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Welcome to AJS
We are here to support you in these challenging times.
Please see our new calendar of online events here.
Our current courses are listed below.
To try some of our courses for free, or to receive our full schedule of online courses and events, please enter your email:
CURRENT COURSES
KAVANAH:
THE INNER PATH
OF PRAYER
Rabbi Ami Silver
Prayer (Tefillah) is the core spiritual practice of the Jewish tradition.
It is Jewish meditation par excellence. However, many people experience it as dry recitation of prayers, whose words and forms feel foreign and hard to connect to.
This course offers an entryway into Tefillah as it is meant to be - an experiential practice of relating to the Divine, that engages the body, heart, mind and soul.
Drawing from the full range of Biblical, Rabbinic, Kabbalistic and Chassidic sources, this course provides an in-depth exploration of Kavanah - the states of mind, heart and body that form the basis for Tefillah - and offers practical guidance for engaging in Tefillah as a meditative, embodied practice.
MAIMONIDES'
MIDDLE WAY
Dr. Mira Neshama Niculescu
Did you know that Maimonides wrote a classic work of self-understanding and self-improvement?
His Eight Chapters (Shmoneh Prakim) were written as introduction to the Ethics of the Fathers (Pirkei Avot) and they offer us a practical path towards clarity, balance and healing.
Maimonides was a giant of Jewish thought and practice, as well as a master of Greek philosophy and medicine, and has tremendous wisdom to offer our bodies, minds and souls.
Join our international community of students supporting one another in learning, reflecting upon and applying his insights to enhance our daily lives.
INTRODUCTION
TO KABBALAH:
THE SEFIROT
OF THE OMER
Rabbi Daniel Silverstein
How can the primary system of Kabbalah help us to understand and refine our inner selves and our relationships?
During the 7-week period between Pesach and Shavuot, known as the Omer, the Kabbalists instituted a practice of paying attention to a particular Sefirah each week, and a unique combination of the Sefirot on each day.
These Sefirot can be understood as the attributes or character traits of the Divine, and they also manifest within us and in all of existence.
By learning about them together, and reflecting on each day's unique combination of Sefirot, we will grow intellectually and experientially, internalizing the Kabbalists' potent wisdom to enrich our daily lives.
REVOLUTIONARY
CHASIDIC IDEAS
AND PRACTICES
Rabbi Daniel Silverstein
How can the early Chasidic Masters help us to understand and harness the power of Kabbalah in our daily lives?
What are the transformative ideas and practices with which created a
mass-movement, and changed the lives of millions of people?
Join us as we explore the revolutionary lives and teachings of these Masters, and support each other in bringing their radical spiritual and psychological insights into every aspect of our lives. Our learning and practice will be guided by tradition, scholarship and the relevant insights of the contemporary mindfulness world.
THE HIGH HOLIDAYS:
A TIME FOR
TRANSFORMATION
Rabbi Ami Silver
The High Holidays are a potent time for personal growth in all areas of life, including interpersonal relationships, our own self-concept, lifestyle choices, and our spiritual lives.
This course will help us access the powerful opportunities for insight and growth that these holidays offer. Through a combination of in-depth textual study and embodied exercises and meditations, we will explore the core qualities and practices of Rosh Hashana, Yom Kippur and Sukkot, allowing us to engage with this season in a way that is deep, meaningful, and that touches our lives.
ANA B'KHOACH
KABBALISTIC SECRETS OF ASCENT
Rabbi Ruth Gan Kagan
Ana B'Khoach is an ancient mystical chant, used by many great Kabbalists, that encodes the mysterious 42-letter name of God.
In this online course, taught by Rabbi Ruth Gan Kagan, we will explore the power of this chant like spiritual detectives, discovering a new layer of meaning in each class.
As we study and chant Ana B’Khoach together, we will encounter deep insights into the nature of reality and a wealth of mystical and kabbalistic practices, ranging from simple ones for everyday use, to advanced ones for those who are further on along the mystical path.
KABBALAH
THROUGH THE
CALENDAR
Rabbi Daniel Silverstein
What are the unique spiritual and psychological opportunities and challenges of each month and festival?
What are the practices that our tradition recommends for each month, to maximise our potential in every area of our lives?
In this course, we will explore the depth and breadth of Torah and Kabbalah, month by month, and integrate their wisdom with insights from the best of the contemporary mindfulness world.
Join students from around the world as we learn, practice and support each other in our ongoing journey of inspiration and growth.
TESTIMONIALS
"The courses offered through Applied Jewish Spirituality not only provide a window into the vast world of Chasidic and mystical teachings, but translate the esoteric into practices that can be integrated into ones daily spiritual life. The source sheets for every class are a remarkable resource full of deep and powerful Torah to make the teachings accessible to learners of all backgrounds."
- Rabbi Adam Gindea
"One of the many things I so appreciate about AJS is that the online learning platform allows me to learn with teachers I would otherwise have far fewer opportunities to learn with. I greatly appreciated the way R. Ami Silver’s class opened more doors to deepening spiritual practices around the chagim, and learning Chasidut and the Kabbalah of the calendar with R. Daniel Silverstein has been a delight. I appreciate the way AJS teachers approach Jewish text with a healthy mix of deep reverence and a willingness to address with greatest intellectual honesty the historical context of the sources." - Rabbi Lauren Tuchman
"In so many ways the AJS course I followed redefined 'learning' for me. This is because of the unique way our course leader synthesised rigorous scholarship with practical spiritual practice. Through his personal skills he also created a sense of a community amongst us all - no mean feat for online learning! I ended the course feeling transformed and inspired." - Jyll Bradley
"Not only does AJS provide access to an incredibly vast and rich well of Jewish material, but the faculty are really all masters at distilling and effectively transmitting information that ordinarily would remain hidden and inaccessible to curious beginning students. That said, faculty at AJS enthusiastically welcome and cater to the beginners mind who might otherwise feel too intimidated, or perhaps a bit too shy wandering into a traditional beit midrash of learned scholars and other big-time ball players. One really does get the sense that there is a larger learning taking place that the course as a single entity - material, teachers, and students all - participates in. And the importance of this really can’t be understated because its the facilitation of that mutual transmission of mind, body, and spirit that underlies and upholds the integrity of the great worldly wisdom traditions. I don’t know if I would have a Jewish practice if it weren’t for AJS."
- Gabe Gould
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Acknowledgements
Calendar image by Federico Parolo used with permission of Deuteronomy Press
Tree of Life image used with permission from David Friedman of Kosmic Kabbalah
Prayer photo from https://www.freepik.com/free-photos-vectors/people - People photo created by jcomp - www.freepik.com