Lunch & Learn Beit Midrash: Week 3

If you've missed the first sessions, fear not - you can STILL SIGN UP!!!  

***Please note, that if you've already registered for any of the sessions YOU DO NOT need to register again.***

Together with several other North Carolina Reform Congregations, we invite you to join us for this free online adult education program!  The "Lunch & Learn" begins Thursday, February 18 - March 25.

The weekly schedule is:

12 noon - 1:00 p.m.: First Course

1:00-1:15 p.m.: Short Break

1:15-2:15 p.m.: Second Course

When you register, please indicate which course you wish to attend for the first hour and which course for the second hour.  For additional information, please contact your rabbi or call Temple Emanuel at (336) 292-7899.

Course Offerings

First Hour: 12 Noon - 1:00 PM

The Voices of Science and Reason in the Bible

Rabbi Ariel Edery, Beth Shalom: SW Wake

In the Bible, we hear "the voice of God", and hear the Prophets' "visions" and "revelations". In our course, we will find and explore the Biblical voices of intellectual reasoning, human experience, and rational-scientific knowledge, as found in the Bible's Wisdom books.

Treasures of the Zohar

Rabbi David Lipper, Temple Kol Tikvah: Lake Norman

We will explore some teachings about the Creation, the Human Soul, and Revelation. We will read the text in translation and it will be focused on discussion.

The Significance of Jewish Resistance during and after the Holocaust

Rabbi Fred Guttman, Temple Emanuel: Greensboro

This course will examine art, music, prayer, humor, those who saved others (including Righteous Gentiles), and cases of physical resistance, individual and organized. In the latter part of the course, we will examine post-Holocaust responses in art and theology and end with a discussion of Holocaust denial and anti-Semitism in groups such as QAnon and the Proud Boys.

Chametz, Yetzer Harah, and Channeling Human Energies

Rabbi Harley Karz-Wagman, Congregation Bayt Shalom: Greenville

Passover rituals urge us to control our chametz (leavened products, our puffed up ego), a symbol for our yetzer harah (fear triggered animal impulses). We will learn to understand and control and channel the energies generated by our yetzer harah in service of our yetzer tov (inclinations towards good). That will lead us to direct all of our actions to serve God, instead of Pharaohs.

Second Hour: 1:15 - 2:15 PM

Dichotomies We've Created

Rabbi Rachael Jackson, Agudas Israel Congregation: Hendersonville

We will look at various pairs of subjects including Judaism & Science; Angels & Demons; Heaven & Hell; Abilities & Disabilities. We will view each pair as we are often confronted with them--as though they are in opposition. Our goal, however, will be to reconcile the false dichotomy which has been created."

The Greatest Teachings from Our Greatest Teacher: Next Steps

Rabbi Andy Koren, Temple Emanuel: Greensboro

Remember the days before pearls of wisdom were shared in newspaper columns, radio/TV talk shows, or social media? Judaism does. Pirkei Avot, a section of Rabbinic teaching - many of them no more than a few lines – includes the ethical advice of our most celebrated minds from antiquity. This class will look at Chapters 3 & 4 of this six-chapter work, always pausing to see how the teachings of thousands of years ago help us understand the times we now live in. No prior knowledge of Chapters 1 & 2 or any other prerequisite necessary.

Sensing Humor in the Talmud

Rabbi Matt Soffer, Judea Reform Congregation: Durham

In this class, we will explore the ways in which the realm of the Comic permeates Talmudic literature. We will approach our ancient texts through the lenses of Comic Theory to discover how our ancestors’ sense of humor was just as spirited- even essential- as our own, particularly as they grappled with their own often tragic crises.

Where Is God When Your Heart Stops

Rabbi Lucy Dinner, Temple Beth Or: Raleigh

If we attribute goodness and blessings to God where do evil and curses originate? Why would a loving God create a world with the propensity for pandemics and violent enmity?

What is Mindfulness and Is it Jewish?

Rabbi Batsheva Meiri, Beth HaTephila: Asheville

Religious practice is a practice of mindfulness, of paying attention in the present moment. This course will examine the intersection between mindfulness and Torah, Jewish Theology, and Jewish practice. We will also spend class time learning various practices students might incorporate into their daily lives.