Learn with us
Adult learning at Kehillah is lively, welcoming and grounded in real life issues. We study texts, music and big ideas in a way that invites honest questions and shared discovery. Come curious, leave connected.
Current Adult Education Classes
Highlights of Jewish Literature
7:00PM every other Tuesday beginning January 27 on Zoom
Join Rabbi Leah fortnightly to learn together some of the highlight reel of our Jewish canon: stories of time travel, spiritual revelation, challenging God on the brokenness of the world, how to live justly, the big questions of life, meaning, and the universe -- in the Talmud, midrash, and aggadah. Come learn some of our most precious stories, whether Jewish literature is new to you or you're continuing your journey!
REQUIRED for conversion candidates and open to everyone else, of all backgrounds.
Biblical Hebrew for Beginners
7:30PM Wednesdays beginning January 28 on Zoom
Kehillah North London is delighted to offer a weekly Biblical Hebrew course taught by student Rabbi Shamaya Mirviss-Carvajal, beginning on Wednesday 20th January (7:30PM on Zoom) and running weekly for 3 months.
This beginner-friendly course explores the internal structure and mechanics of Biblical Hebrew, giving participants tools to engage directly with Torah and Tefilla texts.
How to join
Check back here for updates, keep an eye out for upcoming sessions on the calendar, or subscribe to our newsletter to be the first to know when new courses open.
Adult Ed is free for Kehillah members, but all are welcome. Non-members can join for £120 per course, or £60 at the concessionary rate.
Recent Courses
Torah, Tune, and Tradition
Led by Cantor Rachel Weston
A practical and musical journey. We started with the essentials of Western Ashkenazi Torah cantillation, learning short leyning passages you can bring into services. Then we turned to song from across the Jewish world, with Yiddish as a central thread and melodies from our wider diaspora. Participants listened, sang and stretched musical, linguistic and spiritual vocabulary.
Choosing Tzedakah and Justice
Kehillah North London and New Stoke Newington Shul Talmud series
Text study that meets real life. Together with our Masorti neighbours, we explored tzedakah as charity and as justice. We asked who receives, how we give and how to weigh competing needs, building skills in the Talmud’s language in early sessions and tackling the big conceptual questions later, then closing with a shared reflection on practice in our communities today.
Israel and Palestine series
An evening with two Palestinian women activists from East Jerusalem
With Camden Abu Dis Friendship Association. Tamara and Sara spoke about life in Silwan, including increased demolitions of homes and community spaces. Followed by Q&A.
Avodah Aravit: the racialisation of labour in Israel and Palestine
A conversation about who does what work and why it matters, from 1948 to now. Included discussion of Avodah Aravit and Avodah Ivrit. Member Joanna shared reflections after the session.
The Venn Diagram of Zionism and Anti Zionism
A careful look at what these labels clarify or obscure, to find common ground and consider ideas such as normalisation and nationalism.
An evening with Solutions Not Sides
Two speakers joined us: a Palestinian PhD candidate from East Jerusalem and an Israeli professional from Tel Aviv working with IDEA: The Center for Liberal Democracy. The session focused on education, critical thinking and win win approaches.
Beyond the Bund
Sources on religious, political, mystical, socialist and cultural alternatives to Zionism, including liberal and reform movements, Satmar, assimilation, pacifism, socialism and tikkun olam.
Intersectionality: Mizrahim and Palestinians
An open discussion on links between the oppression of Mizrahim and Palestinians, drawing on texts by Edward Said and Ella Shohat and research shared by our Administrator.
Previous Topics
Difference and Deviance: the limits of community, in partnership with New Stoke Newington Shul
Jewish history: Biblical and Medieval periods, modern denominations, Zionism and Israel and Palestine, and the Shoah
“Black and Jewish Journeys” workshop by the Jewish Museum, on Black and Jewish migration, as part of the Collecting Inclusive Judaism Community Tour
“Abominable Texts? Homosexuality in Rabbinic Writings,” a three week study of key Talmudic and later texts on male and female homosexuality and same sex marriage
Shabbat Song Sharing, a three session series on familiar melodies and new favourites
“Trans formations: The multiple genders of the Talmud,” exploring space in our texts for trans, non binary and queer people today