Annual Adult Education Course
Or Zarua congregants generally are avid learners, eager to grapple with
traditional and modern texts, from the Torah to the Talmud and beyond, that form
the religious and intellectual bedrock of Judaism. Some congregants are also
eager to share their learning with fellow members.
For more than a decade now at Or Zarua, congregant Marc Ashley has taught an
annual adult education course on several Sunday mornings between Pesach and
Shavuot. During this spring period leading up to the yearly commemoration of
the revelation of the Torah at Mount Sinai, the perfect time for contemplation
and introspection regarding our religious beliefs and practices, Ashley's course
has covered a variety of core theological, legal and historical issues. With a
recurring focus on the origins and authority of the Torah she'be'al peh (the
Oral Law in Judaism), we have examined wide-ranging issues including the
ideological foundations of denominational differences, parameters of Jewish
pluralism, reasons for the commandments, sources of authentic Jewish knowledge,
subjective dynamics of halakhic decision-making, and seminal historiography of
Yosef Yerushalmi. This year's course -- "Do You Believe in Miracles? Between
Divine Providence and Intervention" -- will address varied Jewish conceptions of
the miraculous in human experience.
No prior knowledge of any kind is required for these annual adult education
courses. Please join us for stimulating discussions of crucial issues in Jewish
life, as together we help sustain and nourish a community of learners and
learning at Or Zarua.
