This course introduces Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) for learners with no prior experience. MSA is the formal version of Arabic used in news, literature, and official communication throughout the Arab-speaking world. The course focuses on developing basic skills in reading, writing, speaking, and listening, while introducing key aspects of Arabic grammar and sentence structure. Participants will learn essential vocabulary and phrases, enabling them to engage in everyday conversations and comprehend simple texts.
The aim of the course is to give learners a solid foundation in MSA, allowing them to communicate effectively at a beginner level. By the end of the course, participants will be able to greet people, introduce themselves, ask and respond to simple questions, and navigate basic situations in an Arabic-speaking context. Additionally, students will gain insight into the rich Arab and Islamic culture and history.
This course is ideal for anyone interested in learning Arabic for travel, work, or personal development. It also serves as a steppingstone for more advanced studies in the language, preparing learners to further explore the rich linguistic and cultural heritage of the Arab world.
The course is given in English, in collaboration with Paideia – the European Institute for Jewish Studies in Sweden.
Course structure
This Arabic course employs an interactive, participant-centered approach. Learners prepare independently at home, using the online LMS (Learning Management System, a digital resource linked to the course book where exercises are provided and the teacher can follow the learners’ progress) website. For every class hour estimate to work two hours at home.
Class time focuses on activating knowledge through pair work, group activities, conversation practice, and dictation exercises. The course encourages self-correction and peer assistance, minimizing lectures in favor of active language use and continuous practice.
Prior knowledge
No prior knowledge of Arabic is required for this course. It is designed for complete beginners and will start with the fundamentals of Modern Standard Arabic.
Participants with some existing knowledge of Arabic are welcome to join. However, they should be aware that the course content and pace will be tailored to complete beginners.
To apply, you need basic computer skills and knowledge of how to use the digital platform Zoom. The school offers Zoom manuals and a training opportunity before the start of the course.
Course material
All course material is not included in the cost for this course. The book “Alif baa: introduction to Arabic letters and sounds”, 3rd edition (Kristen Brustad, Mahmoud Al-Batal, Abbas Tunisir, Georgetown University Press, Washington, D.C., 2021) needs to be purchased on your own. Website: https://alkitaabtextbook.com/. The book is available in both digital and printed versions. You are welcome to use either but the digital version is recommended. You need to have access to the book in order to participate, if you are accepted to the course.
About the teacher
Michael has been studying and researching Arabic for over 20 years, with a particular interest in the similarities and differences between Hebrew and Arabic. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies and a master’s degree in Hebrew Language from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, giving him a strong foundation in Semitic languages. In Israel, Michael taught Hebrew as a second language at leading academic institutions. Recently, he relocated to Sweden with his family, where he now teaches online Hebrew to Arabic speakers and Arabic to Hebrew speakers. He also delivers lectures on the history, culture, and evolution of the Arabic language, and the religion of Islam.
Photo: Canva.
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This is a course designed for students with no prior knowledge of Yiddish, although knowledge of the Hebrew alphabet would be highly desirable.
We are going to use the textbook “Yiddish, Volume 1″. This textbook is suitable both for students who know the Hebrew alphabet already and students who don’t. Each unit will introduce a certain number of letters and give words and short sentences with these letters, until students will have all the letters used in Yiddish.
Learning Yiddish is an opportunity to connect with this rich Eastern European Jewish language and culture with its beautiful music and literature. This is a treasure trove that is just waiting to be discovered!
ברוכים הבאים
Bruchim H’boim, Welcome!
The course is given in collaboration with International Yiddish Center Vilnius, Paideia – the European Institute for Jewish Studies in Sweden and Jiddischsällskapet i Stockholm.
Paideia folkhögskola also offers the courses Yiddish for Advanced Beginners, semester 5 and Yiddish conversation (Yiddish/Swedish) as online courses the spring semester of 2025. Please see more information under each course’s webpage.
Course structure
We will start each session with some Yiddish conversation, which will build up more and more as we go along. Then we will revise some of the grammar and vocabulary learned in the previous lesson. After that, we will work with our Yiddish textbook, read the reading material, the dialogues and the jokes there, learn new vocabulary and grammar and do some of the exercises in the book. And we will conclude every lesson with a Yiddish song.
Students will be expected to spend some time every week to work on their reading and writing, to learn the vocabulary and to revise the grammar covered in each class.
Students who don’t know the alphabet as yet will have to work at home every week to learn to read and write words and sentences with the new letters introduced in each unit. Students who know Hebrew will learn all the differences in writing and reading between Hebrew and Yiddish.
Prior knowledge
This is a course designed for students with no prior knowledge of Yiddish, although knowledge of the Hebrew alphabet would be highly desirable.
To apply you need basic computer skills and knowledge of how to use the digital platform Zoom. The school offers Zoom manuals and a training opportunity before the start of the course.
Course literature
All course literature is not included in the course cost. You need to acquire the book on your own.
- “Yiddish, Volume 1″ (Sheva Zucker, New York: Workmen’s Circle, 1994)
You will receive more information about the course book that you purchase on your own, if you get accepted to the course.
About the teacher
Dr. Beruriah Wiegand is the Woolf Corob Lector in Yiddish at the University of Oxford. She holds a BA and MA in Hebrew and Jewish Studies from Leo Baeck College, London, and a Ph.D. from University College London, with a thesis on Jewish mystical motifs in the works of Isaac Bashevis Singer. She has lectured on Bashevis’s works and on Yiddish poetry at conferences in London, Oxford, Paris, Düsseldorf, Stockholm, Ravenna, Warsaw, Moscow, Czernowitz, Vienna, Tel Aviv, New York, Boston and Ottawa. She is also a Yiddish poet.
Photo: The image is of a painting by Jean Hessel.
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In this course, we will be introduced to the fascinating history of the Karaite Jewish movement, one of the ancient branches of Judaism, which dates back to the 8th century during the Geonic period. We will explore the movement’s history, the various communities around the world today, and make comparisons between Rabbinic Halacha and the binding law of the Karaites. We will also delve into key principles of Karaite thought.
The course will cover and discuss topics such as the calendar, holidays and their differences, marriage, and burial practices. We will compare texts of prayers and explore the writings of different Karaite sages. Throughout the course, the teacher will also share his personal story from his upbringing and how his family history has shaped his understanding.
The course is given in collaboration with Paideia – the European Institute for Jewish Studies in Sweden.
Prior knowledge
No prior knowledge about the subject is needed.
To apply, you need basic computer skills and knowledge of how to use the digital platform Zoom. The school offers Zoom manuals and a training opportunity before the start of the course.
Course material
Course material is included in the cost for this course.
About the teacher
Ran Menashe (Ranash) was born and raised in Ra’anana, Israel, in a secular Karaite family. He is a freelance educator, lecturer, and group facilitator. As a social entrepreneur, Ranash has been involved in, and established, two large non-profit organizations in Israel focused on self-reflection and personal growth, influencing Israeli society: Elul Bashvil and Masa Hevrati.
In 2022-23, he was a fellow in Paideia’s one-year programme in Jewish studies. Throughout that year he also explored his Karaite roots and decided to create a series of lectures in which he shares his personal experiences and imparts knowledge about this unique and often overlooked Jewish movement.
Photo: Wikipedia/Tamar Hayardeni of the Main Karaite Synagogue in Israel, in Ramle.
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Jews throughout the centuries have expressed their faith through prayer possibly more than any other medium. This course will analyze how the Siddur – the Jewish prayer book, was compiled, and how it changed organically over two millennia, going back to Tannaic and Talmudic sources.
This course is not a prayer tutorial, but rather an in-depth analysis of the prayer texts and their relation to the laws of prayer found in the Mishna and the Talmud.
The course is given in collaboration with Paideia – the European Institute for Jewish Studies in Sweden.
Prior knowledge
Hebrew knowledge is helpful but no prior knowledge or Hebrew language skills are required. The texts are read in English, if they are available in translation.
To apply for this course, you need basic computer skills and knowledge of how to use the digital platform Zoom. The school offers Zoom manuals and a training opportunity before the start of the course.
Course material
Course material is included in the cost for this course.
About the teacher
Joseph Shain studied at yeshiva in Jerusalem and at Bar Ilan University. His interests revolve around oral tradition in early rabbinical Judaism and how it transformed into written form. Joseph drafts and prosecutes patent applications at Grand Patentbyrå AB, a Swedish intellectual property firm.
Photo: Canva.
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The study of Jewish texts is, more often than not, a social activity. In particular, the Talmud is typically studied in groups of two or more, a method known as chevruta (study partner), in which the group works through the text together and discusses the underlying issues.
The course is given in collaboration with Paideia – the European Institute for Jewish Studies in Sweden.
Course structure
This class is modeled as a Talmud workshop with the students doing the reading and interpreting with support from the lecturer.
Prior knowledge
No prior knowledge about the subject is needed.
Hebrew knowledge is helpful but no prior knowledge or Hebrew language skills are required. Participants that can not read Hebrew are still welcome to take part, joining the class discussions and using English translations, such as Sefaria. The students who can read Hebrew take turns reading the original Talmud text.
To apply for this course, you need basic computer skills and knowledge of how to use the digital platform Zoom. The school offers Zoom manuals and a training opportunity before the start of the course.
Course material
Course material is included in the cost for this course.
About the teacher
Joseph Shain studied at yeshiva in Jerusalem and at Bar Ilan University. His interests revolve around oral tradition in early rabbinical Judaism and how it transformed into written form. Joseph drafts and prosecutes patent applications at Grand Patentbyrå AB, a Swedish intellectual property firm.
Photo: Paideia folkhögskola.
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Shabbat is central to Jewish life, but understanding and observing its numerous and complex laws can be a daunting prospect. In this course we will examine primary source texts to discover: The philosophical and metaphysical basis for observing Shabbat. How we mark the beginning and ending of the period of Shabbat through ritual. What the Rabbis understood work and rest to mean, and how they derived the laws of Shabbat. What values are expressed in classical discussions of Shabbat laws.
The course is given in English, in collaboration with Paideia – the European Institute for Jewish Studies in Sweden.
Prior knowledge
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. The school offers Zoom manuals and a training opportunity before the start of the course.
Course material
Course material is included in the cost for this course.
About the teacher
Eiran Davies is a rabbi with roots in London, England. He has studied at Montefiori endowment in London, Midrash sepharadi in Jerusalem and Yeshivat hamivtar in Efrat. He is also an artist, beekeeper and trained goldsmith.
Photo: Canva.