Jerusalem Public Talks, Seminars And Poetry. Public talks and lectures are a significant feature of Jerusalem life, many of them given in English. In general they're about issues only of relevance to practising Jews - many are aimed at Jewish visitors, with the intention of persuading them to "make aliyah" (immigrate), or to become more religious - but if you do practise, or want to know more about the faith, they can be very interesting. Of talks that may interest a larger audience, many are still about religion but from a wider perspective ("Science and the Bible", "Christianity and Zionism"), while others deal with subjects such as history, politics, science, trade and business. The best listing of talks can be found in the free newssheet Your Jerusalem.
If you are interested in delving more deeply into the teachings of the Jewish religion, a number of yeshivot and similar organizations run seminars and classes, sometimes open to non-Jews too. Often, the seminars are free, and some of them even tempt the lapsed back into the fold with free meals. Organizations running seminars and classes, mostly in the Old City's Jewish Quarter, include Isralight, 25 Misgav Ladakh (tel 627 4890), and Aish HaTorah, 70 Misgav Ladakh (tel 628 5666). Young Jewish tourists are invited to have free Shabbat dinner with orthodox families on Friday nights: meet outside the Jewish Student Information Centre, 5 Bet El, on Hurva Square, an hour before sunset if you are interested.
Finally, on the entertainment side of culture, Tmol Shilshom hold regular English book readings and poetry slams, the latter a fast, furious and free-for-all reading session.