Torah Study

Every Saturday, 9 – 11 AM

In the last two years our Torah study minyan has grown by leaps and bounds – not only in numbers but also in the diversity and richness of our study.  Come see what the buzz is about by dropping by our informal encounter with the Torah portion of the week.  Visit the Torah Study Page.

Saturdays beginning September 25, 2010 - 10:30 - 11:30 AM  
After Sharing Shabbat Services conclude, we encounter the Torah portion of the week with one of our in-house professional or clergy staff. This is a wonderful opportunity to meet and interact with your clergy, professional staff, and fellow congregants.        

Hebrew is an important gateway to a deeper understanding of and appreciation for Jewish values, texts, and traditions. Through the process of acquiring Hebrew reading and language skills, you will build a deeper connection to Judaism and to Jewish living. Participants will acquire fluent Hebrew decoding skills, a vocabulary of important Hebrew root words and important Jewish holiday and value terms as well as a basic understanding of the structure of the Hebrew language. You will be introduced to the rubrics of the liturgy for synagogue and home celebration, enabling you to be comfortable participants in Shabbat and holiday services, as well as leaders of Shabbat and holiday rituals at home. These skills will enable students at advanced levels to pursue to the study of Jewish texts (Torah, Bible, Pirkei Avot, etc.) in Hebrew.
The full Hebrew curriculum is based on four levels of difficulty, designated “ALEF” through “DALET,” offered over a cycle of three years.  For more information contact the Religious School Office, 723-5224.

The Books of Jonah and Judges

Our year-long study will begin with the Book of Jonah, which we hear each year on Yom Kippur afternoon though we don’t often delve into its profound message. Jonah is told by God to go to Nineveh to tell the Ninevites that God is about to destroy the great city because of their wickedness. God sends Jonah to talk to a murderous enemy of Israel. How’s that for relevance? Nineveh was part of the ancient empire of Assyria. The Assyrians were known for their cruelty and wickedness, and in the year 721 BCE, they brutally destroyed the Northern Kingdom of Israel.  After what these people have done, Jonah can't bring himself to warn them and in so doing give them a chance to mend their ways. Jonah runs away from his assignment, rather than see God’s mercy extend to such wicked and despicable people. Must we forgive our enemies?  

Later in the year, our study will focus on the Book of Judges. Judges addresses the
military and political challenges of our ancestors’ life in the Land of Israel. After the deaths of Moses and Joshua, the two most charismatic and effective leaders the Jewish people have ever known, our ancestors were at a loss as to who could lead the ancient Israelites. It wasn’t so simple then or now to lead the Jewish people according to Judaic values. Bloody wars, political infighting and internal strife fill the chapters of Judges and provide a prism through which we can see many of our own contemporary issues.

You don’t need any background to join the class just an interest in learning about the Bible and a desire to deepen your personal religious connection to it. All are most welcome!

Led by Rabbi Richard Jacobs, Sponsored by the WRJ.

Classes are held on the following Tuesday mornings, 9:30-11:00AM.
October 12, 26, November 2, 30, December 14, January 4, 18, February 1, 15,
March 1, 15, April 12, 26, May 10, 24
 

Rosh Chodesh: Monthly Study, Prayer, Togetherness
 “Women in the Talmud”

How did women live their lives during Talmudic times? What elements of their lived experience are chronicled in the Talmud? Author and highly respected scholar, Rabbi Judith Abrams, offers a brilliant yet accessible "peek" into the lives of women in her work The Women of the Talmud. From norms to exceptions, to rules and rule-breakers, Abrams captures a snap-shot of female life during rabbinic times. With her text as a spring board, we will take a "hands-on" approach to our inquiry: Peer into an ancient prenuptial agreement, examine an actual get (traditional Jewish divorce document), or discover how a rabbi's maid became an unexpected expert. Read about women who kept kosher or those who emphatically did not. In addition to this text, we'll look at challah recipes from Yemenite or Moroccan women and understand how they fulfill the traditional women's mitzvah of "taking challah" as outlined in the Talmud. How was sexual harassment addressed, and what role did women play in mourning rituals?  Together we hope to have a meaningful investigation into the world of women and the Talmud and continue to cultivate our sense of community and the celebration of the New Month.

Text: The Women of the Talmud by Judith Z. Abrams. Northvale, New Jersey & London: Jason Aronson Inc., 1995.

       Purchasing The Book: Each person is asked to purchase the book on her own, either on-line or through a bookstore. This way, we won't end up over-ordering, or having to manage the sale of books in the office, which is under a lot of construction and pre-holiday stress. Because this book is published by a specialty press, it may be easier to order online; moreover, numerous used copies are also available online at a lower cost.

Rosh Chodesh will meet Tuesdays at 9:45 am on the following dates: October 5, November 9, December 7, January 11, February 8, March 8, April 5, May 3,
June Final Luncheon: TBD 

Women in the Bible  (Study Group)

This year we are excited to employ the new work published by WRJ, The Torah - A Women's Commentary to  study sections  of the Book of Numbers and discover how women's scholarship impacts the way we read and understand Torah. According to Dr. Tamara Cohn Ezkenazi, the Editor of  the Commentary, “while women do not appear prominently in the Book of Numbers, the text includes both laws and narratives in which women play a significant role.” Join us as Sorel Loeb helps us to grapple with a biblical book we  don't often get an opportunity to study using the first comprehensive commentary on the Torah written entirely by women.