Jews in Search of God: From the Bible to Kabbalah
Rabbi's Winter Seminar Series 
A five week series

Rabbi Julie Danan is offering a special in-depth winter seminar series via Zoom for all interested adults, with lots of participation and interaction. No prior knowledge or background is needed, only a sincere willingness to learn about Judaism at a deeper level and to engage in meaningful and thoughtful discussion. In this five-week series by Rabbi Julie Hilton Danan, Ph.D., participants will encounter ever changing Jewish views of God  from the Bible through Kabbalah. We will read texts in translation, with plenty of discussion and participation.

Required text (please purchase and have with you):
Finding God: Selected Responses (Revised Edition) Paperback, 2002. by Rifat Sonsino.
Recommended:
The Hebrew Goddess, Third Enlarged Edition, Raphael Patai, 1990 (available used). Available online: https://archive.org/details/x-the-hebrew-goddess/mode/2up

Weekly Topics and Suggested Reading:
Week 1: 2/2/23: The Bible: That "Old Testament" God wasn't what you think
(Finding God, Intro & Chapter 1)  Click Here to View This Class

Week 2: 2/8/23: The Early Rabbis: A very personal God (Finding God, Chapter 2)

Week 3: 2/16/23: The Divine Feminine: From goddesses to Shechinah, plus the feminine Holy Spirit  (Optional: The Hebrew Goddess, Introduction/Chapter 4)

Week 4: 2/23/23: Philo and Maimonides: The Rational God
(Finding God, Chapters 3-4)

Week 5: 3/2/23: Kabbalah: The Inner Life of God
(Finding God, Chapter 5, and optional, The Hebrew Goddess, Chapters 6-7)

All classes begin promptly at 7:00 PM and last 90 minutes.

Handouts

BiblicalTheodicy.pdf
BiblicalTheologyContradictions.pdf
JewsinSearchofGodOverviewv2.pdf
MyPersonalTheology.pdf
PersonalTheologyInventory.pdf
 
Rabbi Dr. Julie Hilton Danan, was ordained in the ALEPH Rabbinic Program and holds an MA and Ph.D. from the University of Texas at Austin in Hebrew Studies (Rabbinic Literature and Culture). She has taught academic courses at California State University, the ALEPH Ordination Program, the Academy for Jewish Religion, Vancouver School of Theology, and Texas Lutheran University, as well as numerous adult education programs.

PLEASE NOTE: A one-time registration will enroll you in the five week series. An email confirmation will go out as soon as you register and the Zoom link will be distributed on each Thursday morning for that evening's class session.  The Zoom link for the Wednesday, February 8 class will be sent on that Wednesday morning. Please note that the same Zoom link will be used for all classes.