Gerson D. Cohen Institute for Adult Jewish Learning
We are a center for serious Jewish learning. Synagogue classes offer everyone opportunities to discover new meanings in Judaism and Jewish culture.
What kinds of classes do we offer? Here is a recent sampling:
Over the last several years, many adults have studied Mishna, learned to read Hebrew, and to understand the complexities of the Shabbat prayers. Ten adult women celebrated their adult Bat Mitzvah after attending a two-year course.
We are hosting the two-year Meah program, sponsored by Hebrew College, which includes an intensive four semester study of Jewish history from the Biblical through the Modern Period.
We have regular dialogue evenings with our neighbors at Christ Church of Riverdale. For Hebrew speakers, we offer a monthly Hug Ivri. There has been a Yiddish class, a series on “Tropical Jews,” concerts, and art shows. We have explored the rise and fall of the Catskills, and the ups and downs of the Jewish Bronx.
Each year, we welcome a scholar in residence to our community. Included in our list of recent speakers is:
Rabbi Elliot Dorff, “Jewish Medical Ethics”
Former JTS Chancellor Ismar Schorsch, “The State of Conservative Jewry”
Rabbi David Golinkin, “Jewish Law”
Rachel Brodie, “It’s About Time”
Charles Moerdler, Esq., “The Story of Austrian Reparations to Holocaust Victims”
Rabbi Asher Ostrin, “The Jews of the Former Soviet Union”
Gary Rosenblatt, “The State of the Jews”
Our adult learning program is named for Rabbi Gerson D. Cohen, a widely respected historian and Chancellor of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America from 1972 to 1986.
Adult Education
2011-12 Adult Education Schedule