Lifelong Learning
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The Saturday morning Mishnah study group meets
at 8:45am in the Freedman Center.
All are welcome to join.
Saturday Morning Mishnah Study (8:45 AM – 9:30 AM weekly)
Feel free to attend at anytime! Join Rabbis Sager and Greyber for coffee and discussions on text from the Mishna.
We are currently (winter 2011/spring 2012) continuing our studies of Tractate Eruvin which discusses the boundaries associated with the rules of Shabbat and the blurring of these distinctions or mixing of regions that may extend those boundaries. People new to Mishnah study are especially welcome.
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Wednesday Morning
Service and Study
8 - 9 AM
Wednesday morning weekday service starts at 8 AM
Join us for services, coffee, nosh, and schmoozing,
followed by a study led by Rabbi Greyber
on Maimonides Laws of Prayer.
(Note Rosh Chodesh Wednesday services start at 7:45 AM –
check the weekly announcements.)
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Rabbi’s Tish
January 12 (at Beth El) & February 9 (location TBD)
7:30pm
An Evening of Singing and Learning Hasidic Texts on the Parsha with Rabbi Greyber.
RSVP: Miriam@betheldurham.org
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February 11
Talk by Sam Wells
On Shabbat morning, February 11th, Dean of Duke University Chapel and Research Professor of Christian Ethics at Duke Divinity School, Sam Wells, will deliver a "well-before Purim talk" on the book of Esther (Purim begins Wednesday night, March 7th this year). A widely-respected preacher, theologian, spokesperson, and convener of conversations on faith, Wells' commentary on Esther is expected to be published by Brazos this year. To read more about Wells, visit:
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Bet Midrash
March 1, 2012
7:30pm
A Reprise of the Shabbaton Bet Midrash:
Shammai, Hillel and 3 Would-be Students
Whether or not you participated in the Shabbaton, please join Rabbi Sager for an inquiry into a trio of famous stories about master teachers and their students.
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Learners' Minyan
A new series of Learners' Minyanim will start this Shabbat, February 4 9:30 AM to 10:15 AM in the Freedman Center lounge. Come this Shabbat to become familiar with an overview of the Shabbat morning service, to identify the parts and components of the service, and to learn the Kaddish prayer. Each Learners' Minyan will focus on one part of the Shabbat morning service and will include melodies. You are welcome to come to any or all of the Learner's Minyan meetings as each one will stand alone and will assume no previous knowledge or familiarity. The discussions will accommodate the interests and levels of the participants. Each Learners' Minyan will be taught by an experienced and knowledgeable congregant service leader.
2/4 Overview and the kaddish. Overview of brachot.
2/18 Torah service
3/17 Synaplex Shabbat - focus to be determined
3/24 Sh'mah and its blessings
4/21 The Amidah, emphasis on the kedushah
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The Art of Davening for Service Leaders
Join Rabbi Greyber for a workshop designed to help those who lead our community in prayer to improve their skills and learn ways to enhance the davening experience for themselves and the congregation. Anyone who has previously led services (at Beth El or at another synagogue) and would like to continue to be a Shaliach Tzibbur is strongly encouraged to attend at least one of these meetings. No matter how experienced one may be, there is always something new to learn about the service and to incorporate into leading the community.
Concentration on Shacharit:
Thurs., 2/2/12 7:30pm
Sun., 2/5/12 10:30am
Sat., 2/11/12 5:15pm
Concentration on Musaf:
Sun., 3/4/12 10:30am
Thurs. 3/29/12 7:30pm
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USCJ & The Fuchsburg Jerusalem Center present:
Rabbi Mordechai (Mitchell) Silverstein
For the sake of Brit Milah and the Passover Sacrifice, Israel was saved from Egypt
March 22, 2012
(evening time TBA)
Begin your spiritual preparation for Pesach with a scholar from Israel. Rabbi Silverstein, founder and teacher at the Conservative Yeshiva and Project Oded at the Fuchsberg Center for Conservative Judaism in Jerusalem writes a popular weekly internet Haftarah Commentary for the Conservative Yeshiva: http://www.uscj.org.il/haftarahArchive.phpThis program is entirely funded and made available to us through the generosity of The Temple Zion Israelite Center Scholar-in-Residence Program. USCJ’s Conservative Yeshiva in Jerusalem impacts hundreds and men and women each year, and this outreach effort is our way of offering its appeal to an even wider audience of learners. The program is brought to the congregation at no cost to Beth El.
Before making aliyah in 1988 he served as the rabbi of Congregation Shomray Hadath in Elmira, New York. Last year, he served as the sabbatical rabbi at Moriah Congregation in Deerfield, Illinois and in 2009 he was the scholar in residence for the Chicago region of United Synagogue. Rabbi Silverstein is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania where he served as president of the Hillel Foundation. He graduated from the Jewish Theological Seminary with an MA and rabbinical ordination and also received Smichah under the auspices of Yeshiva University. He did advanced studies in Talmud at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. Rabbi Silverstein, a native of Philadelphia, grew up in Willingboro, New Jersey. He is married to Shira, a Jerusalem native, who is a geneticist at Hadassah Hospital in Jerusalem. Together, they have five children and two grandchildren, all of whom live in Israel.
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"A History of Circumcision"
with Dr. John S. Wiener, M.D.
Join us for an informative presentation on the history of the practice of circumcision both in Judaism and in the United States. Dr. John Wiener is Associate Professor of Surgery and Pediatrics and the Head of the Section of Pediatric Urology at Duke University Medical Center. Dr. Wiener’s presentation will include a discussion of the widespread acceptance of circumcision in America in the 20th century and of the modern opposition against the practice. He will also review the current medical benefits and risks of circumcision. An open discussion will follow with questions from the participants.
Sunday, April 15, 2012
10:30 AM – 12:00 PM
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Hebrew Instruction
ALL LEVELS
Sundays, 11:00 AM — 12:15 PM
Need to brush up on your Hebrew reading skills?
Never really learned the alphabet well and would like to?
Want to learn to read specific prayers and understand the words?
Want to improve your Hebrew so you can participate more fully in Shabbat and other services?
Want to learn more Hebrew so you can read Torah or Haftorah?
Want to be able to participate in your child’s bar/bat mitzvah?
We invite all Beth El Members who are interested in improving their Hebrew skills to join us on Sunday mornings from 11 AM – 12:15 PM. Class will be structured to meet the needs of the students. This will be an informal class, but regular attendance is important to succeed.
Taught by Roger Jay Kaplan, Ph.D. Roger has a Ph.D in Hebrew from New York University and has taught at NYU, Emory University, Duke University, The Ohio State University and other institutions. Roger’s son will become a bar mitzvah at Beth El in March 2012.
Class will meet for 10 sessions coordinated with Talmud Torah during the Fall & Spring semesters. Minimum enrollment needed for the class to continue.
Click here to download a registration form.
Beth El Members and JRC Members: $100; Non-Members: $120
If you are new to the Triangle, NC, community or have never taken a Beth El Hebrew course before: 50% discount on first course!) Or i(you are a full time student in high school, college, etc.: 50% discount for all courses!!)
Scholarships are available.
Questions? Contact the office or your instructor, Roger Kaplan (rjk7760@yahoo.com)
Tanach: Interpretation Through Translation
Sundays, 9:30 AM — 10:45 AM
Join this group for weekly discussions of selections from the Tanach (Hebrew Bible) chosen by the class. The emphasis will be on understanding the text by comparing published English translations with literal meanings of the Hebrew. Your instructor, Roger Kaplan, with many years of experience teaching Hebrew classes at Beth El and elsewhere, will provide guidance as each person practices with translating, and the group develops its own understanding of the text. Particulars of the Hebrew language will be discussed within the context of the text.
This class requires good reading skills with a modest vocabulary and a basic understanding of grammar. Advanced Hebrew is not required. Minimum enrollment needed for the class to continue.
Click here to download a registration form.
Beth El Members and JRC Members: $144; Non-Members: $192
If you are new to the Triangle, NC, community or have never taken a Beth El Hebrew course before: 50% discount on first course!) Or i(you are a full time student in high school, college, etc.: 50% discount for all courses!!)
Scholarships are available. Questions? Contact Roger Kaplan (rjk7760@yahoo.com) or call the office.
Roger Kaplan earned his PhD in Hebrew Linguistics from New York University in 1992. He has taught Hebrew at New York University, Emory University, Ohio State Univeristy and Duke. Having once made aliya, Roger has spent extended time in Israel.
Organization and Co-Sponsors
Programming for the Triangle Community School for Continuing Jewish Education is organized by the Beth El Lifelong Learning Committee and cosponsored by the following organizations: Beth El Talmud Torah and Va'ad haChinuch, Jewish Community Center Without Walls - an agency of the Durham-Chapel
Hill Jewish Federation, Duke’s Freeman Center for Jewish Life, UNC Hillel, and the Elaine Perilstein Memorial Fund.
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January 29, 2012
10:30am at Beth El
Rabbi J. Solomon will present
"Gathering the Waters:
Diving into the History, Ritual, and Re-emergence of Mikveh"
A mikveh, by definition, is a collection of "mayim hayim—"living waters." This ritual, both transcendent and imminent, has breathed life into Jewish tradition for millennia with the power to denote change and spiritual transformation. What function did the mikveh serve in antiquity and what has kept it alive all this time? In this symposium, we will explore all the possible uses for mikveh—from ancient times, to rabbinic times, to our modern times. What might the mikveh mean to you? Open for men and women of all backgrounds and experiences.
Beth El is a founding partner of the new community mikveh, Libi Eir, in Raleigh.
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 Rabbi Frank A. Fischer was born in Germany and grew up on Long Island, New York. He received his BA in Sociology, Brooklyn College, Brooklyn, NY 1957 and his MA in Hebrew Literature, Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, New York, NY 1962 where he was ordained the same year. Rabbi Fischer has been a member of the Rabbinical Assembly (Conservative) since 1974. He served as Hillel Director on various campuses including The University of Georgia, Brooklyn College, Hofstra University, Executive Director of Hillel for Florida campuses, Executive Director for Hillel in North Carolina (including, Duke, UNC, NC. State). He is currently on the faculty of the Ocher Lifelong Learning Institute at Duke University and is the co-chair of the Durham/Chapel Hill Federation’s Community Relations Committee. Rabbi Fischer served as interim Rabbi for Beth El September 1, 2010 through June 30, 2011 during our year of transition between pulpit rabbis Steven Sager(1978-2010) and Daniel Greyber (2011- ).
At Shabbat services and a special lunch on October 16, 2010, we celebrated Rabbi Fischer's 80th birthday. Below are links to a D'var Torah given by Kathy Bartelmay on that Shabbat as well as an interview that Aaron Balleisen (age 11) conducted with Rabbi Fischer in April of 2010.
D'var Torah Lech Lecha, Kathy Bartelmay (text, pdf)
Interview with Aaron Balleisen (audio file hosted by Jewish Sparks)
Interview with Aaron Balleisen (text, pdf)
Lerner School Tribute March 27, 2011 (video hosted by Jewish Sparks) |
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