Jerusalem in Words and Images
Four Thursday Evenings
7:00-8:00 PM ET
May 2, 9, 23; June 6
The Holy City of Jerusalem has inspired legend and lore from earliest times. Long before the rabbis were active, Jerusalem held a special place in the thoughts of Jewish thinkers and writers. Join us for four sessions exploring the stories of the historical and modern-day City of Gold.
Our first session will explore the ancient legends and lore that proclaim the qualities of Jerusalem. Comparing the records of travelers from the medieval and modern periods of the impression this ancient city made on them in their day is illuminating and instructive. The lives and livelihoods of the Jews in Eretz Yisrael are detailed, often in the backdrop of the rest of the non-Jewish population.
In our second session, we will look at the travelogues of three European Jewish figures, reflecting a span of five hundred years from the 12th century into the early modern period. In the 19th century, travel to the Ottoman Near East held a certain cachet, and the Holy Land saw significant visits from major figures. These celebrities wrote about their experience and detailed the reality of Jerusalem as they saw it. Of course, the internal politics of the Jewish community in pre-state Palestine are important focal points for this story.
We will continue in our third class delving into two such journal entries, by Mark Twain (1869) and Theodore Herzl (1898), to reveal how Jerusalem was perceived by these two men.
Our final session will explore some personal photographs from 2016 and 2018 along with YouTube videos to help us bring some visual focus to the complex story of modern, contemporary Jerusalem.
Instructor: Rabbi David Greenspoon
Location: Zoom Classroom
The Zoom link will be sent to all registrants before the first session.
REGISTRATION RATES
This course is offered on a sliding payment scale. Both tiers receive identical access to the program.
Standard Class Rate: $120
Base Rate: $80 (Subsidized by Haberman Institute donors)
All interested students are encouraged to join our classes. Should the registration rates become a barrier to enrollment, please reach out to our Executive Director, Matthew Silverman.
Rabbi David Greenspoon is a twice veteran of the United States Navy, serving on enlisted active duty from 1981-1985, and as a reserve chaplain from 1989-1996.
Rabbi Greenspoon loves bringing the sweeping story of Jewish history to life. His passion and style encourage students of all ages and backgrounds to enter an inspiring world in which the ideas, values, and dreams of real people are presented in the context of the events and realities of their time and place. Rabbi Greenspoon is equally at home teaching thematic or content-driven classes from the library of Judaism’s classic sacred and secular texts. He is a leader in Interfaith Education and Programming, having created novel interfaith study programs in communities across the United States.
Rabbi Greenspoon’s innovative approach as an educator goes back to the earliest days of the public internet. He was the first rabbi to teach Torah via the Internet when leading the AOL weekly Torah Chat. His writings have been published widely with appearances in the Baltimore Jewish Times, Jewish Bible Quarterly, Navy Chaplain Magazine, and Washington Jewish Week.
In 2021 Rabbi Greenspoon launched Jewtique Concierge Rabbinic Services to serve the needs of Jewish people not connected to a congregation. His warmth, compassion, and humor have made a difference in the lives of hundreds of clients since launch.