Adult Learning

At Sha’ar Zahav, you will find adult education opportunities as diverse as our membership. Some of our own members are our most respected teachers and we are always keeping an eye out for outside speakers too. If you have a request for a class topic, please contact us at [email protected].

Upcoming Events

Please return to this page to see our upcoming events.

Past Courses & Lectures

Date: Monday, March 22, 2021 on Zoom

Time: 7:00 – 8:00 pm

Golan Moskowitz will share with us the evolution of Maurice Sendak’s artistic vision and its appeal for American, Jewish, and queer audiences. The talk will show how Sendak’s multiple perspectives as a gay, Holocaust-conscious, American-born son of Yiddish-speaking Polish immigrants informed his life and work, changed the face of children’s literature and paved the way for the reconsiderations of monstrosity and Otherness that pervade contemporary media, from Sesame Street to Stranger Things.

Fee: Free for Sha’ar Zahav members, and $15 for non-members. However no one is turned away for lack of funds. Please email [email protected] for financial aid.

More about Golan Moskowitz: Golan Moskowitz is Assistant Professor of Jewish Studies and Catherine and Henry J. Gaisman Faculty Fellow at Tulane University, where he teaches courses on Jewish gender and sexuality, popular culture, Holocaust studies, and Jewish comics and graphic novels. He is the author of Wild Visionary: Maurice Sendak in Queer Jewish Context (Stanford University Press, 2020) and of several publications on intergenerational memory in post-Holocaust family narratives. Golan’s work has been supported by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the Memorial Foundation for Jewish Culture, the Hadassah-Brandeis Institute, and the Tauber Institute for the Study of European Jewry.

Book Recommendation: We recommend his book “Wild Visionary: Maurice Sendak in Queer Jewish Context.”  You can learn more about it and purchase it here>> (20% off with code: VISIONARY20)

Date: Monday, February 8, 2021 on Zoom

Time: 7:00 – 8:00 pm

A spiritual autobiography tracing a path from Christianity to Judaism, and well into Eastern traditions. Jonathon Thunderword will share stories, anecdotes and observations of his path to becoming a believing non-believer, a theistic atheist, and perhaps, a “possibility model” for those who are beginning to seek their own spirituality.

Jonathon Thunderword is a theologian, a scholar, and a free thinker. He is an omni-faith, a multi-spiritual practitioner. He has spent his adult career trying to relieve suffering.

Fee: Free for Sha’ar Zahav members, and $15 for non-members. However no one is turned away for lack of funds. Please email [email protected] for financial aid.

Register for the lecture here >>

Book Recommendation: We recommend his book “From Christendom to Freedom: Journey-Making with a Black Transgender Elder.”  You can learn more about it and purchase it here>>

Date: Monday, January 25, 2021 on Zoom

Time: 6:00 – 7:00 pm

In this one hour session, Rabbi Shmuly will share Torah on cultivating hope and light in difficult times. We’ll explore how our inner life is interconnected with our outer life. Further, Rabbi Shmuly, through stories and texts, will open a window into developments in progressive Orthodoxy (feminism, same sex marriages, universalism, etc.).

Fee: Free for Sha’ar Zahav members, and $15 for non-members. However no one is turned away for lack of funds. Please email [email protected] for financial aid.

Register for the lecture here >>

More about Rabbi Dr. Shmuly Yanklowitz: Rabbi Yanklowitz has twice been named one of America’s Top Rabbis by Newsweek and has been named by The Forward as one of the 50 most influential Jews and one of The Most Inspiring Rabbis in America. Rabbi Yanklowitz is the author of nineteen books on Jewish ethics and his writings have appeared in outlets as diverse as the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, the Guardian, and the Atlantic among many other secular and religious publications. He has served as speaker at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland and a Rothschild Fellow in Cambridge, UK.

Rav Shmuly received a Masters from Harvard University and his Doctorate from Columbia University. He serves as the President & Dean of Valley Beit Midrash (Jewish learning center), the Founder & President of Uri L’Tzedek (the Orthodox Social Justice movement), the Founder and CEO of Shamayim (Jewish animal advocacy), and the Founder and President of YATOM, (Jewish foster and adoption network). Rabbi Shmuly, his wife Shoshana, and their four children live in Scottsdale, Arizona. They are also foster parents.

Book Recommendation: We recommend his book “Pirkei Avot: A Social Justice Commentary.”  You can learn more about it and purchase it here>>

Sinat Chinam = Senseless Hatred

Dates: Mondays, January 13 & 27, February 3

Time: 6:30-8:30 pm

AND Friday, March 6 @6:00-7:15pm in honor of Shabbat Zachor (Shabbt of Memory)

A series for the Sha’ar Zahav community addressing senseless hatred in our society from intersecting angles. Join Rabbi Copeland as we host local leaders, view contemporary hatreds individually and as they intersect with one another, and learn strategies for dismantling the havoc they wreak. Click Here to Register.

Queer – unusual, different, curious, LGBTQI
-core – a counter-cultural perspective, a small group of people, at the center
Talmud – a compendium of ancient Jewish thought, law, culture, and spiritual insight

Origins of the Bible and How to Read It: Leviticus and Deuteronomy

Dates: Tuesdays, May 5, 12, 19, 26

Time: 7:00-9:00 pm

We will discuss myth and metaphor and the Bible’s literary history in order to uncover the ancient meanings of several of the Bible’s classic narratives and its law codes, and to determine their relevance to modern day Jews and the world in which we live. Click Here to Register.

Six Events: Jews at the Epicenter of American Politics

Dates: Thursdays, April: 23, 30, May: 7, 14, 21, June: 4

Time: 7:00-8:30pm

The Jews have always played a role in the push-and-pull of significant eras in American history. We’ll look at six themes end events in American politics to explore the question of how we, as Jews, relate to this country we know as home. This class is taught by HAMAQOM’s Associate Director, Jason Harris, who spent seven years as a senior staffer for a Member of Congress.

President George Washington promised a land free from religious toleration. Ulysses S. Grant expelled Jews from Union territory. The Jews have always played a role in the push-and-pull of significant eras in American history. We’ll look at six themes in American politics to explore the question of how we, as Jews, relate to this country we know as home. This class is taught by HAMAQOM’s Associate Director, Jason Harris, who spent seven years as a senior staffer for a Member of Congress. Please note that this course is nonpartisan, and not about specific candidates in the 2020 election. Click Here to Register

Continuing Hebrew

Dates: Thursdays, November 7-February 13  (No class on Thanksgiving, Nov 28)

Time: 7:00-8:00 pm

Location: Sha’ar Zahav, 290 Dolores Street SF 94103

Open to members and non-members. Non-members: $149 Members: $119

A continuation from beginning Hebrew, this course is for students who have already learned the Hebrew alphabet and know some basic vocabulary. This class will provide opportunities to practice reading and decoding Hebrew, and expand your Hebrew vocabulary.  Additionally, we shall study several key prayers in the Congregation Sha’ar Zahav’s siddur(prayer book).  This class provides a friendly and supportive learning environment, and patience and sensitivity will be shown to adult learners with limited time for study. Please feel free to contact the class instructor Michael Lederman ([email protected]) if you’re not sure if this class will be the right level for you. Click here to Register!

Open to members and non-members.

Non-members: $149 Members: $119

Talmud Study Group

Dates:  Saturdays (except B’nei Mitzvah days)

Time: 9:00 am

Location: Sha’ar Zahav – 290 Dolores Street SF 94103

Registration: None Required

Join a lay-led weekly Talmud study group where we will look at a tractate/section of Jewish commentary called Moed Katan. No experience studying Talmud is necessary, text read in English translation. No experience necessary. For information, contact Jackie Kaplan.

Summer 2019 Courses

Intro to Kabbalah

Dates: July 10, 17, 31 & August 7

Time: 12:00-1:15 pm

Have you wondered why the Zohar, the medieval book of Jewish mysticism, gets so much attention? Come to a beginner’s session as Rabbi Copeland leads us through a bit of historical background before delving into some juicy texts in English translation. Contemplate the nature of reality and divinity over tea, coffee, and whatever you bring for your lunch. No RSVP needed. Drop-ins welcome! For more information contact [email protected].

Spring 2019 Courses

The Origins of the Bible and How to Read It: Genesis and Exodus 

Dates: Thursdays, April 11-May 2

Time: 7:00-9:00 pm

Location: Sha’ar Zahav – 290 Dolores Street SF 94103

Registration: lehrhaus.org

To many contemporary readers, the Bible often feels impenetrable and outdated, principally because of the way Jewish texts are taught in religious schools. This course will explore methods for reading the Bible that are central to liberal Judaism’s orientations to reading sacred texts, but are not often used in synagogue settings. We will discuss myth and metaphor and the Bible’s literary history to uncover the ancient meanings of several of the Bible’s classic narratives and its law codes, and to determine their relevance to modern-day Jews and the world in which we. Instructor: Rabbi Jeremy S. Morrison, Ph.D. Lehrhaus Executive Director. Newcomers to the series are always welcome! Register at lehrhaus.org.

Winter 2019 Courses

Are Jews like Queers?

Dates: Mondays, February 4-March 18 (excluding February 18)

Time: 8:00-8:00 pm

Location: Manny’s – 3092 16th St, San Francisco, CA 94103

Registration: None Required

Are queers like Jews? Are Jews like queers? We might be accustomed to thinking of queer Jews as a subset of the Jewish community–but to what extent is the diasporic Jewish experience already queer? What parallels do we see between how queerness and Jewishness are policed, especially in gendered terms–and how can the two communities learn from one another in their modes of resistance, connection, and adaptivity? This casual evening class will look at works of queer theory written by and about Jews to think through these questions and to make sense of the two intersecting categories. Join member Annie Atura Bushnell, Assistant Director of Jewish Studies at Stanford, and Rabbi Mychal Copeland for low-key discussion over coffee or tea! Readings will be pre-circulated, but never mandatory–come as you are. Cost is what you purchase to imbibe. No sign-up: drop-ins are welcome. Free and open to all. Donations welcome. Readings can be found here.

Continuing Hebrew

Dates: Thursdays, January 24-April 11, 2019

Time: 7:00-8:00 pm

Location: Sha’ar Zahav – 290 Dolores Street SF 94103

Registration: Click Here 

A continuation of our beginning Hebrew class, this course is for students who have already learned the Hebrew alphabet and know some basic vocabulary. This class will provide opportunities to practice reading and decoding Hebrew, and expand your Hebrew vocabulary. Additionally, we shall study several key prayers in the Sha’ar Zahav’s siddur (prayer book). This class provides a friendly and supportive learning environment, and patience and sensitivity will be shown to adult learners with limited time for study. New students who have already mastered the Hebrew alphabet (or who have mostly mastered the Hebrew alphabet) are encouraged to join! Please feel free to contact the class instructor ([email protected]) if you’re not sure if this class will be the right level for you.

Click Here To Register

Non-members: $126

Members: $54

Fall 2018 Courses

Introductory Hebrew

Dates: Thursdays, October 4-December 6, 2018 (meets weekly for 10 sessions)

Time: 7:00-8:00 pm

Open to members and non-members of Sha’ar Zahav

Would you like to be able to decode Hebrew, so that you can follow along in the prayer book? Have you always wondered how the Hebrew language works? It is never too late to start learning Hebrew! This class is intended for first time Hebrew students, and will begin by learning the letters and the sounds that they make. You’ll be reading Hebrew words in no time! This course will be led by Michael Lederman. If you have any questions, please contact Adult Education chair, Mark Pressler at [email protected].

Judaism 101

Dates: Mondays, October 15-December 17, 2018 (meets weekly for 10 sessions)

Time: 6:30-8:30 pm

Open to members and non-members

The intro to Judaism course, will cover the basics of Jewish history, texts, liturgy, holidays, customs, theology, with plenty of room for you to ask your own questions.The intro class is designed for anyone from any background and any level of Jewish learning, and all are welcome to attend. The class will be facilitated by Director of Education, Sue Bojdak. If you have any questions, please contact Sue at [email protected].

Practical Mussar

Dates: Mondays, October 15-December 17, 2018 (meets weekly for 10 sessions)

Time: 6:30-7:30 pm

Open to members and non-members

Do you sometimes find it difficult to be good? To reach deep for compassion? While Jewish ideals and mitzvot are laid out fairly well, we often have trouble following them. Well, look no further. Join long-time member, Mark Pressler, as he leads us in Practical Mussar.

Mussar is a Jewish spiritual practice based on ethical and moral values. It’s an everyday hands-on guide to cultivating inner virtues to improve ourselves. We will meditate, study and improve all of our interactions and relationships. If you have any questions, please contact Adult Education chair, Mark Pressler at [email protected].

Where do we go from here? Jewish thoughts on the afterlife

Dates: Mondays, October 15-November 19, 2018 (meets weekly for 6 sessions)

Time: 6:30-7:30 pm

Open to members and non-members

We often know what other traditions have to say about the afterlife far better than our own. We will explore why this is an underdiscussed issue in Judaism and we’ll take a trip through our fascinating and often inconsistent history. Stops along the journey include messianism, the world to come, Kabbalistic levels of the soul, and reincarnation. Led by Rabbi Mychal Copeland. No previous experience with Jewish thought, Hebrew or text is necessary. If you have any questions, please contact Rabbi Copeland at [email protected].