Wait! That's Not in the Bible?
Insights & Ideas: Tuesday Night Learning with Gideon Amir
Four Tuesday Evenings
March 3, 10, 17, 24
Time: 7-8:30 PM ET
Instructor: Gideon Amir
Location: Zoom Classroom
Standard Class Rate: $120
Base Rate: $80
(Subsidized by Haberman Institute donors)
Haberman Institute courses are offered on a sliding payment scale.
Both tiers receive identical access to the program. Should the registration rates become a barrier to enrollment, please contact our Executive Director, Matthew Silverman.
Most of us are familiar with the story of Abraham breaking the idols in his father’s shop. However, many are unaware that this story is actually a Midrash and does not appear in the book of Genesis.
Similarly, many of us know from the Haggadah that we eat matzah on Passover because the Israelites left Egypt in haste and their dough did not have time to rise. While this is the traditional explanation, it is not the reason given in the biblical text itself.
In this course, we will explore several examples of biblical passages that we often think say one thing but, upon closer reading, actually say something else. We will also examine ambiguous texts and consider how Midrash offers multiple ways to understand them.
The course is loosely based on the book by Avigdor Shinan and Yair Zakovitch, From Gods to God (Jewish Publication Society, 2012).
Gideon Amir was born in the Netherlands to Holocaust survivors who immigrated to Israel in 1947. He grew up in Jerusalem and served in the IDF as a Paratrooper.
Gideon received his Bachelor’s degree in Mathematics from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem and a Master’s degree in Computer Science from the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rechovot. In 1980, he moved to the United States, where he worked as a manager in several companies including Sperry Univac, British Telecom, and Cisco Systems.
In 1999, he pursued his interest in Judaic Studies and enrolled in a full-time graduate program at Baltimore Hebrew University, where, in May 2001, he received his Master’s degree with honors. Redirecting his passion for teaching from computer science to Jewish and Bible studies, he became an adult Jewish educator for several education programs, including the Haberman Institute, where he continues to teach today.