“Whenever I say to my teacher that she has such patience with us, she just smiles. I guess she knows that all this study and learning changes a person. I want to share with you that yesterday I prayed for the first time with all my heart. And when I became aware of it, I just started to cry. Thank you for everything that you have done for me and for my family. Even an old skeptic like me, well, it’s happening ….”

~ Adult Student

“I have studied Torah before but never in-depth and in this way. All I can say is that not only do I know more Torah but I feel different. Yes, that’s it. I’m different. I can’t say more than that but I can’t wait to get back to studying.”

~ Adult Student

Tal Torah Image PREGNANCY & BIRTH - A Course for Expectant Mothers

The Torah is enlightening in its profound understanding of this special time. Through Torah sources, we will explore the world inside the womb as we connect with the mystery of new life. We will consider the effect we have on the life growing within us and how pregnancy prepares us for motherhood. We will learn about the awesomeness of birth, preparing ourselves for this most meaningful of experiences. Creation, Light, Freedom, and Covenant are just some of the themes we will be exploring as we experience the transformation of woman into mother, fetus into baby, and couple into family.

Topics to be covered: The World Inside the Womb: Hidden and Revealed ~ Approaching Motherhood: Making Room for the Other ~ A Soul is Born: How I Affect My Baby ~ “Be Fruitful and Multiply”: Why Bring Children into the World? ~ Birth as Creation: Making Sense of Pain ~ “There are Three Partners in Man”: Creating with G-d ~ “Better A Good Name Than Precious Oil”:On Names and Ceremonies.

BUILDING A MARRIAGE - An Interactive Seminar for Couples in the Making, Engaged Couples and Newlyweds
Our First Years: Spiritual and Psychological Tools for Creating a Life Together

This course enables young couples to devote time and consideration to the significance of the marriage ceremony and married life, and provides the couple with psychological tools that will help deepen their relationship and the communication between them. In the seminar the couple encounter sources that deal with the challenges and beauty of married life, learn one-on-one with each other, and are afforded the opportunity of sharing their experiences with other couples. Topics to be discussed include: the meaning of commitment, the symbolism of the wedding ceremony, laying the foundations for a bayit ne’eman (everlasting home), and effective communication between partners.
 
MENOPAUSE & MEANING ~ A Journey of Self-Discovery

Like all life cycle transitions, menopause is at the same time a completion and a new beginning.  While the process of menopause provides an opportunity for reflection and integration of all previous life stages on physical, emotional and spiritual levels, it also has all the hallmarks of a journey going into the unknown, requiring both preparation and faith.   Like the change in the afternoon light that announces the Mincha prayer, the peri-menopause years usher in the next stage of our adult lives.  It is a time when we know more of who we are, what’s important and how the world works. We are calmer and more self-assured and have come to understand our place in the world and our relationship with the Divine.  We are coming closer to true inner freedom. 

This 8 week series will investigate the meaning of Menopause from physical, psychological and spiritual perspectives.  Discussions and presentations will focus on issues of growth and maturity, health and well-being.  Women practitioners (doctors, dieticians, complementary therapists, exercise trainers and more) will help us to understand the changes in the body and highlight areas of concern and focus for healthy functioning.  Torah texts will illuminate philosophical and halachic issues relevant to this time of life.  We will have time for sharing, writing and imagining ourselves through these years of transition in healthy, inspired and meaningful ways.

Topics include:

  1. Menopause: a Journey of Self Discovery – Symptomatically Speaking 
  2. What is Wisdom? – Binah and Bones
  3. That Old Conundrum: Fear and Faith – The Heart and the Circulatory System
  4. Re-visiting our Relationships; a View of Eternity  – The  Pelvis and the Bladder
  5. Beauty, Boundaries and Breathe  –  The Skin and the Lungs
  6. Prayer and Creativity  –  Breast health and our emotions
  7. Prophecy and Redemption  –  Memory, Redemption and the Brain 
  8. Sarah's Tent: Coming Home to Ourselves  –  Laughter, Nutrition and Exercise

CHERISHED WITHIN - Our Place within Torah and the Torah’s Place within Us

Beginning Monday night, Oct. 19, 7:30-8:45 p.m., Elisheva Bollag will be teaching a weekly women’s shiur in Hebrew, entitled “Cherished Within.” The class will be based on a section of Massechet Eruvin that deals with different images of the Torah and its place in our lives. A special emphasis will be awarded to women’s place in Torah study. The class will include a historical and halachic overview of women’s Torah study, from the psukim and midrashim to the present day.

THE LAND OF ISRAEL - A Living Relationship

Revive your passion for this beloved land and remember why it is that you are here!

From Avraham Avinu to R' Yehudah Halevi and Rav Kook, generations of our people have yearned for the land of Israel. Philosophers, sages and poets have all struggled with living in Eretz Yisrael. In this class we will consider the special Mitzvot of the land, the dangers of the land, the land in our Prayers and more. Challenging and inspiring sources along with in-depth discussions provide an opportunity to understand our personal and collective stories of relationship with our beloved land.

 

 

THE BOOK OF SHMUEL

 

Chana and her heartfelt prayer, Shmuel's emergence from child to prophet, love and jealousy between Sha'ul and David, the very human personality of King David, the love of David and Yonatan… Through studying the fascinating stories in the Book of Shmuel, we will understand this significant period of our history and realize how relevant these personalities and stories are to our lives today!

 

 

THE SONG OF SHABBAT

 

Learn about the inner meaning of Shabbat and its place in our week through the beautiful prayers and Zemiroth of this day given to Israel by Hashem for our sancitification. Learn about the special Mitzvoth of Shabbat such as Kiddush, Havdallah, candle lighting and Challah. Follow the Halachik issues as they develop from Torah and Midrash, through Talmud, Halachah and Chasidut and discover those concepts in the words of our Shabbat songs and prayer.

THE FEELING OF FRIENDSHIP

How much am I actually supposed to love and respect the other? What if this doesn’t leave space for my own self? Does loving others really include ALL people? Examine the issues of every day life through sources from Tanach, Midrash, Halacha, Chasidut and modern philosophy. Through the reading stories of love, jealousy and respect at the times of Chazal, we explore their relevance for our society today. This class is especially beautiful when studied in a friendship group or with family members.

MASSECHET BRACHOT - Talmud for Beginners

Initially, a page of Gemara may seem foreign, difficult to penetrate and a little threatening even. A close, step-by-step look at the Gemara, however, can turn it into an accessible and inspiring source of Halacha, story and philosophical inquiry.

The fourth chapter of Massechet Brachot is an excellent introduction to Talmud. Dealing with the personal and profound issue of Prayer, this chapter helps us find our personal voices among all the words of the written prayers. Discover the spiritual significance of morning, afternoon and evening as the times of Tefillah and how to understand the personalities of Avraham, Yitzchak and Ya'akov in our prayers to day.

Learn about the Traveller's Prayer, about the relationship between prayer and redemption and Halachot concerning the Amidah.

In addition to the content on the page of the Gemara, this class provides a glimpse into the lives of the sages through the dynamics of these Talmudic discussions: The strict character of R' Eliezer; the relationship between Rav and his students; the tension between R' Yehoshua and Rabban Gamliel and the respect which R' Elazar Ben Azaryah had towards his wife.

In this class you will gain basic tools for Talmud study as well as much food for thought in the rich, classic philosophical issues which have been discussed by our people from generation to generation.

MASSECHET PESACHIM – Advanced Talmud

This tractate deals with some fascinating and very relevant Halachik issues connected with the Pesach Seder and the Mitzvot of Shabbat: Why are we to be hungry when entering the Seder? What kind of reclining really makes you feel free? Why was the custom of Hillel to eat a sandwich at the Seder? And – Why do we cover the Challot on Shabbat? What do the candle and spices of Havdallah symbolize? As we answer these questions by learning the Talmudic discussion, commentaries and other inspiring sources, participants will gain a deeper connection to these Mitzvot and an enlightening perspective into the world of the Sages and the development of Halachot.

BEHIND THE SCENES – The Talmudic Sages

Have you ever wondered what the lives of the Talmudic Rabbis were like? Where did they grow up? How did they treat their wives and friends? What jokes did they make while learning Torah? Learning about the lives of the sages can pour a good deal of light onto their words of Torah, for example: R’ Akiva’s relationship with his wife, Choni’s difficulties in communicating with the people of his generation, R’ Eliezer’s seclusion from society and Reish Lakish’s "criminal" background. TAL TORAH’s class on The Sages explores these fascinating stories and many others. Discover how the experiences and events of their lives made an impact on the teachings of the rabbis and the Talmudic discussions of their times.

NAVIGATING THE SIDDUR

The Siddur is a treasure house of Jewish history, philosophy, ethics and prayer. Together we will navigate the various areas of Jewish thought held within the Siddur such as Psalms and Pirkei Avot as well as explore the structure of Tefila for morning, afternoon and evening services. As an inner journey, prayer is personal, private and often spontaneous. As a spiritual discipline within a community, prayer takes on a more fixed, collective almost philosophical dimension. At TAL TORAH, women are invited to explore the rich language and imagery of the siddur along with developing their own personal understanding of prayer.

WOMEN IN TANACH

Tanach is filled with wonderful, inspiring role models for young women. Whether they are thoughtful as Hanna, beautiful as Rachel, soulful as Leah, strong and courageous as Yael, kind as Sara, full of initiative as Rivka or full of life and vision as Miriam, girls find some of their personality and some of their sense of destiny in these vibrant women figures from our early history.

 

TASTE THE TE'AMIM - Trop as Interpretation

Learn how the "kingdom" of the Te'amim works not only musically, but also dramatically and grammatically; how the Masoretic scholars decided to punctuate the verses; and how this affects the commentaries and our own understanding of the Torah. Do the commentaries and midrashim always agree with the Ta'amim? How come they sometimes explain verses in direct contradiction to the Ta'amim? Each session focuses on one particular problem arising from the verses, as well as learning the intriguing musical system of Ta'amey HaMikra.