January 2001 - טֵבֵת .. שְׁבָט תשס״א Tevet..Shevat 5761

January is a quiet month on the Jewish calendar. So I thought that I would take this opportunity to once again invite you to participate in the many adult learning experiences that are offered here at Temple Beth Sholom. Each week begins Sunday mornings with Erlda Parker's adult Hebrew classes. Erlda teaches all levels of Hebrew from the beginning Aleph-Bet to an advanced intermediate class studying grammar and Biblical passages. Her classes run throughout the week. Speak to Erlda directly if you would like to join an existing class.

On Tuesday mornings at 8 AM, after the weekly minyan (from 7 to 8 AM!) five to ten of us convene in the library to read and discuss Josephus' Wars of the Jews. Josephus was a Judean commander of Galilean forces in the war against Rome, 68 to 72 CE. He eventually surrendered and went as a captive to Rome where he wrote two major works: Wars of the Jews and Antiquities of the Jews. These books were apologies to the Romans about the Jews and to the Jews about the Romans. Discussions are lively as we learn about the history of our people and place it in a contemporary context.

Later on Tuesday mornings at 11:45 AM, Simchat Chai meets in Zucker Hall. These programs and trips are educational on a varied range of topics. Simchat Chai is a seniors program for those who are 55 and older and is sponsored by East Bay Jewish Federation and Jewish Community Services. Call Dorothy Miller for information, 881-0633.

On Wednesdays there are two adult education courses. At 1:30 PM, I meet with Erlda Parker and Stan Tobin to study Talmud (Baba Metzia). We are not Talmud scholars; we just enjoy struggling with the rabbi's flexible and creative minds. There is plenty of room around the table to more people to join us. No previous knowledge necessary.

Wednesday evenings are for our NaKh class. NaKh is an acronym for Nevi'im (Prophets) and Ketuvim (Writings), that is the books of the Bible after the Torah. We read a chapter at a time, discuss it in it's historical and contemporary contexts. Jon Klarfield makes bad puns, Marv Zinn injects traditional commentary, Mimi Zinn and Carolyn Vollmer bring empathy and pathos to the text, Rich and Eleanor Tandowsky intellectualize it, Estelle Osofsky tries desperately to keep us on track. Others come and go, joining our core group, and I moderate. It is the most fun you will have all week. Join us from 7:15 to 8:45 PM in the library. (Most people can make it home in time for West Wing.)

Thursday mornings from 10:15 AM to Noon, we host the MID lectures sponsored by the Center for Jewish Learning and Living of the Jewish Federation of the East Bay. MID Adventures in Jewish Learning are among the most stimulating lectures that I have ever attended. These are lectures for intelligent, mature Jewish adults on a host of different subjects. I sincerely recommend that you join us for the MID lectures in our sanctuary on Thursday mornings.

Thursday evening is our Introduction to Judaism Class. Four young couples and a few individuals are studying the basic holidays and life cycle celebrations of our people. Some of the members of the class are considering conversion, and some are spouses or future spouses who are learning what they never learned in Torah School. This is a sophisticated, adult view of Judaism. Each lesson is independent so you can drop in and learn something new any Thursday evening from 7 - 8:30 PM.

The week concludes with Shabbat morning Torah Study from 9 to 10 AM. We read and discuss a few verses from the weekly parasha (Torah portion) listed in the Kol Sholom. Discussions are lively and moving. There are never right or wrong answers, but there is always a great deal of learning and fun. Erlda swears that the first time I led the Shabbat Torah Study we spent the entire hour on a single word. (I think that we spent 55 minutes and kibbitzed for the other five.)

As you can see, Temple Beth Sholom hosts one of the most extensive adult learning programs around. If you do not see something that interests you, just propose another class, find another person or two and we will make sure that your needs are met. Temple Beth Sholom is committed to two main activities, Jewish worship and Jewish learning. We are meeting our goals.

Are you?

—Rabbi Harry A. Manhoff, Ph.D.

December

Index

February