Insights on Tradition: Mourning
Four Tuesday Evenings
(November 5, 12, 19, 26)
Time: 7-8:30 PM ET
Instructor: Gideon Amir
Location: Zoom Classroom
Standard Class Rate: $120
Base Rate: $80
(Subsidized by Haberman Institute donors)
Haberman Institute courses are offered on a sliding payment scale.
Both tiers receive identical access to the program. All interested students are encouraged to join our classes. Should the registration rates become a barrier to enrollment, please contact our Executive Director, Matthew Silverman.
Join us for our Tuesday night classes led by Gideon Amir, where we delve into the interpretations and nuances of Jewish ritual.
This month, our exploration of ritual delves into Jewish mourning customs. The Bible itself does not provide a comprehensive list of these rituals, leaving us to piece together the practices from various stories. With this in mind, we will closely examine these stories to uncover the origins of traditions such as Shiva, seven days of mourning, and Shloshim, the 30-day custom, shedding light on their significance and evolution over time.
Come join us as we consider how these ancient customs, along with post-biblical developments, have shaped the Jewish mourning ritual we practice today.
Gideon Amir was born in the Netherlands to Holocaust survivors who immigrated to Israel in 1947. He grew up in Jerusalem and served in the IDF as a Paratrooper.
Gideon received his Bachelor’s degree in Mathematics from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem and a Master’s degree in Computer Science from the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rechovot. In 1980, he moved to the United States, where he worked as a manager in several companies including Sperry Univac, British Telecom, and Cisco Systems.
In 1999, he pursued his interest in Judaic Studies and enrolled in a full-time graduate program at Baltimore Hebrew University, where, in May 2001, he received his Master’s degree with honors. Redirecting his passion for teaching from computer science to Jewish and Bible studies, he became an adult Jewish educator for several education programs, including the Haberman Institute, where he continues to teach today.