Custom courses designed just for you
Whether its Bar/Bat-Mitzvah lessons, Hebrew language skills, Israel, culture, ritual or any other Jewish topic you're looking for - if you'd like to learn about it, we'd like to learn it with you.
At FreelanceJudaism, we offer tailor made classes to meet your Jewish educational needs. Learn 1-on-1 in private lessons with the Rabbi, or put together a small group of friends who share the same interest and learn in Ḥevrutah (partnership).
Not sure what you'd like to study? Check out some of our core curricula below to gain some inspiration.
Ready to schedule? Set up your initial meeting with Rabbi Feivel through our scheduling page.
Core Curricula
Bar/Bat-Mitzvah
The Bar/Bat-Mitzvah is one of the major lifecycle events in a young Jewish person's life. Not because of the ritual marks an accomplishment, but rather, because it is the very first step on the rest of their journey as a Jewish adult. At FreelanceJudaism, our Bar/Bat-Mitzvah preparation is so much more than just learning some prayers and a little Torah. We provide our students with the skills to last a lifetime, while instilling our student with a pride in themselves, their heritage, and their own Jewish identity.
Hebrew
At FreelanceJudaism, we believe that languages are not learned through study, but rather through speech. While basics such as reading and writing require some repetitious practice, once our students gain the basics they will engage in more conversation with one another and the teachers. New vocabulary is introduced every class, whether the focus of the course is on modern conversational or biblical Hebrew.
Holidays
The Jewish holidays are meant to be experienced, rather than studied. As each holiday approaches, our students will spend time preparing decorations, looking at the appropriate rituals and blessings, and be encouraged to celebrate with friends and family. By living the holidays rather than learning about the holidays, our students will gain a love and appreciation for these 2000+ year old traditions.
Prayer/Pulpit Skills
Whether you’re looking to be a more active participant in synagogue, or to become a service leader, the tools required are the same. Our students focus on understanding the layout and structure of the service as well as the history of its origin and its development. By comparing various siddurim from throughout the tradition, our students are given insight and ownership over the tradition.
Leyning (Torah / Haftarah / Megillot)
Leyning is the term used to refer to the chanting from our holy scriptures. The basics of this skill are the same whether learning to read from the Torah, the Haftarah, or one of the five Megillot. By studying the history and development of leyning throughout the Jewish tradition, our students to learn to decipher the ancient techniques of chanting. They combine music and Hebrew to master one of the most important skills we have in the Jewish tradition.
TaNaKh (Bible)
Far too often, people are given poor translations or whitewashed stories and never open the Bible in the first place. Our students will learn the stories of our people from the original Hebrew text as they use their newly acquired Hebrew skills to translate the text themselves. When looking at translations our students learn to pause and ask questions, check commentaries, and analyze every detail for themselves. This ensures they gain the skills needed to continuing studying Torah and other Rabbinic texts long after they complete their studies with FreelanceJudaism.
Jewish History
Completely unique to Judaism is the reality that being a Jew is not only a religion, but a people as well. Understanding this fundamental part of our identity rests on our ability to understand our history as a people. Our peoplehood dates back over 3000 years and is rich with times of flourishing and times of real hardship and despair. Our students will engage with our historical narrative in a way that allows them to connect our past as a people to their own future and self-identity.
Israel
For better or for worse, we live in a miraculous time in history. For nearly 2000 years the Jewish people lived scattered throughout the world with no one place they could call their own. Today, Israel stands as the first and only Jewish nation since the time of King Solomon. What that means for Jews, especially American Jews, can be quite complex and complicated. By taking an in-depth look at Israel, our students learn to distinguish between Israel the land, Israel the modern day state, and Israel the idea. Our students will compare and contrast the Israel of today with the Israel of old and with other countries around the world. At FreelanceJudaism, we believe that a deep love and appreciation for Israel is essential, but gaining that love and appreciation requires looking at the whole of Israel with all its different facets.
Holocaust
Arguably the darkest time in Jewish history occurred less than 100 years ago. The pain of the Holocaust is still fresh in the minds of many and had one of the most profound impacts on the development of modern day Judaism to date. With the last remaining survivors of the Holocaust disappearing, it is more important than ever to instill in every generation an education of and a connection with the Holocaust. However, at FreelanceJudaism, we believe that the most important lesson the Holocaust has to teach is not the horrors, but rather just how easily it came to pass. The Holocaust had, without a doubt, its many villains, but it also had many heroes. By studying these dark times, our students learn to appreciate the good in their lives, and how to take personal responsibility for the prevention of such tragedies in the future.
Choose Your Own Topic
What do you want to learn? At FreelanceJudaism we see the value and the limitless possibilities that learning has to offer. We strive to provide you with the knowledge you seek, in whatever direction that might take you.