Fall-Winter 5785
Course: Torat Yisrael
Instructor: Rav Gavriel Reiss
Description: A 12-part course on the uniquely holistic approach to the Torah of Manitou (Rav Yehuda Ashkenazi).
Manitou was born in Algeria roughly a century ago to the chief rabbi of Algiers. As a young man, he fought against Nazi Germany during World War II, first as part of a clandestine underground & later as part of the French Foreign Legion. Following the war, he moved to France to help rebuild Jewish life there. But roughly two decades lates, after the Six Day War, he made aliya to Israel in order to participate in the rebuilding of Hebrew civilization.
In addition to being strongly influenced by Rav Zvi Yehuda HaKohen Kook & the teachings of his father Rav Avraham Yitzḥak HaKohen Kook, Manitou had learned a kabalistic interpretation of our Torah from his own father that had been passed down in his family for centuries since the time one of his ancestors had been a close student of the Ari HaKadosh. For generations, the family had kept these teachings hidden, believing that the broader Jewish public wasn’t ready to receive them. But during his own lifetime, Manitou decided that the generation of Jews that had successfully returned to self-determination in the land of Israel was ready for this approach.
Manitou's teachings have yet to penetrate the English-speaking Torah world – which is unfortunate because we see these teachings as possessing answers to many of the philosophical challenges currently facing Jews in English-speaking countries. Manitou’s ideas have had a powerful impact on the development of the Vision movement & on the work that we do and we see it as crucial to bring these teachings to our people in the Diaspora. Rav Gavriel Reiss, a co-founder of the Vision movement, was a student of Rav Oury Cherki – who had long learned directly from Manitou himself and has since developed a systematic method for teaching his Torah.
Prerequisite: N/A
Time/Dates:
Sundays 8-9pm (Israel time)
Starting 26 Tishrei/October 27
Course: The History of Zionism
Instructor: Rav Yehuda HaKohen
Description: An 8-part course on the history, philosophies and challenges of Zionism. The course examines the story of the Jewish people in Europe between the Haskalah (Jewish Enlightenment) and World War II, focusing on the rise and evolution of the Zionist movement, understood through a postcolonial Jewish lens.
The course explores:
-Jewish history in Europe from the wake of the French Revolution until the establishment of the State of Israel
-The dialectical relationship between the Haskalah and Zionism
-The various ideological tendencies within the Zionist movement and how they shape Israeli society/politics today
-The ancient mystical concept of 'Mashiaḥ ben Yosef' and how it's been applied to the Zionist movement
-Zionism's place as a link in the chain of several Jewish liberation movements
-The limitations of Zionist thought in overcoming contemporary challenges confronting the Jewish people
Prerequisite: N/A
Time/Dates:
Sundays 9-10pm (Israel time)
Starting 5 Tevet/January 5
Live-class only. No video or audio recorded.
Course: Building Effective Movements for Political & Social Change
Instructor: Danit Grady
Description: Learning a new organizing tradition that fuses the strengths of a mass protest movement with those of a structure-based organization.
Prerequisite: ATID Online Leadership Program or ATID Student Leadership Program
Time/Dates:
TBA
Live-class only. No video or audio recorded.
(Note: If this if your first time registering for a Vision course, you'll need to create login credentials first. Directions: Click the “Pay Now” button on your course of choice, and then click “Register” – and ignore "Branch Code" in the form)