All our educational activities are made possible by the extremely generous support of the NLPS Trust.
YLJC celebrates Jewish learning in all its forms. To make the past and our historic texts relevant to today’s world, we gather to consider and rethink as needed. Recognising the central role of worship in our tradition, we provide resources for all to deepen their understanding and (re)connect with Jewish ritual. Looking to live a more meaningful Jewish life, , join conversion classes, or rethink prayer? We can help you with these.
While listening to a description of the new curriculum for Cheder, someone asked the rabbi why there are not experiential learning classes for adults – now there are! We value your time and want you to have fun as well as stretch your mind and spirit.
Online Classes – Registration Required
Classes are free to members, £36/session for non-members. To sign up or for more information, please email vicechair@jewsinyork.org.uk. Please include the name of the class you are interested in attending and the names of the people wishing to attend.
Online Classes Available:
Introduction to Judaism
A class for those considering conversion, brushing up on their basics, re-establishing Jewish heritage and the curious! All classes are online, save the Hanukah Party, and we will have some additional readings to guide us.
Times & Dates: Monday evenings, August 31-June 21 – 7-8:15PM
Hebrew Reading and Comprehension
Using the Shma in our first session and the Amidah in the second session as base texts, we will look at letter recognition and position in words, tips to help you manage syllables, and some basic grammar. You are guaranteed to get a great start on your Hebrew reading abilities or to sharpen your current skills.
Times & Dates: Session One: Mondays, September 28, October 5, October 12, October 19, October 26, November 2, November 9 – 6:15-7PM
Times & Dates: Session Two: Mondays, February 1, February 8, February 15, February 22, March 1, March 8, March 15 – 6:15-7PM
YESHIVAT HANEFESH
Yeshivat Hanefesh is an opportunity to connect with friends old and new, to learn, to be surprised, to become more curious, and to add and reject and mould the Judaism of the past into the Judaism that is yours and ours. Each topic is designed to challenge, delight, and fill a corner of your spiritual possibilities. Class opens with interesting texts, then goes on to a round table discussion that sets us on a deeper path to understanding. Each session will be self-contained, recorded, and is designed to develop tools for spiritual connection.
Yeshivat Hanefesh: Preparation for the High Holy Days – 13 attributes of the Divine and the nature of creation
As we take out the Torah on the holidays, we recite the description that Moses gets when he asks to understand the nature of the Divine . The answer seems to be “1) GOD! 2) GOD! 3) a Deity 4) compassionate and 5) gracious, 6) slow to anger, 7) abounding in kindness and 8) faithfulness, 9) extending kindness to the thousandth generation, 10) forgiving iniquity, 11) forgiving mistakes, 12) forgiving transgression, and 13) cleansing. This has been separated into 13 attributes, and some of them seem weird. Come discuss as we invoke physics, biology and ecology to begin to understand what these words might mean for us today.
Times & Dates: Wednesdays, September 2, September 9, September 16, September 23 – 7-8:30PM
Yeshivat Hanefesh: Talmud Quickies
This is a different sort of Yeshiva class – if you are curious about the Talmud, come and spend 20 minutes a week learning in a fun way – we will watch a short animated film each session, then have some discussion and look at a relevant text. Twenty minutes, and you are off to your own evening!
Times & Dates: Thursdays, September 24, October 1, October 8, October 15, October 22, October 29, November 5, November 12, November 19, November 26, December 3, December 10, December 17 – 7-7:20PM
Yeshivat HaNefesh: Jewish Meditation in the Morning
We often think of meditation in non-Jewish contexts, but Jews have been editating for centuries, too! Grab a comfy spot on a Sunday morning, and come learn from June Wainwright about the history and hows!
Times & Dates:October 18th and 29th – 9:00-10:00AM
Blessings, Borscht, and Babka
Join Rabbi Elisheva for a hands-on workshop to create a filling and sweet traditional Ashkenazi meal, and go over our blessing formulas so you will feel most comfortable in prayer at home and in the synagogue.
Times & Dates: November 8 – 4pm
Yeshivat Hanefesh: Why Bad Things Happen to Good People – A Jewish Understanding of Evil
Looking at the works of Rabbi Harold Kushner, Melissa Raphael, Rabbi Isaac Luria, Hélène Cixous Maimonides, Elie Wiesel, Judith Plaskow and Rabbi Joseph Soloveitchik, we will explore Jewish responses to the question of how the Divine can be good and yet all sorts of ills beset us and the world around us. Be prepared for makhloket leshem shamayim – holy disagreements!
Times & Dates: Wednesdays, February 3, February 10, February 17, February 24 – 7-8:30PM
Yeshivat Hanefesh: From Slavery to Freedom: A Mystical Understanding of the Exodus
Using sources from Kabbalistic literature, we will uncover another layer of spiritual meaning in the story of freedom that stands at the centre of our devotion, theology, and human hope for a better world. You will be looking at the seder in a new way! All texts will be in English and provided on a shared document.
Times & Dates: Wednesdays, March 17, March 24, March 31, April 7 – 7-8:30PM
Yeshivat Hanefesh: You Saw Her Bathing on the Roof – King David and (some of) his romantic relationships
In this class, we explore the complex figure of King David by looking at his romances with Jonathan, Michal, Avigail, and Batsheva. Through the triumphs, failures, poetry, and repentance, we consider how spiritual brilliance can coexist with human vulnerability. We will touch on issues of leadership, desire, accountability, and the possibility of growth after moral failure as well as reading some of the wildest stories in the Tanakh.
Times & Dates: Wednesdays, May 12, May 19, May 26, June 2 – 7-8:30PM
Borekas, Babaganush and Blessings
Join Rabbi Elisheva for a hands-on workshop to create a filling and sweet traditional Sephardi meal, and go over our blessing formulas so you will feel most comfortable in prayer at home and in the synagogue.
Times & Dates: June 5th – 4pm