From August 8 to August 26, 2021, Tikvah Online Academy is offering rising 7th to 12th graders (and recent grads) a unique opportunity: to study some of the greatest speeches and leaders in Jewish, Zionist, Western, and American history. During these three weeks, we will offer a different class every weekday (Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday) and every Sunday morning & evening. By signing up for either an “Academy Membership” ($100/up to 3 classes) or “Premium Membership” ($300/unlimited access), students can pick and choose whichever classes they like. Click here to register.
Week of August 8th
Embodied Ecstatic Prayer and the Power of Community
Dr. Nehemia Polen
“With Malice Toward None”: Lincoln’s Second Inaugural
Dr. Harry Ballan
Mark Antony’s Funeral Oration in Shakespeare’s “Julius Caesar”
Louis Petrich
Jewish and Greek Views on the Human Condition
Dr. Ronna Burger
Four Speeches from the Book of Ruth
Alan Rubenstein
Pope Francis Goes to Washington: On Freedom, Love, and Justice
Dr. Ryan Hanley
Rabbi Soloveitchik on Tradition and Creativity in Jewish Law
Rabbi Yakov Danishefsky
Week of August 15th
Haggai Confronts the Second Temple Community
Rachel Besser
When God Finally Speaks: Divine Response to Evil in Job
Rabbi Elie Weissman
Dual Loyalty in a Different Key: JFK, Faith, and the Presidency
Dr. Michael A. Helfand
Freedom’s Purpose: Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn at Harvard
Dr. R.J. Snell
First Strike: Menachem Begin and the Osirak Nuclear Reactor
Rabbi Shlomo Brody
Jewish Sovereignty: Ze’ev Jabotinsky at the Peel Commission
Dr. Jonathan Yudelman
Heroism and Masculinity According to Theodore Roosevelt
Rabbi Mitchell Rocklin
Zionism Now and Then: Max Nordau’s Call to Action
Dr. Leor Sapir
Week of August 22nd
Preemptive Justice: Abba Eban’s Defense of Israel at the UN
Dr. Daniel Polisar
Statesmanship and War: Pericles’ Funeral Oration
Dr. Jacob Howland
Speaking Truth to Power: Amos’ Moral Critique, Then and Now
Miriam Krupka
The Conscience of a Conservative: Goldwater’s Acceptance Speech
Dr. Rita Koganzon
Tragedy and Hope: Reagan on the Challenger Explosion
Dr. Tevi Troy
Victory in the Cold War: Ronald Reagan’s “Tear Down this Wall”
Harry Halem