Most Saturdays, 9am at TBC
By Rabbi Cohen, Judson Scruton, and others. Each Saturday we look at aspects of the week's Torah portion through the lens of our own modern experience, as well as the wisdom and insights of our heritage. Participants from a variety of backgrounds and experiences bring a wide range of perspectives. All are warmly encouraged to join the discussion!
Please check the Temple B’nai Chaim Calendar of Events for scheduled sessions.
Wednesday January 19, 7:30 pm, Location TBC
Studying The Psalms with Cantor Sobel
both poetry and prayer - exploring the meaning, language and emotion of the psalms
Wednesday, January 26 7:30 pm, Location TBD.
Book Discussion. The Sabbath World, by Judith Shulevitz. Los Angeles Times: “Part history, part meditation, the book delves into the Sabbath in Judaism and Christianity while invoking a wealth of nonreligious sources, from William Wordsworth to Sigmund Freud. Ultimately, The Sabbath World suggests, the Sabbath offers a way to live outside of time, even for a day a week – an act not just of renewal but of resistance in an obsessively over-scheduled and over-networked world.”
Wednesday, February 9, 7:30 pm, Location: TBC
Yehuda Amichai: a Discussion of the Poet and His Politics (led by Cortney Davis). Yehuda Amichai, one of Israel's leading poets, wrote poems that looked at war, love and politics through his everyday life experiences. A poet who brought the past to bear upon the present, he wrote in "secular" Hebrew while using ancient Biblical allusions to examine and comment upon modern-day events. This evening, after an introduction to Amichai's life and work, we will read and listen to selections of Amichai's poems, both in English and Hebrew, and discuss the techniques of his craft, the limitations of translation and the often hidden political import of his words. Cortney Davis is the author of four poetry collections and recipient of an NEA poetry fellowship, three Connecticut Commission on the Arts Poetry Grants, the Prairie Schooner Book Prize in Poetry and the CT. Center for the Book Non-Fiction Award.
Wednesday, February 16, 7:30 pm, Location: TBD
Book Discussion. Good For the Jews, by Debra Spark. This novel, the winner of the Midwest Literary Fiction Award for 2009, sets the Purim story in contemporary Madison, Wisconsin.
Sunday, February 27, 10:30 am, Location: TBC
“The Jewish Encounter With Western Civilization -- Part 1.” The first of three-part series with Sara Kruzansky. This is a modified version of the program that was so highly regarded when it was presented at the Jewish Federation in Danbury. The class will consist of three sessions, each dealing with a particular period or periods in the ancient history of the Jewish people. The focus will be on how the Jews interacted with the nations and cultures among whom they lived--how they lived their daily lives, how they adapted to changing situations, while retaining their own singular identity. In discussing her goals for this program, Sara said she wants to tell the dramatic history of the Jewish experience as a narrative of real people with human problems and interests.
Sunday, March 6, 10:30 am. Location: TBC
“The Jewish Encounter With Western Civilization -- Part 2.” Second of three guest lectures with Sara Kruzansky. (See description for Feb.27th)
Sunday, March 13, 10:30 am. Location: TBC
“The Jewish Encounter With Western Civilization -- Part 3.” Third of three guest lectures with Sara Kruzansky. (See description for Feb.27th)