Arlington Community Education

Explore the world of Kabbalah, the ancient mystical tradition of Judaism. We will examine the creative ways in which Kabbalists saw the world: their views of an androgynous God, the central role of humanity in expediting redemption, the daring sexual symbolism of the Tree of Life, and the role of meditation and prayer in repairing the world. We will also look at the substantial influence Kabbalah exercised on Renaissance thought, Christian theology, and Western esotericism. The lecture will conclude with a short glance at Kabbalah’s contemporary revival.

Air source heat pumps are widely recommended as a good way to stop heating our homes with fossil fuels—and they are also very good air conditioners. Before picking an installer, there’s plenty to learn including the difference between ducted and ductless (aka mini-split) systems, when you might want to combine the two, how to size a system correctly, and how to operate them for maximum comfort and efficiency. Get all of your questions answered from Arlington homeowners who have switched to air source heat pumps and experienced them through cold winters and hot summers. All proceeds from these events go toward the ACE Scholarship fund to help make our classes accessible to all Arlington youth.

Dante Alighieri, the father of the Italian language, wrote The Divine Comedy, a magnificent poem consisting of 14,233 hendecasyllabic verses in a form of his own invention, terza rima (aba, bcb, cdc…). La Divina Commedia profoundly influenced not only the Italian language and literature, but the entire Western culture, from Botticelli, Blake, and Dalí, to Milton, T. S. Eliot, and Beckett, among others. The last grand work of the Middle Ages, it was also a harbinger of the Renaissance and Humanism. We will examine Dante’s “Inferno,” the first canticle of The Divine Comedy, through the historical and literary point of view and enjoy reading select passages in Italian and English. Recommended for purchase and used in class is Robert M. Torrance’s Dante’s Inferno, A New Translation in Terza Rima, Xlibris, 2011. Photo: Dante shown holding a copy of the Divine Comedy, next to the entrance to Hell, the seven terraces of Mount Purgatory and the city of Florence, with the spheres of Heaven above, in Domenico di Michelino’s 1465 fresco. Source: Wikipedia