Programs & Classes

Welcome to the Congregation Beth El Adult Education Programs for the Fall/Winter of 2011/2012.

Congregation Beth El Adult Education offers classes, programs, and activities that deepen and enrich the Jewish learning of our congregants. Drawing from the rich resources of our congregation and our community, we offer a stimulating learning environment that encompasses the full range and diversity of the Jewish experience. Download the entire schedule of classes in the Adult Education brochure (PDF).

Lehrhaus Judaica is the Bay Area’s adult Jewish education school. Beth El partners with Lehrhaus to offer on-going Hebrew study, Introduction to Judaism classes and other programs and classes to our synagogue. Through this partnership, we are able to offer a continuous program of multi-level Hebrew study, serving everyone from beginners through advanced learners with specialized classes in Biblical, prayer book and modern language. For current offerings, please see the Lehrhaus course catalog.

Roots and Branches: Texts and Ideas of the Jewish Tradition

“The Prophets”
Dates: Sunday at Beth El, October 23 – December 11
Time: 10:00 – 11:30 a.m.
Presenter: Rabbi Yoel Kahn

Join Rabbi Yoel Kahn for an open‐ended, on‐going, ever‐changing exploration of the core ideas and texts of the Jewish tradition. This fall, we will study the prophet Ezekiel along with the Twelve “Minor” Prophets (can you name them?), looking at their place in Jewish history, their impact on later Jewish ideas and their meaning for today. This on‐going class is open to everyone. Class is free; drop‐ins welcome! No prerequisites, no prior knowledge required.

Winter series begins January 15; schedule and topics to be announced.

Open to everyone; free; drop‐ins welcome!

Donations may be made to Beth El Adult Education.

Sponsored by the Beth El Adult Education Committee

Beth El Lay-Led Torah Study

Dates: Every Shabbat in the Beit Midrash
Time: 9:15 – 10:15 a.m.

Our Mission: To create a meaningful spiritual community through an enriching congregant‐led study experience. To study the Torah together, to give every congregant an opportunity to delve into our tradition, and to offer those who wish to do so the opportunity to present a drash that is relevant to current times.

Our Core Values: Our Torah Study Community is built on a deep and fundamental respect for different opinions, backgrounds, and perspectives. Part of our vibrancy stems from the fact that we have such a broad spectrum of beliefs (from near‐Orthodox to atheist) and backgrounds (Jews, non‐Jews, and others, from all parts of the world.)

Our approach is egalitarian: Everyone has an equal opportunity to speak and listen. We believe that each person has something important to say regardless of rank, profession, or academic standing.

Our Torah Study community is lay‐led and self‐ determined. We have grown from a small group to one that is large, excited, and committed. We come together each week to offer parts of our hearts and souls to each
other.

Finally, we come each week to learn and grow by participating together in an intellectually stimulating, emotionally supportive, and spiritually nurturing experience.

For more information, contact Beverly Eigner, beigner@comcast.net, or (510) 549-3800.

All Beth El Adult Education programs are open to the public. Donations may be made to Beth El Adult Education.

Sponsored by the Beth El Adult Education Committee

Introduction to the Jewish Experience

Dates: 23 meetings, beginning October 26
Time: 7:30 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.
Location: Temple Sinai

Led by Rabbi Ruth Adar, this class is geared to our own East Bay Jewish community, a diverse and vibrant constellation of synagogues, institutions, and households. We are co-sponsored by two Reform synagogues, Congregation Beth El of Berkeley and Temple Sinai of Oakland, but we will include a broad range of learning and experiences. People of all backgrounds are welcome and will be treated with respect. This class is administered by Lehrhaus Judaica of Berkeley, a center for adult Jewish learning. The entire course is made up of 23 class meetings, with additional optional opportunities for experiences. There are three parts, of roughly eight class meetings each, and new students are welcome at the beginning of each part, in October, January, and March.

Part I, God and the Jewish Life Cycle

October 26 – December 14
Jews express our faith more by “doing” than by “believing.” Jewish lifecycle celebrations and rituals express the relationship of the Jew to the world, and Jewish understandings of the Holy. This course will explore Jewish concepts of God and the world as they are expressed through the experiences of Jewish lifecycle events.

Part II: Torah, Memory and History

January 11 – February 29
As the Jews travel through history, we have recorded our experiences in various texts: Bible, Midrash, Mishnah, Talmud, Codes, Responsa literature, and the Prayer Book, which Jacob Petuchowski, a scholar of Jewish liturgy, has described as “the diary of the Jewish people.” This course will begin with an overview of Jewish history, followed by an examination of how those texts illuminate Jewish life in the past, as well as in the present day. The class will culminate in a study of the Haggadah, the “script” of the seder, and a model seder.

Part III: The People Israel

April 4 – May 23
Who is a Jew? Who are the Jews? We will explore these questions by looking at Jewish life from many different angles: kashrut, Israel, the Movements of Judaism (Reform, Conservative, Orthodox, Reconstructionism, and Renewal), Jewish institutions, and the relationship of Judaism and its sister religions, Christianity and Islam.

For more information or to register for this series, please contact Lehrhaus Judaica, http://www.lehrhaus.org/ or 510-845-6420, or visit http://jewishexperienceonline.com/.

Registration for the series is $240 to the public, or$195 for Beth El members, payable to Lehrhaus Judaica.
Cosponsors Congregation Beth El, Building Jewish Bridges, Temple Sinai

The People of the Book are Reading & Meeting

Dates: Wednesdays, October 12, November 9, December 14
Time: 7:00 – 8:30 p.m.

Join Professor Naomi Seidman, Director of Jewish Studies at the Graduate Theological Union, for a discussion series on Jewish literature.

October 12: Poems of Jerusalem and Love Poems by Yehuda Amichai

November 9: The Little Disturbances of Man by Grace Paley

December 14: To the End of the Land by David Grossman

For more information, contact Beverly Eigner, beigner@comcast.net, or (510) 549-3800.

All Beth El Adult Education programs are open to the public. Donations may be made to Beth El Adult Education. Suggested contribution for non-members is $30.
Sponsored by the Beth El Adult Education Committee

Beth El Kevah Group

Dates: The second Sunday of the month
Time: 7:30 p.m. - 9:00 p.m. (7:15 p.m. for socializing)

Join a women's monthly Torah study group, largely focused on parenting. All women are welcome.

Cost is $180 per year (can be paid in two or three installments) and you are welcome to come to the first meeting for free to see if the group is a good fit for you. Checks should be made out to "Kevah".

For more information, contact Elizabeth Friedman Branoff at efbranoff@gmail.com / (510) 524-5960 or Deb Massey at debra@bethelberkeley.org / (510) 8483988.

Cosponsored by Congregation Beth El and Lehrhaus Judaica, the Aleph Society, Kevah, in partnership with the JCC East Bay, and Congregations Beth Israel, and Netivot Shalom

Bay Area Community Talmud Circle

Dates: Sundays, February 5, February 26, March 18, April 22, May 13
Time: 9:30 – 11:30 am
Location: Lehrhaus Judaica, 2736 Bancroft Way, Berkeley

Help us build a community of Talmud students. We are seeking curious, committed, and community-minded adults to become the first East Bay cohort of Aleph Fellows for the 2011-12 academic year. Aleph Fellows meet one Sunday morning a month for nine months, to engage in chevruta study (partner study) and discussion, participate in webinars, and attend an exclusive event in the spring of 2012 with Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz, one of today’s greatest Talmud scholars. To apply, please visit www.lehrhaus.org.

Cost: $135
Faculty: Professor Deena Aranoff

Applications are required. Visit www.lehrhaus.org to apply for this program.

Lunch & Learn Forums

… in pursuit of Lifelong Learning
Dates: Second Thursday of every month
Time: Noon – 1:30 p.m.

Bring a brown bag lunch. Dessert and beverages will be provided.

Sukkot – Historical Meaning and Current Practices

Date: October 6
Time: Noon – 1:30 p.m.
Presenter: Rabbi Bridget Wynne

FDR and the Holocaust

Date: November 10
Time: Noon – 1:30 p.m.
Presenter: Bob Brandfon, UC Berkeley History Professor Emeritus

Illustrated Lecture on Antarctic Science and Life in the Antarctic Scientific Community

Date: December 8
Time: Noon – 1:30 p.m.
Presenter: Dr. Spencer Klein, physicist at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

Watch for details in the Beth El Builder and the weekly e-mailings. Questions? Contact Beverly Eigner, beigner@comcast.net, or (510) 549-3800

All Beth El Adult Education programs are open to the public. Donations may be made to Beth El Adult Education.
Sponsored by the Beth El Adult Education Committee

Adult Bat/Bar Mitzvah Program

It's never too late to become bat or bar mitzvah at Beth El!
Study Hebrew and Torah chanting
Learn with a committed group of other adults on the journey
Work with our rabbis to develop an individual course of study on a Jewish topic of your choice
Develop your skills in Torah interpretation and become familiar with a range of Jewish traditions
Prepare to lead a Shabbat service
Celebrate as you are called to the Torah as a bar or bat mitzvah!
Our current class will be called to the Torah on January 21, 2012. The next cycle of study begins in October 2012, but there are opportunities to begin your studies year-round. We will help you structure a course of study that meets your intellectual and spiritual needs, talents, and interests. Contact Rabbi Reuben Zellman, (510) 848-3988 x228, or RabbiRZ@bethelberkeley.org
All Beth El Adult Education programs are open to the public. Donations may be made to Beth El Adult Education.
Sponsored by the Beth El Adult Education Committee

Learn and Sing with the Beth El Chorus

Our chorus sings at occasions throughout the year: Shabbat, the High Holy Days, and public performances. Join us for fun, learning, great people and glorious music!
Rehearsals take place Wednesday evenings, 7:00 - 8:45 p.m. in the sanctuary
Always open to new singers--any member of Beth El who loves to sing is encouraged to join us!
No musical background necessary (rehearsal CDs are available as well as sheet music)
The commitment is one "season" at a time--you can sing with the chorus for one or more sets, without committing to any other time of year.
Learn celebratory and reflective music of Jewish cultures from Casablanca to Poland to Israel and more; develop your knowledge of Jewish languages, liturgy and artistic traditions as well as musical skill; and have a lot of fun in a lively and supportive community atmosphere.
Full rehearsal schedules are available via the Music Board, newsletter and e-updates, or contact Rabbi Reuben Zellman, Assistant Rabbi and Music Director, for more information: RabbiRZ@bethelberkeley.org, 510-848-3988 x228.
All Beth El Adult Education programs are open to the public. Donations may be made to Beth El Adult Education.
Sponsored by the Beth El Adult Education Committee

Beginning Modern Hebrew

Dates: Wednesdays, October 26 – December 14
(no class 11/23)
Time: 6:30 – 7:30 p.m.

This class is for individuals with little or no knowledge of the Hebrew alphabet, grammar, or vocabulary.
Registration for this class is $95 to the public, or $80 for Beth El members, payable to Lehrhaus Judaica.

For more information or to register for this series, please contact Lehrhaus Judaica at http://www.lehrhaus.org/ or 510-845-6420.

Cosponsored by Lehrhaus Judaica and the Beth El Adult Education Committee

Intermediate Modern Hebrew

Dates: Wednesdays, October 26 – December 14
(no class 11/23)
Time: 7:45 – 8:45 p.m.

This class is for individuals who can read and write, but have little or no knowledge of Hebrew vocabulary and grammar. Learn to create simple sentences, verbally and in writing.
Registration for this class is $95 to the public, or $80 for Beth El members, payable to Lehrhaus Judaica.For more information or to register for this series, please contact Lehrhaus Judaica at http://www.lehrhaus.org/ or 510-845-6420.