Drop-In Learning at Laasok
Always text-based. Always lively discussion. Always free. A drop-in class is a single Zoom session or short series led by Laasok faculty or by respected rabbis and educators from across the Jewish community. No prior knowledge required — attend a topic that calls to you, or join us for a full series.
Some of our guest presenters include…
Rabbi Michael Marmur, Ph.D.
Rabbi Megan Doherty
Dr. Wendy Zierler
Rabbi Nikki DeBlosi, Ph.D.
Rabbi Ron Symons
Rabbi Lauren Tuchman
Jump to: Drop-In Series · Single-Session Classes · Looking Ahead
Drop-In Series
Meeting the Moment: Jewish Responses When the World Changes
How does Judaism respond when the world changes? Throughout Jewish history, moments of upheaval, challenge, and transformation have sparked new ways of thinking, creating, and living Jewish life. Each class in this series is taught by a professor from Hebrew Union College.
Sponsored by Hebrew Union College and the Union for Reform Judaism, in connection with the 2026 URJ Biennial.
“We Won’t Know Until We Get There”: Some Jewish Approaches to Shifting Paradigms
With Rabbi Michael Marmur, PhD
Mon, Oct 26, 2026 • 12-1pm ET / 9-10am PT
An exploration of uncertainty—and the difference between the ineffable, the unspeakable, and the unknowable.
“Hashem Always Loves Me”: A New Israeli Religiosity After October 7?
With Cantor Rabbi Shani Ben-Or
Mon, Nov 23, 2026 • 12-1pm ET / 9-10am PT
How a new wave of religious expression in Israel since October 7th is reshaping Israeli Jewish identity.
A Part of and Apart From: What Makes Jewish Languages Distinct?
With Dr. Sarah Benor
Mon, Jan 11, 2027 • 8-9pm ET / 5-6pm PT
How Jews across history and geography have shaped language of their own—and how that continues in Jewish English today.
The 10th of Av, 70CE: Jewish Responses to a Templeless World
With Rabbi Joshua Garroway, PhD
Mon, Feb 8, 2027 • 8-9pm ET / 5-6pm PT
The destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem in 70 CE upended Jewish life—how did communities respond when the center of their world was gone…and reimagine what came next?
We Shall Build Anew: Stephen S. Wise and the Reinvention of American Liberal Judaism
With Dr. Shirley Idelson
Mon, Mar 8, 2027 • 8-9pm ET / 5-6pm PT
How Rabbi Stephen S. Wise’s bold vision reshaped American Jewish life a century ago.
The Problem of Tradition in Synagogue Music
With Dr. Judah Cohen
Mon, Apr 12, 2027 • 8-9pm ET / 5-6pm PT
Overlooked musical sources that tell a different story of Jewish music than the one we thought we knew.
I Live Now in an Old Book: Hebrew Poetry After October 7
With Rabbi Wendy Zierler, Ph.D.
Mon, May 10, 2027 • 8-9pm ET / 5-6pm PT
Contemporary Hebrew poets grapple with grief, memory, and hope in the aftermath of October 7th.
Social Justice in our Texts: Jewish Wisdom for Building a Better World
Poverty. Tzedakah. Inclusion. Human rights. Tikkun Olam. What does Judaism teach us about creating a just society? Each month, September through June, we take a one-hour “study break” to learn about an aspect of social justice in Jewish texts. Register once for the full series — come to every session, or just the ones that call to you.
Co-sponsored by Congregation B’nai Israel, Congregation Shaarey Zedek, Temple B’nai Or, Temple Sholom, and the Union for Reform Judaism.
The Non-Duality of Good and Evil: The Ba’al Shem Tov on the Burning Bush
With Rabbi Micah Friedman
Mon, Oct 19, 2026 • 3-4pm ET / 12-1pm PT
How the Ba’al Shem Tov’s teaching on Moses at the Burning Bush can inform how we think about good, evil, and activism today.
Abraham Joshua Heschel, Moral Grandeur and Spiritual Audacity
With Rabbi Molly Karp
Mon, Nov 16, 2026 • 3-4pm ET / 12-1pm PT
Exploring Heschel’s conviction that the search for the divine is inseparable from the search for a just society.
You Have Been My Shelter: Housing Ethics in Jewish Text
With No’a Bat Miri
Mon, Dec 14, 2026 • 3-4pm ET / 12-1pm PT
What Jewish text and tradition have to say about the ethics of ownership, renting, displacement, and shelter.
Beyond Dominion: Rethinking Our Relationship with Animals
With Rabbi Yossi Feintuch
Mon, Jan 11, 2027 • 3-4pm ET / 12-1pm PT
Rethinking animals in Jewish text—not as resources, but as fellow creatures with moral significance.
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Through Jewish Wisdom
With Rabbi Ron Symons
Mon, Feb 22, 2027 • 3-4pm ET / 12-1pm PT
Uncovering the values in Jewish wisdom that speak to diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Risqué Business: Jewish Texts on Prostitution
With Michelle Katz
Mon, Mar 8, 2027 • 3-4pm ET / 12-1pm PT
A frank look at how Jewish text treats sex work, from the ancient world to today.
Refugees in Jewish Sources
With Rabbi Sylvia Rothschild
Mon, Apr 12, 2027 • 3-4pm ET / 12-1pm PT
From Adam and Eve onward, our stories are full of refugees—what do our texts say about our responsibility to them?
Brother Can You Spare a Dime? The Jewish Imperative of Tzedakah
With Rabbi Emily Losben-Ostrov
Mon, May 17, 2027 • 3-4pm ET / 12-1pm PT
Explore the Jewish texts and traditions that make tzedakah not simply an act of generosity, but an obligation of justice.
Ruth: The Book of Belonging
With Rabbi Dr. Nikki DeBlosi
Mon, Jun 7, 2027 • 3-4pm ET / 12-1pm PT
A close look at the Book of Ruth and what it teaches us about exclusion, inclusion, and belonging.
Single-Session Classes
Come join us for an hour of learning.
Sigd: The Ancient Ethiopian Jewish Holiday with an Enduring Meaning
With Rabbi Ruth Abusch-Magder, Ph.D.
Monday, Nov 9, 2026 • 3-4pm ET / 12-1pm PT
Discover Sigd, a little-known Jewish holiday with a rich history and powerful traditions. Join Rabbi Ruth Abusch-Magder, Ph.D., to explore the origins of Sigd, its distinctive rituals and practices, and its themes of humility, repentance, devotion, and hope. We’ll also consider how this ancient holiday has evolved as Ethiopian Jewish communities have made their homes in Israel.
Eight Lessons for Eight Nights
With Rabbi Irwin Zeplowitz
Monday, Dec 7, 2026 • 3-4pm ET / 12-1pm PT
Chanukah offers many lessons—and this class will provide one for each night. Among them: how do we find hope, the centrality of women in the story of these days, accepting uncertainty, and more!
Affliction and Joy: Judaism’s “Golden Path” during the High Holy Days
With Rabbi Barry Block
PAST • Thursday, Sep 17, 2026 • 3-4pm ET / 12-1pm PT
The Torah says to afflict yourself on Yom Kippur—but what does that actually mean? How far should we go in denying ourselves? And what does Jewish tradition have to say about the opposite problem: can we take our joy too far on Sukkot?
Looking Ahead
Coming Up in 2027
Registration for these opens as each date approaches — Join the Laasok mailing list to be notified.
The Inner Life of God
Mon, Jan 25, 2027 • Rabbi Megan Doherty
On the Book of Esther
Tue, Mar 23, 2027 • Rabbi Shirah Kraus
Making Sense of the Exodus
Mon, Apr 19, 2027 • Rabbi Joe Klein
Why Elijah? How Did Elijah Become the Jewish Poster Child for Compassionate Action for the Poor?
Mon, Apr 26, 2027 • Rabbi Laura Rappaport
Journeying From Pesach to Shavuot: The Omer as a Time of Inner Spiritual Transformation
Mon, May 10, 2027 • Rabbi Lauren Tuchman
Poetry and Revelation: Poems for Shavuot
Thu, Jun 10, 2027 • Rabbi Pamela Wax
Keep in Touch!
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