I’m very happy to announce that this July JewsByChoice.org will be offering our first online learning opportunity for members of our community! This is uncharted territory for us, but I’m confident that we can make this a fun and successful event.
THE ETHICS OF THE RAMBAM: Rambam´s introduction to his commentary on MIshna Avot is one of the first attempts to establish a productive dialogue between the Jewish ethical tradition of the Bible and Talmud with the psychological and philosophical ideas about behavior and happiness of his age. In these “Eight Chapters” (as this introduction is called), the Rambam gives one of his most detailed explanations of his ideas about the human soul, psyche, and how its different elements combine with the revealed tradition as a guide to proper action, happiness, and the fulfillment of humanity´s final goals.
METHODOLOGY: In the four sessions, we will address the entirety of the text of the Eight Chapters. The text must be prepared beforehand either individually or in chevrutah (partnered study). In the second half of the class, the questions posed by the students will guide a discussion which hopefully will elicit contemporary readings and applications of this timeless text.
Course Tittle: The Ethics of the Rambam
Dates: Wed July 6, 13, 20, 27 optionally adding Aug 3 if needed.
Time: 6:30pm Pacific (each session will last approximately 90 minutes)
Delivery Method/Location: Online using WizIQ.com
Tech Requirements: Computer with internet access as well as an active account with WizIQ.com which is available free of charge.
Also, participants will need to sign up (for free) on the wiziq.com system before the class. If they want to participate by asking questions live during the class (not just by typing their questions), they should have a computer with a microphone or a headset/microphone combo.
Required Text:
The 8 Chapters of the Rambam available through Targum Press
Cost: Before May 31st: $10 + Small registration fee – After: June 1st: $15 + Small registration fee
Other Details: Space is limited to 12 participants and we require a minimum of 6 participants for the class to take place.
About the Instructor
Rabbi Juan Mejía was born in Bogotá, Colombia. After discovering the Jewish roots of his family, he embarked on a spiritual journey that led him back to the religion and the people of his ancestors. He holds an undergraduate degree in Philosophy from the National University of Colombia and a summa cum laude Master´s Degree in Jewish Civilization from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He received rabbinic ordination from the Rabbinical School of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America in New York City. He plans to devote his life to the Torah education of both Jews and descendants of anusim wherever they may be. He lives with his wife and daughter in Oklahoma City, OK. He currently works as the Southwestern coordinator for Bechol Lashon.
Related content:
About Avi MAvi converted to Judaism in the spring of 2006 in his home country of Canada and is a founding member of JewsByChoice.org. He currently resides in Los Angeles with his wife Tamara and is an active member of the local Jewish community.
Comments
Well, the above comment I made looks kind of stupid because I went off to cook and eat dinner and when I went back to my laptop, I didn’t check and see the “Ticket Information” box.
BUT when I tried to use it, I got this error message:
“We cannot process this transaction because there is a problem with the PayPal email address supplied by the seller. Please contact the seller to resolve the problem. If this payment is for an eBay listing, you can contact the seller via the “Ask Seller a Question” link on the listing page. When you have the correct email address, payment can be made at http://www.paypal.com.”
Sorry about the Debbie but it should be fixed now!
OK. It worked and I seem to have paid and can now print out “tickets” for the “event”!
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I am all signed up… should be a great class!
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I just realized that July 6 is in less than a week. Good thing that it looks like I can pick up the book tomorrow morning at a local Judaica store, so that I can start reading it this weekend. I’d also better make sure I have a working account with the online system.
Are we still good to go for July 6, 6:30pm Pacific time = 8:30pm Central time?
I’m going to try to take a brand new Jew scheduled to immerse in the mikveh that morning to minha/maariv at my sponsoring rabbi’s shul that evening at 7:30pm Central time. I hope they are pretty quick and don’t do much between the services, so that I can leave by 8:15pm and be home by 8:30pm. It’s cutting it close, but I don’t want to duck the opportunity to do a mitzvah.
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Bummer. Rosenblum’s has the book on back-order and Hamakor doesn’t stock it at all. Targum requires emailing them for expedited delivery and they haven’t gotten back to me. Targum is having an online sale, but I probably can’t get that price with expedited delivery. There are other sources for the book through Amazon, but they are much more expensive. I could pay $40 for the book plus two day shipping, but recently when I paid extra for expedited shipping and handling, the pants I was hoping to get for my daughter before she left for camp still came too late.
However, I can read most of the first chapter or so on Google Books, so I may just put in a regular order and try to read what I can online until the book comes. Did the rest of you who signed up already get a copy of the book?
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Sign me up! Give me a way to register and I’ll do it immediately. I’m already looking into buying the book.