Emanu-El Scholar Courses
Madeleine Haas Russell Institute of Jewish Learning
All of Rabbi Kushner’s courses are drop-in.
(We’re always grateful if you register but it’s not a deal-breaker)
Basic Hebrew Grammar: For People with No Short-Term Memories and who are Still Fuzzy on English Grammar
With Rabbi Lawrence KushnerWednesdays, 7:00 – 9:00 pmJune 26, July 10, 24, August 14
Free to members; $20 non-members
While the class welcomes “drop ins” we appreciate it if you would register
Owing to the vagaries of summer plans, each session will be stand-alone. At each session the class will use examples from the weekly Torah and Haftarah portions. The pre-requisite for the class include: terror at the thought of any grammar; a vague memory of the Hebrew alphabet; and a generally manic attitude toward your own learning capabilities.
Session 1: Basic Rules (June 26)
The alphabet. Roots. BeGeD KeFeT. The definite article. Inseparable prepositions. Finding your way around the TaNaKH (Hebrew Bible).
Session 2: Binyan Kal. (July 10)
The simplest conjugation and the pattern on which all others are constructed. Past, future, present participle, imperative, and infinitive
Session 3: Hebrew Verbs. (July 24)
The other conjugations (binyanim) and how to recognize them. Irregular verbs.
Session 4: Hebrew Nouns. (August 14)
How to recognize and translate nouns. How to decline nouns. The logic behind possessive endings. How to use a Hebrew Dictionary.
Register
Shabbos Morning Torah Hevra in English
with Rabbi Lawrence Kushner
Weekly Shabbat mornings, 9:15-10:15
Professor Nehama Liebowitz (d. 1997) taught Bible and commentaries at the Hebrew University. The World Zionist Organization invited her to write a short essay on a particular theme for each weekly parasha which they would mail out to their supporters. After doing so every year for several years, the essays were compiled into a 6 volume set (Exodus took 2 volumes) and remain a classic of biblical thought and exegesis. Studies in the Weekly Parasha are available in both the original Hebrew and in English translation. (The class will only use the English.) Photocopies of selections from each week’s short essay will be available but students are encouraged to purchase the full volumes.
This is a “drop-in” seminar. No registration is necessary.
Kabbalah: A Love Story
Rabbi Kushner's first novel
Four years in the making! Soon to be a major motion picture! (Hey, it could happen.) After sixteen books of non-fiction, Rabbi Kushner's first novel, KABBALAH: A LOVE STORY is the fable of a rabbi who accidentally discovers a hidden, lost page to the Zohar (the master text of Kabbalah) and what that discovery does to his life and the life of a woman he doesn't (yet) know he loves who teaches astronomy at Columbia University. A short selection from the first chapter and endorsements are available here.