Upcoming adult ed class: Cycles of Teshuvah

Announcing an adult education class which will be taught by Reb Rachel in the new year!

CYCLES OF TESHUVAH

Many of us are familiar with the idea of making teshuvah — repentance; return; turning-toward-God — before Yom Kippur. But Jewish tradition offers rich teachings about the spiritual (one might even say karmic) importance of making teshuvah each night before sleep, each week before Shabbat, and each month before New Moon. This three-session adult education class will explore classical teachings about the cycles of teshuvah and how those teachings can enrich and inform our lives today. You’ll come away with simple and beautiful daily, weekly, and monthly practices to incorporate into your life.

This class is open to all: Jews and non-Jews, members and non-members. (The class is free for CBI members; for non-members there is a $35 registration fee.)

DATES/TIMES:

Classes will be held over lunch, after services on three Shabbatot in February and March: February 11, February 25, March 3. (Attendance at services beforehand is optional, though of course it’s always a joy to see you in shul! But please don’t feel that you can’t sign up for the class if you won’t be in shul that morning — you are truly welcome to come just for the lunch-and-learn.) Bring a bag lunch; we’ll eat at the seminar table as we learn.

TO ENROLL:

email office (at) cbiweb.org or call 413-663-5830. (Questions, comments, concerns? You can reach Reb Rachel at rebrachel (at) cbiweb.org or that same phone number above.)

I hope you’ll join us!

CBI book group; Talmud classes

Dear CBI community,

The CBI book group will meet next at 7pm on Monday, November 21 to discuss “To The End of the Land” by David Grossman. All are welcome; there is no fee for participation, and it doesn’t matter if you have (or haven’t) come to previous meetings of the book group.

David Grossman is a prominent Israeli novelist. For more on David Grossman, here’s his Wikipedia entry , and  here’s a (glowing) review of the book for those who want to learn more. Copies of the book will soon be available at the local public library; it’s also available on Amazon for $10. For more information (or to volunteer to moderate the discussion this time around), call Chaim Bronstein at 917-609-6732.

Chaim is also about to begin offering a free class in Talmud at CBI, geared toward adults. All are welcome and there is no fee for participation. The class will meet on Sundays at 1pm, starting on Sunday, October 30; at that first class, the group will read short selections from Talmud in order to decide what subject(s) they want to learn about. If you’ve ever wondered about Talmud or wanted to try learning a little, this is a great opportunity to learn a little bit of this central Jewish text!

Take care and we hope to see you soon.

Come learn to lead prayer!

You don’t have to be a rabbi or cantor to lead a community in prayer. All that’s required is familiarity with the basic prayers and an open heart! This workshop will teach familiarity with the basic prayers, and the simple skills required for leading a community in prayer. (The open heart is up to you.)

This two-part workshop will prepare you to lead services: either a part of the service (tag-teaming with the rabbi or with another lay leader), or the whole service from beginning to end. Subjects to be discussed include:

- what is prayer, anyway?

- the basic building-blocks of the service

- the nuts and bolts of leading prayer from Mishkan Tefilah (how to navigate this siddur, how to choose which version of a prayer to lead)

- how to connect with the emotional and spiritual teachings of the prayers

- how to lead prayer comfortably and with joy

We’ll meet on Sunday, October 30 (note date change!) Sunday, November 6 and Sunday, November 13 at CBI from 1-3pm. All are welcome: whether you think you might want to help CBI by leading prayer in the future, or whether you just want to learn more about how we pray in order to enrich your own prayer life.

If you have questions, comments, concerns, or to sign up, email Reb Rachel: rebrachel@cbiweb.org