Online Learning Archive

Past Online Courses

Dr. Channa Pinchasi

Explore music, poetry, satire, and religious texts that expose the complex, conflicting set of voices which make up contemporary Israel.

Dr J.J. Schacter

Today, how do Jews living in the Diaspora perceive the State of Israel, and how does the State of Israel view the Diaspora?

Dr J.J. Schacter

Rabbi Schacter looks at how Jews living outside the land of Israel understood their connection and obligation to the land of Israel.

Dr Sarah Bunin Benor

Explore the history and future of global Jewish languages, and learn how Jews are engaging creatively with these languages today.

Dr. Raquel Ukeles

Dr. Ukeles shared reflections on the work of the National Library of Israel where they are building a vast repository of material docum...

Dr. Tova Ganzel

Dr. Tova Ganzel discussed the heroism of women from antiquity to the present day, specifically the roles of the daughter of Jochanan th...

Dr. Tova Ganzel

What are the moral and ethical implications of contemporary institutions and how can we apply Jewish concepts of social justice in the ...

Rabbi Dr. Ben Elton

Judaism in Britain developed differently to the rest of the world, and faced the problems of a fractured people in a unique way. Whethe...

Rabbi Shoshana Boyd Gelfand

Rabbi Shoshana Boyd Gelfand explored the work of moral psychologist, Dr. Jonathan Haidt. We reflected on his distinction between our \"...

NGF Network member Matt Fieldman and Charmaine D. Rice share their experiences as co-founders of Rekindle, working towards bridging the...

Dr. Ronnie Perelis

The powerful tradition of the sensual and spiritual poetry of the Hebrew poets of Sefarad continues with interesting re-interpretation ...

Rabba Dr. Lindsey Taylor-Guthartz

Explore some challenging midrashim, classical and modern, offering interesting interpretations of the Akedah.

Dr J.J. Schacter

Engage with Rabbi Soloveitchik’s challenging position on the status of Christianity within an interfaith context.

Dr J.J. Schacter

Engagement with Jewish behavior unfolds on two levels: 1) the act or performance of a mitzvah as well as 2) the experience of the mitzvah.

Dr J.J. Schacter

How did Rabbi Soloveitchik engage with Israel and Zionism.

Dr. Raquel Ukeles

The challenges of building an inclusive collection for a national library that operates in a complex political environment, especially ...

Dr Sam Lebens

Sometimes doing the right thing leaves you with dirty hands. Explore Rabbinic and philosophical approaches to moral dilemmas.

Dr. Saba Soomekh

From personal stories to hard historical facts, delve into the fascinating history of Persian Jewry, and learn about the reality today.

Dr Ronnie Perelis

Take a thrilling journey into the turbulent history of Crypto Jews.

Dr Ronnie Perelis

Using Jewish texts, art and poetry, Dr. Perelis explored the unique time in history that gave rise to Sephardic Jewish culture.

Nigel Savage

What is the relationship between Jewish tradition and the real world in which we live?

Are we one Jewish People or are there real differences emerging between the Jews in the diaspora and Jews living in Israel?

The noble humanist and Social Democratic principles that founded the State of Israel are under attack from forces within and without. 

Rabbi David Saperstein

What is our responsibility to some of the pressing global issues of the day? 

Rabbi David Saperstein

What does Judaism have to say about some of the urgent and vexing moral challenges of our day.

Dr. Channa Pinchasi

What are the tensions between the ancient Hebrew language and the Israeli vocabulary of a digital era.

Dr. Tova Ganzel

How has Hanukkah evolved historically and what is it really all about?

Stephen Bush

What is racial justice and just how inclusive are Jewish communities?

Dr. Guila Benchimol

What is gender justice? What role do safety, respect, and equity play in it? And what does it look like in Jewish spaces? 

Rabbi Joe Wolfson

How can we think about justice in a manner that is authentically Jewish?

Rabbi Joe Wolfson

When the Bible speaks of justice what does it mean?

Dr J.J. Schacter

6 months into the COVID-19 Pandemic, what does the Jewish tradition have to teach us about how to cope with adversity.

Dr. Anna Shternshis

Yiddish is on the rise. Discover what is going on with the Yiddish language today.

Dr. Steven Bayme

How did Jewish leaders respond to the challenges of Diaspora, National Tragedy, and Military Victory?

Dr. Anna Shternshis

How Yiddish plays, folklore and music depicted what it was like for Jewish refugees to live in Central Asia.

Dr. Steven Bayme

How did Jewish leaders respond to the challenges of Diaspora, National Tragedy, and Military Victory?

Anna andy Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter, Psoy Korolenko bring to life long lost Yiddish songs of World War II. 

Dr. Steven Bayme

How did Jewish leaders respond to the challenges of Diaspora, National Tragedy, and Military Victory?

How were Jews and Judaism being viewed in light of the Coronavirus pandemic. 

Dr. Daniel Fainstein

The problem of evil occupies an important place in monotheistic philosophical and theological thought since ancient times.

Prof. Galeet Dardashti

Various forms of Israeli music offer a  unique political and cultural lens for the study of Israeli identity over the past several decades.

Prof. Galeet Dardashti

The changes in Israeli music over the country’s short history illuminate significant historical and social developments. 

Prof. Eric Goldman

 Part II examines current films and several of the television dramas that are being streamed across the globe.

Prof. Eric Goldman

Part I explores a changing and evolving Israel by analyzing select mainstream narrative films beginning with the first feature movies.

Ilana Kaufman

Ilana Kaufman, the Director of the Jews of Color Field Building Initiative, discusses research done regarding Jews of Color in the USA.

Rabba Yaffa Epstein

How the story of Queen Esther teaches us about how we attain, and wield power, and authority today.

David Gidron

Following the shooting at the Tree of Life Congregation in Pittsburgh, we discuss the key elements necessary for Jewish Communal Resistance.

Benji Lovitt

Comedian Benji Lovitt tracks the changes in Israeli society through classic movie, TV and comedy clips.

Rabbi Dr. Sam Lebens

What is the nature of national identities and how are these relate to the traditional concept of Jewish identity, and Zionism.  

Dr. Gilad Weiner

Explore the hidden tensions that are inherent in Israel’s definition as a Jewish and democratic state. 

Dr. Sara Hirschhorn

Explore the history, politics and impact of the Israeli settler movement beyond the green line since the 1967 war.

Rabbi Prof. Saul Berman

What our texts teach about the challenges of mass immigration, growing disparity between rich & poor & the rise of religious fundamentalism.

Rabbi Prof. Saul Berman

What our texts teach about the challenges of mass immigration, growing disparity between rich & poor & the rise of religious fundamentalism.

Rabbi Prof. Saul Berman

What our texts teach about the challenges of mass immigration, growing disparity between rich & poor & the rise of religious fundamentalism.

Dr. Daniel Fainstein

The future of the Jewish communities of Latin America. Esta sesión se llevó a cabo en español.

Dr. Daniel Fainstein

The future of the Jewish communities of Latin America. Esta sesión se llevó a cabo en español.

Dr. Channa Pinchasi

 This course will seek to examine three seminal Jewish texts that speak directly to the major issues of our time.

Dr. Daniel Fainstein

The future of the Jewish communities of Latin America. Esta sesión se llevó a cabo en español.

Dr. Channa Pinchasi

This course will seek to examine three seminal Jewish texts that speak directly to the major issues of our time.

Dr. Channa Pinchasi

This course will seek to examine three seminal Jewish texts that speak directly to the major issues of our time.

The views expressed do not necessarily reflect those of the Memorial Foundation for Jewish Culture or the Nahum Goldmann Fellowship.