The CJS beit midrash ("house of study") program provides opportunities for students, faculty and community members to come together and experiment with traditional modes of Jewish learning—slow reading, relational ḥavruta study, working through Hebrew sources (though translations will always be provided!), and communal discussion. This spring semester, Professor Sam Shonkoff will lead the beit midrash with a focus on the Hasidic book Mei ha-Shiloaḥ by Mordekhai Yosef Leiner (1800–1854). Delving into this striking text will serve to introduce attendees to modern Jewish mysticism and how to read Hasidic sources in particular.
EVERYONE is welcome to these casual-but-substantive sessions—GTU students/faculty/staff and non-GTU folks; Hebrew readers and non-Hebrew readers; mystics and skeptics; Jews and non-Jews; those who want to attend every week and those who want to drop in here and there.
The CJS beit midrash takes place in the GTU Library at Collaborative Tables 1 & 2, near the entrance of the library on the first floor (you'll see us through the window on Scenic Rd). Participants are encouraged to bring their own lunch that is easy to eat in the library space, something that is not likely to spill or release strong aromas that might bother other library patrons.