Courses
HEBREW SEMINARY FALL SEMESTER 2025 COURSE OFFERINGS
No classes September 22–October 15; November 27–28; and December 23–January 2. All Fall 2025 classes meet online. All class times are listed in Central Time. Classes are open to rabbinic, pararabbinic, and auditing students. Students in the Global Jewish Growth Certificate Program must register for “Kehillah & Tefillah.”
MONDAYS
Signed Liturgy
Instructor: Rabbi Shari Chen
10:00 AM – 11:30 PM CT
Beginning Hebrew
Instructor: Rabbi Jonah Rank
12:00 PM – 1:30 PM CT
Intermediate Hebrew
Instructor: Rabbi Shari Chen
12:00 PM – 1:30 PM CT
Hebrew Taught in American Sign Language
Instructor: Pararabbi Sari Daybook
4:30 PM – 6:00 PM CT
TUESDAYS
Kehillah & Tefillah
Instructor: Rabbi Jonah Rank
12:00 PM – 1:30 PM CT
Pedagogy for Youth
Instructor: Professor David Schwartz
6:00 PM – 7:30 PM CT
WEDNESDAYS
Humor in the Babylonian Talmud
Instructor: Rabbi Daniel Vaisrub
9:00 AM – 10:30 AM CT
Maimonides: Thought and Law in the Medieval Context
Instructor: Rabbi Daniel Vaisrub
11:00 AM – 12:30 PM CT
THURSDAYS
Liturgy of Shabbat & Weekdays
Instructor: Rabbi Dr. Kenneth Berger
9:00 AM – 10:30 AM CT
Survey of Halakhic Literature
Instructor: Rabbanit Goldie Guy
12:00 PM – 1:30 PM CT
Click below to go to registration section
Signed Liturgy
Rabbi Shari Chen
Mondays 10:00 AM – 11:30 AM CT
Through prayer we can communicate with God; we can touch the Divine. Join us as we study some of Shabbat’s most central prayers and blessings and learn how to communicate with God not only with our words but with our hands through sign language. We will learn prayers that recur beyond Shabbat, such as Barekhu and the Shema, and certain blessings used only on Shabbat.
Beginning Hebrew
Instructor: Rabbi Jonah Rank
Mondays 12:00 PM – 1:30 PM CT
In this introduction to the Hebrew language, students will master reading Hebrew consonants, vowels, and other markings; learn an expanding roster of vocabulary; and become acquainted with grammatical concepts that apply to Biblical, rabbinic, medieval, and Israeli Hebrew. No prior knowledge necessary.
Intermediate Hebrew
Rabbi Shari Chen
Mondays 12:00 PM – 1:30 PM CT
In this course we will continue to explore and learn key concepts in Biblical Hebrew. For our textbook, we will use Menahem Mansoor, Hebrew Step by Step, Volume II.
Hebrew Taught in American Sign Language
Pararabbi Sari Daybook
Mondays 4:30 PM – 6:00 PM CT
A beginning Hebrew course taught for native signers of American Sign Language.
Kehillah & Tefillah
Rabbi Jonah Rank
Tuesdays 12:00 PM – 1:30 PM CT
“Kehillah & Tefillah” (“Community and Prayer”) is a course dedicated to increasing students’ exposure to emerging and important trends and changemakers in the Jewish world. Inasmuch as the course focuses both on the community of those learning how to serve the Jewish community and the spiritual nourishment of emerging Jewish leaders, the final half hour (“Tefillah”) of each session will be dedicated to implementing a spiritual practice. In the first hour (“Kehillah), such topics to be addressed by guest teachers include pressing issues within the Jewish community, such as rising antisemitism, the Israel-Palestine conflict, and the diversity of Jewish identities. Other topics to be covered in the course include the experiences of Jews of color, LGBTQ+ Jews, and Jews with varying hearing statuses and disabilities; as well as interfaith dialogue, mental health, and creative and entrepreneurial approaches to Jewish outreach.
Pedagogy for Youth
Professor David Schwartz
Tuesdays 6:00 PM – 7:30 PM CT
In “Pedagogy for Youth,” students will learn the basics of successful youth instruction across a variety of settings. Topics will include, but are not limited to, child development, lesson planning, classroom management, administrative skills, learning styles, and more.
Humor in the Babylonian Talmud
Rabbi Daniel Vaisrub
Wednesdays 9:00 AM – 10:30 AM CT
In this course, we will engage in an examination of the semiotics of humor in the Talmud. We will look at the Talmud’s use of comedy and sarcasm to see how its authors use these rhetorical techniques to make serious points. Be prepared to laugh, and to see what lies beyond the laughter.
Maimonides: Thought and Law in the Medieval Context
Rabbi Daniel Vaisrub
Wednesdays 11:00 AM – 12:30 PM CT
In this class, we will examine the legal and philosophical works of Maimonides, the greatest Jewish philosopher and the most influential Jewish jurist of the Middle Ages. We will try to get an understanding of the world—both Jewish and non-Jewish—Maimonides inhabited, and the effects his writings had on both the Jewish and non-Jewish worlds. All texts will be translations into the English language, though a knowledge of Hebrew may be helpful (but not required).
May be applied as a credit towards Medieval Jewish History.
Liturgy of Shabbat & Weekdays
Rabbi Dr. Kenneth Berger
Thursdays 9:00 AM – 10:30 AM CT
How, and why does the liturgy recited on Shabbat differ from that recited on an ordinary weekday? Following a survey of the Shabbat and weekday liturgies, we will engage in a close study of the major components of each, focusing on the historical development of the Shabbat and weekday prayers and on their interpretation. We will ask what is the relationship between the literary characteristics of the prayers and their meaning. We will also note the influence of kabbalistic ideas and practices on the Shabbat liturgy.
Survey of Halakhic Literature
Rabbanit Goldie Guy
Thursdays 12:00 PM – 1:30 PM CT
In this survey course, we will explore key halakhic works, codifications of Jewish law and practice. We will examine how the halakhic process plays out in relation to specific areas of law. We will study how specific halakhic topics and practices evolved over time and in different places. Students will encounter texts from Mishneh Torah, the Arba’ah Turim, Beit Yosef, Shulchan Arukh, Mishna Berurah, and selected responsa literature (ShU”T). Those who enroll in this course required for rabbinical students should be prepared to read texts written in Hebrew (with the assistance of dictionaries and other reference resources).