blogs/brentspodek

There are few things which the Jewish tradition values more than study.

This year at BHA, in addition to our MASA program for children, a wide range of adult learning opportunities - please take a look and see what works for you!. Please note that the Sunday morning classes are capped at 12, so be sure to sign-up early if you are interested.

• On Sunday mornings, in October, we’ll explore Art Green’s Radical Judaism. Rabbi Green is one of the most important and provocative contemporary Jewish theologians and his book is a profound exploration of the ways that religious and spiritual truths can - and cannot - live together with scientific and rational truths. Registration is required for this class.

• Parenting as a Spiritual Practice will be a workshop Monday mornings, also starting in October. We’ll read Rabbi Danya Ruttenberg’s book, Nurture the Wow as a way to ground our conversation in how the difficult, demanding, and draining work of parenthood can also offer the spiritual solace we seek. Registration is required for this class. 

• On most Friday nights, I’ll be teaching the Kedushas Levi, an early hasidic master who had a particularly contemplative approach to Judaism, finding holiness in the deeds and actions of ordinary people. This is a drop-in class, and all are welcome.

• Starting in late October, Julie Seltzer will be teaching an Introduction to Modern Hebrew focusing on modern Hebrew as a spoken language. Julie, as many of us already know, is truly a lover and master of the Hebrew language and an incredible teacher! Registration is required for this class.

• On Saturday mornings before Shacarit, we’ll be looking at Pirke Avot, the central work of rabbinic ethics. Avot is one of the classics of our tradition, an accessible yet provocative text that asks us to consider what it is to live right. This is a drop in class - all are welcome.

• We’ll be offering separate workshops for parents and for children to learn about how to respect our bodies and the bodies of others in a special series on Sexuality and You: Bodies, Communication, and Jewish Values. Registration is required for this class.

• Over the winter, we’ll be looking at  The Myth of Samson through the eyes of David Gross­man, the prominent Israeli author, who finds in Samson  a lost child who is a mystery to even himself, forever misunderstanding his destiny. Registration is required for this class.

• In the spring, we’ll explore The Art of Heresy with of two of Judaism’s most important heretics - Alisha ben Abuya and Baruch Spinoza. Registration is required for this class.

If prayer can be thought of as the moments when we open our hearts to speak to the Divine, study can be thought of as the moments when we open our minds to absorb the wisdom of the Divine, refracted through generations of students and teachers. 

I look forward to opening our hearts and minds together in this coming year!