In our flourishingly radical Jewish generation, we find ourselves searching for stories and traditions that explain our existence. Many of us dive into the Torah for that meaning - plumbing Jewish text and ritual for guidance on how to live in this world. Many of us also look up for direction at the stars - soaking in astrology and learning the way that celestial bodies can influence our earth and ourselves.

In some ways, these are different wisdoms we are pulling from to understand our lives. But what if the Torah and the stars weren’t actually so distant from each other? What if there’s a flow that rushes at the intersection of these two ancient rivers?

With “It Is In the Heavens,” Shel Maala is proud to present a deep dive into Jewish Astrology - how our tradition understands and wrestles with the effects of the heavenly realm on our world. Lexi Kohanski, a dear and beloved sister and friend of the yeshiva, is here to expertly guide us through five weeks of study, to see how the Talmud, and the Rabbis that expound on it, wrestle with the place of the planets within the Jewish canon. Can we prophesize from the paths of the stars? Is astrology an idolatrous magic, or evidence of divine design? Let’s uncover the answers to these questions, and more, and see together what Judaism really has to say about our urge to revel in the stars!

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Sundays Oct 30-Nov 27

6-7:45pm ET/3-4:45pm PT

The only pre-req is to know your alef bet

Learning will be a mix of full group and xevruta/pair study. You will be matched with a xevruta after registration.

Two of our classes will require an hour of xevruta prep beforehand. These classes are:

- Nov 6 (the second class)

- Nov 13 (the third class)

This hour of prep can happen during the week between classes, or during a guided hour right before class. The guided hour will be from 5-6ET/2-3PT on Nov 6 and Nov 13. It will include a 10 minute break before class starts. You and your xevruta will decide which option works best for yall.

More info and instruction will be sent after registration.

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Live captioning

$18/class, sliding scale

NOTAFLOF

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If you have any questions please email: shelmaalayeshiva@gmail.com

NOTE: For this class, there is an option to audit. This would meant that you would not get paired with a xevruta, but could come to classes/watch recordings. This is optimal for people who cannot make several of the class times, but still want access to the learning/materials. Please reach out to us at the email above, if you'd like to audit in this fashion.