A brush with a sage

Michele Marr

With his silvering hair and long beard, gently creased cheeks,

pensive gaze and quick smile, Rabbi Aron David Berkowitz impresses

even some who don’t know him as the personification of wisdom.

At the Jewish Learning Institute, Berkowitz’s students respect his

lifetime of learning and experience.

“The main reason I go [to the Jewish Learning Institute] is

because the rabbi is such a wonderful talker,” said David Franco, a

64-year-old retiree and student at the school for adults. “He’s not

intimidating and has extraordinary knowledge, not only of the Torah

but of contemporary issues. He was at Stanford for many years. He’s

well read and he can speak about any contemporary subject as well as

all the traditional subjects.

“You can ask him pretty much anything. You don’t have to worry

about being embarrassed or looking stupid.”

Like several dozen other men and women, Franco completed a course

in Talmudic ethics at the institute in the fall and he’ll begin

another course, “Kabbalah [Jewish mystical tradition] Unplugged: The

Secret Power of Prayer,” later this month.

When Vicki Kain heard the next class was on Kabbalah and prayer,

she knew she had to enroll.

“I think prayer is an enormously healing thing,” she said. “I know

it’s worked for me.”

Kain said she’s eager to expand her knowledge and experience of

the practice.

Since the institute began offering classes at her synagogue,

Congregation Adat Israel, Kain, like Franco, has taken several

courses, including “Kabbalah Rhythms: A Spiritual Roadmap to Higher

Learning,” “From Sinai to Cyberspace: The Development and Relevance

of Jewish Law,” and the fall 2003 course, “Talmudic Ethics: Timeless

Wisdom for Timely Dilemmas.”

Kain values the opportunity the classes allow for discussion as

much as the curriculum and Berkowitz’s knowledge and wisdom.

Reflecting on her years in college, the 77-year-old retired public

schoolteacher believes this is when real learning takes place.

“We had more discussions, more arguing [in the class on ethics]

than in any other class. We argued over everything,” she said,

laughing. “We really went through, hot and heavy, the issue of

telling the truth in business. We also covered abortion and the

ethical aspects of euthanasia.”

Franco was captivated by what he learned in the class.

“I really did not know how the Lubavitch define life. They define

it as starting at conception and not at the third term [of a

pregnancy]. One thing that surprised me is that the value of [one’s

own] life versus another life.

“If you are [stranded] in the desert [with someone] and there’s

only enough food for one person, you take care of yourself. They say

because life is so valuable, everybody has to worry about

themselves.”

Franco found most of what he learned to be useful in daily living

and in making everyday decisions, unlike the ethical dilemma

presented by being left high and dry in the desert. He came to see

Talmudic ethics as “a strong house in a storm.”

“I have a set of values and things are changing all around them in

society all the time, but the values are solid and they don’t

change,” he said.

Franco and Kain attend morning classes at the institute, when most

of their classmates are retirees. Evening classes draw from a more

diverse crowd, with more men and younger adults attending.

The Jewish Learning Institute was founded six years ago with 15

pilot locations. It now has 86 locations worldwide and 12 in

California.

Its mission is to offer accredited courses that integrate basic

Judaism, Jewish history, Jewish mysticism, the Jewish calendar,

practices and ideas through the study of primary sources,

commentaries and intensive group discussion with instructors and

classmates.

The curriculum and textbooks have been prepared by experts in

adult education and traditional learning to convey a solid core of

knowledge over a short period of time.

The classes provide a means for Jewish adults to reconnect to

their heritage, explore the fundamentals and broaden their knowledge

of Judaism, regardless of their affiliation.

The institute’s website assures students that they will emerge

from their courses with more than knowledge -- they will emerge

transformed. It promises them “teachers who live what they teach and

teach what they live. Teachers with a thousand stories to tell.

Teachers who discuss the Jewish mystical experience from the inside

out and take you on roads they’re traveling themselves. Teachers who

give you their soul and being.”