SHMA KOLEINU
Engaging Ways to Inhabit Life Spiritually
Logistics and Costs
Discussions will be in English. Source materials will be in Hebrew (translation of Hasidic text will be provided when available) and will be emailed in advance of each session, along with a variety of optional (English) readings. Sessions will be recorded and available for participants to download afterwards on personal request. Please note that these recordings are Shma Koleinu's property and may not be shared without prior consent.
Connection: Along with the source materials, you will receive a link which will connect you to Zoom (also accessible by phone) by which we host live, interactive courses that combine the experience and quality of traditional in-person learning with the convenience and affordability of online access.
Fee in the form of donation to Shma Koleinu (non-profit tax-deductible): $360 for this 10 session long series.
The fee is payable to P.E.F. which is recognized as a US based charity and is therefore payable in the form of a tax-deductible donation. It may be proceeded online or sent by check.
In spite of the physical space separating the students and teacher, and the reliance on technology, the learning was intimate and intensely focused so as to allow all involved to immerse in the rhythm of the text and our communal exploration of its contours. Elie is a fabulous guide through the challenging but rewarding nuances of the Sefat Emet’s drashot, illustrating the ways in which they move from and interweave the primary texts referenced. The ways in which Elie can bring Heidegger, Rosenzweig, The Little Prince, and Hasidic thought all into conversation is masterful. Each week, this class was a joyful gift that allowed me to begin my day attuned to others and the world around me with fresh insight.
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Rebecca Minkus-Lieberman
Executive director of Orot: Center for New Jewish Learning, Skokie, IL
In the midst of life's often hurried pace, the privilege of carving out time to learn with such group enabled me to hear the Sfat Emet's reminders to honor the whispering of my soul.
Debra Shaffer Seeman
RAVSAK, Network Weaver.
Elie's class takes a unique approach to study of the works of a great Hasidic thinker
and interweaves the ideas simultaneously with a selection of Great Ideas of philosophical and other classic texts from a variety of different disciplines providing a universal context for the ideas, ideas which you'd think are inherently parochial. Elie's personal style activates all of the realms of human responses to ideas: spiritual, emotional and intellectual.
Sally Mendelsohn
Midwife, mat'mida, Talmud teacher, Riverdale, NY
Learning Sfat Emet with Elie Holzer is a privilege beyond anticipation. Not only is the Sfat Emet a master of creative insights, but Elie transforms the web sessions into mind-blowing exercises in new comprehension and personal transformation. Through his own nature, his comprehensive knowledge, and his teaching style, Elie leads us to deeper understandings of the Sfat Emet's nuanced language as well as connections among his drashot and references to a broad range of primary sources. I wasn't alone in finding the hours spent highly worthwhile and literally jaw-dropping!
Sari Steinberg
Writer and professional editor