To learn the history of most cultures, you need to learn about wars and empires, warriors and city builders, and great works of art. But the history of Judaism is overwhelmingly book history.
Books are central to Jewish culture. However, even though they are known as the “People of the Book”, much of the classical literature of Judaism remains closed to modern Jews.
This February, the JLI will mentor Rabbi Avraham Strik to introduce Jewish literature to contemporary audiences. He leads a class of Jews of many affiliations and backgrounds in exploring the history, authorship, and content of Judaism’s most important titles in a new course titled Book Smart.
“This is an ambitious undertaking,” said Rabbi Strik. “I am excited because I think this course will bring a richer understanding of what Judaism has meant over the centuries and what it means to us today. .”
When Book Smart’s first 90-minute session begins at 7:30 PM on Wednesday, February 1, students will begin a six-week survey of traditional Jewish literature. This includes Torah, Talmud, Midrash, Halacha, Ethics and Philosophy. So is the mysticism of Kabbalah and Chassidism. Book Smart’s first session will be held at Books & Books, 265 Aragon Ave., Coral Gables. The first session is free to attend with no obligation. RSVP to JLI@ChabadGables.com is required.
“We meet the authors behind the big ideas of 33 centuries of Jewish history,” said Rabbi Strik.
The history of Jewish literature is a broad subject, but Rabbi Stolik said the course also delves deeper.
“Not just to learn why these works were written. To go.”
Book Smart is developed by the Rohr Institute for Jewish Learning, headquartered in Brooklyn, NY. The institute has a reputation for delivering high quality and engaging courses. Over 400,000 people have attended his JLI courses since the organization was founded in 1998.
Rabbi Stolik said he did not promise to give students overnight expertise in the works discussed in the course. “But I can assure them that it will be a fun and intellectually engaging journey and will provide a valuable background for all future Jewish studies.”
The course will be held face-to-face as well as via Zoom. Sign-in information is provided during registration.
Like other JLI programs, this course is designed to appeal to people of all levels of knowledge, including those who have never studied Judaism. All her JLI courses are open to the public and participants do not need to be affiliated with any particular synagogue, temple or place of worship.
Interested students should visit ChabadGables.com/JLI or call 305-490-7572 for registration and other course-related information.
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