The A to Z Guide to Judaism: Classes 1 to 36

1. CLASS ONE: AN HISTORICAL OVERVIEW
The Hebrews and their religion is the story of a great and profoundly brilliant people.
2. CLASS TWO: MONOTHEISM: JUDAISM'S FOUNDATION
Monotheism is the most revolutionary idea that the Jewish People brought to the world.
3. CLASS THREE: TORAH: THE FRAMEWORK OF JEWISH LIFE
More than the Five Books of Moses, Torah is the guide to living that defines the essence of Judaism and permeates every aspect of Jewish life and tradition.
4. CLASS FOUR: A LOOK AT THE FIVE BOOKS OF MOSES
Except for God, Torah is Judaism’s most sacred concept. There are numerous ways of defining 'Torah.' Here are possible definitions of Torah from four different perspectives.
5. CLASS FIVE: THE TORAH AND ITS ORIGINS
The Jews became a nation while in bondage and under the most adverse conditions designed to erase any cultural or historical identity.
6. CLASS SIX: THE TALMUD AND ITS ORIGINS
In a time of chaos, the rabbis decide that they must do the unprecedented -- write down the Oral Law.
7. CLASS SEVEN: FIVE GREAT JEWISH WRITERS
The great Jewish writers have safeguarded the religion despite bookburning, pogroms and diaspora.
8. CLASS EIGHT: MYSTICISM AND KABBALAH
Kabbalah is to Torah what philosophy is to science.
9. CLASS NINE: ZIONISM AND ISRAEL
The re-birth of Israel is an unprecedented phenomenon in human history.
10. CLASS TEN: THE JEWISH NATION AND THE DIASPORAS
THE JEWISH PEOPLE descend from nomadic tribes in the Middle East. In the 13th century BCE they establish towns and villages in the present-day area of Israel.
11. CLASS ELEVEN: THE HOLOCAUST, ANTI-SEMITISM AND POGROMS
The killing of millions of Jews and other "non-Aryans" in the Holocaust is the greatest crime against humanity recorded in history.
12. CLASS TWELVE: THE JEWISH CALENDAR
The Sun and Moon, the days, weeks and months have framed our ways for over 5000 years.
13. CLASS THIRTEEN: SHABBAT 1: A SPECIAL TIME
For in six days God made the heavens and the earth, the sea and everything that is within it; And he rested on the seventh day.
14. CLASS FOURTEEN: SHABBAT 2: MELACHAH
The concept of "Melachah," or activity is prohibited to a Jew on the Day of Shabbat.
15. CLASS FIFTEEN: PURIM
Purim is Judaism's most dramatic, fun-filled holiday. When else can you dress up like a bunny rabbit and eat doughy triangles filled with prunes and poppy seeds?
16. CLASS SIXTEEN: PASSOVER
The Exodus story is certainly one of the most significant events in Jewish history.
17. CLASS SEVENTEEN: SHAVUOT
Shavuot is the anniversary of the defining moment of Jewish history: the giving of the Torah on Mount Sinai 3,000 years ago.
18. CLASS EIGHTEEN: ROSH HASHANA - THE JEWISH NEW YEAR
Rosh Hashanah is the opportunity to renew the dream of what life can be -- to come home to our true path, to fulfill our potential.
19. CLASS NINETEEN: YOM KIPPUR: THE DAY OF ATONEMENT
On Yom Kippur, the power of the evil inclination is muted, spiritual elevation reasserts itself.
20. CLASS TWENTY: SUKKOT: THE HARVEST FESTIVAL
Sukkot is a 7-day holiday. We build a temporary booth called a "Sukkah" where we eat, sleep and shmuze for the entire week. Each day we also wave the Four Species of plants, in celebration of God's gift of bounty.
21. CLASS TWENTY ONE: CHANUKAH: THE FESTIVAL OF LIGHTS
On the 25th day of Kislev, 164 BCE Jewish fighters entered Jerusalem, cleansed the Temple and re-dedicated it.
22. CLASS TWENTY TWO: MINOR HOLIDAYS AND FAST DAYS
This class deals with the minor fasts and minor holidays that occur during the Hebrew year.
23. CLASS TWENTY THREE: BEING KOSHER 1: THE DIETARY LAWS
Food, eating, culture and the Torah.
24. CLASS TWENTY FOUR: BEING KOSHER 2: THE KITCHEN
A kosher kitchen has two sets of everything. Keeping kosher extends holiness to food preparation and eating and makes Jewish women the guardians of this commandment.
25. CLASS TWENTY-FIVE: THE SYNAGOGUE: THE HOUSE OF WORSHIP
After the destruction of the second temple in the first century C.E., synagogues emerged as the central institution of Jewish life; a place where study, worship, meeting, celebration, and civic meetings took place.
26. CLASS TWENTY-SIX: PRAYER 1: THE SIDDUR AND SERVICES
The siddur is the prayerbook, used by Jews the world over, containing a set order of daily prayers.
27. CLASS TWENTY SEVEN: PRAYER2: TZITZIT, TEFILLIN, MEZUZAH
The Torah commands us to wear Tzitzit, lay Tefillin and to fix a Mezuzah to our doorposts. Tzitzit, Tefillin and Mazuzot are now a part of our every-day lives
28. CLASS TWENTY EIGHT: MOVEMENTS IN JUDAISM
Jewish movements differ from each other in some beliefs and thus in the way they observe Judaism.
29. CLASS TWENTY NINE: A DAY IN THE LIFE OF AN OBSERVANT JEW
Every act of ours, public or private, is a religious act for the observant Jew. For a religiously committed Jew, no action and no thought is secular. Nothing we do, say, or think, is unimportant to God.
30. CLASS THIRTY: LIFE CYCLE 1: THE JEWISH FAMILY
The great importance and significance of the Mitzvah to honor parents is seen in the fact that it is part of the Ten Commandments.
31. CLASS THIRTY ONE: LIFE CYCLE 2: MARRIAGE AND DIVORCE
Marriage is a holy institution in Judaism. Most of the laws and customs relating to the wedding ceremony, date back to our Patriarchs and the giving of the Torah at Sinai.
32. CLASS THIRTY TWO: LIFE CYCLE 3: MIKVAH AND CONVERSION
A look at the fundamentals of some life cycle rituals that originate from biblical times
33. CLASS THIRTY THREE: LIFE CYCLE 4: DEATH AND SHIVAH
Judaism, with its long history of dealing with the soul of man has wisely devised a system of five graduated mourning periods.
34. CLASS THIRTY FOUR: AFTERLIFE AND THE MESSIAH
Some of the ideas and the general structure of this class are taken from Jewish Views of the Afterlife by Simcha Paull Raphael. For students wishing to further explore this subject, this book is recommended.
35. CLASS THIRTY FIVE: HOLINESS AND ETHICS - A LIFELONG GOAL
Mention the word "holy" and listeners conjure up images of heavenly angels or of holy men who hide themselves from the world. Both notions have little to do with the concept of holiness as it is understood in Jewish tradition.