ADULT STUDY AND LEARNING PROGRAM ARCHIVEHere is a sample of past classes held at Town and Village: 75 Years of American Jewish History with Rabbi Larry Sebert (Teacher and Guide) Monday Evenings 7:00-8:30 PM. (In Person with a remote option)
During the lifetime of T&V, the American Jewish community has undergone a sea change in every aspect of its existence. Following World War II, Jews flocked to the suburbs and the State of Israel was established. Civil Rights and Feminism lifted up whole swaths of American citizens to new levels of participation and influence. American Jews, joined by political allies, succeeded in bringing about freedom for Soviet Jews and a Jew was nominated to become Vice President of the United States. Join Rabbi Sebert for a look at these and many other aspects of the last 75 (or so) years of American Jewish life. We will explore these issues through the lens of contemporary writings to better understand our past, helping us to more successfully move into the future. RECOMMENDED (We will use these materials for our discussions) Tkhines: The Rich World of Yiddish Women's Prayers Wednesdays, 7-8:30 pm. In-person and or Zoom
Join us for an exploration of one of the most creative and popular Jewish liturgical genres. Tkhines, women's prayers, originally written in Yiddish, weave together heightened, poetic, and liturgical language with a familiar, vernacular, and deeply personal way of speaking with the Divine. We will get to read tkhines for holidays, quotidian tasks, and historical events (e.g. special prayers for war or for the souls lost on the Titanic) in order to understand how these prayers offered religious connection, education, and structure for women of Eastern Europe. As we consider the prayers' biblical and midrashic allusions and emotional scope of the prayer, we will reflect on our own practices and perceptions of prayer in light of this genre. Texts will be studied in English alongside the original Yiddish. Radical Torah Salon: A Space for the Study of Radical, Queer, Feminist, and Challenging Torah “The whole Torah depends on justice” –Rabbi Moshe ben Naḥman (the Ramban) The Torah need not – and should not – support the status quo. Indeed, it may be understood as a deeply radical text, demanding a strong welfare society, the negation of personal property, and a constant striving for a better future. At the Town & Village Radical Torah Salon, we study texts – both ancient and modern – that can inspire radical transformation in ourselves and our world. At each “salon,” we take up an essay, chapter, commentary, or source sheet that offers a new perspective on the Torah. On different weeks (or the same week!), we might study sources on wealth redistribution in the Talmud, read some feminist midrash, queer the weekly Torah portion, or delve into the responsa literature on labor organizing. Whether you’ve spent years in yeshivah or never went to Hebrew School, you are invited to contribute your unique voice to the conversation. Thursdays 7:30 - 9:00 PM
Advocates for criminal justice reform and for the defunding of the police have proposed models of “restorative justice,” which seek community reconciliation and the reparation of harm. A few days after Indigenous People’s Day (October 9), we will examine the Indigenous roots of restorative justice as a popular idea in the United States, and then we will turn to an arguably similar model systematized in Babylonian Talmud Tractate Mo‘ed Qatan and outlined in Maimonides’s Mishneh Torah. We will ask whether or not the concepts of “ostracism” and “excommunication” – as community-based responses to harm that depend on reconciliation, forgiveness, and popular enforcement rather than on state authority or violence – have anything to offer the American criminal justice debate today.
We will read and discuss the essays of Dr. Liz Shayne, Rebbetzin Leah Ahavah, and Rabbi Elli Fischer, who offer models of honoring neurodivergent interpretations of Jewish texts. Studying Torah through lenses informed by autism, ADHD, and neurodiversity ideology contribute new (or very old) and sometimes radical modes of understanding Jewish tradition.
During Ḥanukkah, we celebrate a rural uprising against the imperial monarchy. In North Africa and elsewhere, Ḥanukkah has also been a traditional time to celebrate the heroism of Judith and other Jewish women. We will take Ḥanukkah as an opportunity to examine Ranajit Guha’s and James Scott’s work on modern South Asian peasant religion and resistance, alongside Silvia Federici’s Marxist feminist analysis of medieval European peasant revolts and early modern witchcraft. We will use these histories as lenses through which to understand biblical and rabbinic texts on religious rites in the outlying regions of Ancient Israel. With an eye to the pluralistic and feminist potentialities of “popular religion,” we will then turn to historically significant Jewish practices as possible models for localized ritual revivals: public fasts to protest climate change, defunct holidays recorded in Megillat Ta‘anit, and ‘Eid al-Banāt (celebrated during Ḥanukkah) as a celebration of women and girls.
The root of the word “tzedaqah” – often used interchangeably with “charity” – is “ק-ד-צ”: “justice.” In a time of global inequality, when our every financial decision has implications for workers around the world and for the very earth on which we stand, what are our responsibilities? Are the halakhot of the Chofetz Chaim and other traditional Jewish authorities still useful? Does Taqqanat Usha, arguably capping tzedaqah at 20% of a person’s wealth, apply under present conditions? Does the (quite Jewish) effective altruist movement offer us solutions? What are our responsibilities as individuals and as a community to grapple with and address global-scale humanitarian crises? We will study selections from the Chofetz Chaim’s Ahavat Ḥesed, Peter Singer’s The Life You Can Save, and Rabbi Mary L. Zamore’s book The Sacred Exchange: Creating a Jewish Money Ethic (specifically essays by Dr. Alyssa Gray, Rabbi Neal Gold, and Rabbi Seth Limmer) as a starting point for grappling with these issues. Radical Torah Salon: A Space for the Study of Radical, Queer, Feminist, and Challenging Torah “The whole Torah depends on justice” –Rabbi Moshe ben Naḥman (the Ramban) The Torah need not – and should not – support the status quo. Indeed, it may be understood as a deeply radical text, demanding a strong welfare society, the negation of personal property, and a constant striving for a better future. At the Town & Village Radical Torah Salon, we study texts – both ancient and modern – that can inspire radical transformation in ourselves and our world. At each “salon,” we take up an essay, chapter, commentary, or source sheet that offers a new perspective on the Torah. On different weeks (or the same week!), we might study sources on wealth redistribution in the Talmud, read some feminist midrash, queer the weekly Torah portion, or delve into the responsa literature on labor organizing. Whether you’ve spent years in yeshivah or never went to Hebrew School, you are invited to contribute your unique voice to the conversation. Thursdays 7:30 - 9:00 PM
Advocates for criminal justice reform and for the defunding of the police have proposed models of “restorative justice,” which seek community reconciliation and the reparation of harm. A few days after Indigenous People’s Day (October 9), we will examine the Indigenous roots of restorative justice as a popular idea in the United States, and then we will turn to an arguably similar model systematized in Babylonian Talmud Tractate Mo‘ed Qatan and outlined in Maimonides’s Mishneh Torah. We will ask whether or not the concepts of “ostracism” and “excommunication” – as community-based responses to harm that depend on reconciliation, forgiveness, and popular enforcement rather than on state authority or violence – have anything to offer the American criminal justice debate today.
We will read and discuss the essays of Dr. Liz Shayne, Rebbetzin Leah Ahavah, and Rabbi Elli Fischer, who offer models of honoring neurodivergent interpretations of Jewish texts. Studying Torah through lenses informed by autism, ADHD, and neurodiversity ideology contribute new (or very old) and sometimes radical modes of understanding Jewish tradition.
During Ḥanukkah, we celebrate a rural uprising against the imperial monarchy. In North Africa and elsewhere, Ḥanukkah has also been a traditional time to celebrate the heroism of Judith and other Jewish women. We will take Ḥanukkah as an opportunity to examine Ranajit Guha’s and James Scott’s work on modern South Asian peasant religion and resistance, alongside Silvia Federici’s Marxist feminist analysis of medieval European peasant revolts and early modern witchcraft. We will use these histories as lenses through which to understand biblical and rabbinic texts on religious rites in the outlying regions of Ancient Israel. With an eye to the pluralistic and feminist potentialities of “popular religion,” we will then turn to historically significant Jewish practices as possible models for localized ritual revivals: public fasts to protest climate change, defunct holidays recorded in Megillat Ta‘anit, and ‘Eid al-Banāt (celebrated during Ḥanukkah) as a celebration of women and girls.
The root of the word “tzedaqah” – often used interchangeably with “charity” – is “ק-ד-צ”: “justice.” In a time of global inequality, when our every financial decision has implications for workers around the world and for the very earth on which we stand, what are our responsibilities? Are the halakhot of the Chofetz Chaim and other traditional Jewish authorities still useful? Does Taqqanat Usha, arguably capping tzedaqah at 20% of a person’s wealth, apply under present conditions? Does the (quite Jewish) effective altruist movement offer us solutions? What are our responsibilities as individuals and as a community to grapple with and address global-scale humanitarian crises? We will study selections from the Chofetz Chaim’s Ahavat Ḥesed, Peter Singer’s The Life You Can Save, and Rabbi Mary L. Zamore’s book The Sacred Exchange: Creating a Jewish Money Ethic (specifically essays by Dr. Alyssa Gray, Rabbi Neal Gold, and Rabbi Seth Limmer) as a starting point for grappling with these issues.
amore’s book The Sacred Exchange: Creating a Jewish Money Ethic (specifically essays by Dr. Alyssa Gray, Rabbi Neal Gold, and Rabbi Seth Limmer) as a starting point for grappling with these issues. Admission is Free. To enroll, email adulted@tandv.org
TALMUDIC STORIES* TAUGHT BY DR. JEFFREY L. RUBENSTEIN7 Wednesday evenings, 7-8:30PMOctober 23 and 30, November 6, 13 and 20 and December 4 and 11 Fee, $275, free for T & V members In this course we will explore “sages-stories,” the stories of the lives and deeds of the sages that are found throughout the Talmud and rabbinic literature. The scholarly understanding of these stories has shifted from a historical-biographical approach that sought to write history and biography (e.g. “The Life of Rabbi Akiva”) on the basis of rabbinic stories to a literary approach that sees stories as didactic fictions. We will analyze the stories with tools of literary criticism, attempting to appreciate their narrative art and the meanings the storytellers tried to convey, as well as to understand their relationship to Talmudic law and functions within the Talmudic context. Jeffrey L. Rubenstein is the Skirball Professor of Talmud and Rabbinic Literature in the Department of Hebrew and Judaic Studies of New York University. He received his B.A. in Religion from Oberlin College, his M.A. in Talmud from the Jewish Theological Seminary, where he also received rabbinic ordination, and his Ph.D. from the Department of Religion of Columbia University. His scholarship focuses on Talmudic stories, Jewish ethics and the history of rabbinic law. His books include, The History of Sukkot in the Second Temple and Rabbinic Periods (1995); Talmudic Stories: Narrative Art, Composition and Culture (1999), The Culture of the Babylonian Talmud (2003), Stories of the Babylonian Talmud (2010), and The Land of Truth: Talmud Tales, Timeless Teachings (2018). Syllabus available upon request. *Counts as one (1) class towards our Adult Bar or Bat Mitzvah requirements To enroll, email adulted@tandv.org _____________________________________________________________________________________________ AFTER THE WALLS CAME A-TUMBLING DOWN*TAUGHT BY DR. SHARON KELLER Tuesday evenings, 7:00-8:30PM February 19, 26, March 5, 12, 26, April 2, 30 and May 7 and 14 Fee: Free for T & V members, $250 for non-members Joshua led the routing of Jericho, and the “walls came a-tumbling down” but that is not the end of the story — in fact that is just the beginning and accounts for less than one-quarter of the Book of Joshua. The promises of the Torah have yet to be fulfilled and the people need to finish conquering and dividing up the land. In our close reading of the text we will not shy away from events and issues that may have once seemed glorious but now cause us discomfort. Please join us for our 6 week session that will take us from the rubble of the walls of Jericho to the reaffirmed covenant and the brink of the “second” conquest in the Book of Judges. We will do a close reading of the biblical text with an eye toward the narrative structure, the historical retrojection, and the material culture that illuminates the narrative. Sharon Keller, a popular teacher at T & V and in the Tri-State area, earned her doctorate at NYU in the Department of Hebrew and Judaic Studies in the area of Bible and the Ancient Near East. Prior to that, she earned Masters degrees in Hebrew Education (NYU), Jewish Communal Service (JTS), and Social Work (Columbia). Dr. Keller is currently on the faculty at Hofstra University, and has held faculty positions at HUC, JTS, NYU among others, and has written numerous articles and edited several academic books, most of which relate to the interplay between biblical Israel and ancient Egypt. Her most popular book, Jews: A Treasury of Art and Literature, was awarded the National Jewish Book Award. *Counts as one (1) class towards our Adult Bar or Bat Mitzvah requirements THREE FAVORITE WORKS OF HISTORICAL FICTION: ISSUES RAISEDTAUGHT BY RICHARD CLAMAN 3 Shabbat afternoons after Kiddush In this series of talks, we will consider: (i) the debate over emending Talmudic texts raised by Chaim Potak in The Promise (and anticipated in The Chosen) (ii) the portrayal of faith versus philosophy in As A Driven Leaf by Milton Steinberg and (iii) the relative development of Judaism in Israel and the US as depicted in James Michener’s pre-Yom Kippur war The Source. Each session will stand on its own. Please feel free to read or re-read these books in advance although doing so is not required. Richard Claman is the founding editor of Zeramim, a free on-line journal of applied Jewish thought, and has published articles here and elsewhere derived from the prior 22 years of his annual lecture series at T & V. He and his wife (Beth Clark) and their two children have been members of T & V for almost 30 years. A HISTORY OF THE JEWS OF PRAGUE*TAUGHT BY DR. JOSHUA TEPLITSKY 7 TUESDAY EVENINGS, 7:00-8:30PM OCTOBER 30- DECEMBER 11 Free for T&V members, $250 for non-members In this course we explore the long and variegated history of the Jews of the city of Prague, home for centuries to the largest urban population of Jews anywhere in Christian Europe. Situated at the crossroads of West and East, North and South, the Jews of “the lands between” the major centers of Jewish populations in Germany, Poland, Italy, and Amsterdam maintained ties with the wider Jewish world but also pursued Jewish life in an idiom all their own. Jews in Prague, a city in the heart of Europe, experienced many of the crosswinds of European history: the Crusades, the invention of printing, the Reformation and the Thirty Years War, royal Absolutism and Enlightened reform, the struggle for rights, the clashes of nationalism, experimentation in arts and literature, the horrors of twentieth century Nazism and Communism, and, most recently, entry into the European Union. This course will be directed towards exploring the variety of Jewish experience in this majestic city through a series of seven lectures, accompanied by primary source readings from each period in question, as well as longer optional supplemental readings for those who wish to explore further. Joshua Teplitsky is Assistant Professor in the Department of History and the Program in Judaic Studies at Stony Brook University. He earned his PhD from New York University and held a postdoc at Oxford University from 2012-2014. His research centers on the history of the Jews of central Europe during the early modern period, and his larger scholarly interests include Christian-Jewish relations, the history of political cultures, and the history of the book. He is the author of Prince of the Press: How One Collector Built History’s Most Enduring and Remarkable Jewish Library (Yale University Press, 2019). *Counts as one (1) class towards our Adult Bar or Bat Mitzvah requirements To enroll, email adulted@tandv.org JEWS IN POPULAR CULTURETAUGHT BY DR. DAVID KAUFMAN 5 TUESDAY EVENINGS 7:00-8:30PM FEBRUARY 13-MARCH 13 Free for T & V members; $200 for non-members A five-part course on the Jewish role in the creation of American popular culture, addressing two key questions: What accounts for the extraordinary influx of Jews into the popular arts & culture of 20th century America? And two, what did these Jewish creatives inject of their Jewishness into their art? Cultural arenas to be considered include: the Hollywood film industry, pop Music/musical theater, Comedy, Comics/Cartooning, and Television. David E. Kaufman is a scholar of American Jewish History, with over twenty years of teaching experience, having taught at Hebrew Union College/LA and Hofstra University. His publications include two books, Shul with a Pool and Jewhooing the Sixties. He is now devoting himself to public history education, and is the founding director of “NEW YORK JEW: Center for New York Jewish History, Culture, and Community,” an online resource center and facilitator of Jewish educational tourism in NYC. DISCOVERING JEWISH MUSICTAUGHT BY CANTOR SHAYNA POSTMAN 4 TUESDAY EVENINGS, 7:00-8:00 PM APRIL 17 AND 24, MAY 1 AND 8 Free for T & V members; non-members $100 Delve into the details of “Discovering Jewish Music”, based on the book by Dr. Marsha Bryan Edelman. Sessions will focus on references to song and music in the bible and ancient Temple, Music of the Diaspora, the Art of Jewish Music and Synagogue music in America.
AMERICAN JEWISH COMPOSERSTAUGHT BY DR. JONATHAN YAEGER 7 TUESDAY EVENINGS, 7:00-8:30PM MAY 15 – JUNE 26 Free for T & V members, $250 for non-members Week 1: Gustav Mahler (1860–1911). How did Mahler’s time in the US affect him and his music? There will be optional reading, listening, and viewing assignments each week. Jonathan Yaeger is a Professor of Music History at The Julliard School. His research focuses on the music, politics, and culture of postwar Germany, especially the German Democratic Republic (East Germany). Yaeger is working on a book about the conductor Kurt Masur and his tenure leading the famous Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra. Yaeger’s publications on the topic include articles in the edited volumes Classical Music in the GDR and Music and Diplomacy. Yaeger has presented papers at the American Musicological Society, the Medieval Academy of America, and the Leipzig Stasi Archive (BtSU), among others. His other areas of interest include music of the Middle Ages, the medieval revival of the 19th century, and American popular music. He serves as music director and organist at St. Michael’s Lutheran Church in New Canaan, Conn. He received his PhD in musicology from Indiana University and his master’s in choral conducting from the University of Cincinnati (CCM). He received his BA in history from Yale. ________________________________________________________________WRITING YOUR LIFE: A WORKSHOPLeaders: Elinor Nauen & Bob Rosenthal 10 Tuesday afternoons,. 1:30-3 PM December 12 and 19, January 9, 16, 23 and 30, February 6 and 13, March 6 and 20 Free for T & V members; $100 for non-members Everyone’s life is interesting and capable of teaching important lessons. Writing Your Life is a workshop designed to enhance the skills at expressing ourselves in prose. Writing has always been a means to better understand our lives. Our workshop will utilize writing exercises, literary models, and detailed analysis to sharpen our use of details and emotional shadings. No previous writing experience is required. We will be creating new writings that celebrate who we are ________________________________________________________________SIN, DIASPORA AND REBELLION: RECENT SCHOLARSHIP ON HOLIDAY THEMESTAUGHT BY RICHARD CLAMAN 3 Shabbat afternoons after Kiddush February 10 and 24, March 10 In this class, we will consider: (i) how might recent archeological discoveries affect our understanding of the ‘moral’ of Hanukkah? (ii) how might new scholarship concerning the origins of Megillat Esther affect our approach to the relationship between the Diaspora and the Land? and (iii) how might recent studies concerning the different models of sin/atonement in different Biblical texts allow for a re-conception of Yom Kippur? Each session will stand on its own, and no advance reading is required. However, as in the past, supplemental materials will be available on-line in advance, for those interested. The texts to be discussed in each talk will be available in English translation at each session. Richard Claman,is the founding editor of Zeramim, a free on-line journal of applied Jewish thought, and has published articles there and elsewhere derived from the prior 21 years of his annual lecture series at T&V. He and JOSHUA FOUGHT THE BATTLE OF JERICHO AND THE WALLS CAME A-TUMBLING DOWN: THEN WHAT?TAUGHT BY DR. SHARON KELLER Tuesday evenings, 7:00-8:30PM October 24, 31, November 7, 14, 21, 28, December 5 and 12 Fee: $250 for T & V members, $300 for non-members We all know the basics of the story of Joshua and the conquering of The Land, but there is more to it than the collapse of the walls of Jericho. We will pick up the story in Deuteronomy and follow it through to the first few heroic tales in Judges. We will do a close reading of the biblical text with an eye toward the narrative structure, the historical retrojection, and the material culture that illuminates the narrative. Sharon Keller, a popular teacher at T & V and in the Tri-State area, earned her doctorate at NYU in the Department of Hebrew and Judaic Studies in the area of Bible and the Ancient Near East. Prior to that, she earned Masters degrees in Hebrew Education (NYU), Jewish Communal Service (JTS), and Social Work (Columbia). Dr. Keller is currently on the faculty at Hofstra University, and has held faculty positions at HUC, JTS, NYU among others, and has written numerous articles and edited several academic books, most of which relate to the interplay between biblical Israel and ancient Egypt. Her most popular book, Jews: A Treasury of Art and Literature, was awarded the National Jewish Book Award. HEBREW READING FLUENCYTAUGHT BY CAROL GREEN Monday evenings, 6:30-7:15PM 2017 – 2018 dates: October 16, 23 and 30 Nov 6,13, 20 and 27 Dec 4, 11 and 18 Free for T&V members, $50 for non-members TO ENROLL EMAIL ADULTED@TANDV HIGH HOLIDAY HEBREW READING REFRESHERTAUGHT BY CAROL GREEN Monday September 18, 7:00 PM Free for T & V members, $18 for non-members TORAH TROPE REFRESHER WITH ADVANCED TOPICSTAUGHT BY HUGH POLLACK Monday September 11, 7:45PM Free for T & V members, $25 for non-members LEARN TO READ HEBREWTAUGHT BY CAROL GREEN 8 Sunday mornings, 10:15-11:45AM October 15,22,29, November 12, 19, December 3, 10, and 17 Free for T & V members $50 for non-members ARCHAEOLOGICAL HISTORY OF PRE-BIBLICAL AND BIBLICAL MESOPOTAMIA TAUGHT BY DR. SHARON KELLER 4 Tuesday evenings, June 6,13,20 and 27 and a museum trip TBD Free for T & V members who have paid for a class since 7/1/16 Other T & V members, $50 or $75 for a couple Non-members, $100 Sharon Keller, a popular teacher at T & V and in the Tri-State area, earned her doctorate at NYU in the Department of Hebrew and Judaic Studies in the area of Bible and the Ancient Near East. Prior to that, she earned Masters degrees in Hebrew Education (NYU), Jewish Communal Service (JTS), and Social Work (Columbia). Dr. Keller is currently on the faculty at Hofstra University, and has held faculty positions at HUC, JTS, NYU among others, and has written numerous articles and edited several academic books, most of which relate to the interplay between biblical Israel and ancient Egypt. Her most popular book, Jews: A Treasury of Art and Literature, was awarded the National Jewish Book Award. ______________________________________________________________ BIBLICAL CHARACTERS OUTSIDE THE BIBLETAUGHT BY DR. ALEX JASSEN 8 Tuesday evenings, 7:00-8:30 PM November 1, 8, 15, 22, 29, December 6, 13 and 20 Fee: $250 for T & V members, $300 for non-members This course explores the portrait of biblical characters found in the literature of Second Temple Judaism: the Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha, the Dead Sea Scrolls, and the writings of Philo and Josephus. These later texts craft expanded portraits of biblical characters for a variety of reasons. Sometimes, they create backstories or parallel stories in order to respond to glaring challenges or inconsistencies in the Bible. Other times, these texts provide a richer portrait of an otherwise underdeveloped biblical character. At times, the later texts seek to make the biblical characters and their stories more entertaining and relevant for their readers. Biblical characters who will be discussed include: Adam and Eve, Enoch, Noah, Joseph and Aseneth, Miriam, Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezra. Alex P. Jassen is Associate Professor of Hebrew and Judaic Studies in the Skirball Department of Hebrew and Judaic Studies at New York University. Professor Jassen is a popular and in-demand public lecturer. He has taught widely throughout the United States at synagogues, churches, museums, and community centers. He is the author of Mediating the Divine: Prophecy and Revelation in the Dead Sea Scrolls and Second Temple Judaism (Brill, 2007) and Scripture and Law in the Dead Sea Scrolls (Cambridge University Press, 2014). His scholarship has won numerous awards including the John Templeton Award for Theological Promise and the National Endowment for the Humanities fellowship. Professor Jassen served as academic advisor for The Dead Sea Scrolls: Words that Changed the World exhibit at the Science Museum of Minnesota. TO ENROLL EMAIL ADULTED@TANDV.ORG ________________________________________________________BOOK DISCUSSION GROUPLED BY DR. STEFANIE HALPERN 10 Thursdays, 10:30AM – Noon Fee: $200 for T&V members, $250 for non-members
Stefanie Halpern received her PhD from the department of Jewish Literature at the Jewish Theological Seminary in 2017. Her dissertation, Crossing Over from the Yiddish Rialto to the American Stage, explores the ways the Yiddish theater intersected with and ultimately became part and parcel of the mainstream American theatrical institution. Stefanie was the curatorial associate for the current “New York’s Yiddish Theater: from the Bowery to Broadway” exhibit at the Museum of the City of New York and is currently an archivist at YIVO. IF YOU HAVE A QUESTION OR TO ENROLL EMAIL ADULTED@TANDV.ORG ______________________________________________________________________ JUDAISM TODAY: HOW WE GOT HERE AND WHERE WE ARE GOINGTAUGHT BY RABBI LARRY SEBERT 14 Monday evenings 7:00-8:30PM November 7, 14, 21, 28, December 5, 12, January 23, 30, February 6, 13, March 13, 20, May 8 & 15 Free for T & V members, $400 for non-members The dawn of modernity in the 19th Century completely changed the face of Judaism. Join Rabbi Sebert to explore the development of the Conservative movement as one of several responses to the new-found freedoms of Jews in Europe and the United States. In the first segment we will look back at the history and philosophy of our Movement, as well as its approach to Jewish Law, to understand the influences, external and internal, which shaped it. In the latter part of the year we will examine together several specific examples of how Conservative Judaism grapples with and adapts to the new challenges and issues presented by our fast changing world. TO ENROLL EMAIL ADULTED@TANDV.ORG ________________________________________________________________ THREE CONCEPTS: KEDUSHAH, TIKKUN OLAM AND CREATIVE RE-USE OF TRADITIONTAUGHT BY RICHARD CLAMAN 3 Shabbat afternoons after Kiddush January 28, February 11 and 25 Continuing our inquiry into theological issues, we will look at some questions concerning the development of, and potential current understandings of, the concepts of Kedushah (holiness), Tikkun Olam (improving the world), and Torah She’be’al Peh (the Oral Torah, as contrasted to the Scriptures), such as: how might ‘holy’ relate to ‘ethical’? why should anyone else listen if we proclaim that some particular action is necessary, from a Jewish perspective, to improve the world? and, to what extent are we free today to make ‘creative re-use’ of such concepts, by transforming ‘traditional’ meanings? As in prior years, ‘background’ readings will be circulated, for those who wish to start thinking about these issues in advance of the sessions; but all materials necessary for the sessions will be provided at the sessions, in English. Richard Claman, his wife (Beth Clark) and their two children have been members of T&V for 25 years. Richard has taught a new series Adult Ed lectures at T&V for each of the past 20 years; and portions of these talks have been published over the years as several articles in Conservative Judaism. He is an editor of Zeramim: An Online Journal of Applied Jewish Thought. ________________________________________________________________ I-TAL-YAH: ITALIAN JEWISH HISTORY FROM THE RENAISSANCE TO THE 20TH CENTURYTAUGHT BY DR. FRANCESCA BREGOLI 7 Tuesday evenings, 7:00- 8:30PM February 21, 28, March 7, 14, 21, 28 and April 4 Fee: $225 for T & V members, $275 for non-members This course focuses on the cultural and social history of the Jews in Italy from the time of the Renaissance to the modern period. Although Italian Jews have always been a tiny fraction of world Jewry, their achievements have been significant. Highly integrated and engaged in the culture of their times, Italian Jews are perceived as quintessentially acculturated and at home both in the Jewish and in the Italian world. How does the particular case of Italian Jewry illuminate the broader Jewish experience? In our seven sessions, we will devote time to understanding Jewish life (1) at the time of the Renaissance and (2) within the Italian ghettos, (3) the influence of the Enlightenment on Jewish culture, (4) the little-known history of Italian Jews in the nineteenth century, (5) the successful story of Jewish integration in the so-called “Liberal State” (1861-1922), (6) the complex experiences of Italian Jews under Fascism, as well as (7) the impact of the Holocaust and its aftermath. Readings will be distributed weekly as PDF email attachments. Francesca Bregoli is Associate Professor of History at Queens College, CUNY, where she also holds the Joseph and Oro Halegua chair in Greek and Sephardic Jewish Studies. She received a PhD in History from the University of Pennsylvania, an MA in Jewish Art and Material Culture from the Jewish Theological Seminary of America, and her undergraduate degree in Hebrew and Jewish Studies from the University of Venice (Italy). Her research concentrates on eighteenth-century Italian and Sephardic Jewish history. She is the author of “Mediterranean Enlightenment: Livornese Jews, Tuscan Culture, and Eighteenth-Century Reform” (Stanford University Press, 2014; finalist for the National Jewish Book Award). Her new project looks at the creation and preservation of affective ties in transnational Jewish merchant families. She is currently co-editing two volumes: “Connecting Histories: Jews and their Others in the Early Modern Period” (forthcoming with University of Pennsylvania Press) and “Bridging Europe and the Mediterranean: Italian Jewish Networks from the Seventeenth to the Twentieth Centuries” (forthcoming with Palgrave). Francesca is additionally serving as acting director of the Center for Jewish Studies at The Graduate Center, CUNY, and is a book review editor for the AJS Review. TO ENROLL EMAIL ADULTED@TANDV.ORG OMENS, ORACLES & EXECRATIONS IN THE BIBLE AND THE SURROUNDING WORLDTAUGHT BY DR. SHARON KELLER What do flying birds, cow livers, shaken arrows, and mold on walls have in common? They are all things than can be examined to discover the future and ascertain what God may be thinking – most of these methods are prohibited by the Bible, but some are embraced. A PowerPoint presentation. TO ENROLL CALL THE OFFICE AT 212-677-8090 SHTISEL: ISRAELI TV DRAMATuesdays, July 5, 12, 19, 26, September 6 and 13 7-8:30PM T&V members: $5 per session or $15 for the series Non-members: $7 per session or $20 for the series Shtisel is a critically acclaimed and award-winning Israeli television drama series that follows the f a fictional Haredi family living in the Geula neighborhood of Jerusalem. Creators and writers are Ori Elon and Yehonatan Indursky. We will be showing the entire first season, three episodes per evening, Hebrew with English subtitles. THE BODY COVERED AND UNCOVERED: NUDITY IN THE BIBLE AND THE ANCIENT WORLDTAUGHT BY DR. SHARON KELLER Mondays, June 20 and 27, 7-8:15 PM The common assumption is that Adam and Eve were ashamed when they discovered themselves to be naked, but if we look carefully at the text in Genesis it says that they “…were not ashamed.”The Bible presents a complicated appreciation of the human body that is at times positive and at times negative, but is never “shameful.” A PowerPoint presentation. THE HISTORY OF THE JEWISH BOOKTAUGHT BY DR. RACHEL MINCER Tuesdays, August 9, 16 and 23, 7-8:30PM T&V members, $65; Non-members, $85 In this course, we will study the different formats of Jewish books over time – scrolls, manuscript codices and printed books – and try to understand their significance for Jewish society and culture. Our broad goals are to examine the production, transmission and reception of Jewish texts and to use books, both their material and literary content, as a window into the societies that produced them. TO ENROLL CALL THE OFFICE AT 212-677-8090 _______________________________________________ JEWS THROUGH A ROMAN LENSTAUGHT BY DR. DAVID LEVENE 8 Tuesday evenings, 7:00-8:30PM October 27, November 3, 10, 17, 24, December 1, 8 and 15, 2015 Fee: $250 for T&V members, $300 for non-members Few outsiders have been as important to Jewish history as the Romans were. As a direct consequence of Roman rule, the Temple was destroyed, and Judaism made the crucial transition from its Israel-centered, Temple-based roots to a Diaspora-centered religion focused on rabbinic law. It is easy to make the mistake of thinking that this applied in reverse: that Jews must have been in some way important to the Romans, rather than being one minor (if distinctive) group on the edge of a vast empire. Moreover, even when that particular fallacy is avoided, the mere fact of reading Jewish history without considering the broader Roman context can lead to serious misunderstandings. This course will seek to rectify that perspective. We will examine Roman rule over the Jews and Roman attitudes to the Jews in the context of Rome’s conquest of and rule over the entire Mediterranean and beyond, and we will consider just how much Jews did – and did not – matter to their imperial rulers. David Levene is Professor of Classics and Chair of the Department of Classics at New York University. He studied at Oxford University; before coming to New York in 2006 he held positions in Oxford, Durham, and Leeds. His publications include two books on the Roman historian Livy, an edition of Tacitus’ Histories, and numerous scholarly articles on Roman literature, history, and religion; he has also written on ancient Judaism, and on the reception of the ancient world in the 19th century novel and the 20th century cinema. MINI-SHABBATON WITH JEREMY BENSTEINSATURDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 2015 During Morning Services:“Dying and Living in the Land: Coexistence and Sustainability in a Divided Country” After Kiddush:“Is Hebrew Mosaic, or A Mosaic?: Israel and Jewishness Through Language” Dr. Jeremy Benstein, a native of Toledo, Ohio, moved to Israel over 30 years ago, with a dream of making Israel an inspiring society. That dream led to his co-founding the Heschel Center for Sustainability in Tel Aviv, Israel’s leading organization promoting sustainability based on the Jewish commitment to social justice and the common good. Jeremy holds an AB degree in linguistics from Harvard, a master’s degree in Judaic Studies and doctorate in cultural anthropology from the Hebrew University on social-environmental activism as a focus of shared citizenship between Jews and Arabs in Israel. “For me sustainability is much more than economic efficiency, or a cleaner environment. It’s about building a society that can sustain us and our children, materially and spiritually, together with the awe-inspiring world we are a part of. So I focus on grounding the social-environmental discussion in a deeper context of a societal vision of the common good based on cultural and spiritual values.” He is the author of the book The Way Into Judaism and the Environment (Jewish Lights, 2006), and after authoring the “On Root” column on Hebrew for the Israeli daily Haaretz, is working on an upcoming book about the Hebrew language and its significance for Jewish life. Jeremy is married to Prof. Annabel Herzog, and together with their five children,and cat, lives in Zichron Yaakov. _____________________________________________________________________ ALL SHUL READSaturday October 17, 2015 After Kiddush- Free BOOK: All Who Go Do Not Return: A Memoir By Shulem Deen A moving and revealing exploration of Hasidic life, and one man’s struggles with faith, family, and community Shulem Deen was raised to believe that questions are dangerous. As a member of the Skverers, one of the most insular Hasidic sects in the US, he knows little about the outside world—only that it is to be shunned. His marriage at eighteen is arranged and several children soon follow. Deen’s first transgression—turning on the radio—is small, but his curiosity leads him to the library, and later the Internet. Soon he begins a feverish inquiry into the tenets of his religious beliefs, until, several years later, his faith unravels entirely. Now a heretic, he fears being discovered and ostracized from the only world he knows. His relationship with his family at stake, he is forced into a life of deception, and begins a long struggle to hold on to those he loves most: his five children. InAll Who Go Do Not Return, Deen bravely traces his harrowing loss of faith, while offering an illuminating look at a highly secretive world. HOLY EMOTIONS: THE JEWISH APPROACH TO FEELINGSTAUGHT BY RABBI ABBY SOSLAND 4 Tuesdays, July 14, 21, 28 and August 4 7:30-9 PM Fee: $100 for members & $125 for non-members SPECIAL PRICING: $75 if you have paid for 1 other class at T & V since July 2014 $50 if you have paid for 2 or more other classes at T & V since July 2014 Free if you are a member of T&V’s 20s&30s group For over two thousand years, the texts of our people have struggled with the reality of human emotion. What is the Jewish ideal when it comes to our inner lives? Together we will explore the wide range of perspectives, from the Bible and Talmud through Maimonides and the teachings of the Chassidic masters. What can we learn from these ideas about the emotions that arise in our own lives? Each week, we will explore one emotion through the progression of Jewish texts.
Rabbi Abby Sosland is the Morah Ruchanit (Spiritual Advisor) of Schechter Westchester, where she teaches Bible, Talmud, prayer and philosophy to high school students and adults. She was formerly the Assistant Rabbi at Town and Village Synagogue, where she started the first free High Holiday service for downtown New Yorkers, featured in New York Magazine and The New York Times. She writes curriculum and teaches for Hadassah in Westchester County, and she is a regular contributor to Daily Daf Differently, a Talmud podcast on www.jcastnetwork.org. Rabbi Sosland is the author of the chapter on “Crime and Punishment” in The Observant Life: The Wisdom of Conservative Judaism for Contemporary Jews. Her writing has also been appeared in the Jewish Week, Lilith Magazine, the Forward, and on her blog “Shameless Judaism” at abbysosland.com. To register for the class, please contact Nina Lehman at: nina.lehman@gmail.com ________________________________________________________________THE VARIETIES OF KADDISHTAUGHT BY CANTOR SHAYNA POSTMAN 3 Tuesday evenings, 7-8:30PM May 24 This mini–series will examine the meanings and modes of the different Kaddish prayers. The Kaddish is one of the most well-known and ancient prayers and it is different in format and function from most others. We will delve into its meaning, history, and purpose and explore the many musical modes in which this prayer is chanted and spoken. Free for T&V members, $36 for non-members_________________________________________________________________________________ ALL SHUL READJune 18, Shabbat after KiddushThe Sea Beach Line by Ben Nadler
Set in post-Giuliani New York City, The Sea Beach Line melds mid-20th-century pulp fiction and traditional Jewish folklore as it updates the classic story of a young man trying to find his place in the world. After being expelled from Oberlin for hallucinogenic drug use, Izzy Edel seeks out his estranged father—a Polish Jew turned Israeli soldier turned New York street vendor named Alojzy who is reported to be missing, possibly dead. To learn about Alojzy’s life and discover the truth behind his disappearance, Izzy takes over his father’s outdoor bookselling business and meets the hustlers, gangsters, and members of a religious sect who peopled his father’s world. He also falls in love with a mysterious young woman who is living on the streets after running away from her Hasidic home. As Izzy soon discovers, appearances can deceive; no one, not even his own father, is quite whom he seems to be. From Coney Island and Sheepshead Bay to the streets surrounding New York University and the Upper East Side, The Sea Beach Line explores layers of New York life and territory. AUTHOR BEN NADLER WILL JOIN OUR CONVERSATION. ________________________________________________________________BOOK DISCUSSION GROUPLED BY SAUL NOAM ZARITT10 Wednesdays, 10:30AM – Noon Fee: $175 for T & V members, $225 for non-members September 10, 2014 Red Cavalry Stories; Odessa Stories; “The Story of My Dovecote” (from The Collected Stories of Isaac Babel ) Isaac Babel October 22 Emil and Karl Jacob Glatstein November 12 The Remains of Love Zeruya Shalev December 10 The Rabbi of Lud Stanley Elkin January 14, 2015 The World of the End Ofir Touche Gafia February 11 San Remo Drive Leslie Epstein March 11 Some Day Shemi Zarhin April 15 Textile Orly Castel-Bloom May 13 Love and Shame and Love Peter Orner June 10 The Replacement Life Boris Fishman
Saul Noam Zaritt is a PhD student in Jewish Literature at The Jewish Theological Seminary, where he focuses on Hebrew and Yiddish fiction of the early 20th century. After completing his undergraduate degree at the University of Chicago, Saul received a Fulbright grant to study and translate Hebrew literature in Israel, in particular contemporary Israeli poetry. That same year, on a whim, Saul started studying Yiddish and soon began a Masters degree at Hebrew University in Jerusalem in both Hebrew and Yiddish literatures. While completing this degree Saul also worked at the Nesiya Institute, a non-profit leadership program for Israeli and American young people. Saul is the recipient of several fellowships and awards including a Fulbright grant, scholarships from Beit Sholem Aleichem and the Hebrew University, and a fellowship at the Jewish Theological Seminary. Saul hails from Worcester, MA.
“PRAYER FOR THE PEOPLE”: LEARNER’S MINYAN 5775LED BY BRONWEN MULLIN, RABBINIC INTERN FROM JTS“Prayer for the People” is a practical hands-on learning community within Town and Village’s spiritual home. This minyan will focus on a different prayer every week, where members will develop confidence in the recitation of its ancient words and melodies. We will learn to focus our sacred concentration (kavanah) towards the timeless themes that these prayers evoke, and explore what we, as dynamic individuals, can reveal for “Prayer for the People” will be held on the following dates starting at 10:15am. Come pray and learn with us! Bronwen Mullin is a playwright, composer, educator and rabbinical student at the Jewish Theological Seminary of America. She earned her B.A. at Sarah Lawrence College (2006) in Theater and Religious Studies and was an Arts Fellow from 2008-2011 in Musical Theater Composition at the Drisha Institute for Jewish Education. Bronwen is the co-founder of MetaPhys-Ed, a gymnasium for the multi-media exegesis of Jewish texts with performance artist/director Jesse Freedman.
TO LIFE, TO LIFE, L’HAYYIM: MEDICAL ETHICS, POPULAR CULTURE AND JEWISH THOUGHTTAUGHT BY RABBI LEONARD SHARZER, MD9 Tuesday evenings (3 films and 6 classes), 7– 8:30 PMFee: Members $175, Non-Members $225 (Special Discount for 20s and 30s, $50)April 14 Film: Vera Drake (optional/on your own If These Walls Could Talk) April 21: When Does Life Begin: Jewish Attitudes Toward Abortion and Stem Cell Research April 28: Assisted Reproductive Technologies: Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis and Designer Babies May 5 Film: Gattaca May 12: Better than Normal: The Enhancement/Therapy Debate May 19 Film: Million Dollar Baby (optional/on your own The Diving Bell and the Butterfly and/or How to Die in Oregon May 26: Are “Brain-Dead” Patients Really Dead…or Dead Enough? June 9: End of Life Care and Choices June 16: Judaism and Gender: Transgender and Intersex in Jewish Thought
In addition to the films, there will be readings for each class.
Rabbi Leonard A. Sharzer, MD is Associate Director for Bioethics of the Finkelstein Institute for Religious and Social Studies at The Jewish Theological Seminary. A native of Boston, Rabbi Sharzer graduated from Boston University School of Medicine and completed residency training in general surgery at the University of Iowa, also earning an MS in surgery for work in organ preservation for transplantation. He completed a residency in plastic surgery at the Eastern Virginia Graduate School of Medicine in Norfolk, Virginia. In 1978, he moved to New York to join the faculty of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, where he attained the rank of Clinical Professor. He retired from medical practice in 1999 to enter The Rabbinical School at The Jewish Theological Seminary, where he was ordained in May 2003. In addition to numerous book chapters and journal articles in the medical literature, he has recently published “Artificial Hydration and Nutrition: Revisiting the Dorff and Reisner Teshuvot” in Conservative Judaism, “Tradition, Obligation, and Healthcare” published in Shema, and “Bioethics and the Jewish Narrative Tradition” in Midrash and Medicine. He is the author of “Organ Donation after Cardiac Death,” a responsum of the Committee for Jewish Law and Standards of the Rabbinical Assembly of Conservative Judaism. Rabbi Sharzer is currently working on a responsum for the Law Committee on Transgender and Transsexual People and a book, Personal Narrative in Jewish Bioethics.
THE ORIGINS OF JUDAISM: SECTARIANS, SOLDIERS AND SCHOLARS IN SECOND TEMPLE JUDAISMTAUGHT BY DR. ALEX JASSEN8 Tuesday evenings, 7:15-8:45PM January 20, February 3, 10, 17, 24 and March 3, 10 and 17 Fee: $250 for T & V members, $300 for non-members
Have you ever wondered why Judaism of today looks so different than the world of ancient Israel found in the Bible? Join professor Alex Jassen on a journey as we retrace the steps of Judaism’s origins from the Babylonian exile (586 BCE) through the rise of rabbinic Judaism in the first century CE. On this tour through Second Temple period Judaism, we will encounter a remarkable cast of characters whose actions shaped Judaism and laid the foundations for two dramatic transformations at the end of the first century: the beginnings of rabbinic Judaism and the origins of Christianity. We will meet sectarians such as the Jews of Elephantine, Samaritans, Pharisees, Sadducees, Essenes, the early followers of Jesus, and the first rabbis. We will see how soldiers such as the Maccabean rebels and the Hasmonean kings and queens, Herod and Roman rulers, and the revolutionaries against Rome shaped Jewish history. We will explore the deep imprint left on Judaism by scholars, from Ezra and Nehemiah to the anonymous scribes who crafted the vast literature of Second Temple Judaism to the early rabbis. Syllabus and reading list available on request.
Alex P. Jassen is Associate Professor of Hebrew and Judaic Studies in the Skirball Department of Hebrew and Judaic Studies at New York University. Professor Jassen is a popular and in-demand public lecturer. He has taught widely throughout the United States at synagogues, churches, museums, and community centers. He is the author of Mediating the Divine: Prophecy and Revelation in the Dead Sea Scrolls and Second Temple Judaism (Brill, 2007) and Scripture and Law in the Dead Sea Scrolls (Cambridge University Press, 2014). His scholarship has won numerous awards including the John Templeton Award for Theological Promise and the National Endowment for the Humanities fellowship. Professor Jassen served as academic advisor for The Dead Sea Scrolls: Words that Changed the World exhibit at the Science Museum of Minnesota.
TOMER DEVORAHTAUGHT BY BRONWEN MULLIN, RABBINIC INTERN8 Wednesday nights, 7-8:30PM
Jan 21, 28, Feb 4, 11, 18, 25, March 11 and 18
Free for T & V members, $200 for non-members
Tomar Devorah, written by Moses Cordovero in the 16th century, is a rare text which attempts to fuse the Kabbalistic tradition of the Divine Attributes (the Sefirot) with the Mussar tradition of ethical introspection into one’s middot (personal values) into a practice of mindful spirituality which brings the practitioner into a more meaningful engagement with every aspect of Jewish life and interaction with the world at large. In this class, we will examine this unique text, including its body and movement-based practice, also in a comparative lens with non-Western traditions including the Chakra systems and the Feldenkrais Method. The Kabbalists and Mussarists kept journals describing their experiences. Class participants will be encouraged to follow in this tradition through weekly journal assignments. This class will be taught with sources in the original and in translation. Bronwen Mullin is a playwright, composer, educator and rabbinical student at the Jewish Theological Seminary of America. She earned her B.A. at Sarah Lawrence College (2006) in Theater and Religious Studies and was an Arts Fellow from 2008-2011 in Musical Theater Composition at the Drisha Institute for Jewish Education. Bronwen is the co-founder of MetaPhys-Ed, a gymnasium for the multi-media exegesis of Jewish texts with performance artist/director Jesse Freedman.
SOME ISSUES CONCERNING MESSIANISMTAUGHT BY RICHARD CLAMAN 3 Saturday afternoons after Kiddush February 7 and 21, March 7
How do past Jewish ‘visions of the future’ – Biblical/Post-Biblical, Rabbinic/Medieval, and Zionist fit into our modern Jewish theologies? Each session is independent of the others. Background readings sent out on the list-serve in advance; and study-texts (in English) will be handed-out at each session.
Richard Claman, his wife (Beth Clark) and their two children have been members of T&V for 24 years. Richard has taught a new series Adult Ed lectures at T&V for each of the past 17 years; and portions of these talks have been published over the years as several articles in Conservative Judaism.
THE WHAT, HOW AND WHY OF THE JEWISH PRAYERBOOKTAUGHT BY RABBI SEBERTTUESDAYS, 7:15-8:45 PMNovember 4, 11 and 18, December 2, 9 and 16 Rabbi Laurence A. Sebert has been the spiritual leader at Town & Village Synagogue for 23 years. Under his leadership, the congregation created a new program for its seniors, established a vibrant 20s and 30s community, welcomed interfaith families and started Gei’im ba-Village for its LGBT members. He has established a partnership between the synagogue and The Center for Conversion to Judaism and loves to mentor the many Jews by Choice. Rabbi Sebert has taken a leadership role with Local Faith Communities, an East Village clergy group and has fostered synagogue involvement in community organizing with Manhattan Together and IAF. He is proud of his role in helping establish the Solomon Schechter School of Manhattan and was honored to have served on the editorial board for Mahzor Lev Shalem. Rabbi Sebert has been an adjunct faculty member at JTS and serves as a mentor for JTS rabbinical students.
CRITICAL MOMENTS IN AMERICAN JEWISH HISTORYTAUGHT BY DR. ELI FABER8 Tuesday evenings, 7:15-8:45 October 7, 14, 21, 28, November 4, 11, 18 and 25 Fee: $250 for T & V members, $300 for non-members This class will survey American Jewish history from 1820 to the present. Rather than the usual chronological survey, major issues and trends in the American Jewish experience will be scrutinized through the prism of eight critical events. Many of them are little known, such as Jesse Seligman’s meeting with presidential- candidate Ulysses S. Grant in 1868. Others are more familiar, as, for example, the lynching of Leo Frank. Some will focus on the evolution of American Jewish religious diversity, such as the assault on Rabbi Isaac Mayer Wise in his pulpit in Albany on Rosh Hashana in 1850, and the Bobover Rebbe’s arrival in the United States in the wake of World War Two. Each selected moment will be examined for the causes and events that led to it and for the impact that it had on the evolution of the American Jewish community. Suggested readings will be drawn from both original sources and historical studies. Eli Faber earned his Ph.D. in History at Columbia University and is Professor Emeritus of History at John Jay College of Criminal Justice (The City University of New York). He is the author of A Time for Planting: The First Migration, which is the first volume in a five-volume series entitled The Jewish People in America (Johns Hopkins University Press); and of Jews, Slaves, and the Slave Trade: Setting the Record Straight (New York University Press).He is also a contributor of chapters in a variety of works devoted to the history of the Jewish people in America. He has served as editor of American Jewish History, published by the American Jewish Historical Society.
HAFTAROT OF THE HIGH HOLIDAYSC0-TAUGHT BY RABBI LARRY SEBERT AND DR. SHARON KELLERMONDAYS 7:00- 8:30PM September 15, 22 and 29 FEE: Free for T & V members, $50 for non-members
September 15 Haftarah for the 1st Day of Rosh Hashanah: 1 Samuel 1:1-2:10 September 22 Haftarah for the 2nd Day of Rosh Hashanah: Jeremiah 31:2-20 September 29 Haftarah for Yom Kipper Morning: Isaiah 57:14-58:14 The Haftarot of the High Holidays are magnificent. But, since Torah is our major focus as Jews, we don’t always pay as much attention to the Haftarah. This is especially true on the High Holidays because the story of Isaac’s birth is miraculous and the story of the Akedah, the binding of Isaac, is so dramatic and troubling. Still, the Haftarot of the High Holidays are worthy of our attention. Join Rabbi Sebert and Dr. Sharon Keller for a close look at the story of Samuel’s birth to the formerly barren Hannah, Jeremiah’s description of God’s enduring love for his chosen people, and Isaiah’s exhortation to “make peace” with God by repenting sincerely. The class will investigate the texts from a number of different angles, from the traditional rabbinic perspective to the scholarly approaches of modernity. THESE CLASSES ARE STAND ALONES. COME TO ANY ONE OR TWO OR ALL THREE.
Rabbi Laurence A. Sebert has been the spiritual leader at Town & Village Synagogue for 23 years. Under his leadership, the congregation created a new program for its seniors, established a vibrant 20s and 30s community, welcomed interfaith families and started Gei’im ba-Village for its LGBT members. He has established a partnership between the synagogue and The Center for Conversion to Judaism and loves to mentor the many Jews by Choice. Rabbi Sebert has taken a leadership role with Local Faith Communities, an East Village clergy group and has fostered synagogue involvement in community organizing with Manhattan Together and IAF. He is proud of his role in helping establish the Solomon Schechter School of Manhattan and was honored to have served on the editorial board for Mahzor Lev Shalem. Rabbi Sebert has been an adjunct faculty member at JTS and serves as a mentor for JTS rabbinical students. Sharon Keller, a popular teacher at T & V and in the Tri-State area, earned her doctorate at NYU in the Department of Hebrew and Judaic Studies in the area of Bible and the Ancient Near East. Prior to that, she earned Masters degrees in Hebrew Education (NYU), Jewish Communal Service (JTS), and Social Work (Columbia). Dr. Keller is currently on the faculty at Hofstra University, and has held faculty positions at HUC, JTS, NYU among others, and has written numerous articles and edited several academic books, most of which relate to the interplay between biblical Israel and ancient Egypt. Her most popular book, Jews: A Treasury of Art and Literature, was awarded the National Jewish Book Award.
CONTINUING OUR JEWISH JOURNEY (TOWARD BAR/BAT MITZVAH): A TWO-YEAR ADVENTURETAUGHT BY RABBI LARRY SEBERT, CANTOR SHAYNA POSTMAN, CAROL GREEN AND OTHERSFee: T & V members, a contribution to the Rabbi’s Tzedakah Fund 2013-2014: Tuesday evenings, 6:45PM- 9PM Semester 1 Semester 2 Semester 3 If you would like to deepen your personal Jewish commitments join our Jewish Journey class, which will culminate in a communal (adult Bat/Bar Mitzvah) celebration. Together, through study, we will strive to deepen our connection to Judaism. Our learning will begin with the concept of mitzvah. Over two years, we will become better acquainted with our sacred texts and important prayers. We will orient ourselves to the Jewish calendar, find guidance in the cycle of life rituals and begin to fathom the scope of Jewish history. We will also connect to the broader Jewish world by making a commitment to learn more Hebrew. This is a two-year program which began in the Fall of 2012 and will continue through the Spring of 2014. The 2013/2014 year will address Shabbat, the annual cycle of holy days and holidays, the important theological concepts that are the underpinnings of our rituals and holidays, and Jewish history. Hebrew will be studied throughout both years at an appropriate level for each student. In the second year, everyone will be introduced to Torah and Haftarah trope (cantillation). The decision about whether to culminate one’s learning with participation in a group or individual Bar/Bat Mitzvah is an individual one. If you did not participate in Year One it is possible to join in Year 2, please speak with Rabbi Sebert.
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PARALLELS BETWEEN THE NEW TESTAMENT AND RABBINIC LITERATURETAUGHT BY RABBI NOAH BICKART8 Tuesday evenings, 7:15-8:45PM January 28, Feb 11 and 25, March 4, 11, 18 and 25, April 1 Cost: $250 for T & V members, $300 for non-members Much of the material contained within the books which constitute the collections of material known as the “New Testament” and “Talmudic Literature” were first conceived in the same time and place (e.g. 2nd and 3rd century Roman Palestine). However, they are usually seen as the exclusive possessions of the Christian and Jewish communities which continue to rely on them as foundational religion documents. In this course, we will examine a series of parallel texts from these collections with explicit aim of breaking down preconceptions of how these books were read in their original context and how they might be used today. Rabbi Noah Bickart was born and raised in Washington D.C. He attended the University of Chicago where he majored in English Literature and booked rock and roll bands to liven up a notoriously serious bunch of students. He went on to study Bible and Talmud at the Pardes Institute in Jerusalem, before receiving a Masters Degree in Hebrew Bible from the Harvard Divinity School in 2003. He was ordained at Jewish Theological Seminary in 2008 and he remains at JTS, working on a PhD in the department of Talmud and rabbinics. He and his wife Nadia Kahn along with their children Meir (6) and Rina (3) have returned to New York after a wonderful year in Jerusalem.
SYMBOLISM IN THE ZOHAR AND OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH THE DIVINE
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Sun, September 15 2024
12 Elul 5784
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