Ask JCI&R: Jewish Education

Q: I'm interested in learning more about Judaism. Can you recommend some resources within our local community? A: The Bay Area is rich with opportunities to study Judaism. The first place that comes to mind is Lehrhaus Judaica.  If you check out their course catolog, you will see that they offer courses year-round in History and Current Issues, Text and Thought, Prayer and Theology, Literature and the Arts, Introduction to Judaism, and Hebrew and Yiddish. http://www.lehrhaus.org I also highly recommend the Bureau of Jewish Education. Their library hosts Northern California's largest public collection of Jewish books: more than 20,000 titles. They also organize many free lectures and exhibitions throughout the year. http://bjesf.org And no list would be complete without checking out the Resource guide for local synagogues, Jewish community centers, and universities.  Most of them, if not all, offer courses on different aspects of Judaism.  http://www.sfjcf.org/resources/guide Lastly, there are numerous outstanding self-directed Jewish education websites.  My favorite is http://www.myjewishlearning.com.  I also recently discovered a new website produced by local Sarah Lefton called G-dcast. Every week they feature the parsha of the week presented in an entertaining and easy to understand cartoon.  http://www.g-dcast.com. This week's is Parshat Chayei Sarah. If you need any more information on local Jewish education resources, call JCI&R 415.777.4545 or email us at Info@JewishNfo.org. Jewish Community Information and Referral is a free and confidential service of the Jewish Community Federation of San Francisco, the Peninsula, Marin, and Sonoma counties. Visit our website: www.sfjcf.org/resources. Tova torah mikol sechoira: Learning Torah is the best avocation.