Who We Are

What We Offer

How We Are Doing

Topics

• Creation of Adam and Eve
  • How are man and woman unique creatures?
  • How is marriage a distinctly human relationship?
• Garden of Eden
  • What is this mysterious Garden?
  • What is the "Tree of Knowledge/Choice"
• G-d's commandment, its violation, and consequences
  • How did the serpent entice Eve to eat from the forbidden fruit?
  • How did the Divine punishments of man, woman, and the serpent reflect their degree of sin?
• Cain and Abel
  • What did G-d teach Cain about the allure of sin and how to control it?
  • The power of teshuva (return to G-d)

Course Objectives

• Present a running commentary to the Genesis chapters (1-3) that describe the first human family, using classical Jewish sources
• Identify the origin of human nature

Course Schedule

• 5 week duration. Monday, June 30, 2008 - Monday, August 4, 2008. Each Monday, new course material will be posted on-line and remain available for the duration of the course.

Interactive Feature

• Questions & Comments:  Students are invited to respond to questions and/or raise questions of their own, via E-mail.
• Personal Responses: Students will receive personal responses to their letters, via E-mail.

• On Line Posting: Select teacher-student correspondences will be available on-line for viewing by the entire class.

Confidentiality of student correspondence will be respected.

Course Fee

Texts

• Torah (Bible): The Five Books of Moses
  Note: Students will need a copy of the Bible
• Torah Commentaries:
  • Classical commentaries of Rabbi Moshe, son of Nachman ("Nachmanides", 1195-1270 Spain) and Rabbi Ovadiah Sforno (1470-1550 Italy)
  • Midrashic literature (1st - 6th centuries Israel and Babylon)