Jul

9 2020

Scholar-in-YOUR-Residence Summer Series

7:30PM - 9:00PM  

Congregation Agudat Achim 2117 Union Street
Schenectady, NY

Contact Josh Cooper-Ginsburg
https://zoom.us/j/970211663?pwd=UVRtRGNFQnovbzF0UTZJcCtOdEVCQT09
5183939211
admin@agudatachim.org
http://agudatachim.com

Join via Zoom!

Congregation Agudat Achim's Adult Education Committee and the Sadie Schneider Rosh Hodesh Learning Group presents the Scholar-in-YOUR-Residence Summer Series!
All classes will be at 7:30 PM on Zoom, following minyan at 7:15 PM

Join Zoom: https://zoom.us/j/970211663?pwd=UVRtRGNFQnovbzF0UTZJcCtOdEVCQT09

July 9 - Rabbi Shir Yaakov Feit: Nothing So Whole--Broken Tablets and Broken Hearts
Today's date on the Hebrew calendar is known as the Seventeenth of Tamuz and commemorates, amongst other things, the shattering of the Two Tablets by Moses. Is this a calamity or a course correction? Why were the shattered and the second set of whole tablets kept together in the Ark? How is our own healing connected to Torah? What does the brokenness of the world offer us? Through song, silence, study, and sharing our stories we will create a container for rest, restoration, revelation, and realization.

July 16 - Rabbi Sharyn Perlman: Who Remembers What Day It Is?! How the Jewish Calendar Can Anchor Us During the Pandemic Tide
In our liturgy, each day has its own psalm, and Psalm 104 was chosen by our ancient Rabbis as the special prayer we recite on Rosh Hodesh. The Psalm begins with the words, “Barchi Nafshi, Bless, My Soul.” What might our Sages have been thinking when they connected this psalm to the new month? And how does Psalm 104 speak to us today? Please join us as we study traditional as well as modern texts to help us explore how the renewal of the month, especially during these challenging days, can nurture and bless our souls, and give us hope for the future.

July 23- Rabbi Margie Cella: What Does the Talmud Teach About Converts?
Statistics show that more people are becoming Jewish than have ever seen. Practically everybody knows someone, a family member, friend or congregant who is a Jew by Choice. But was it always this way? How did the rabbis of the Talmud view converts - favorably or unfavorably? Well like anything in the Talmud, it's complicated. We'll explore several texts on this topic. The answers may surprise you.

July 30 - Tisha B'Av - No Session

August 6 - Rabbi Noah Bickart: Torah For Its Own Sake--Rabbi Meir and the Costs of a Life of Torah
In this session, we will study a passage from Kallah Rabati, one of the so-called "minor" tractates of the Talmud. In it, we will encounter the rather extreme position of Rabbi Meir concerning torah study, and the ways in which this lofty goal is deeply problematic.

August 13 - Rabbi Rachel Ain: Our Dreams for a New Year--Transformation Begins Now
Looking at traditional and modern sources, Rabbi Ain will take you on a spiritual journey to prepare for the upcoming month of Elul, the final month of the Jewish year, as we reflect on what has been and dream about what is to come.

August 20 - Joshua Sussman: To Long Through Song--Spiritual and Musical Themes in Chassidic Niggunim
Program Description TBA

August 27 - Aaron Benavot: Is Quality Education the Secret to Israel's Entrepreneurial Success?
Program Description TBA

September 3 - Rabbi Lauren Tuchman: From Tisha B'Av Through Rosh Hashanah--Moving from Mourning to Consolation and Into a New Year
Entering 5781 in just a few short weeks, the year we have just ended is unlike anything any of us have ever experienced. Our people have been through crisis times before. Through an examination of the period between Tisha b’Av and Rosh Hashanah, we will explore the ways in which our sages sought to help us to rebuild and look ahead to the unknown of a new year. We will examine passages from several of the haftarot of consolation as our guideposts on this journey.