Courses
HEBREW SEMINARY SUMMER SEMESTER 2026 COURSES
June 22, 2026 – August 28, 2026
No classes July 23rd.
Classes are open to rabbinic, pararabbinic, and auditing students.
(All class times are listed in Central Time)
MONDAYS
Beginning American Sign Language
Pararabbi Sari Daybook
9:00 AM – 11:00 AM CT
Signed Torah
Rabbi Shari Chen
11:30 AM – 1:30 PM CT
TUESDAYS
Topics in Ancient Jewish History
Rabbi Jonah Rank
9:00 AM – 11:00 AM CT
Homiletics
Rabbi Jonah Rank
11:30 AM – 1:30 PM CT
WEDNESDAYS
Aramaic
Rabbi Daniel Vaisrub
11:30 AM – 1:30 PM CT
Hebrew Taught in American Sign Language
Pararabbi Sari Daybook
6:00 PM – 8:00 PM CT
THURSDAYS
Readings in the Babylonian Talmud: Tractate Yoma
Rabbanit Goldie Guy
2:00 PM – 4:00 PM CT
Click below to go to registration section
Beginning American Sign Language
Pararabbi Sari Daybook
Mondays 9:00 AM – 11:00 AM CT
An introductory class in American Sign Language. Students will develop basic conversational skills in ASL. The class will focus on grammatical structure, vocabulary, expressive, receptive and comprehension skills in ASL. Students will also learn about Deaf culture and traditions throughout the semester.
Signed Torah
Rabbi Shari Chen
Mondays 11:30 AM – 1:30 PM CT
In this class we will learn how to communicate with God, and with one another, with our hands. In this class we will learn how to translate selected Torah portions beginning with Bereshit into sign language. We will learn how to sign portions read on various Jewish holidays, and common signs. By translating the Hebrew into sign we will gain a greater understanding of our Torah and a way to express and to share visually the beauty of our Scriptures with others.
Topics in Ancient Jewish History
Rabbi Jonah Rank
Tuesdays 9:00 AM – 11:00 AM CT
A survey of several topics that serve to clarify preserved narratives, and to smooth over gaps in unknown aspects of ancient Jewish history. This course, taught from an angle of historical skepticism, intends to train emerging Jewish leaders in debates about our past that can shape and reshape our present beliefs. No prior Hebrew knowledge necessary.
Homiletics
Rabbi Jonah Rank
Tuesdays 11:30 AM – 1:30 PM CT
Jewish life depends on animating our souls through the transmission of Torah. Studying best practices for crafting and delivering Torah in written and performative media, students will workshop approaches to sharing deep Jewish content impactfully.
Aramaic
Rabbi Daniel Vaisrub
Wednesdays 11:30 AM – 1:30 PM CT
An introduction to grammar and vocabulary of the Aramaic language, the language of the Targums, the Talmuds, and the Zohar. An understanding of the Aramaic language is indispensable for comprehending Jewish texts of the past two millennia. Our textbook will be Yitzhak Frank’s Grammar for Gemara and Targum Onkelos and our focus on Babylonian Jewish Aramaic.
Prerequisites: Students must be able to decode Hebrew letters.
Hebrew Taught in American Sign Language
Pararabbi Sari Daybook
Wednesdays 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM CT
A beginning Hebrew course taught for native signers of American Sign Language.
Readings in the Babylonian Talmud: Tractate Yoma
Rabbanit Goldie Guy
Thursdays 2:00 PM – 4:00 PM CT
In this course, students will build their mastery of the language, methods, and content of the Babylonian Talmud through studying Yom Ha-Kippurim, the eighth chapter of Tractate Yoma. We will explore, among other topics: the prohibitions of Yom Kippur and their exceptions, how we deal with matters of pikku’ach nefesh (i.e., ‘life and death’ cases) on Yom Kippur and on Shabbat, and generally how the rabbis conceived of confronting life’s uncertainties and doubts.
Prerequisites: Students must be able to decode Hebrew words.