Torah

WEEKLY CLASSES:

IN THE BEGINNING:
A CLOSE TEXT STUDY OF THE PATRIARCHAL/MATRIARCHAL NARRATIVES
IN THE BOOK OF GENESIS

Join Rabbi Jan Uhrbach for a lively and profound discussion of the nature of humanity, the human condition, and the Jewish tradition, with the book of Genesis as our starting point, going line by line through the text with a wealth of commentary. Everyone is welcome; no Hebrew language skills or background required.

Join us on Tuesday mornings (ongoing; new series begins April 9) or Monday evenings (ongoing).

Dates:

5 Tuesday mornings
April 9, 16, 23, 30; May 7

Plan on attending all five sessions, or drop in any time, though RSVPs by email are appreciated.
Payment by credit card or paypal here, or in person by cash or check payable to Nahar Inc.

Times:

10:30 am to noon

Location:

Excelsior Hotel, 45 West 81st Street (just east of Columbus Avenue);
2nd floor

Cost:	$180 for all 5 sessions
	$45 per individual session
	Additional donation (choose number of $45 scholarships at checkout)

Dates:

11 Monday evenings
January 28; February 4, 25; March 4, 11, 18; April 8, 15, 22, 29; May 6

Enroll by email; minimum enrollment: 10
Payment by credit card or paypal here, or by check payable to Nahar Inc.

Times:

7:00-8:30 pm

Location:

Excelsior Hotel, 45 West 81st Street (just east of Columbus Avenue);
2nd floor

Cost:	$375 for 11 sessions

MONTHLY MINI-SERIES

IT’S ABOUT TIME: UNCOVERING THE SPIRITUAL MEANING OF THE JEWISH HOLIDAYS
A four-session mini-series exploring the Jewish calendar as an annual journey through ever-richer spiritual, psychological, and intellectual terrain — a kind of “curriculum for the soul.”

Session 1	January 30, 7:30-8:30 pm
	A Year of Living Meaningfully: How the Jewish Calendar Shapes our Lives

Session 2	February 7, 7:30-8:30 pm
	Purim and Mature Spirituality: Mockery, Doubt, and Anger

Session 3	March 6, 7:00-9:00 pm
	Passover: You Say You Want a Revolution
	This session will be taught in 2 parts (attend 1 or both):7:00-8:00 addressing the major themes of Passover from a spiritual, theological, psychological, and political perspective;8:00-9:00 addressing the practical observance of Passover, including Q&A.

Session 4	April 10, 7:30-8:30 pm
	Shavuot: From Revolution to Revelation

Location:	Excelsior Hotel, 45 West 81st Street (just east of Columbus Avenue); 2nd floor
Cost:	$100 for all 4 sessions
	Individual Sessions — $40 each
	Additional donation (choose number of $40 scholarships at checkout)

SMALL GROUP STUDY

Email Rabbi Uhrbach if you would like to arrange a private study group.

“For a river goes out from Eden,
to water the garden
and from there it divides,
becoming four branches." (Gen. 2:10)

The name of the first river is
Talmud Torah (learning)
the Stream of Consciousness,
emanating from the land of Thought.

Now meandering
through interior forests and fields,
now carving sharply into rock,
always shaping,
changing the inner landscape,
forging inlets and outlets.

Lost in her waters,
we learn to navigate all.
Lost in her waters,
we are found.

____________________
What people are saying about study at Nahar:
"I came to the Genesis class with undefined goals but something in me said 'yes' to the opportunity. I am Jewish but an atheist. The discussions that Jan leads have had a powerful effect on me which I have trouble explaining--even to myself. A door is opening. Where the path is going, I have no idea nor do I care. I feel both spiritually and intellectually nourished and I trust, respect, and love the process. While I am in class I feel as if I don't breathe. Rather I simply embrace the words, drink them in and feel newly connected."
-- Terry Cooper

"I keep asking my husband if the various Torah portions we are studying with Rabbi Jan have always had the poetry and wisdom that our study is revealing now. During our Tuesday classes we discuss how different commentators interpret the text -- one psychological, one literal, someone else emphasizing family dynamics of the patriarchs and matriarchs and Rabbi Jan asks us how we see the text and the various interpretations. Jan encourages us to ask questions in an atmosphere of acceptance of the different places we all come from. Our Tuesday class has become more important to us than we could have imagined and not to be missed."
-- Bambi and Bob Granovsky

Rabbi Jan Uhrbach’s class is an exhilarating journey through Lech Lecha, one of the most powerful parashas in the Torah. Through carefully selected midrashim, reflecting popular opinions through the ages, and rigorous line-by-line textual analysis, we explore Avraham’s choices, motives, flaws and triumphs and get a more fully realized understanding of our greatest partriarch. Jan has an extraordinary ability to take profound and complex material and make it accessible, engaging and fun!
-- Fern Flamberg