Thank you for reading Koleinu each week. We are taking a hiatus for the month of July and will be back with new issues in August.

SEVENTY FACES OF TORAH
This blog also appears weekly in Patheos.

The Blossoming Almond Staff
of Aaron
by Rav Rachel Adelman, Hebrew College Associate Professor of Bible

According to the biblical botanist, Noga Hareuveni, the almond is one of the first fruit trees to blossom in spring in the Land of Israel. It rapidly buds leaves, develops new branches, and forms its sustaining fruit—all before the flower’s calyx drops off. That is, the fruit and outermost petals of the blossom cling to the tree at once; the fading sepals and bitter nut, process and product, hang out together simultaneously. Its Hebrew name, shaqed, means “the early waker,” and it signifies God's watchfulness and vigilant response (Jeremiah 1:11-12). Is Aaron’s almond blossom staff then a symbol of God’s scrutiny and quick judgment—a warning to the Israelites—or is it a sign of hope, of life in the death-wracked camp?

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Finding a Jewish Home Base

Rabbinical School alumni Ezra Balser ’17, Elizabeth Bonnie-Cohen ’18 (right), Sarah Mulhern ’17, and Frankie Sandmel`22 are on the forefront of a burgeoning movement designed to meet young-adult Jews where they are. The Base movement, the brainchild of four 20-something friends from the Upper West Side of Manhattan, was born of the belief that many young Jews today yearn to experience, practice, and celebrate their religious heritage unencumbered by the formal dictates of, say, a synagogue or Chabad house.

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COMMUNITY EDUCATION
Enrich Your Jewish Learning
with Me'ah Classic

The Jewish “conversation” stretches over 3,000 years, with each generation interpreting and reinterpreting the core texts of Jewish life. Hebrew College's Me’ah (Hebrew for 100) Classic program is a comprehensive, engaging, and in-depth adult learning experience that takes students on a 100-hour, two-year journey through the narrative of the Jewish people. Readings, text study, lectures and discussions focus on core texts from biblical, rabbinic, medieval, and modern times. Students receive a certificate during a graduation ceremony at the end of their second year. Generous financial aid is available.

Learn more & register...

THE JERUSALEM POST BOOK REVIEW
Learning to Stop
A review of Stop. Look. Listen. Celebrating Shabbos Through a Spiritual Lens by Hebrew College Professor Rabbi Nehemia Polen

“We have not had a book like this since Abraham Joshua Heschel wrote his book on the Sabbath many years ago. We have lots of books that tell us about the laws and customs of the Sabbath, but I can’t think of another book written in our time that expresses the spirit of the Sabbath as well as this one does. Nehemia Polen has written nothing less than a love song to the Sabbath, but with twists.” — Jack Reimer, The Jerusalem Post (June 24, 2022).

Read the review...

IN THE NEWS
Catch up on recent Hebrew College news and stories, including articles about faculty, students, and alumni who have been recognized for their work and scholarship. Read more...

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Thank you for reading Koleinu each week. We are taking a hiatus for the month of July and will be back with new issues in August.

SEVENTY FACES OF TORAHThis blog also appears weekly in Patheos.

SEVENTY FACES OF TORAH
This blog also appears weekly in Patheos.