Elective class - Judaism
Following are the options for the Judaism elective class
that will take place on Monday afternoons (14:15 - 15:30)
Famous Relationships in the Bible
Purpose and goals:
Students will examine relationships in the Tanakh as windows into enduring human experiences—love, jealousy, sacrifice, failure, and reconciliation—and reflect on how Biblical models inform Jewish values and ethics.
​
This course is for those who:
This course is for anyone who wants a deeper and richer understanding of the famous couples in Tanach and try to understand them and their movites on their own terms while drawing relevant messages to our own relationships, our Judaism and ourselves.
​​
About the teacher:
Yair has taught at a number of Jewish high schools in the United States and has served as a community rabbi both in America and in Israel. He has also worked in camp settings and taught extensively in informal Jewish educational settings. Since moving to Israel with his family from New Jersey 4.5 years ago, Yair has been overjoyed to teach Torah enriched by his lived experience in the modern State of Israel, where Torah is infused with an added dimension of life and energy.
Course development
Class Nº1 - Avraham and Sarah
Main questions that this class will seek to answer:
Leadership Relationships: How does a life of leadership and service create opportunities and challenges for Avraham and Sara? When are they aligned, when are they opposed and why?
​
Learning tools/methodology:
Begin with a text-based literary analysis, uncover the central themes and messages, and assess their impact on the couple as well as how we think about our own lives.
Class Nº2 - Yaakov and Rachel
Main questions that this class will seek to answer:
Jealousy Relationships: How does Leah’s presence impact the dynamic of Yaakov and Rachel? What tools do they use and not use to contend with their reality and are they ever able to overcome that challenge?
​
Learning tools / methodology:
Begin with a text-based literary analysis, uncover the central themes and messages, and assess their impact on the couple as well as how we think about our own lives.
Class Nº3 - Boaz and Ruth
Main questions that this class will seek to answer:
Imbalanced Relationships: How can individuals from such disparate backgrounds grow and merge together?
​
Learning tools/methodology:
Begin with a text-based literary analysis, uncover the central themes and messages, and assess their impact on the couple as well as how we think about our own lives.
Class Nº4 - Elkana and Chana
Main questions that this class will seek to answer:
Infertility: How can a specific challenge, such as infertility, shape a relationship? What if each member of the couple experiences this radically differently? What if one member blames the other for the problem?
​
Learning tools/methodology:
Begin with a text-based literary analysis, uncover the central themes and messages, and assess their impact on the couple as well as how we think about our own lives.
Class Nº5 - David and Bat Sheva
Main questions that this class will seek to answer:
Jewish Sexuality: How does sex and sexuality impact relationships? What has Jewish tradition put in place to ensure that sex and sexuality enhance relationships but not dominate either?
​
Learning tools/methodology:
Begin with a text-based literary analysis, uncover the central themes and messages, and assess their impact on the couple as well as how we think about our own lives.
Class Nº6 - Shlomo and the Queen of Sheeba
Main questions that this class will seek to answer:
Utilitarian Relationships: What can we learn from utilitarian relationships about the world of the Bible and is there any message for us in our time?
​
Learning tools/methodology:
Begin with a text-based literary analysis, uncover the central themes and messages, and assess their impact on the couple as well as how we think about our own lives.
Jews, Judaism, and Film
Purpose and goals:
This course will explore how Jewishness and Judaism are portrayed in modern cinema, and how filmmakers both portray and break Jewish stereotypes. Through a close study of these films and the process by which they were made, we will gain an insight into how and why the way Judaism is being portrayed has changed, and what that means for Jewish culture and communities.
-
Understanding the history of Jewish portrayal in film
-
Explore films from a range of genres and the way they examine Jewish culture
-
Discuss the impact these portrayals have on Jewish culture and community
-
Examine the background to the creation of these films and the rational of creative choices
-
Rethink our understanding of the power of film and it’s use to teach Jewish themes
​
This course is for those who:
Love film and are interested in exploring the impact modern cinema has on Jewish identity and culture.
​
About the teacher:
Hi, my name is Rabbi Adam Drucker, and I am the Rabbi and Director of Education for Young Judaea Israel. I was born in the UK and now live with my incredible wife and children in the southern town of Kiryat Gat. I am a passionate activist and work with several organizations to bring about religious equality in Israel. In my spare time, I love reading, listening to blues, hip-hop, and acoustic guitar, as well as binging prestige dramas.
Course development
Class Nº1 - The Jew
Main questions that this class will seek to answer:
Before 1990, representations and stereotypes of the Jew traditionally fell into one or more of the following categories: racialised and antisemitic; invisible or non-existent; idealised, de-Judainised and de-Semitised, often replaced by the Gentile mimicking the Jew; ethnicised, anxious and neurotic; or victimised and humiliated
How has the portrayal of Jewish characters evolved over the past 30 years?
​
Learning tools/methodology:
Critical viewing of clips from movies and tv shows that portray Jewish pro and antagonists
Class Nº2 - Religion
Main questions that this class will seek to answer:
How has Judaism as a faith been portrayed in cinema? Is it representative of your personal identity?
​
Learning tools / methodology:
Active research into films that portray Judaism and Jewish culture. Groups will present the Jewish religion through the lens of Hollywood’s camera.
Class Nº3 - Passivity
Main questions that this class will seek to answer:
A classic Jewish adage states, ‘Who is a hero? He who conquers his desire’. Since toughness was downgraded in normative rabbinic culture, physical, martial and bodily virtues, which flowered in natural surroundings, were rejected in favour of a scholarliness that thrived indoors.
How have movies reinforced the notion of the “weak” diaspora Jew? Is this portrayal one that should be celebrated, forgotten or reimagined
​
Learning tools/methodology:
Critical viewing of films that portray Jews as passive and weak.
Class Nº4 - Agency
Main questions that this class will seek to answer:
In response to the nationalistic antisemitism of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries there emerged an emphasis on Jewish ‘toughness, courage and physicality loyalty, self-discipline, readiness for self-sacrifice, robustness, manliness,’ that is the inversion of the weak, victimised Jew (Breines 1990: 126–27).
How has modern cinema forced this changed? Has there been a societal change that has forced movies to reimagine the portrayal of the Jew?
​
Learning tools/methodology:
Use of clips and scholarly articles to investigate the way Jews are portrayed today. Examining whether that portrayal is accurate and how it merges into other forms of media.
Class Nº5 - Holocaust
Main questions that this class will seek to answer:
The portrayal of the Holocaust as both a way to memorialize, publicize testimony, and deeply examine the greatest crime in human history has become a staple of modern cinema. Why is this the case? What issues can arise when portraying such a sensitive historical event?
​
Learning tools/methodology:
Viewing a selection of clips from well-known and lesser-known movies to encourage discussion on the central questions.
Class Nº6 - Comedy
Main questions that this class will seek to answer:
How has Jewish humor been represented in film?
* What are the common tropes and stereotypes associated with Jewish humor in cinema?
* How does Jewish humor reflect Jewish identity and cultural experiences?
* Is Jewish humor always well-received, or does it sometimes cross a line?
Learning tools/methodology:
* Watch clips from comedic films featuring Jewish characters or themes.
* Discuss the use of irony, self-deprecation, and social commentary in these films.
* Analyze how Jewish humor is used to address serious issues like prejudice and discrimination.
* Explore the potential for humor to both challenge and reinforce stereotypes.
Class Nº7 - Concluding Projects
Main questions that this class will seek to answer:
Has the portrayal of Jews and Judaism evolved? What key themes have you learnt in this course? What do you believe the future holds for Jewish cinema?
​
Learning tools/methodology:
Group presentation using class films and films of your choice to reflect on the themes covered throughout the course.
The Biggest Hits in Talmud
Purpose and goals:
Learning about Jewish Morality and getting to know the Gemara
​
This course is for those who:
Wish to get familiar with the Gemara and learn how it resonates in their own lives
​
About the teacher:
Ariel is married to Shira and father to Yael (16), Rotem (13), and Omri (9.5). The family lives in Kibbutz Regavim. Ariel has a BA in Philosophy, Economics, and Political Science from the Hebrew University. He has served as the Director of Year Course since January 2022.
Course development
Class Nº1 - The value of human life
Main questions that this class will seek to answer:
What is the value of human lives according to the Babylonian Talmud?
​
Learning tools/methodology:
Text study and discussion.
Class Nº2 - Chapter 2 - Tzedaka
Main questions that this class will seek to answer:
What is the right way for giving Tzedaka?​
​
Learning tools/methodology:
Text Study, Hevruta
Class Nº3 - From Jerusalem to Yavne
Main questions that this class will seek to answer:
What was the Jewish revolution?
​
Learning tools/methodology:
Text Study, Hevruta, Video
Class Nº4 - The four who entered the Pardes
Main questions that this class will seek to answer:
What happens to us after we visit another world?​
​
Learning tools/methodology:
Text Study, Hevruta
Class Nº5 - It is not in heaven
Main questions that this class will seek to answer:
How do we argue? What are the limits of an argument?​
​
Learning tools/methodology:
Text Study, Hevruta
Class Nº6 - The story of Rabbi Yohanan and Reish Lakish
Main questions that this class will seek to answer:
Can we change? Looking at change through the story of Rabbi Yohanan and Reish Lakish​
​
Learning tools/methodology:
Text Study, Hevruta
Class Nº7 - The story of Yalta
Main questions that this class will seek to answer:
Can the Talmud be read as feminist text? Looking at the story of Yalta. ​
​
Learning tools/methodology:
Text Study, Hevruta