Learning Torah is not simple, layers of text, complex Hebrew. A teacher once told me that everyone should learn the first Rashi of every Torah portion! So, let’s kick this off together. No Hebrew required, we will go through, slowly, each week’s Torah portion according to the Jewish community cycle of reading the Bible. We will read in the original Hebrew each week and then work through one of Rashi’s comments on the Parsha. Trying to understand each word and what Rashi, our most prolific commentator from 12th Century France was trying to tell us. Join us on this magical journey!
The course is given in collaboration with Paideia – the European Institute for Jewish Studies in Sweden.
Course Structure
The learning methods used in this course are reading, lectures and chavruta (learning in pairs).
Prior Knowledge
The course is given in English.
No prior knowledge about the subject is needed.
To apply for this course, you need basic computer skills and knowledge of how to use the digital platform Zoom.
Course Material
Course material is included in the cost for this course.
About the teacher
Oliver Spike Joseph is a rabbi, teacher, chaplain, podcaster and lover of teaching Torah. His passion is outreach and connecting people to Jewish life. His teaching focus is on Hassidiut, spiritual care and resilience. Oliver works for the European Masorti Bet Din, a rabbinic council which supports communities across Europe from Ukraine to the United Kingdom.
Oliver studied in Jerusalem at the Fuchsberg Centre, a Yeshiva and at the Hartman Institute. He studied at the Tel Aviv University and was ordained as a rabbi at the Ziegler School for Rabbinic Studies in Los Angeles in 2015. Oliver has worked in Belgium, Canada, Israel, United Kingdom and United States. Oliver is a cancer survivor and a BRCA gene carrier and is a health advocate for greater awareness of the cancer-causing BRCA gene mutation. Oliver’s own challenges and grief have made him a good listener.
