Course Description

Transformative Torah & Expressive Arts
with Chaya Kaplan-Lester

Starting December 30th, this class will meet on Wednesdays from 12:15 to 1:30 PM at the Sephardic Educational Center in the Old City of Jerusalem.

This class takes rich Jewish teachings and makes them experiential and personally applicable through the use of exercises and expressive arts. Students gain tools to apply their learning directly to life, experiencing how Torah can explicitly impact the tenor of their actions and interpersonal relationships. Furthermore, the class offers a therapeutic environment where students have a supportive group space within which to process their art work, Torah learning and personal growth.  The central theme of this series of classes will be Miriam’s Circle Dance and the rich array of Midrashim and teachings which encircle this powerful story. While the arts will be used in each class to enrich our learning, there is by no means a prerequisite for students to be ‘artistically inclined’. 

Chaya Kaplan-Lester is a Jewish educator, psychotherapist and writer living in Jerusalem. She holds an Ivy League BA in Religious & Jewish Studies, and an MA in Clinical Psychology. She also did doctoral work in Jewish Studies at Oxford University in England. In addition to her work as a writer and psychotherapist, Chaya has over 10 years of rich experience as a Jewish educator.

Chaya’s classes are a synthesis of her training and background as a psychotherapist, artist and educator. She takes rich Jewish teachings and makes them experiential and personally applicable through the use of expressive arts and psychotherapy. Students gain tools to apply their learning directly to life, experiencing how Torah can explicitly impact the tenor of their actions and interpersonal relationships. The classes become a therapeutic environment where students have a supportive group space within which to process their Torah learning, art work and personal growth.

From teaching at various synagogues & communities in America and Israel, to leading seminars at retreat centers and conferences, Chaya offers experiential Jewish learning that focuses on the transformation of the individual and the enhancement of the spirit.

This class is part of our Torah Thursdays learning program
Click here to see the whole program and for location, cost and other details.