Course #1

 

The Hebrew Literacy Campaign

 

Learn to read the Hebrew of the Prayer Book and participate in Shabbat, High Holidays, Festivals, Bar/Bat Mitzvah services! Using a method specifically designed for adults, tens of thousands of Jews have learned how to read Hebrew. Here is your chance to join them!

 

Taught by: Larry Kintisch

When: 15 sessions through March on Sunday mornings, 10:00 am -12 noon, beginning October 14th.

 

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Course #2

 

The “Four Seasons”: A Course about Jewish Life Cycle Events

 

In his book The Sabbath, Abraham Joshua Heschel writes that “Judaism is a “religion of time” and that Jewish ritual may be characterized as “…architecture of time”.  In this course, designed for those with no previous knowledge as well as those who are more advanced, we will examine the “Four Seasons” of a person’s life – birth, maturity, adulthood and death – as marked by Jewish Life Cycle ceremonies, both traditional and contemporary.  We will discuss their history, their traditional and modern forms of observance and we will look at totally new ceremonies, (such as Leikh L’kha for the teen going off to college), which have been created in the past ten years to mark other transitions in modern life.

 

Taught by:        Michael Kohn

When:              8 Sessions on Sunday mornings, 10 - 11:30 am, beginning October 14.

Fee:                  $36

 

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Course # 3

 

Reading as a Woman: Feminist Interpretation and the Bible

 

Is the Bible a sexist document?  If it is, how can we retain it as our sacred text?  If it isn’t, what does it have to tell us about gender roles and acceptable behavior for men and women?

 

In this class, we will read and interpret selected texts from the Bible (in English) with the interests of women as our primary focus.  We will learn about feminist and biblical theories of interpretation and examine the opinions of various feminist scholars both Jewish and Christian, secular and religious.  This class is appropriate for students at all levels of study and is not for women only. 

 

 

 

Taught by:        Barbara Rosenthal Birnbaum

When:              8 Sessions on Monday evenings, 7 – 8:30 pm beginning October 15

Fee:                  $36

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Course # 4

 

The Book of Proverbs 31: 10-13 – The True Face of the Woman of Valor

- The Going Deeper™ Series -

 

A woman of valor, who can find, for her price is beyond rubies… These twenty-one culminating lines of the Book of Proverbs have often been embraced as the paean to the Jewish woman.  In traditional homes, husbands offer these verses as a Friday night serenade to their Shabbat-making wives.  They have more recently become the lyrics for a post-Huppah aria sung by bridegroom to bride at many Jewish weddings.  But, in truth,  is the feminine portrait painted in these words magnanimous or patriarchal; uplifting or condescending; realistic or metaphoric, or all of the above?

 

In this series for men and women, we will delve into both the P’shat and Drash levels of the text, examine the teachings of a variety of classical and contemporary commentaries, compare and contrast the many translations of the poem, and struggle to find relevant and essential meaning in it for ourselves.

 

Taught by:        Judith Rose

When:              8 Sessions – Wednesday evenings from 7 to 8:15 pm beginning on October 17

Fee:                  $100

 

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Course #5

 

“Sense”-ible Judaism: A Course in Jewish Sensory Perception

While some religious traditions treat bodily pleasure as something to be shunned or transcended, Judaism provides avenues by which to celebrate interaction with the physical world.  Viewing our sensory experience with this world as a blessing from G-d, how should the Jew accept that gift responsibly?  Dealing with all five senses, we will investigate topics such as brachot for various occasions, kashrut, the Shema, the obligation to hear the shofar, the prohibition of listening to lashon ha-ra (gossip), Orthodox restrictions on men and women touching, and Jewish sexual ethics.

 

Taught by:        Rabbi Michael Rothbaum

When:              Wednesday evenings, 8:30 to 9:30 pm, beginning on October 17
Fee:                  $100

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Course # 6

 

Key Rabbinic Passages for Conservative Jews

 

 

In this class we will primarily study Talmud and Mishna as we navigate through sections on the fundamental customs and rituals of the Jewish People through the eyes of Modern Conservative Judaism. This class will cover a wide range of topics from Shabbat to Theodicy to Gender issues in Judaism. 

 

Taught by:        Rabbi Joshua Gruenberg

When:              Thursday evenings, 7:30 to 9:00 pm, October 18 – May 18

Fee:                  $50

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Course #7

 

The Zohar For Beginners (Including Me*)

 

Dr. Daniel C. Matt the preeminent Zohar scholar has written a new exhaustive translation of the Prinsker
edition of the Zohar.  We will be continuing to explore the first of his volumes on Saturday afternoons, culminating with Havdalah the service that marks the end of Shabbat. No prior experience in Zohar is necessary.  People who take this course may wish to buy Dr. Matt's new book (The Zohar: Pritzker Edition, 2004, Stanford U Press, Vol. 1) available at most Barnes & Noble stores or website for about $50.

 

Taught by:        *Rabbi Joshua Gruenberg

Where:              Rabbi’s house - 308 Front St., Nyack.  (Left out of CSI.  First left on Highmount which ends at Front St)

When:              October 20 – March 8:  Shabbat, an hour before it ends (Use Fri nite candle-lighting time as reference)

March 15   -- May 17:   Shabbat, after morning services and kiddush

Fee:                  $18

 

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Course # 8

 

Learn to Chant Torah

 

Not only is this class FREE but you will also receive a FREE TIKKUN!*

 

Learn to chant Torah from Cantor Lawrence Szenes-Strauss.  Join in one of the most rewarding ways to participate in Jewish worship.  Learn to decipher the tropes encoding the chanting that has been part of the Jewish tradition for thousands of years.  Prerequisite:  Ability to read Hebrew (even slowly).

 

Taught by:        Cantor Lawrence Szenes-Strauss

When:              Sunday mornings – Exact dates and times TBA

Fee:                  None

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Course #9

 

Adult Bar and Bat Mitzvah Class

 

Several congregants have expressed interest in beginning to study for adult Bar/Bat Mitzvah.  We can set up an adult B’nai Mitzvah class if we have a minimum of five individuals who are willing to follow this course of study. 

 

Please let the office know if you are interested by sending in the registration form.

 

 

 

Coming attractions:

 

The following additional courses are being planned for next semester (beginning in January)

 

Modern Jewish Philosophers: What Makes Them Modern

 

In this class we will look at seven different modern Jewish philosophers* and what it is that makes them modern, i.e., what is it about their ideas that were original and noteworthy in their time and relevant in ours.  

*A.J. Heschel, Rav Kook, Mordechai Kaplan, David Hartman, Eugene Borowitz,  Neil Gillman

 

Taught by:        Barbara Birnbaum, Rabbi Joshua Gruenberg, and Michael Kohn

When:              Sunday mornings 10 – 11:30 AM beginning Jan 13

Fee:                  $50     

 

 

The Founding of the State of Israel

 

Taught by:        Hillel Gruenberg

Details to follow

 

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Thanks to all who filled out questionnaires to let us know what you are interested in learning about.

 

If we are not offering a course you want to take, let us know what it is by filling out the comments and suggestions section of the registration form.

 

 

 

 

 

INSTRUCTORS:

 

Barbara Rosenthal Birnbaum received her Masters with distinction from the Jewish Theological Seminary Graduate School in the field of Bible and Ancient Semitic Languages in June 2004.  She has been teaching Jewish Adult Ed classes for over twelve years in such topics as: Bible, Theology, Judaism & Gender, Synagogue skills, and Midrash in the music of Bruce Springsteen. She currently teaches adults at the Rockland branch of the Florence Melton Adult Mini-School and tutors B’nei Mitzvah students in Rockland and Westchester.

 

Rabbi Joshua Z. Gruenberg is the Rabbi and Spiritual Leader of Congregation Sons Of Israel in Upper Nyack, New York.  Rabbi Gruenberg received his rabbinical ordination in 2002 from the Jewish Theological Seminary.  Rabbi Gruenberg worked for two years as the Solomon Schechter High School of Long Island as the Rabbi-in-Residence and Director of Judaic Studies. 

 

Larry Kintisch trains companies, institutions and individuals in the use of computer applications. He loves puns, word-plays, and one-liners. He is a very involved Nyack resident, and has always been involved in synagogue and social action. He leads Friday night services and mourners’ minyanim at CSI.

 

Michael Kohn is a Fifth Year Rabbinical Student at the Academy for Jewish Religion. Prior to entering Rabbinical School, he spent 30 years as an attorney in private practice litigating complex commercial matters. Michael is a graduate of United Synagogue’s IMUN programs and has taught Torah and Mishnah, read and tutored Torah and Haftarah readers, and led services and the Learner’s Minyan at his congregation in Cincinnati. After moving to Nanuet in 2004, Michael joined CSI and he has served as the congregation’s Rabbinic Intern for the past two years.  In addition to his work at CSI, he also served as Rabbi of Congregation Shaara Tfille in Saratoga Springs in 2006-07.

 

Judith Rose is a published author, educator, and award-winning teacher and poet. Her workshops in Jewish spiritual practice guide others towards the richest development of their inner potential as they engage with Torah and Tefilah, and stretch toward the sacred. She has developed original curriculum for many learning centers, schools, synagogues, and universities, and teaches regularly at conferences in the fields of Jewish education and the arts. She is also the founder and director of Vital Movement™ and a certified Otiyot Hayyot instructor. 

 

Rabbi Michael Rothbaum is Campus Rabbi and Program Director for Hillels of Westchester, serving Sarah Lawrence College and Purchase College.  He received his rabbinical ordination in 2006 from the Academy for Jewish Religion, the first pluralistic rabbinical school in the nation.  Rabbi Mike's religious-based activism has been covered in several media outlets, including CNN and WABC-TV, and this year a sermon of his was included in the anthology Peace, Justice, and Jews: Reclaiming Our Tradition, published by Bunim and Bannigan.  Outside of Torah, his interests include fair wages, Bob Dylan, and an extra dessert.

 

Cantor Lawrence Szenes-Strauss and his wife Terri Machtiger have been with us in the community for the past year.  Cantor Szenes-Strauss recently

completed his third year at the H.L. Miller Cantorial School of the Jewish Theological Seminary.  Cantor Szenes-Strauss also just completed a summer working at Camp Ramah in the Berkshires.  Cantor Szenes-Strauss grew up in New York City but really seasoned his Torah reading ability by being the Gabbai of a Minyan while attending Brandeis University.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Please register for Adult Ed classes

by

Thursday, October 11^th*

 

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Non-Members are Welcome to Register

 

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Registration Form

Can be found on the Back Cover

 

*Each class requires a minimum of 5 people.   Letting us know about your intent to register will help insure the classes will go forward

 

 

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