awesome and confusing; uplifting and crushing; inspirational and odd. How can we connect with seemingly outdated motifs such as God being "Our father, Our King", writing in a book of life or watching us each pass under a staff like sheep? What about those violent sections which threaten us with death by stoning, fire, drowning, etc? And what's the deal with annulling our vows once a year through Kol Nidre? In this class we will try to unpack some of these ancient metaphors in order to arrive at a more fulfilling high holiday prayer experience. The high holiday liturgy has evolved throughout the millennia to foster a sense of urgency towards mending the brokenness in our lives. By better understanding the poetry and structure of the machzor (high holiday prayer book), we apply such wisdom to our own lives.
Sarah, Rachel, and Hannah: The Biblical Women Who Shaped Rosh Hashanah with Emily Shapiro Katz
A Talmudic dictum (Rosh Hashanah 10b) says that "on Rosh Hashanah Sarah, Rachel, and Hannah were remembered." On Rosh Hashanah, we read the Biblical texts about Sarah's miraculous conception of Isaac, Hannah's anguished prayer for pregnancy, and Rachel's bitter weeping for her lost children. In these sessions, we will study the stories of these women and explore their connection to the high holiday experience and to our own lives.
About the Temple 