Take a Jewish Lives Summer Course
Rebecca Keys
Register now for Jewish Lives summer courses at Case Western Reserve University’s Siegal Lifelong Learning program. Courses are available on Irving Berlin, Solomon, and David. See below for the course schedule and contact lifelonglearning@case.edu for additional information. We hope you enjoy the classes.
IRVING BERLIN: NEW YORK GEINUS (REMOTE)
Instructor: Professor Daniel Goldmark
Location: Online
Head of Popular Music, Director of the Center for Popular Music Studies, Case Western Reserve University
Date: Wednesdays, June 24 - July 8
Time: 10 - 11:30 a.m. EDT
Cost: $45 Lifelong Learning Member / $55 Nonmember
Irving Berlin has been called the greatest songwriter of the golden age of the American popular song. In a career that spanned nine decades, Berlin wrote some 1500 tunes, including “Alexander’s Ragtime Band,” “God Bless America,” and “White Christmas.” Join Daniel Goldmark to explore James Kaplan’s book, Irving Berlin: New York Genius, which offers a visceral narrative of Berlin as a self-made man who was a witty, wily, tough Jewish immigrant. Kaplan’s book underscores Berlin’s continued relevance in American popular culture today.
The respective book should be brought to class. Irving Berlin: New York Genius can be purchased below.
SPECIAL OFFER: Save 35% + free shipping on the books for this series. Use code CWBERLIN at checkout.
By James Kaplan
Published November 5, 2019
424 pages
“Irresistible” —Todd S. Purdum
A fast-moving, musically astute portrait of arguably the greatest composer of American popular music
Irving Berlin (1888–1989) has been called—by George Gershwin, among others—the greatest songwriter of the golden age of the American popular song. “Berlin has no place in American music,” legendary composer Jerome Kern wrote; “he is American music.” In a career that spanned an astonishing nine decades, Berlin wrote some fifteen hundred tunes, including “Alexander’s Ragtime Band,” “God Bless America,” and “White Christmas.” From ragtime to the rock era, Berlin’s work has endured in the very fiber of American national identity.
Exploring the interplay of Berlin’s life with the life of New York City, noted biographer James Kaplan offers a visceral narrative of Berlin as self-made man and witty, wily, tough Jewish immigrant. This fast-paced, musically opinionated biography uncovers Berlin’s unique brilliance as a composer of music and lyrics. Masterfully written and insightful, Kaplan’s book underscores Berlin’s continued relevance in American popular culture.
SOLOMON: THE LURE OF WISDOM (REMOTE)
Instructor: Professor Ezra Blaustein, Kent State University
Location: Online
Date: Wednesdays, July 15 - 29
Time: 10 - 11:30 a.m. EDT
Cost: $45 Lifelong Learning Member / $55 Nonmember
Tradition has it that King Solomon knew everything there was to know—the mysteries of nature, of love, of God himself—but what do we know of him? Join Ezra Blaustein to explore Steven Weitzman’s book which reintroduces readers to Solomon’s story and its surprising influence in shaping Western culture, and he also examines what Solomon’s life, wisdom, and writings have come to mean for Jews, Christians, and Muslims over the past 2,000 years.
The respective book should be brought to class. Solomon: The Lure of Widsom can be purchased below.
SPECIAL OFFER: Save 35% + free shipping on the books for this series. Use code CWSOLOMON at checkout.
By Steven Weitzman
Published March 29, 2011
240 pages
“Engrossing, elegant, and erudite”
—The Jewish Daily Forward
Tradition has it that King Solomon knew everything there was to know—the mysteries of nature, of love, of God himself—but what do we know of him? Esteemed biblical scholar Steven Weitzman reintroduces readers to Solomon's story and its surprising influence in shaping Western culture, and he also examines what Solomon's life, wisdom, and writings have come to mean for Jews, Christians, and Muslims over the past two thousand years.
Weitzman's Solomon is populated by a colorful cast of ambitious characters—Byzantine emperors, explorers, rabbis, saints, scientists, poets, archaeologists, trial judges, reggae singers, and moviemakers among them—whose common goal is to unearth the truth about Solomon's life and wisdom. Filled with the Solomonic texts of the Bible, along with lesser–known magical texts and other writings, this book challenges both religious and secular assumptions. Even as it seeks to tell the story of ancient Israel's greatest ruler, this insightful book is also a meditation on the Solomonic desire to know all of life's secrets, and on the role of this desire in world history.
DAVID: THE DIVIDED HEART (REMOTE)
Instructor(s): Jo Bruce, Instructor of Lifelong Learning
Location: Online
Date: Wednesdays, August 5 - 19
Time: 10 - 11:30 a.m. EDT
Cost: $45 Lifelong Learning Member / $55 Nonmember
Of all the figures in the Bible, David arguably stands out as the most perplexing. He was a warrior who subdued Goliath and the Philistines; a king who united a nation; a poet who created beautiful verse; a loyal servant of God who proposed the great Temple and founded the Messianic line; a schemer, deceiver, and an adulterer. Join Jo Bruce to explore Wolpe’s book which reexamines David in an attempt to find coherence in his seemingly contradictory actions and impulses. The author unravels David’s complex character to question his exalted place in history.
The respective book should be brought to class. David: The Divided Heart can be purchased below.
SPECIAL OFFER: Save 35% + free shipping on the books for this series. Use code CWSDAVID at checkout.
By David Wolpe
Published September 16, 2014
176 pages
“Vibrant and nuanced” —The Jewish Week
A reexamination of the biblical David, legendary warrior, poet, and king, by one of America’s most respected rabbis
Of all the figures in the Bible, David arguably stands out as the most perplexing and enigmatic. He was many things: a warrior who subdued Goliath and the Philistines; a king who united a nation; a poet who created beautiful, sensitive verse; a loyal servant of God who proposed the great Temple and founded the Messianic line; a schemer, deceiver, and adulterer who freely indulged his very human appetites.
David Wolpe, whom Newsweek called “the most influential rabbi in America,” takes a fresh look at biblical David in an attempt to find coherence in his seemingly contradictory actions and impulses. The author questions why David holds such an exalted place in history and legend, and then proceeds to unravel his complex character based on information found in the book of Samuel and later literature. What emerges is a fascinating portrait of an exceptional human being who, despite his many flaws, was truly beloved by God.