The Pardes Community Education program and Pardes Online offer courses that provide in-depth, Jewish text study on a flexible schedule to meet students’ interests and availability.
With classes, lectures, and tours on a variety of subjects, participants can attend a single class, a course, or an entire series.
Courses are scheduled to accommodate a variety of time zones, including Israel, Europe, North America and Australia! If you have any questions please contact Alex@pardes.org.il.
Click the image to see a larger version
of the April-May schedule.
Registration is open for courses taking place from April 11th to May 27th.
To browse course listings and to apply, click below to expand each section.
If you have any questions please contact Alex@pardes.org.il.
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1:00 pm – 2:00 pm Eastern USA 10:00 am – 11:00 am Pacific USA 8:00 pm – 9:00 pm IsraelOpening the Heart with the Tanya – The book of the Tanya as a guide to harmony of body and soul, of earthliness and spirituality with Yiscah Smith The Tanya is the magnum opus of the great mystic Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi, who founded the Chabad-Lubavitch Chasidic movement. Tanya is based on Kabbalah, and it guides us to achieve harmony of body and soul, of earthliness and spirituality, helping us to learn how we can each elevate our soul to a higher level of awareness and understanding until our objectives and aspirations are in alignment with our Divine potential. Together, we will experience how the spiritual practice of cultivating the opening of the heart paves the way to experience personal unity. In each of our eight sessions, we will learn about, and then practice together, a specific approach to opening our heart and experiencing an elevated consciousness, which through continued practice we can then integrate into every aspect of our daily lives. This course is welcoming of advanced students and novices alike. 8:00 pm – 9:00 pm Israel Classes begin on April 11th. $70 for all 8-sessions / Video recordings will be available to all students. |
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1:00 pm – 3:00 pm Eastern USA 10:00 am – 12:00 pm Pacific USA 8:00 pm – 10:00 pm IsraelDarkhei Shalom – Ways of Peace: Building Community and Finding Oneself in Torah Tractate Gittin with Rav Rahel Berkovits 7 sessions April 11 – May 30th In this class we will study the last two mishniyot at the end of the fifth chapter of Tractate Gittin and the sugya of gemara on the first mishnah. Students will encounter the literary power of the Talmud and will have the opportunity to examine and discuss a number of existential and halakhic questions that preoccupied the Sages and yet are still relevant today. Such as: How important is it to compromise the letter of the law for the sake of peace among people? Whom do the Rabbis consider to be part of an average Jew’s concentric community? Which areas in life do the Rabbis feel cause the most fighting and unrest in communities? How do I not compromise my personal identity when interacting with people who are different than myself? Interestingly within this context they also discuss- How the Torah was given to the Children of Israel and the relationship between the written Torah and the Oral Torah. Through a critical analysis of language and structure students will examine the overarching meta-halahkic concepts and theological and philosophical messages the Sages are trying to convey in their discussions. $90 for all 7-sessions / Video recordings will be available to all students. |
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Parsha, Midrash and the Rabbinic Imagination.
with Rabbi Dr. Sam Lebens Each week we will explore a Midrash that sheds new light on the weekly parsha as a whole, or on a single verse. As the course unfolds, well start to get a sense for what makes the Rabbinic imagination distinctive and how to relate to Midrash as philosophically rich prose poetry. 9:30 am – 10:30 am Israel Time Single class: 40 NIS |
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Destruction and Rebirth: The Jewish Story from 1938-1948
with Rav Mike Feuer Since the fall of the Temple in 70 CE, there has not been a decade as momentous for the Jewish people as 1938-1948. This six-part series will trace the events in Europe, Israel and the United States from the lead up to World War II through the birth of the State of Israel. We will explore key events and personalities in an attempt to understand the actions and attitudes which led to the destruction of European Jewry, the emergence of the American Jewish community and the evolution of Zionism in the land of Israel. 11:00 am -12:15 pm Israel Time Single class: 40 NIS |
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The Long Walk to Freedom: Pesach to Shavuot, Holocaust and Independence Days, through classic and modern sources.
With Calev Ben Dor The period between Pesach and Shavuot is dotted with significant dates both modern and ancient, all steps along the way of the Jewish people’s path to freedom. Using traditional and contemporary sources, the classes will focus on these events, exploring the significance of the Holocaust, Lag BaOmer, the reestablishment of the State of Israel, and the receiving of the Torah. 9:30 am – 10:30 am Israel Time Single class: 40 NIS |
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The Writings and Philosophy of Rabbi Sacks: Arguments for the Sake of Heaven.
With Rabbi Alex Israel Rabbi Sacks passed away just a few months ago. We will engage with some of his central writings and the novel ideas and themes which animate his books. 11:00 am – 12:15 pm Israel Time Single class: 40 NIS |
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1:00 pm – 2:15 pm Eastern USA 10:00 am – 11:15 am Pacific USARabbinic Responses to the Pandemic; Season 2, New Classes: Reciting Kaddish, Navigating the High-Holy Days; Can mysticism control a pandemic?With Rabbi Dr. Levi CooperIn 1831, the Second Cholera Pandemic struck Posen. Rabbi Akiva Eger was commended by the king of Prussia for his leadership during this trying time. In this four-part series we will meet this Talmudic giant and explore the different strategies he employed, while reflecting on our own experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic relating to several areas:
8:00 pm – 9:15 pm Israel Time Classes begin on April 20th. $36 for all 4-sessions / Video recordings will be available to all students. |
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12:00 pm – 1:00 pm Eastern USA 9:00 am – 10:00 am Pacific USA Ayeka and Pardes Presents: A Time to Work on Ourselves: Loving More, Complaining Less; Wisdom from a Modern Mystic – Rav Kook.With Rabbi Aryeh Ben David, Founder and Director of Ayeka This course is 4 sessions – Starting April 21.7:00 pm – 8:00 pm Israel Time Classes begin on April 21st. $36 for all 4-sessions / Video recordings will be available to all students. Space is limited!
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Tours with Shulie Mishkin in person, outdoors.
For holders of a “Green Passport”. With Shulie Mishkin
9:00 am – 12:00 pm Israel Time Single tour: 80 NIS |
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Jewish Identity Through Modern Art
With Dr. Susan Nashman Fraiman In this series, we will discuss five Jewish artists (two from the 19th century and three from the 20th) who have grappled with questions of Jewish identity in their art. The early artists, as less-than-full citizens of their countries of birth, questioned their place as Jews in light of the emerging nationalist fervor of that period, while the 20th-century artists also struggled with the Holocaust and its aftermath. All, though, dealt with issues raised by traditional Jewish life and modernization, assimilation, and persecution. The series will conclude with an engaging discussion with a contemporary artist about Jewish identity in art in the twenty-first century. What does it mean to be a Jewish artist today? 9:30 am – 10:30 am Israel Time Single class: 40 NIS |
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The Great Hebrew Poets Series: Leah Goldberg and Uri Zvi Greenberg
With Dr. Rachel Korazim Together we will study the poetry of two of Israel’s “greats”: Leah Goldberg and Uri Tzvi Greenberg. These represent two very distinct poetic voices whose work is impacted by the building of the homeland while the Shoah is raging in the distance. 11:00 am – 12:30 pm Israel Time Single class: 40 NIS |
For questions please contact ce@pardes.org.il or alex@pardes.org.il.
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