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November 2017
Open Your Hands: Tzedaka Priorities and Values For End-Of-Year Giving
REGISTER HERE. American households will give more than $90 billion in charitable gifts this December, nearly one-third of all their private donations. As Jews, what are our tzedaka priorities? How do our choices express our values? Please join Rabbi Kalmanofsky to study some classical Jewish texts and discuss how to decide our own tzedaka decisions.
Find out more »Oy, Caramba!
Jewish Latin American fiction, ranging across many countries, is a rich trove of literary achievement. In this guided reading group, we will be reading stories in translation from Oy Caramba! a critical anthology edited by Ilan Stavans. Josh Hanft will facilitate the discussions. Please consider purchasing a copy of the book in advance of the first class. To see the stories that will be read, click here
Find out more »December 2017
Keeping Up With The Kinder: Judaism Crash Course
Join Rabbi Yael for a “Judaism Crash Course” geared at parents who would like to strengthen their own Jewish knowledge, skills and comfort level. Open to individuals of any religious background. We will explore the Jewish holiday cycle and synagogue building, navigate through the Siddur (prayer book) and Chumash (Bible), and work together to connect with what our kids are learning in their Jewish education. Contact Rabbi Yael to join the fun.
Find out more »January 2018
Talmud Study with Rabbi Kalmanofsky
This year we will study material from the first chapters of Bava Batra (in the Artscroll Talmud available at West Side Judaica or online) about the duties that neighbors have regarding each other's property. These sections will have interesting implications for economic competition, environmental safeguards and communal welfare in the modern age.
Find out more »February 2018
Keeping Food Sacred In A Non-Kosher World
Nowadays, strict Kashrut is less common than among our ancestors: only 31 percent of American Conservative Jews keep Kosher homes. But the need to sanctify our eating is as spiritually crucial as ever. In this series, we will discuss the classical norms as well as basic choices people might make to incorporate mindfulness, ethics and traditional Jewish norms into their lives. Even for those who do not keep strict Kashrut, there are many mitzvot to do. Judaism is never "all…
Find out more »March 2018
Teen Class
High School students are welcome to join the bi-weekly Tuesday class with Rabbi Kalmanofsky and Sam Hollander. Spring Semester: The Jewish People, America, Zionism, and Judaism How is Judaism like a religion, comparable to Christianity and Islam? How is it like a nation, comparable to France or Japan? For us American Jews, what is our connection to the modern state of Israel and to an ancestral homeland? Pizza will be served. Click here to register. For more info contact Sam.
Find out more »May 2018
Tikkun Shavuot in the Zohar – An Invitation To Take Part In The Torah
Melila Hellner-Eshed is a senior research fellow at the Shalom Hartman Institute in Jerusalem. She has taught for the past 25 years Jewish mysticism and Zohar at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, and serves on the faculty of the Institute of Jewish Spirituality. She has been teaching and working with Jewish communities around the world. Her publications include A River Flows from Eden: The Language of Mystical Experience in the Zohar (Stanford University Press, 2009) and her new book "Seekers of…
Find out more »September 2018
Selichot: Chatati Is The Hardest Word
Chatati Is The Hardest Word Join us for Selichot services this Saturday, September 1. Our study with Rabbi Kalmanofsky begins at 10 pm, when we will reflect on our ritual confessions and personal apologies. What do we say? To whom? What do we include? What do we omit? The study session will include a writing exercise on personalizing confessions. Then, at 11 pm, please join Hazzan Hirschhorn, along with our long-time friends, AC member Mike Cohen on woodwinds and percussionist Ronnen…
Find out more »Shabbat Morning Study
Led by Rabbi Kalmanofsky and other synagogue members, sessions are on the weekly portion through the eyes of favorite commentators—ancient, medieval, and modern; midrashic, mystical, and academic.
Find out more »October 2018
Talmud Study with Rabbi Kalmanofsky
The Secret Mysticism of the Talmud Generally, Talmud is the least esoteric sort of Jewish wisdom. The Sages' care mostly about often very mundane law, like property disputes and kashrut. But Talmud also has its own occult lore. This year in Wednesday night Talmud we will study the second chapter of Tractate Hagigah, which you can purchase on-line, or through our dear friends at West Side Judaica. We'll read stories of mystical rabbis, and we will supplement the Talmud's material…
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