Explore our 2009-2010 Program Guide (4 MB Download)

Downloadable Audio Classes

ADULT EDUCATION RECAP

With the holidays now behind us, we are offering a robust Adult Education Program, geared for congregants and all others at all levels of Jewish Studies backgrounds.

WEEKLY OFFERINGS
Shabbat afternoons feature Rabbi Hayyim Angel’s
weekly Bible class, currently focused on the Book of Numbers- Bemidbar. This interactive class, taught in English, is appropriate for everyone from the very learned to the novice. The Bible class is free and open to the public. The class meets year-round, 1¼ hours before the Shabbat Minhah service.

On Sunday mornings, Rabbi Marc Angel and Sjimon
den Hollander continue their weekly classes in Maimonides (from 8:40-9:40) and Rabbi Yehudah Halevi’s Kuzari (from 9:45-10:45), respectively. Bagels and coffee are served.

Rabbi Shalom Morris gives a weekly class on the Torah
Portion of the Week on Monday mornings from 10:30-
11:30am. Participants will study and discuss the ideas and episodes of the weekly Torah portion. Texts will be available in translation and all are welcome.

On Monday nights from 7:00-9:00pm, the Bet Midrash
began on October 26. The evening includes light refreshments, and is a chance for every congregant to study Torah, no matter their previous background in Jewish learning. In small groups you can learn topics through the range of Jewish philosophy, law, Bible, history and more. For more information, to sponsor an evening of Torah study at the Bet Midrash, or to donate books to the Bet Midrash, please speak to our Educational Director,
Rabbi Shalom Morris (rabbi.smorris@shearithisrael.org).

MINI-SERIES’, MONTHLY CLASSES
We offer Beginner’s Judaism and Hebrew Classes for
adults on Sunday mornings, which began in October. These coincide with the Hebrew school instruction for children on Sunday mornings. The Hebrew class is for those who know the letters and vowels and are focusing on increased fluency and beginnings of comprehension of prayer book Hebrew. A light breakfast is provided at these Sunday morning classes, dates and times can be found in our program guide, and on our website.
The Hebrew class costs $25 for the course, and the Judaism class is free of charge.
We are looking to form another crash course in Hebrew
reading for adults who would like to learn Hebrew from scratch, please contact Rabbi Shalom Morris if you are interested.
On November 3, Rabbi Shalom Morris will begin a
twenty-part course on Jewish history and the History of
Judaism on Tuesday nights, three weeks out of four each month, from 7:00-8:00pm. Judaism and Jewish History will come to life as the class encounters and engages the major events of the Jewish past. Topics will include the Bar Kokhba Revolt of 135 CE, the Shabbetai Tzvi Controversy and the advent of Jewish life in North America in 1654.
Ms. Lynn Kaye’s monthly exploration of Jewish Law
and Legal Philosophy takes place on Tuesday evenings (November 17 and December 15 in this period). Topics will include developmental disabilities and capacity in Jewish law, incarceration as punishment or rehabilitation, and avelut (laws of mourning). Sources are accessible to all in translation.
Rabbi Ira Rohde is in the middle of a class on our Liturgy,
which meets Wednesday evenings from 7:00-8:30. We hope this will be the first of several offerings in our prayer services so that congregants can become more familiar and comfortable participating in our services with greater knowledge.
On eight consecutive Wednesday evenings from November 11-December 23, we will have a class called ‘Reflective Jewish Living,’ exploring Jewish notions of the “good life,” and different Jewish ways of finding meaning and approaching God. The course will be taught by Rabbi Ari Weiss, lead professional at Uri Le’Tzedek.

SCHOLAR-IN-RESIDENCE
DECEMBER 18-19:
MICHAEL FREUND
Friday Night Dinner: We Need More Jews
Shabbat Morning Seminar: Finding Lost Jews
Michael Freund is Founder and Chairman of Shavei Israel which reaches out and assists “lost Jews” seeking to return to the Jewish people. He writes a syndicated column and feature stories for the Jerusalem Post. During Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s first term, Michael served as his Deputy Director of Communications
& Policy. He has an MBA in finance from Columbia
University and a BA from the Woodrow Wilson School of International Affairs at Princeton University. Originally from New York, Michael has lived in Israel for the past decade.