By Reporter staff

A new learning opportunity has opened in Ithaca: the Ithaca Beit Midrash is now holding classes. The school believes “Jewish learning is for everyone” and offers classes that reach “the heart, mind and soul.” It sees its mission as helping people “form meaningful connections to Judaism and each other through personalized learning experiences for children, teens, families and adults of all ages and backgrounds.”

The Ithaca Beit Midrash is run by Rabbi Suzanne Brody, who has rabbinic ordination from the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies. Brody, who graduated from Wellesley College, also has a Ph.D. in neuroscience. She is a member of the Rabbinical Assembly’s Committee on Jewish Laws and Standards.

“I started Ithaca Beit Midrash to enable people to engage in meaningful Jewish learning and experiences in an informal setting,” Brody said in an e-mail interview. “Ithaca Beit Midrash offers both programs and classes determined by the teachers and facilitators, and the opportunity for people to explore the issues about which they are passionate or curious. There are a mixture of online and in-person classes and activities, and my hope is to be a source of connection not just for the Ithaca Jewish community, but for all of the surrounding areas and beyond.”

Classes offered are in English and, unless noted, don’t demand any prior knowledge of Judaism. Current classes include an online Talmud, a look at Hidden Heroines, a Shabbat poetry workshop and more. Brody will also help those interested design individual classes and offers lifecycle preparation. More specific information on individual classes and events can be found at www.ithacabeitmidrash.com/current-classes-and-activites.

Brody is also the author of five books of poetry and one novella, including “Dancing in the White Spaces,” “Etz Chayim She: Modern Poems Grown from Ancient Texts,” “Mermaid Tears,” “Lunch with Rav Dimi,” “Unearthed” and “Serah’s Secrets.”

To contact the Ithaca Beit Midrash, e-mail Ithaca.Beit.Midrash@gmail.com, call 310-746-8717 or click here.