Adult Education

What is Jewish Art?

Instructor: Ilona Rashkow

Mondays, October 21, 28, November 4, 11

7:00- 8:00 pm ON ZOOM

"Is there a Jewish art?” Where many books and exhibitions have attempted to formulate definitions of Jewish art, in this course we will take a different approach.  Rather than pinning the concept of Jewish art on a particular subject, style, or group of artists, we will use the imprecision of the term to reflect on the multiple ways in which Jewish identity has surfaced within, and been influenced by, visual art.  We will begin by examining attitudes towards art in the Hebrew Bible and the Talmud, debunking the myth that Judaism is inherently opposed to “graven images,” or bereft of a visual tradition.  Moving through the medieval period and the Renaissance, we will look at Jewish ceremonial art, manuscripts, and synagogues, with a particular eye to how Jews adopted—and adapted—Muslim and Christian practices. Turning to modern Jewish art, we will survey the work of several prominent Jewish artists including Amedeo Modigliani, Marc Chagall, Mark Rothko, R.B. Kitaj, and Judy Chicago. Our aim will be not only to familiarize ourselves with the works of such artists, but to see how they might open up new approaches to gender, sexuality, nationality, and other key elements of contemporary Jewish identity

Ilona Rashkow, PhD, is an Adjunct Associate Professor within Center for Applied Liberal Arts and is a specialist in Judaic Studies and Ancient Near Eastern Literature. She is Professor Emerita at the State University of New York at Stony Brook. Among her book publications are Taboo or Not Taboo: The Hebrew Bible and Human Sexuality; The Phallacy of Genesis: A Feminist-Psychoanalytic Approach; Upon the Dark Places: Sexism and Anti-Semitism in English Renaissance Biblical Translation; and numerous academic journal articles. She presents papers routinely at national and international academic conferences and has been the Visiting Aaron Aronoff Chair in Judaic Studies at the University of Alabama as well as a Visiting Research Scholar at the Jewish Theological Seminary.

Suggested Donation $54

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Ashkenazi Folk Magic and Religion
Instructor: Rokhl Kafrissen
Mondays, 7:00 pm | January 13, 27 and February 3 ON ZOOM
Join us for an illuminating exploration of Ashkenazi Folk Magic and Religion through the captivating stories of Yiddish writer Sarah Hamer-Jacklyn. This three-session course, led by our skilled instructor, delves into the rich traditions of Ashkenazi Jewish life, where religion and folk magic intertwine. We will read select translated stories, unveiling folklore’s deep-rooted elements with expert annotations. Topics include the mystique of dybbuks, Jewish cemeteries as places of both rest and connection, and traditions like the plague wedding, as well as Ashkenazi herbalism and beliefs surrounding the living and the dead. This is a unique opportunity to engage with the timeless spirit and spirituality embedded in Yiddish literature and the cultural heritage it preserves.

Rokhl Kafrissen is a journalist, teacher, and playwright, as well as the 2022 recipient of the prestigious Adrienne Cooper Dreaming in Yiddish Prize. Since 2017, her column Rokhl’s Golden City has appeared monthly in Tablet magazine, where she explores the depth and diversity of Yiddish culture. In 2021, her song “Kum tsu mir,” a Yiddish translation-adaptation of Jimmy Buffett’s Why Don’t We Get Drunk..., was recorded by an acclaimed klezmer trio. Her work continues to make waves, with her Yiddish adaptation “Makhn a vayivrekh” (Breakthrough) featured on the latest album from Israeli funk-fusion band Malox in 2024. In October 2023, Rokhl taught her first course for the Yiddish Book Center, Between Heaven and Earth: Yiddish Women’s Folklore, Rituals, & Magic, and her classes on Everyday Ashkenazi Magic have since become popular with students worldwide. In September 2024, she introduced a new High Holiday-focused course for the Yiddish Book Center, Sacred Time and Liminal Space: Ashkenazi Folk Magic at the Threshold.

Suggested Donation $54

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Lunch & Learn with Cantor Isaac Yager
Thursdays ongoing, 12:30 pm to 1:30 pm in Person and on Zoom Starting September 12

Join us for lunch on Thursdays as we discuss, learn, and engage in Jewish textual study, specifically the Parashat Hashavuah (weekly Torah reading). Following in the footsteps of the generations that preceded us, we will continue the long legacy of commenting and intellectually dissecting Jewish texts from the Torah, the book of Prophets, and other holy texts. Questions will be encouraged and debate is inevitable. This will be an inclusive, non judgmental learning environment where everyone's voice will have equal value. No prior text study is required. All are welcome to attend and participate.