Jewish Discovery Center, 757 Hopkins Road, Williamsville NY 14221 716 639-7600

The Institute for Jewish Studies has over the past 12 years, earned a reputation of providing excellence in Jewish adult education.

We are about to begin another exciting year of learning and discovery. In this brochure you will find two programs of study: Course A is a comprehensive program that will lead you through the basic core of Jewish knowledge—Jewish Tradition, Jewish History and Jewish Thought. Course B is an in-depth program that will explore Jewish issues, themes, ideals and topics of interest. This course is unique with new courses and topics every year.

We hope you will take the opportunity to join this most dynamic and popular program of Jewish adult learning.

Q.	Who has attended the 'institute'?
A.	Jews from all walks of life. Conservative, Orthodox, Reconstructionist, Reform, and unaffiliated Jews. The Institute is a community program open to all Jews of all backgrounds and levels of observance.

Q.	Do I need any knowledge of Hebrew?
A.	These courses are for all levels. Whether a beginner or someone who has a significant Judaic background these classes will inform and educate you.

Q.	I can't make the class Sunday mornings. Do you offer these classes any other time?
A.	Yes. Course B is offered Monday nights at 8:00 pm. If there will be interest in repeating course A at another time we will provide for it. In addition, tapes or CD's of every class are made available to every registrant.

Q.	I can't afford the fee for the classes. Do you offer any discount?
A.	No one will be turned away due to lack of funds. Whatever you can afford will be graciously accepted. We also would greatly appreciate anyone who would like to sponsor or dedicate a class or series of classes.

Q.	I have children at home. Do you offer a concurrent children's program?
A.	We have a children's educational program. If there are enough interested parents we will provide additional child care.

COURSE A --
VERTUAL TIME MACHINE: A CRASH COURSE IN JEWISH HISTORY
6 Sundays, 10:00 AM
Dates: November 8, 15, 22, 29 December 6, 13

This course will provide an overview of Jewish History that links us to our Jewish past. From the early Biblical period and the beginning of the Jewish nation as a people and an idea, this course will present Jewish history as one continuum and provide a backdrop for subsequent Institute courses.

SESSION ONE: BACK TO OUR ORIGINS: From Creation to Liberation and Revelation
The Jewish people began with Abraham. Yet, Adam, the first person, and Noah, the first survivor (Abraham’s precursors) provided the backdrop to the foundations of the emergence of our Nation.

SESSION TWO: UPPERS AND DOWNERS: From Conquest and Nationhood to the Destruction of the Temples
Our history is similar to the waxing and waning of the moon. This lesson will chronicle the ups and downs, vicissitudes and victories of the Jewish nation in its formative years.

SESSION THREE: DESPITE ALL ODDS: Dispersion & Exile
“The wandering Jew” describes Jewish life from the time the Temple was destroyed to the present day. Jews have not only been persecuted, but ‘self-extinction’ and assimilation appear to threaten our existence. The Jew, however, is the perennial survivor. This lesson will chronicle and analyze this remarkable trait of the Jew – the ability not only to survive, but to live despite all odds.

SESSION FOUR: TRANSFORMING DARKNESS INTO LIGHT: Spiritual Alchemy in the Medieval Period
Surprisingly, despite the unspeakable persecutions and the Jew’s endless wanderings during the medieval period, it was the most prolific literary period in Jewish history. This era gave us sages such as: Saadia Gaon, Rashi, Maimonides, Nachmanides, Yehudah Halevi and other Torah giants, whose works are studied by millions daily. This class will shed some light on the mystery of Jewish growth and success despite dark times.

SESSION FIVE: JEWISH RENEWAL: The Renaissance Period
Periods of Jewish history seem to parallel transitions in general society. The Renaissance Period in the secular world was echoed in Jewish Thought. The Renaissance—beginning circa fourteenth century—was also a period that marked the resurgence of Kabbalah and other major literary developments including the emergence of the Chassidic movement that revolutionized Jewish life in the past few generations.

LESSON SIX: FAITH AND FATE: The Modern Period
The twentieth century was arguably the most dramatic century in all of Jewish history. It represented, paradoxically, both “the worst of times, it was the best of times…” for the Jewish people in exile. It was the century that exposed the world to the unspeakable atrocities of the Holocaust and the sense of hope in the establishment of the State of Israel. This period has shown unprecedented growth of Jewish life and scholarship along with the greatest whirlpool of assimilation and Jewish ignorance. This course will help explain this paradox of Jewish existence that has never been so pronounced as it is has been in the 20th and 21st centuries.

COURSE B --
BIBLICAL STUDIES - PARDES: THE ORCHARD OF TORAH
6 Sundays, 11:00 AM
Dates: November 8, 15, 22, 29 December 6, 13

We will explore six fascinating sections of the Biblical narrative and view them through the prism of PaRDeS = the four layers of interpretation, from the direct and straight forward understanding to the spiritual and mystical approach and everything else in between

Lesson One: THE MAKING OF US
“Let us make man!” (Genesis 1:26)
A question that many have asked is: Who’s the “us” in “Let us make man?” There are many diverse explanations. We will explore four of the levels of explanation that give us insight into Jewish ethics and mysticism.

Lesson Two: THE DIVINE BROADCAST
“All the people could see the sounds…” (Exodus 20:15)
In this class we will discuss four dimensions of interpretation describing the “psychedelic” phenomena at the time G-d gave the Torah to the Jewish nation (seeing the sounds and hearing the sights). We will see how this unparalleled phenomenon was an integral component of history’s most significant event.

Lesson Three: THE SOUL OF PASSION
“Each of Aaron’s sons, Nadav and Avihu, took his own fire pan. They put fire in them and placed incense on top, and they brought an extraneous fire before G-d, which He had not commanded them. Fire came out from before G-d and consumed them…” (Leviticus 10:1-2)
This class will describe the tragedy of those who are consumed by their own passion. On its deepest level it describes the dynamics of the soul and its impact on our lives.

Lesson Four: SHOOT FOR THE STARS
“A star will shoot forth from Jacob and a staff will arise from Israel.” (Numbers 24:17)
This poetic verse has no simple meaning. All of its layers—even its simplest—are to be understood figuratively and metaphorically. This class will show how its deepest meanings are relevant to us today.

Lesson Five: TORAH'S JOURNEY
“It is not in the heavens, that you should say, ‘Who will go up to the heavens for us and take it for us, to tell it to us, so that we can keep it?’” (Deuteronomy 30:12)
If Torah is not in the heavens what make it so unique? This class will be an expedition to discover the source of Torah.

Lesson Six: INSPIRATION
“A certain woman, one of the wives of the disciples of the prophets, cried out to Elisha, Your servant, my husband has died. You are aware that your servant feared G-d, and the creditor has come to take my two children as slaves for himself!” (Kings II 4:1)
The mystical dimension of the verse will delve deeply into the inner psyche of each of us. It will help us deal with emotional states such as when we are uninspired, down or anxious.

COURSE A --
OUR RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER “ISMS” AND PEOPLES
7 Sundays, 10:00 AM
Dates: January 10, 11, 24, 31 February 7, 14, 21

The Jewish Contribution to Civilization and Tikkun Olam - The Seven Noahide Commandments

How Judaism Views Other religious "Isms"

How Judaism Views Other political "Isms": Capitalism, Socialism, Conservatism, Liberalism

How Judaism Views Other Social and Cultural "Isms": Environmentalism, Vegetarianism and Feminism

Anti-Semitism

The Contributions of Society to the Jewish People

COURSE B --
KABBALAH: THE CHANNELS OF THE SOUL: The Mitzvot as the Channels Linking the Soul to the Divine and the Body
7 Sundays, 11:00 AM
Dates: January 10, 17, 24, 31 February 7, 14, 21

COURSE A --
THE HOLOCAUST, LAND OF ISRAEL AND MESSIANISM
7 Sundays, 10:00 AM
Dates: April 25 May 2, 16, 23, 30 June 6

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