Study Programs 2005 - 2006
"I have no other land" – The State of Israel, Decade by Decade
 1. Three Courses on Mondays – 8:30-13:30 - Israel Studies.
(Program in cooperation with the Jewish National Fund)
8:30-10:00 – ". . . since the day when Ephraim departed from Judah" (Isaiah 7:17)
First Semester: Days of the Divided Kingdom: Biblical, Historical and Literary study in the Books of Kings.
Second Semester: Ethical Wisdom – Relationships to Wealth, Government and Justice in Stories of Rabbinic Literature.
Dr. Gabi Barzilai, Dr. Gili Zivan, Hala Armoni, Shmuel Faust.

10:15-11:45 – A State "In the Sights"
Agrant Commission, the Entebbe Rescue Mission, "The Block of the Faithful," "Peace Now," the Religious Kibbutz Movement – To Where? The peace with Egypt, Is everything negotiable? Is everything political? A constitution for Israel, and more.

A retrospective look at the adolescent years of the State.

Dr. Aviad HaCohen, Dr. Asher Cohen, Yona Katz, Dr. Avraham Polovin, Prof. Avi Ravitsky, Dr. Lilach Rozenberg, and many others.

12:00-13:30 – "Only in Israel"

Critical tendencies and social and gender struggles in the maturing State, through the eye of the media, culture, art, literature and film.

Yehudit bar Yesha Gershovitz, Ruti Lazar, Michal Sadan, Yuval Rivlin, and guest lecturers, among them the journalist Nitzan Hen; Head of Channel Two, Moti Shaklar, and others.
The program includes 9 Field Trips over the course of the year.
2. "Stories of the Moon" – Midrash and Field Trips by the light of the Moon
An experience of a different kind, one that combines nocturnal field trips with a Beit Midrash outdoors in nature.
The program includes three field trips over the course of the year: in the autumn, spring and summer.
Learn by walking the landscape of Israel and the texts associated with it – the evening includes about two hours of light walking and also joint study of Jewish sources that relate to the location, the history and period of the place.
Departure after sunset, return by midnight.
Places in the course are assured only to those who register for the entire series, the number of participants is limited.
3. Tuesday Offerings – Three Courses in the Classical Jewish Library
a) 16:00-16:45 - Opening a Window
Introductions to key works in the Library of Jewish Classics. An exciting cultural journey to an encounter with the landscape of the Jewish tradition.
Yoskei Achituv, Avraham Stein
b) A Continuing Biblical Festival – Two Courses on Tuesday evenings – 17:00-20:00
 17:00-18:30 – Talking in the Desert – Founding Stories in the Formation of the Nation:
Egypt: House of Slavery or America of the ancient world?
Confrontations and verifications in the desert: an interpretive journey in the paths of the Torah
The Revelation on Mt. Sinai: Between Receiving the Torah and Giving the Torah
And other desert dramas . . .
Studies in the Books of Exodus and Numbers with Biblical scholars, Midrash, literature, Jewish Thought and Art.
Drora Weiss, Mical Sadan, Barry Zimmerman, Tsipi Kaufman, Avraham Stein, Osnat Braverman-Shilo.
c) 18:30-20:00 – "Give Ear, O Heavens and Listen, O Earth"
Reading towards evening in the Books of the Prophets and Biblical Historiography:
Stories of rule and power, love and jealousy and the ethics of war in the Books of Samuel,
The struggles and prophecies of Isaiah the Prophet
Angels, Cherubs and Chariots in the Book of Ezekiel
Chronicles – The Book of the history of the Jewish people
A textual journey of depth and insight, tradition and relevance, in selected chapters from the Books of the Prophets and the Writings.
Dr. Gabi Barzilai, Dr. Gili Zivan, Noah Hayot, Dr. Haggai Misgav.
4. Pensioners' Colleges – the Shafir Regional Council
 Tuesdays - 10:00-11:30 – Seniors study together a wide range of topics in Jewish Studies, from Bible to Talmud to modern Hebrew literature. Jewish history, Zionism, contemporary Jewish-Israeli issues also form part of the curriculum. One of the longest running programs at the Herzog Center, with active participation for more than a decade.
Made possible with the support of the Claims Conference
5. "A People in the Paths of its Destiny" – A Journey in the paths of Eastern European Jewry – Wednesdays 8:30-12:30
a) 8:30-9:10 – Diving into the Deep – In-depth study of texts from the classical Jewish library of Eastern European Jewry (including guided independent study).
Yoskei Achituv, Avraham Stein.
b) 9:15-10:45 – A Historical Story of Flourishing and Destruction
What does Queen Esther have to do with Polish Jewry? Did the Seer of Lublin decide the Franco-Russian War? What is the "Black Chamber" from Poltava? How does the story of a community rise from the obscurity of the archive? What do the diaries from the Shoah unfold before us? How can Russian Jewry return to its Judaism? And more . . .
A multi-disciplinary course on the paths of Eastern European Jewry, coordinated by Yuval Rivlin and other lecturers: Prof. Emanuel Atkas, Prof. David Asaf, Dr. Amos Goldberg, Dr. Chaim Gratner, Dr. Moti Zelkin, and others.
c) 11:00-12:30 – Eastern Europe – Not what you thought!
The Jewish creation according to its layers
On pilpulistic yeshivot and the fragrance of Torah, on the fire and sparks between Hasidim, Mitnagdim and Maskilim, on the Golem of Prague and the Wise Men of Chelm, on literary creations and Jewish thought, on Chasidic music and Jewish art, on Yiddish film and a taste of Cholent . . . on all these and more.
Yoskei Achituv, Shifra Asoulin, Yehudit bar Yesha Gershovitz, Tsipi Kaufman, Dr. Asi Kaniel, Avraham Stein, and other lecturers: Prof. Yoav Alshtein, Prof. Binyamin Gros, Michal Sadan, and others.
In light of the success of the study trip to Italy and France, following the previous years' courses, at the end of this course too, a guided study trip on the paths of Eastern European Jewry will be organized for those interested.
6. Study Halls (Batei Midrash)
a) Mabua ("Fountainhead")
A Beit Midrash to Empower Leaders and Social and Educational Activists in the South – with the support of Sapir College and Federation Metro-West
Mondays – 8:30 – 14:00
A spiritual-social dialogue between individuals and communities in the South that turns the differences between the communities into a resource for empowerment instead of a focus of conflict. An interpersonal encounter with the individual and the community that surrounds us, and the creativity within them. Cooperative, creative and active study of Biblical, Talmudic and literary texts, with facilitation by Shifra Asoulin and Sharon Leshem-Zinger.
In the common Beit Midrash people from the entire spectrum of Israeli society meet. The method of study is unique in that it combines a content part, which places the study of the text and the encounter with it in the center, with a process part, which focuses on intra- and interpersonal encounter.
Participation in the course includes a commitment to initiating a community project and is conditioned upon an acceptance interview. The number of participants is limited.
b) Mifgashim - Encounters Across the Divide – with the support of Tsav Pius
Tuesday evenings – 19:00 – 22:00
A program for leading educators in elementary and secondary schools and informal education, and for social and community activists.
An encounter between secular and religious for learning of a different kind in an effort to develop a quality interpersonal and intertextual dialogue – a dialogue between the participants themselves through the texts of the Jewish cultural heritage. Two facilitators – one secular and the other religious - guide the "Beit Midrash" that is placed at the center of the course content: Sharon Leshem-Zinger and Dr. Ariel Pikar.
In addition, a variety of workshops on teaching and interdisciplinary methods will be held, such as Judaism, literature and film, Jewish thought, creative reading of the Bible, and fundamentals of group facilitation.
Among the lecturers: Yehudit bar-Yesha Gershovitch, Dr. Gili Zivan, Yuval Rivlin, Avraham Stein.
The participants will be guided in the planning and implementation of an educational or social project. Participation in the course is conditioned upon an acceptance interview. The number of participants is limited.
c) An Intercultural Encounter – A Study Hall for Immigrants from the Former Soviet Union (with the support of the Ministry for Absorption)
Guided study of the culture of Israel in order to deepen Jewish, Zionist and Israeli identity. Course date and time will be determined in accordance with the participants; subsidized tuition.
d) "Your Dream is my Nightmare – Study Halls in the Shadow of the Disengagement Plan"
 lest we separate from each other, an effort at dialogue and mutual understanding of the differences and commonalities between Israelis facing the disengagement from Gaza.
7. The Weekly Torah Portion – Plus:
 The Haftara Behind the Weekly Portion – a project in cooperation with Sapir College, Kolot BaNegev, the Yoav Regional Council, the Shafir Regional Council, and the Yaacov Herzog Center.

Thursday evenings – 19:00 – 20:30

A festive series of study continuing throughout the year featuring public figures of the first order, lecturers from the Herzog Center, from the Yeshiva of the Religious Kibbutz, and many others. In anticipation of Shabbat, the course provides a festive and popular gathering for creative and personal readings in the Weekly Torah Portion, reflecting the different voices in Israeli society.
8. "Blessing of the Month – Study Marking the Beginning of the Jewish Month"
 Friday mornings – 9:30-11:30

At the beginning of each month, we will gather over a cup of coffee to discuss the "hot topics" of the month. Each session will be facilitated by a different member of YHC's staff of lecturers: teachers of Bible, Midrash, Halakha, Jewish Thought, History, Film and Literature.
9. "Sofer Stam – On Creation and Its Creators"
 Experiential encounters with authors and their newly published work.

Three evening sessions over the course of the year.
10. Special Events at the Herzog Center:
1) "Taking Stock Together:
 A Gathering for Communal Self-Assessment Between New Year's Day and Yom Kippur" – Held during the "Ten Days of Repentance," the event draws upon the Jewish tradition of introspection and reinvestment in core values as an opportunity to gather for text study and cultural enrichment (music, plays, humor, etc.) in anticipation of the Day of Atonement. Again, the Center's effort is to combine secular and religious people and cultural contents in an event that addresses all Jews. (About 250 participants)
2) "When the Month of Adar begins . . ."
 A special study day in advance of Purim, in a slightly different spirit.
3) Study Night for Shavuot (Tikkun Lail Shavuot)
A festive evening of study and cultural enrichment in anticipation of the festival of Shavuot, the traditional time of the giving of the Torah to the Jewish people. The gathering integrates Jewish and Israeli, religious and secular cultural contents. (About 400 participants)
For details and the complete program: Tel. 08-8501420

Email: office@merkazherzog.org.il

The Yaacov Herzog Center, under the administration of the Religious Kibbutz Movement, Kibbutz Ein Tzurim, D.N. Sde Gat 79510
For details and the complete program:
Email: office@merkazherzog.org.il
Phone: (972) 8-850-1420; (972) 8-850-1423
FAX: (972) 8-858-0747
Mail: Yaacov Herzog Center, Kibbutz Ein Zurim, D. N. Sdeh Gat 79510