jewish stuff web.png
Rachel B. Gross Headshot.jpg
jewish stuff web.png
Rachel B. Gross Headshot.jpg

Jewish Stuff: Traditional and Unexpected Jewish Objects

from $239.00

with Rachel B. Gross
—
When
Starts October 20th
Tuesdays, 8:00-9:30 pm ET · 5:00–6:30 pm PT
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Objects shape our experience of the world, including our experiences at home and in our communities. This course explores Jews’ relationships to traditionally religious Jewish objects and less traditional objects. It will introduce students to “material religion,” the study of the material culture (aka stuff) of religious groups. We will study the histories and present-day meanings of mezuzahs, yarmulkes, ketubahs, tzedakah boxes, table settings, Jewish jewelry, and souvenirs.

Focusing on objects can help us open up new questions about how we and other people make meaning in our lives. We will discuss our relationship to these objects, how other Jews have understood them, and how they might change in the future. Along the way, we might expand our idea of what counts as a Jewish object or a religious object.
—
This class will be recorded and available to enrolled students to watch later.

This class is not eligible for rabbinical school credit.

Cost

This course is available at a sliding scale cost of $359 (the true cost), $299 or $239.

If you can afford the full price, we hope you will choose that option, which allows us to continue to offer lower rates and scholarships to those who otherwise would not be able to access this learning because of financial barriers.

Click here to donate to JUs financial aid fund to support financial equity and access to education for all students.

If you need financial aid beyond the sliding scale, please fill out this form, and we will get right back to you.

Sliding Scale Prices:

with Rachel B. Gross
—
When
Starts October 20th
Tuesdays, 8:00-9:30 pm ET · 5:00–6:30 pm PT
—

Objects shape our experience of the world, including our experiences at home and in our communities. This course explores Jews’ relationships to traditionally religious Jewish objects and less traditional objects. It will introduce students to “material religion,” the study of the material culture (aka stuff) of religious groups. We will study the histories and present-day meanings of mezuzahs, yarmulkes, ketubahs, tzedakah boxes, table settings, Jewish jewelry, and souvenirs.

Focusing on objects can help us open up new questions about how we and other people make meaning in our lives. We will discuss our relationship to these objects, how other Jews have understood them, and how they might change in the future. Along the way, we might expand our idea of what counts as a Jewish object or a religious object.
—
This class will be recorded and available to enrolled students to watch later.

This class is not eligible for rabbinical school credit.

Cost

This course is available at a sliding scale cost of $359 (the true cost), $299 or $239.

If you can afford the full price, we hope you will choose that option, which allows us to continue to offer lower rates and scholarships to those who otherwise would not be able to access this learning because of financial barriers.

Click here to donate to JUs financial aid fund to support financial equity and access to education for all students.

If you need financial aid beyond the sliding scale, please fill out this form, and we will get right back to you.

About Rachel

Rachel B. Gross is Associate Professor and John and Marcia Goldman Chair in American Jewish Studies in the Department of Jewish Studies at San Francisco State University. She is a religious studies scholar who studies twentieth- and twenty-first-century American Jews. Her book, Beyond the Synagogue: Jewish Nostalgia as Religious Practice, was a finalist for the 2021 National Jewish Book Award. She is currently writing a book about the religious adventures of American Jewish writer Mary Antin.