About This Course
The purpose of this course is to build foundational homiletical practices into your life as a darshan (preacher) and maggid (storyteller). The course also has relevance for students who may not be preaching pulpits, the majority of PRS students, but will use public speaking skills regularly in their life and work. This course will not focus on the theories of analyzing text or theology of preaching. Instead, this will give you the practical skills needed to begin preaching effective sermons and other speeches today.
Class is every Tuesday evening at 8 PM Eastern Time (US & Canada) starting May 24, 2022, in the Zoom classroom available at this link.
Course objectives
At the end of this course, students will be able to:
- To articulate multiple theoretical approaches to homiletics
- To define the traditional Jewish approaches to what is now called “homiletics”
- To name some of the great Jewish preachers
- To identify different hermeneutic techniques used in sermons
- To identify different sermon styles for different contexts
- To understand the basic techniques for delivering a sermon
- To deliver the same sermon in more than one manner
- To articulate their own theology of preaching and how it connects to their rabbinate

Cheers to Rabbi N Siritsky for spurring me to dig a little deeper. I know why a par'sha inspires me; I can even feel different colors of the fire each year I experience the par'sha... and at the same time, I need the right words to externalize my feelings about my gleanings. Rabbi N knows when I need fewer words; and when I need more. Rabbi N gets us, so we can get Torah, and get it out to you.