Unit Bet – Jewish History
How We Got Here: the Last Thousand Years
5 class sessions (October-January 2016)
October 3, 2015 – Review of the High Holidays & Intro to Studying Jewish history
- What we do: services, holidays, rituals - how did it all go?
- How we do it: Shofar, fasting, Sukkah, dancing - many options all at once
- Where we come from - Discussing Jewish History - Wandering, settling, learning
Reading:
Jonathan B. Krasner, “What Was Driving Force Behind Jewish History: New Book Argues It Was Literacy, Not Persecution,” Forward.com, August 31, 2012
October 10, 2015 – Congregational Shabbat
Please join us for a Shabbat Morning Workshop: Top Ten Tips for a Healthy Relationship, at 9:00 AM.
October 17, 2015 – Jewish History – Medieval & Early Modern
- Where we come from: Under the Cross, under the Crescent – Ashkenaz & Sefardic Jewry
Reading:
From Joseph Telushkin, Jewish Literacy, Early Medieval Jewry:
File 1, File 2
From Robert M. Seltzer, Jewish People, Jewish Thought, pp. 325‐342, 350‐372,
File 1, File 2, File 3, File 4, File 5
- How we do it: An introduction to morning blessings:
Morning Blessings (Nisim b'chol yom - pgs. 198-202 in Mishkan Tefilah)
Audio 1, Audio 2, Audio 3
Reading: Morning Blessings from Mishkan Tefilah
October 24, 2015 – Jewish History – Post-Emancipation Europe
- Where we come from:
Mendelssohn, the Haskalah, Reform Judaism, Reactions lead to Orthodoxy
Reading:
From The Jew in the Modern World, pp. 68‐69, 161, 167‐169
The Ba’al Shem Tov and Hasidism
Reading: From Elie Wiesel, Somewhere a Master – Hasidic Portraits and Legends, pp. 202‐221
- How we do it:
Mourner’s Kaddish in our prayer services
Audio: Oseh Shalom Audio, Mourner's Kaddish Audio
Reading: Mourner's Kaddish (Mishkan Tefliah pg. 598),
Mourner’s Kaddish (alternate)
October 31, 2015 – Jewish History – Kristallnacht & Anti‐Semitism
- Where we come from:
The tragedy of early 20th Century German Jewry
Reading: From Amos Elon, The Pity of It All: A Portrait of the German-Jewish Epoch 1743‐1933, pp. 1-12
- How we do it:
Mourning Rituals
Reading: Strassfeld, A Book of Life, pp. 441‐463 – Deuteronomy/Devarim: Death
November 7, 2015 – Open Shabbat
Feel free to join Rabbi David Powers for Torah Study at 9:30 AM, and Rabbi Mort Kaplan for Shabbat Morning Services at 11:00 AM.
November 14, 2015 - World Cafe - 9:00 AM
Join Matt Kelly and the Torah Study group, as well as others coming for Congregational Shabbat, for a lively discussion of a contemporary issue.
November 21, 2015 - Meet the First Senior Rabbi Candidate - 9:30 AM
Join the congregation as we all learn from the Senior Rabbinic Candidate.
November 28, 2015 - No FIJI over Thanksgiving Weekend
December 5, 2015 - Meet the Second Senior Rabbi Candidate - 9:30 AM
Join the congregation as we all learn from our next Senior Rabbinic Candidate.
December 12, 2015 - Fear or Faith in Responding to the Refugee Crisis - 9:00 AM
We Were Refugees Too!
With more than 11 million Syrian and Middle Eastern refugees having been forced to flee their homes because of ongoing violence, what is our responsibility?
Join the conversation as we explore:
· Jewish texts that guide our responsibility
· Writings from Jewish leaders and other leaders around the globe
· US Policy on Syrian Refugees in the US and State rights
· Update on the status of refugees in Charlotte
· Steps we can take to make a difference
Presenters:
Steve Garfinkel, Garfinkel Immigration Attorney
Penny Lipsitz, ESL teacher, Refugee Education at Central Piedmont Community College
Rabbi Judith Schindler
January 16, 2016 – Jewish History – Emancipation in America – Unit Review
Where we come from:The differences between American and European Judaism
Reading: From The Jew in the Modern World, pp. 457‐459, 468‐469
- How we do it:
Blessings over food – an introduction
Reading: From Kol Haneshamah: Songs, Blessings and Rituals For the Home, pp. 108‐117