St James Church, located in , is today the focus and the centre of both sacramental and prayer life, not only for the parishioners, but also for pilgrims.  It is the only apparition site specifically calling an entire parish to conversion and prayer (March 1, 1984) and led by Our Lady under the title of Queen of Peace.  Visit this peaceful setting nestled between mountains and the Adriatic Sea and speak with the visionaries receiving Mary’s message and call to peace to this very  day. Plus The Eternal City reflects the grandeur of Ancient Rome and the majest of Christian Rome.  Visit sites such as the Catacombs, Vatican City four major Basilicas of the Catholic Church and the Colisseum. 

The Jews of the Iberian Peninsula have a long and diverse history, from Roman times up through the Expulsion of the Jews in the last decade of the fifteenth century.  On the eve of the expulsion of the Jews from Castile and Aragon in 1492, Spain was home to the world’s largest Jewish community.  Spain is the birthplace of towering figures in Judaism such as Yehuda Halevi, Solomon ibn Gabirol, Moses ibn Ezra and Maimonides, or Rambam, the greatest Jewish philosopher of the Middle Ages. Expulsion from Spain, one of the most crucial moments in Jewish history, led to the great Sephardic Diaspora in North Africa and the Ottoman Empire. 

The Hebrew College Study Tour to Spain provides us with the opportunity to learn about the Golden Age of Spanish Jewry, rich in Jewish learning, heritage and culture.  We will discuss the various Jewish scholars that lived and studied in Spain to understand their backgrounds as well as their contributions to Judaism and their relationship with the general community in Spain. 

The Study Tour is open to students registered in one of the 2006/2007 Me’ah Graduate Institute [MGI] courses on the Jews of Spain and adult members of their immediate family.  A pre-departure reading list will be provided and daily study sessions will be integrated into the itinerary. 

Join Hebrew College of Newton, Massachusetts for a once-in-a-lifetime Study Tour to Israel. For 12 days we will explore the world of biblical and rabbinic Judaism and study with one of our most outstanding adult learning faculty, Dr. David Bernat.
Traveling the length and breadth of Israel, we’ll visit an ancient Israelite altar in the south at Beersheva and one of the largest Canaanite cities in the north at Hazor. We’ll explore the earliest synagogues in the world and wrestle with why some had pagan symbols as major artistic motifs. We’ll see how the Essenes followed their radical way of life at Qumran, and study the Mishna at Zippori, the city where it was compiled in 200 C.E. In Jerusalem, we’ll discover how the geography and topography dictated how the city was built and later conquered. We’ll walk through the ruins of Herodian mansions where the Jewish elite of Jerusalem lived and see the charred remains of the Roman’s invasion.
All this—while also swimming in the dead sea, enjoying kibbutz guesthouse hospitality, relaxing at a luxury hotel on the rim of a giant desert crater and spending Shabbat in Jerusalem overlooking the Old City walls. 
Dr. David Bernat is Assistant Professor of Religion and Jewish Studies at Wellesley College and has been a popular member of the Hebrew College Me'ah faculty since 1998. Dr. Bernat received his doctorate in biblical studies from Brandeis University. 

The study tour is open to anyone interested in intensive study of Jewish history and thought. They are a wonderful add-on for Me’ah students to bring alive what was learned in the classroom.