GOD: Many Ideas of "One"
Ten Jewish Views of the Divine
Instructor: Rabbi Dr. Michael Panitz, historian and Rabbi of Temple Israel in Norfolk

Course Description:
What does it mean to believe in "One God"? Jewish thought has offered many answers across the centuries, each shaped by its historical moment, philosophical context, and spiritual priorities. In this ten-session course, Rabbi Michael Panitz—respected historian and longtime Rabbi of Temple Israel—will guide participants through the evolving Jewish understandings of God, from the Hebrew Bible to contemporary theology.

Each session will explore a distinct model of the Divine, tracing the dynamic tension between rationalism and mysticism, tradition and innovation, universalism and particularism. Topics include:

• The revolutionary monotheism of the Bible
• The personal and moral God of Rabbinic Judaism
• Medieval philosophical approaches to God as pure perfection
• Kabbalistic visions of the Divine as a complex, dynamic essence
• Spinoza’s pantheism and its legacy
• Mordecai Kaplan's redefinition of God for a secular age
• Post-Holocaust theology’s confrontation with evil
• Alternatives to Western metaphysics in modern Jewish thought
• Neo-Hasidic renewal of mystical language for a disenchanted world
• Process Theology’s blending of science, spirituality, and Jewish tradition

Participants will engage with classical and contemporary sources, discuss key theological challenges, and reflect on their own evolving beliefs. No prior background in Jewish theology is required—just a curious mind and an open heart.

$60 JCC Members • $72 Guests

Join us for a thoughtful journey through Jewish ideas of the One.