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Adult Study and Learning

Adult Study and Learning

It is taught that “the study of Torah equals in value all the other commandments” (Peah 1:1). Maimonides teaches that one is “required to study Torah, whether poor or rich…young or old…” and that one “must set aside definite times to study by day and by night…”

We at Town & Village we are dedicated to providing a variety of learning opportunities, at all levels of knowledge and at many times of day. We hope that you will find something here that you wish to study with us. If there is something you would like to see us offer in the future, please let us know.

Town & Village Synagogue is dedicated to making adult Jewish learning accessible to all of its members and to the community at large. If you are interested in a class we offer and the cost is a concern, we invite you to contact Louise Sherby or Rabbi Sebert privately to make arrangements that are affordable for you.  We look forward to  seeing you soon.

The coming year promises to be very exciting as we continue some programs and begin some new ones. Please check out our offerings listed below.

In-person events at Town & Village Synagogue require attendees to be up-to-date with their Covid-19 vaccinations. Masks are recommended.

Sincerely,

Louise Sherby
Chair, Adult Education Committee

Town & Village Synagogue
ADULT EDUCATION CLASSES
5783
2022-23

JEWISH JOURNEYS - ADULT B’NEI MITZVAH PROGRAM

Mondays 7:00-8:45 PM In Person with a remote option

Dates: Beginning October 24 for 25 sessions

Rabbi Larry Sebert, Teacher and Guide

Hebrew Instruction with Carol Green

You are invited on a Jewish learning adventure to deepen your understanding of the core ideas of Jewish practice and ethics. This coming fall, a new two-year Jewish Journeys/Adult B’nei Mitzvah cohort begins with Rabbi Larry Sebert. We will focus on the essentials of Jewish thought and practice, build bonds as a community and celebrate our accomplishments.

Becoming a life-long learner is at the center of what it means to be recognized as B’nei Mitzvah – of feeling ourselves to be full members of the community. In May 2024, the class will culminate with a cohort-graduation/collective B’nei Mitzvah celebration on becoming a confidant adult Jewish learner.

Class Overview

We express ourselves as Jews every day. We will learn about those many Jewish connections by studying daily prayers and Shabbat services. We will gain understanding of how Shabbat has kept the Jewish people whole. We will put Jewish action on our plate by understanding the procedures and meaning behind keeping kosher. We will orient ourselves to the Jewish calendar, deepening our understanding of the Holidays we know and learning about the ones that fly under the radar. The ethical teachings of Judaism will provide needed guidance with life’s most challenging moments and society’s deepest challenges. Gaining knowledge of Jewish history will give us confidence to continue our own journeys as Jewish learners and doers.

Join us for a preview of the course (open to all):

September 12: Rosh Hashanah

September 19: Yom Kippur

Fee: Free for T&V Members; $300 suggested donation to the Rabbi’s Discretionary Fund for others.

Registration is required.  Please send an email to adulted@tandv.org for information and to register.  Please indicate if you will attend in-person or on Zoom.

DEMONS, WITCHCRAFT, AND THE UNDEAD IN JEWISH LAW AND LORE

Tuesdays 10/25, 11/1, 11/8, 11/22, 11/29, 1/10, 1/24, and 1/31

7:00 – 8:30pm; In person with a remote option. 

Do demons follow Jewish law? Can we use the Talmud as a spellbook? Are unicorns kosher? In this course, we will delve into a hidden world of invisible creatures and monstrous powers, as envisioned by the rabbis of the Talmud and Midrash. Stories of the occult in classical Jewish sources have fueled folk religion and folklore in ways that both terrified and empowered rabbis and laypeople from Poland to ‘Iraq over the centuries. By interrogating these sources, we can rediscover parts of Jewish culture that have been suppressed as embarrassingly “unmodern” or superstitious. We can locate historic forms of women’s religious practice and rabbinic ideas about gender. And we can (re)animate biblical and rabbinic views of the thin, porous line between life and death. Topics will include: rabbinic demonology, Midrashic Lilith(s), theories of magic, great Jewish beasts, ghosts and dybbuks, and necromancy.

Benjamin Berman-Gladstone is a PhD student in the Departments of Hebrew & Judaic Studies and History at New York University, with specializations in Israel Studies, Modern Middle Eastern Jewish History, and Public History. He received his B.A. in Judaic Studies and Middle East Studies from Brown University and spent a year from 2018-9 studying in Israel on a Fulbright Research Scholarship. His research focuses on modern Yemeni and 'Adeni Jewish history. He is a Wexner Graduate Fellow and is affiliated with the Boee Teiman International Research Group. His journalistic and opinion writing has been published in the New York Times, Haaretz, the Forward, Tablet Magazine, and several other publications.

Fee:  Free to T&V members and current CCJ cohort; $54 for Partnership members and past CCJ cohorts; $118 for others.

Registration required.  Please send an email to adulted@tandv.org to register.  Please indicate if you will be attending in-person or on Zoom.

Fri, January 27 2023 5 Shevat 5783