Here is a sample of subjects taught by Neil M. Frau-Cortes. 
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  • Needle-stitch that started the tissue of creation: Abraham Abulafia’s “Anonymous” commentary to Sefer Yetsirah.
    • Abraham Abulafia was a particularly controversial figure in his time, an itinerant prophet of his own Ecstatic Kabbalah and a self-proclaimed messiah. One of his commentaries to the Sefer Yetsirah, the so-called Anonymous Commentary, is specially remarkable for its innovative and heterodox content and for its relationship with the work of Christian philosophers who were his contemporaries, such as Arnau de Vilanova and Llull, with whom he shares a series of commonalities.
 
  • Subtle as grasshopper's antennae: the Sefer Temunah and Kabbalistic innovation in the Girona School.
    • The Sefer Temunah was as revolutionary and central to the history of Kabbalah as the Zohar and yet, it fell into oblivion, only to reappear in Christian Kabbalah and in anomic, heterodox Jewish movements like Sabbateanism. The book’s doctrines additionally present features that connect with modern concerns such as ecology and the future of humanity
 
  • Silence of the aleph: the Alphabet of Rabbi Akiba, power, action, and personality of the Hebrew letters.
    • Otiyot de-Rabi Akiba is a pseudo-epigraphic, esoteric midrash composed around the 9th century. It is a highly speculative work that has been compared with the Sefer Yetsirah, in spite of their clear differences. The Alphabet of Rabbi Akiba is also a transitional text between the Hekhalot literature and the beginnings of Kabbalah in Provence and Girona. The text explores both the Ma’aseh Bereshit and the Ma’aseh Merkavah. 
 
  • From Provence to Catalonia: Catalan Kabbalah, innovation and adaptation.
    • An overview of the Girona and Barcelona schools of Kabbalah. Origins, elaboration of themes and ideas, influence in later schools. Survey of authors and works. Specificity of Catalan Kabbalah. Millenarism, messianism, and prophetic mission.
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  • ​Imagine that you are made of pure light: Azriel and the author of the Sefer Temunah.
    • This presentation explores the character and thought of Azriel de Girona, one of the most prolific authors of the Circle. Azriel was a central figure in the transition between the Provençal Kabbalah and the Catalan Kabbalah. His groundbreaking work synthesizes traditional mystical concepts with Aristotelian ideas. At the same time, his meditation and concentration techniques have a very contemporary sensibility. We will also talk about another innovative text, the Book of the Image or Sefer Temunah, and  how it develops ideas present in Azriel such as the transit of souls.
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  • An Absent Glance: Identity and Alterity in the Poetry Written by/against Conversos.
    • ​​Poetry has a unique way of voicing our most inner feelings. Conversos have been not only the subject of poetical production, but also the object of popular and literary anti-Semitic poetry. Both instances have contributed to the development of their identity, in its belonging and its alterity. Includes recitation and singing. 
 
  • The Music They Brought: New Mexican Romanzas and Sephardic Romancero
    • Survey of melodies and themes that are common to the Romancero and its derivatives in the Sephardic world and the American Southwest. Video preview here
  • Lights and Shadows in the Songs of Sepharad.
    • The Jewish and crypto-Jewish experience in Sepharad through folk song. Strong women, hidden practices, exile, and survival of lore. ​​






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  • Gazelle of Love: a Taste of Medieval Hebrew Poetry.
    • Introduction to the features of the Golden Age of Hebrew poetry through the works of Yehudah Halevi and Ibn Gabirol. The reinvention of Hebrew poetry, innovation and continuity, and the emergence of secular poetry.
  • Walking into the night: Disputations and Jewish apologetics in Medieval Europe.
    • How did we go from Convivencia (Coexistence) to the Inquisition? What can we learn about those dark times of violence and proselytism?
  • When the Itsy Bitsy Spider Got Religion:
    • Have you ever wondered what are the origins and transmission of the melodies we sing at shul? Is your favorite Adon Olam actually some Gregorian chant transmitted by Lutherans? This is a fun lecture-recital where you'll learn the surprising history of several well-known melodies.
  • Kabbalah: Mysticism, Exile, and Messianic Hope
    • Introduction to the history and mean themes of Kabbalah in the framework of Medieval Iberia. How did Kabbalistic though (re-)shape Jewish and crypto-Jewish identity? Includes a short survey of Kabbalistic chants.
  • Opening the gates: chanting and meditation as a tool of spiritual growth:
    • Chanting is a powerful form of prayer and has a long tradition in Judaism. A form of meditation, chanting is also a useful tool that complements other spiritual practices. Through simple exercises, we will learn how to use our voice to ground ourselves and to get in touch with the world of Spirit.
  • Stubborn presence: Celtiberian, Phoenician and Kabbalistic goddess-myth and its persistence in modern Madonna devotion in the Iberian Peninsula
    • The pre-Roman Iberian pantheons are rich, complex and fascinating. Some of their traces --particularly the goddess myths-- have survived through the centuries in unexpected ways.
  • The Music of Kabbalah:
    • A workshop that deals with the role of music in Kabbalah. It includes easy chanting and Jewish meditation exercises. You don't need to be a composer to write your own "Judeomantra."
  • Mystery of the Travelling Melodies:
    • How does an American ragtime become a French Cabaret tune, then a Spanish children song and later a Sephardic song? Or a Turkish love song become a Muslim nationalist anthem, a pious liturgical poem, and then a rather bawdy Moroccan Jewish song? Sephardic melodies and their transmission (lecture-recital).
  • The Xuetas of Mallorca: contemporary trends
    • An overview of the crypto-Jews of Mallorca from a sociological and historical perspective. Xueta integration in contemporary Jewish institutions and in the mainstream community. Video preview here.
  • Ansi se me arrimo: sex, strong women and stalking creepers in Sephardic folk song.
    • Sephardic folklore is not all about queens, palaces and chivalry. This is a lecture-recital about adultery, flirting, sex, and some very strong women.
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These subjects can be extended and combined at-will for a scholar-in-residence weekend, with or without service participation.