School may be out for the summer for some students, but at Aish HaTorah St. Louis, summer classes and seminars covering several aspects of Judaism will get underway this July.

Rabbi Elazar Grunberger, executive director of Aish HaTorah St. Louis, said the organization is a center for Jewish study that offers both informal and formal classes for Jews from all different sects.

Starting in July, Aish will hold four new weekly seminars geared toward learning more about the Jewish culture for practical everyday use.

“A lot of Jews don’t know the basics of their heritage, so these classes address those questions,” Grunberger said. “The classes are for those who want to intensify or learn more about Judaism.”

Grunberger will teach the interactive class “Learn to Read Hebrew in Six Weeks,” a seminar which focuses more on the practical use of a new language and not on the sounds of each letter, he said.

“It’s a user-friendly approach, and we ask that the students practice just 10 minutes a day on their own,” Grunberger said.

Grunberger’s class begins Sunday, July 8 at 10:30 a.m. and will run each Sunday at the same time. The cost for the course is $60.

In addition to a Hebrew quick course, Rabbi Shmuel Greenwald, education director for Aish, will lead a weekly Torah portion discussion called “Be Good — Feel Good” starting Tuesday, July 17 at noon.

Greenwald said he hopes his class inspires people through Torah study. “The classes are meant to be meaningful to people’s lives,” he said. There is no cost for the weekly parsha.

Marc Jacob, a local attorney, will head a six-week seminar called “Time Out,” starting Mondays on July 9 at 7 p.m. The series costs $50. Jacob’s course will cover identifying personal strengths and weaknesses, crafting personal mission statements and improving professional and personal relationships using classical Jewish wisdom.

Avraham Turetsky, a computer specialist, will lead the Tanach Series on the book of Samuel also on Mondays starting July 9 at 8 p.m. Classes are $5 per session.

“[Turetsky] will go through the prophets at a decent pace and explain in an easy to understand way and make it relevant,” Greenwald said.

“With all of the classes, they will teach things that people can use in their everyday lives. They are entry level classes, so anybody can come,” Greenwald said.

All classes will take place at the Aish Firehouse, located at 457 N. Woodsmill Road in Chesterfield.

Interested participants can call the office at 314-862-2474 to register or simply attend the classes.