The story of the first king of Israel is a tragic story of transition from one form of government to a new untested one.
 
It was Saul’s (bad) luck, that he, a simple young man, was selected to carry out this transition. It is also his bad luck that the next king, David (rightfully or not) is so revered, that his predecessor is forgotten many times. It is also tragic because Saul was asked to perform almost an impossible task with a very strict unforgiving mentor (Samuel).
 
The story of Saul ascending to be the first king and his later decline is also tragic as it is accompanied by what we can identify today as a mental disease that afflicted him at a later stage in his kingship.
In this course, we will study the story of Saul and judge for ourselves how should he be remembered and whether history has done justice with him.

Gideon Amir was born in Holland to Holocaust survivors. He grew up in Jerusalem, received a Bachelor’s degree in Mathematics from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, and a Master’s degree in Computer Science from the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rechovot. In 1980, Gideon moved to the United States, where he worked as a computer scientist and taught computer science courses at the University of Maryland and at Montgomery College. In 1999, he enrolled in a full-time graduate program at Baltimore Hebrew University, where, in 2001, he received a master’s degree and completed further studies. Gideon is re-directing his passion for teaching from computer science to the teaching of bible subjects at various area synagogues, churches, and other adult education outlets.

Wednesday evenings: Nov 12, Nov 19, Dec 3, Dec 10
6:45 – 8:15 p.m.
Cost: $60 members / $80 non-members