Tuition for Grist’s class is $25 for members of co-sponsoring institutions, $35 for non-members.
The class is offered in conjunction with Lehrhaus Judaica’s 25th anniversary tour of Israel for amateur archaeologists titled “Dig Into Israel’s Past With Your Own Hands!” It is set for Oct. 10 to 25, with an optional two-day extension into Jordan.
Highlights of the trip will include the Dead Sea Scrolls at Qumran, the buildings of Solomon at Hazor and Megiddo, monuments of old Jerusalem and excavations at Tel Dan and Arad.
Plus, participants will dig into Israel’s past themselves at Tel Mareshah. The tour’s price tag starts at $3,750.
Grist will also teach “Godfearers: Ancient Interfaith and How It Worked” at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 2 at Congregation Kol Shofar, 215 Blackfield Drive, Tiburon.
“Godfearers” refers to non-Jews who observed many of Judaism’s tenets and had leadership roles in synagogues, but chose not to convert.
The class will run for four sessions. Tuition is $35 for members, $40 for non-members.
Continuing with the historical theme, Rabbi Harry Manhoff of Temple Beth Sholom will teach “The History of Intermarriage from Ancient Times to the Present” at 7 p.m. Feb. 1 at MJCC.
Manhoff will examine how Abraham, Moses and Solomon took foreign wives; later, Jewish leaders such as Ezra strongly condemned mixed marriages.
Cost for three sessions is $25 for members, $35 for non-members.
Covering the modern-day issues will be Roseanne Levitt, director of Interfaith Connection, when she speaks on “What is it Like Growing Up in an Interfaith Family?” at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 23 at MJCC. Cost is $8.
Rachel Brodie will lead a three-session course on “Cain and Abel and the Origin of Violence” also beginning at 7 p.m. Feb. 1 at MJCC.
Brodie, an educator who holds a master of arts in rabbinic literature from Jewish Theological Seminary, will discuss how violence is rooted in the Biblical story of fratricide.
Fees are $25 for members, $35 for non-members.
Lehrhaus Judaica will cover contemporary issues in such classes as “What’s the Value of Jewish Values in the Marketplace?”
Rabbi Michael Goldberg will explore implications of Jewish ethics in business practices beginning at 7 p.m. Feb. 1 and running for three sessions at MJCC. Cost is $25 for members, $35 for non-members.
Adam Weisberg will discuss “Partners in Creation: A Study of Jewish Environmentalism” also at 7 p.m. Feb. 1 at MJCC.
In the three-session course, Weisberg, who worked with American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, will provide an in-depth study of the first two chapters of Genesis and an investigation of Jewish wisdom regarding the environment. Cost is $25 for members, $35 for non-members.
“Hollywood’s Image of the Jews” will be Jerry Herman’s topic at 7 p.m. Feb. 1 at MJCC.
Herman, who teaches film courses at Laney College in Oakland, will discuss Tinseltown’s portrayal of the Jews by looking at such films as “Schindler’s List” and “Quiz Show.”
Cost for three sessions is $25 for members, $35 for non-members.
Courses also will take place in Sonoma.
“Moving Towards Coexistence and Peace” will be Richard Newman’s topic at 1:30 p.m. March 23.
The U.C. Berkeley professor will examine the various groups that embrace peaceful goals in the Middle East.
Cost for six sessions is $52. Classes will meet at Vintage House Senior Center, 264 First St. East, Sonoma.
“Hebrew in One Day” will take place from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Feb. 21 at Congregation Shomrei Torah, 1717 Yulupa Ave., Santa Rosa, with Anat Wolins, director of modern Hebrew language and Hebrew in One Day programs at Lehrhaus. Cost is $25 for those over age 65, $45 for everyone else.
For information call (510) 845-6420, or visit Lehrhaus Judaica’s Web site at www.lehrhaus.org