What do you get when you offer 34 classes led by 58 educators on Jewish topics ranging from yoga to the Dead Sea scrolls, from pop music to social activism to sex in the Torah?
For participants at the annual “Feast of Jewish Learning,” the answer is often “a tough time deciding what to attend.”
The free one-night event, sponsored by the S.F.-based Bureau of Jewish Education and open to anyone 13 and older, takes place Jan. 28 at the Oshman Family JCC in Palo Alto.
Kicking off at 7 p.m. with an all-group Havdallah service, the “feast” then splits into mini-classes that run the gamut of Jewish themes. Alongside a course about the “new anti-Semitism” on college campuses, taught by Rabbi Dov Greenberg, executive director of Chabad at Stanford, is “The Jewish and American View on the Death Penalty and Medical Marijuana,” taught by Rabbi David Booth of Congregation Kol Emeth and Jeff Rosen, district attorney for Santa Clara County.
Those itching to move can opt for klezmer dancing led by musicians David Rosenfeld and the Klezmakers, or explore the connection between yoga and Judaism with Rabbi Mychal Copeland of Hillel at Stanford.
Also in the offerings are a creative writing session, a class about Jews in the movies, a “gastronomic tour” of Judaism and more. A few classes are taught in Hebrew or Russian.
“Every year when we get feedback, what we hear is that people who attend are just hungry for more, more, more,” said Eileen Soffer, who has coordinated the event for two years. “And we also know that the people attending are from all different backgrounds, all different walks of life. So we try to cultivate a really wide range of topics.”
Classes wrap up around 9:45 p.m., at which point participants come back together to enjoy live music, dancing and refreshments. The event officially ends at 10:30 but, said Soffer, “Last year we were flashing the lights at around 11:15, telling people to please continue their conversations in the parking lot. Which is great, of course.”
This year’s theme is “Turning Points,” with interpretation left up to each educator.
“It’s fun, because a lot of these teachers have their standard fare, a lecture or lesson they always do, and this encourages people to come up with something a little bit new or different,” Soffer said. “It’s broad enough that presenters have a lot of room to work with it, but there’s still this common thread through the evening. So when people gather at the end, whether they took a prayer class or a movement class or a current-event class, there’s something common that they can come back to.”
A few classes will take the theme in a revolutionary direction, tackling the social and political uprisings last year in Israel and the United States.
“2011: The Year Jerusalem Woke Up,” taught by educators Debby Jacoby and Renee Ghert-Zand, will engage participants in a discussion of feminism and other civil-rights issues that came to light in “the year that secular and religiously moderate and pluralistic residents of Jerusalem said they were mad as hell and they weren’t going to take it anymore,” according to the class description.
In “Occupy Judaism! — Justice and Protest in the Free Market,” taught by educator Ellen Bob and South Peninsula Hebrew Day School principal Allen Selis, participants will discuss the common strains of questioning between the Occupy Wall Street movement and those faced by the rabbis of the Talmud 1,700 years ago. “When does justice demand that we bend or break the law to redistribute wealth, regulate business or guarantee social equality?” reads the class description. “Talmudic argument and trendy street theater come together in this session as rabbinic leaders confront the marketplace head-on.”
“You Say You Want a Revolution? How a Handful of Jewish Students and Housewives Changed the World,” with Marc Dollinger and David Waksberg, will explore the history of Jews involved with protest and social justice movements.
One change in this year’s program: Organizers have responded to participants’ feedback that the one-night event leaves them wanting more. So the feast will continue with a monthly learning series, taught by “stars from the feast,” to be held from noon to 1 p.m. the second Tuesday of the month at the BJE office at the Oshman Family JCC.
“We’re just excited to be expanding,” said Soffer, who reports that the event drew 600 participants last year. “We’re growing every year, and we’re always listening to what people wish we had more of, and we’re happy to be able to deliver.”
Co-sponsors include the Oshman Family JCC and the S.F.-based Jewish Community Federation and Endowment Fund.
As for that whole making-a-decision-about-what-to-attend problem?
“People do say they have a hard time choosing,” said Soffer. “But we figure that’s a pretty great problem to have.”
“Feast of Jewish Learning: A South Peninsula Night of Jewish Unity,” 7 p.m. Jan. 28 at the Oshman Family JCC, 3921 Fabian Way, Palo Alto, Free. www.bjesf.org/adults_feast.htm.