Tradition! But also new ways of learning
IT HAD been an exceptionally busy autumn at JW3 during 2019 — and then 2020 arrived, with all its plans about to be changed. The last day of classes in the building was Monday, March 16. After “an exceptionally high learning curve” JW3 launched online classes the following Monday. Those who had been in the building on the 16th did not miss a class.
“We were so proud of our teachers/presenters, half of whom hadn’t heard of Zoom before, for learning and adapting with such speed,” says a JW3 spokesperson. “We were equally proud of the students who so quickly adapted to a new regime and have continued to attend in growing numbers since then.” Apart from a short break for Pesach there have been an average of ten sessions a week since then, ranging from history and current affairs to Jewish texts, Israel and the Middle East and Jewish musicals.
The normal end of the year seemed to lack relevance, as term finished on Thursday July 16 and JW3 restarted with a new late-summer programme on the Monday, July 20. The adult education programme will stay online from September to December. The programme has been expanded. There are new UK-based teachers, such as Rabba Ramie Smith teaching sexual ethics on September Monday mornings and Miriam Lorie “Hurling Words at God” on Wednesday mornings.
Rabbi Jeremy Rosen will join JW3 from New York on Thursday afternoons to discuss Jewish philosophical ideas; Ittay Flescher will speak from Jerusalem on “Justice in the Jewish State” and Dani Rotstein, from Majorca, will look at “Jewish Majorca, then and now”.
After Succot there are new courses, such as Angela Gluck on “Some of Our Best Friends Aren’t Jewish” and Clive Lawton on “The World is A Narrow Bridge”. New teachers include Julie Apfel with “Genesis on the Couch” and Hilary Pomeroy on the history of Sephardi culture.
There are many evening Zooms, too, on topics including “Edward Colston’s Final Fall”. JW3 is also partnering UCL for the first time, to offer sessions on South African Jews.
LSJS
The adult education programme at LSJS (London School of Jewish Studies) provides engaging traditional Jewish learning for British Jewry and beyond. Rather than shying away from challenging topics, LSJS teachers bring together 21st century sensibilities and creative interpretations with a deep love of Jewish study.
One student said “LSJS is the most adult adult Jewish education programme in our community.”
Courses include modern Jewish literature with Dr Aviva Dautch, Tanach (Bible) study with teachers including Rabbi Dr Raphael Zarum and Debbie Meyer and ulpan (modern Hebrew) classes on multiple levels , from beginner to advanced. LSJS also regularly hosts guest lectures and events with speakers such as Rabbi Lord Sacks, Professor Shirli Gilbert and S&P Sephardi Senior Rabbi Joseph Dweck.
At the beginning of lockdown, LSJS moved all its programmes online. The professionally taught Zoom classes are watched by students across the Jewish world and are welcoming, interactive and accessible for people with all different levels of Jewish knowledge. In-person classes will re-start when Government guidelines allow.
LEHRHAUS AT LEO BAECK
Also on Zoom are courses from Lehrhaus at Leo Baeck College. The language classes cover not only Ivrit and biblical Hebrew but classical Greek. The ulpan is offered at various beginner and intermediate stages; the biblical Hebrew course is for beginners and the classical Greek is at two levels. Classical Greek was the language not just of Homer and Plato but also of the oldest known translation of the Hebrew Bible into any other language, known as the Septuagint.
Through Lehrhaus, one can also study King David, 17th-century thinker Baruch Spinoza, “what is Jewish about Jewish art?”, “wandering Jews”, rabbinic theology, “Judaism in the Universe of Faiths” and German Jewish intellectual Walter Benjamin. There is also teacher training for religion school/cheder.
Zoom classes are watched by students across the Jewish world’