An Introduction to Ancient and Modern Israel

Lehrhaus Judaica, a regional provider of adult study opportunities, has a grant to develop and present Israel pre-tour course program for synagogues. They will be doing this at Congregation Shir Hadash on May 16th and 17th from 7:30-9:00pm.

The live course has two sessions, one on the history and culture of ancient Israel and one on modern Israel from the beginning of the Zionist movement to today and will be taught by the gifted and experienced teacher Jehon Grist.

We will also distribute a more extensive CD-ROM 'virtual course' to participants that includes a total of 5 fully narrated and illustrated sessions that use hundreds of images, video clips, and several recommended readings as pdf files. The live course and the CD-ROM content development costs are covered by the Tauber Foundation in support of Israel education. The only thing the participants pay for is the production cost for the 2-CD boxed set, which will be $30 per set for those participating who are not travelling with the Shir Hadash group to Israel.

Founded in 1974 with historian Fred Rosenbaum as its first director, Lehrhaus took its name (meaning “house of learning”) and inspiration from a school for Jewish studies founded by philosopher Franz Rosenzweig in Frankfurt, Germany, in 1920. Attracting scholars such as Martin Buber, S.Y. Agnon, A.J. Heschel, Gershom Scholem, and Erich Fromm, the original Lehrhaus — until its closure by the Nazis — was the focal point of a Jewish intellectual revival between the wars. Dialogue between the student and teacher was the primary method of learning, which, according to Rosenzweig and Buber, “could restore something genuinely Jewish to the Western intellectual.”

Jehon Grist, Ph.D., is Executive Director of Lehrhaus Judaica. He earned his doctorate in Near Eastern Studies from UC Berkeley, where he was a Regents' Fellow. He has conducted field research in Israel, the Gaza Strip, and the Valley of the Queens in southern Egypt.

Please RSVP to Nadine ( 358-1751 ext 5 or nadine@shirhadash.org ) so that we can have a CD set ready for you at the session.