I offer a number of different 90 min – 2 hour study sessions or presentations on Jewish or interfaith topics. $150 – $500 honorarium requested. Topics include:
- Meeting Moses Again for the First Time – How Moses unexpectedly speaks to our present situation
- The Bible and Sex: LBGT Equality and Leviticus
- Intermarriage Isn’t a Dirty Word – understanding the new movement for radical inclusivity in the American Jewish community
- The Akedah (The Binding of Isaac) – Greeting a Challenging Story Anew
- Independence & Catastrophe: the conflicting Israeli and Palestinian narratives of 1948
- Introducing Rabbi Joshua ben Hananiah – the First Century sage who gave us the Judaism we know
- Midrash: What It Is and Why It’s Awesome
- Midrash and the New Testament: How Jews and Christians are learning more about each others’ pasts by looking freshly at each other’s sacred texts
- The Rebekah Cycle: looking at one of the most powerful women of the Torah
- Ezekiel and Us: Prophecy in Terrifying Technicolor
- Healthy Religion – a look at the work of Rev. Walter Kania, Dr. Karen Armstrong, and Rabbi Mordecai Kaplan
- Father Patrick Desbois’ Holocaust By Bullets – a presentation on Desbois’ work to locate and memorialize an often forgotten part of the Shoah
- And more…
Multiple Session Offerings
I offer 3 to 5 session courses. Honorarium / tuition negotiable. Topics include:
- When You Say God, What Do You Mean? An overview of the many ways Jews have understood the divine over 3,000+ years
- Israel and Palestine – a dual narrative study of the conflict
- Moses: A Stranger Among Us
- Understanding Midrash
- Midrash and the Christian Scriptures
- Birthing the Judaism of Debate and Sacred Doubt: Rabbi Joshua Speaks to Us
- Ezekiel and Us
- Genesis and Us
- Exile and Return: Exploring a powerful root metaphor in Jewish sacred texts
- Who is a Jew in the Movies? (includes film screenings and discussion)
- Understanding the Shoah (Nazi Holocaust)
- The Death and Resurrection of the Beloved Son – exploring an essential recurring theme in Jewish, Christian, and Islamic sacred texts
Endorsements
- Rabbi Maurice does a wonderful job of balancing his course objectives with the personal needs of his students.
– Meagan Prince - Maurice is a wonderful asset to our community. His is a passionate voice for peace with justice, compassion and the well-being of the whole earth community. His commitment to interfaith work and human rights is outstanding. He brings wit and wisdom from the depths of the Jewish tradition to all his efforts. – The Rev. Dr. Daniel E. H. Bryant, Senior Minister, First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), Eugene, OR
- Rabbi Maurice is a gifted teacher. Not only does he possess vast knowledge and understanding of Jewish history, his engaging teaching style makes learning exciting and interesting, and enhances my desire to continue to learn from him in future classes offerings. – Marlene Lasher
- I have taken several courses from Rabbi Maurice Harris and have listened to his sermons. He is consistently very knowledgeable about his topics, very well prepared, and clear and easy to follow. He shows concern about his topics with his warm and engaging manner and his excellent handouts. In Question & Answer periods he always demonstrates respect and interest in the questioner even when confronted with a difficult situation. I consider him an excellent teacher on many levels. – Irwin H. Noparstak, M.D.
CONTACT ME: 541-729-3188 or at mauricedharris (at) gmail (d0t) com!
The Accidental Rabbi 