Adult Education Catalog

Who are we? Why are we here? If you believe the search for answers is its own reward, Temple Shalom's program of life long learning invites you to join the discussion, enter into the ongoing conversation - a centuries old dialog with ancient texts - and discover how being Jewish speaks to adult situations in ways that touch on the deepest questions of our lives

Temple Shalom offers a comprehensive selection of courses focusing on the needs of our congregants. Programs throughout the year, often open to the community, explore both the "how-to" and "why" of Jewish life, the basic building blocks of holidays and customs and the insights, struggles and historic circumstances that gave birth and give power to the rites and rituals of the Jewish people.

Our program includes weekday brown-bag lunch Bible study; book groups; classes in religious studies and rabbinic texts; opportunities to learn Hebrew; and topics of contemporary interest developed at members' requests and inspired by current events. Recent programs have included workshops for interfaith couples, Jewish identity at mid-life, Jewish meditation, a weekly Talmud study group, and music of the High Holidays, as well as courses offered at Leisure World, the JCC and in downtown Washington D.C. through the Foundation for Jewish Studies. Classes are taught by our professional staff, lay leaders, and scholars-in-residence.

Reading the Writings: Wisdom of the Ages & Ethics of the Everyday; an Exploration of the Book of Proverbs
For many of us, the purpose of prayer and the essence of religion is the goal of leading a better life. Technology may put a new face on everyday experience, but the essential questions of what it means to be a good person are unchanged over the course of centuries. In words penned thousands of years ago - but which often sound as if they could have been written yesterday - the wisdom writers of the Book of Proverbs tackle life's tough questions, and try to leave us a legacy of lessons learned. Proverbs is perhaps the most pragmatic and accessible book in the entire Hebrew Bible. This October, Temple Shalom reconvenes its lunchtime series "Reading the Writings" as we delve into the Book of Proverbs. This informal discussion meets (almost) every Thursday afternoon in the Chapel at Temple Shalom. Sessions work for those who just drop in occasionally, as well as for those who try to come every week. Bring a bag lunch and a dessert to share; no previous knowledge of Hebrew or Biblical texts is required.
Thursday afternoons, October 1, 2009-May 13, 2010, Noon-1:00 PM
Open to all. No charge. Primary instructor: Rabbi Michael Feshbach

Are the Holidays Late This Year? Judaism and the Lessons of Modern Biblical Scholarship
Some of the most familiar holidays in the Jewish calendar look very different in the light of biblical research. What is more, the Dead Sea Scrolls have revealed that, compared with the "Jewish Calendar" we use today, Jews in late bibiblical times used an entirely different calendar -- one in which the holidays were never "late this year." What are Jews today to make of these findings?

Professor James L. Kugel is the Director of the Institute for the History of the Jewish Bible at Bar Ilan University in Israel and the Harry M. Starr Professor Emeritus of Classical and Modern Hebrew Literature at Harvard University. He is the author and editor of 15 books and numerous articles on the Bible and its early commentators, focusing on the Second Temple period. In 2001, his book, The Bible As It Was, won the Grawemeyer Award in religion. The prize "recognizes outstanding and creative works that promote understanding of the relationship between human beings and the divine." The Bible As It Was was published in 1997 by Harvard University. It is the annotated version of a lengthier work, entitled Traditions of the Bible.
Thursday, March 18, 2010; 7:30-9:00 PM
Free of Charge. Primary Instructor: Professor James Kugel

Israel 101: People and Politics, Land and Culture
This course is an introduction to Israel, from ancient origins and Biblical roots to its modern politics. Topics may include: History and Historiography (the question of what is the Bible, what is Biblical history, and how we use – and misuse – the Bible and archeology in understanding our own identity); Geography of Israel; Zionism and the roots of the Modern State; the threat from Hamas, Hezbollah and Iran (security Doctrines in the face of long-range missiles); Parties and Politics (how the Israeli government works); Unity and Diversity (Israeli culture as seen through the lens of Ashkenazim and Sephardim, Secular and Religious, Russians and Ethiopians, Arabs and Religious Minorities); Israel and the Palestinians; Sights and Sounds (Music and Poetry, Food and Festivals). This course is important for everyone, but is especially suited for those planning a trip to Israel.
Wednesday evenings, March 17 and 24, April 7, 14 and 21, 2010; 7:30-9:00 PM
$36 for Temple Shalom members; $45 for all others. To register, use the form in this catalog or contact Lauren Harrison at 301-587-2273 or (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address). Primary Instructors: Rabbi Michael L. Feshbach and Lisa Pressman

Learning at Leisure World - Choices: New Views of God in Modern Jewish Thought From Mordecai Kaplan to Martin Buber to Abraham Joshua Heschel
We live at a time in which our views about God and religious questions differ widely from one another, and we may think that our own beliefs place us outside the bounds, or beyond the pale of Jewish tradition. In fact, though, Jewish thinkers have expressed a startlingly wide range of views about God over the past century -- ranging from the notion that God is (just?) an idea, to intensely intimate and personal portraits of the divine. Using an approach developed by Rabbi Eugene Borowitz to place these modern writers on a spectrum from rationalists to non-rational, we will explore the views of thinkers as different as Mordecai Kaplan and Abraham Joshua Heschel. With our discussion will come the opportunity to see that, in all likelihood, you are not alone in your own views, whatever they might be.
Wednesday mornings, April 7, 14, 21 and 28, 2010; 10:30 AM – 12 Noon
For further information contact Lucky Malamut, at 301-598-2833 or Rabbi Michael Feshbach, at 301-587-2273 or (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address). Primary Instructor: Rabbi Michael Feshbach

Temple Shalom Book Discussion Group 2009-2010
The Temple Shalom Book Club meets at the Temple usually every other month. You do not have to be a member to participate. We have a light breakfast nosh including bagels and coffee, as well as great discussions. Our next discussion will focus on A Hatred for Tulips by Richard Lourie.
Sunday, April 11, 2010 from 9:00-10:30 AM
Free of Charge

Lunch and Learn Bible Study Groups: Sponsored by the Foundation for Jewish Studies, Washington DCJCC, and the Jewish Study Center

Above and Beyond: The Origin of Ethics and Piety Out of the Pages of the Jewish Legal Tradition
Judaism functions, in the main, as a tradition of law. Yet from the very beginning, there have been hints of a meta-halakha, something "above and beyond" the law. We are also required to do something beyond a legal requirement "for the sake of peace." Bachya ibn Pakuda wrote about the "duties of the heart," and Israel Salanter founded a "musar" movement based on ethics and attitudes rather than actions. Explore the ethics and piety that go "beyond the bounds" of stricture and see what some would consider the hidden heart of Jewish life.
May 5, 12, 26 and June 2, 2010, 12:15-1:30 PM
Fee: $45; $35 for members of the Foundation for Jewish Studies. This class is located at the Rockville Jewish Community Center, 6125 Montrose Rd, Rockville, MD 20852-4860, (301) 881-0100. Please bring a brown-bag pareve/dairy lunch; hot beverages will be provided. To register or to become a member, please contact the Foundation for Jewish Studies at either (301) 770-4787 or (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

For a complete listing of our past and present programs for 2009-2010 (5770), please see our Adult Education Catalog 5770.