Liberal Judaism’s Education Hub continues on Wednesday 7 December with a session delivered by Rabbi Neil Janes on ‘Rabbinic Literature and its relevance to Liberal Jewish Values today’.

Describing his session, Neil said: “In 1924, Israel Abrahams, the great friend of Claude Montefiore and scholar of Judaism, succeeded Solomon Schechter at Cambridge University as Reader in Rabbinic and Talmudic Literature. He published his lecture on the Talmud in his book Some Permanent Values in Judaism.

“In this, he writes ‘The application of mind to the service of God – to adopt, as I so often adopt, Mr C G Montefiore’s phraseology – is a Talmudic invention. The Talmud is not, never was, a cemetery; it was, it is, a moving sea, on which sail the ships of living men. There is nothing machine-made in the Talmud. It was a laboratory, not a factory. Join us on Wednesdasy in thinking about this laboratory and its role for Liberal Judaism today.”

To register for the Education Hub, please click here. Led by Liberal Judaism’s rabbis, and taking place via Zoom on Wednesday nights at 7.30pm, this term if focussed on Liberal Jewish values. All sessions are designed to stand alone so you can attend as many, or few, evenings as you’d like.

This term’s line-up of sessions is:

Wednesday 9 November: Rabbi Charley Baginsky – Post-Holocaust thinking and its influence on Liberal Jewish values – watch here.

Wednesday 16 November: Rabbi Dr Judith Rosen-Berry and Rabbi Dr Michael Shire – Ethical Monotheism and Liberal Jews: The God Life or the Good Life?  – watch here.

Wednesday 23 November: Rabbi Alexandra Wright – The influence of the prophets on contemporary Liberal Jewish values – watch here.

Wednesday 30 November: Rabbi Dr Charles Middleburgh – How the Psalms inspire Liberal Jewish values – watch here.

Wednesday 7 December: Rabbi Neil Janes – Rabbinic Literature and its relevance to Liberal Jewish Values today

Wednesday 14 December: Rabbi Gabriel Kanter-Webber – Liberal Jewish values and social engagement

This year, Liberal Judaism’s Education Hub Series has been celebrating 120 years of our movement.

The first sessions celebrated the people who have inspired us, from Lily Montagu and Rabbi Leo Baeck to Rabbi John Rayner and Rosita Rosenberg.

A second term examined how we practise – both in prayer and through the Liberal Jewish values of equality, inclusion and activism – while the third looked at Liberal Jewish Thought.

You can watch all previous sessions on Liberal Judaism’s YouTube channel, here.

We are proud to make Education Hub classes available for free, to ensure that everyone has access. However, if you are able to, please consider making a donation to Liberal Judaism.