Watch this space for news regarding Intro to the Jewish Experience: big plans are afoot!
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Who is a Jew?
Posted on April 26, 2011 by rabbiadar
This Wednesday we’re going to be talking about another question that generates a lot of heat: Who is a Jew? And how do we get that way? According to whom? And (last but not least) why does it matter?
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Jews and Food
Posted on March 31, 2011 by rabbiadar
Food is an important part of Jewish life and culture, and our class period allowed us only to scratch the surface. “Jewish Food” is a huge category: it’s what Jews eat, be it kosher or un-kosher, holiday brisket or the lowly bagel.
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tagged: Food, Jewish cuisine, Jews, Judaism, Kashrut, Torah | 2 Comments »
Getting to know you!
Posted on March 24, 2011 by rabbiadar
We had a great first class tonight, with a group of wonderful new students as well as some familiar faces. You told us a bit about yourselves, and we talked about Shabbat.
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tagged: Berkeley CA, Congregation Beth El, Introduction to Judaism, Jewish, Jewish Peoplehood | Leave a Comment »
New class beginning March 23!
Posted on March 22, 2011 by rabbiadar
Wednesday night, March 23, at 7:30 we will begin the third part of the “Intro” series, “The People Israel” at Congregation Beth El in Berkeley, CA. If you have not taken Parts I or II, no problem! — each part stands on its own, and you can take the series in any order.
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tagged: Berkeley CA, Congregation Beth El, Introduction to Judaism, Judaism, Lehrhaus Judaica, Passover, Zionism | Leave a Comment »
In North America, it was different for the Jews.
Posted on February 27, 2011 by rabbiadar
This past week we looked at some American Jewish history. As with everything else, we only had time for the headlines. But the takeaway is, North America really is different for the Jews, and it has been from the first Jewish arrivals here.
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tagged: American Jews, History of the Jews in the United States, Introduction to Judaism, Jewish History, Judaism | Leave a Comment »
Lost and Found: Jewish law and literature via “lost objects”
Posted on February 18, 2011 by rabbiadar
Where did all the rules come from? If we look only at the written Torah, the 5 Books of Moses, it isn’t at all clear where “Jewish Law” came from. This week we walked through the ongoing process of Torah using a single question: What does a good Jew do with a lost object?
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From Destruction to Emancipation
Posted on February 12, 2011 by rabbiadar
This week we “hit the high points” of Jewish history from the year 70 to 1791, from the destruction of the Second Temple to the moment when Jews were included as citizens of France.
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tagged: Ethnicity, Jewish, Jewish History, Jews, Middle Ages, Siege of Jerusalem (70) | Leave a Comment »
Talking Torah
Posted on January 27, 2011 by rabbiadar
Tonight we talked about Torah, which can be translated as “teaching” and denotes (1) the first five books of the Bible or (2) the broader scope of Jewish learning. We also looked at the Tanakh, or Jewish Bible, which includes Torah (Genesis through Deuteronomy), Nevi’im [Prophets] (Joshua through Micah), and Ketuvim [Writings] (Psalms through Chronicles).
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tagged: Bible, Everett Fox, Ketuvim, Nevi'im, Robert Alter, Tanakh, Torah | Leave a Comment »
Haven’t registered yet?
Posted on January 21, 2011 by rabbiadar
It’s not too late to enroll in the Winter 2011 class for Intro to the Jewish Experience!
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