Mishkan
Tefila Adult Learners Institute
September 2007 thru May 2008
Welcome to the world of adult Jewish learning at
Congregation Mishkan Tefila. We invite you to enroll in classes to come learn
more with other adults. To register via e-mail, please
send information from the form below to: educationdirector@mishkantefila.org. To register via letter mail, please complete
the application below and return to:
Dr.
Stephen R. Simons, Director of Education
Congregation
Mishkan Tefila
300
Hammond Pond Parkway
Chestnut Hill, MA
02467
Jewish Thought, Text Study and Spirituality
Rabbi Geoffrey Haber’s Class: A Mishnah a Day (Keeps the Yetzer HaRa Away)
Each weekday morning following minyan, and over a light bagel breakfast, we study a Mishnah and explore its implications for today. The Mishnah is the first post-biblical codex of Jewish law (halkhah) and impacts Jewish ritual and ethical behavior to this day. We feed our bodies and our souls.
Weekday mornings 7:00-8:00; Sunday mornings 8:00-9:00am includes minyan.
Rabbi Geoffrey Haber’s Class: Sefer HaHinukh (The Book of Education)
Each Shabbat afternoon join us for a survey of the 613 mitzvot of Judaism as we explore and explain them through Sefer HaHinukh as part of our Suedah Shlishit (Third Meal) commemoration. Beginning with Minha (afternoon service) followed by schmooze, food, song and study. We conclude with Ma’ariv and Havdalah (evening service).
The learning begins each Shabbat afternoon, one hour before sunset.
Rabbi Geoffrey Haber’s Religious School for Grown-ups
Explore the basics of Judaism and stay one step ahead of your child’s Religious School homework. We will explore the fundamentals of Judaism on an adult level, but parallel the Religious School curriculum.
Three Sunday mornings each month 9:00-10:00am except when Tallit & Tefillin Club meet.
Rabbi Geoffrey Haber’s Putting the Mitzvah in Bar/Bat Mitzvah
This class is designed for parents and students in the year preceding Bar/Bat Mitzvah. We will explore the spiritual meaning as well as the practical mechanics of Bar/Bat Mitzvah.
One Sunday morning each month 9:00-10:00am as part of the Tallit and Tefillin Club.
Rabbi Geoffrey Haber’s Medieval and Moderns: A Contemporary Look at Torah Study
Study the ancient texts of our tradition through the eyes of both medieval and modern commentators. How are they similar and how are they different in their approaches? What do their comments teach us about the Torah, about God and about ourselves?
Sundays mornings, 10:00-11:00 am in the Library.
Dr. Stephen Simons’ Sisterhood Class: Messianic Movements and Personalities
Explore the spectrum of Jewish ideas regarding the Messiah or the Messianic Period. We will look at sources including the Bible, the Talmud, Maimonides and Kabbalistic texts. We will explore groups of Jews throughout history who organized themselves around figures who believed themselves to be the long-awaited Messiah, sent by G-d, to announce a new era in human history marked by the ingathering of Jews in Eretz Yisrael and the acceptance of the Torah by the entire world. Each epeisode is intriguing and full of surprises. We will discuss religious and sociological ramifications of these personalities, movements and events, and seek to develop our own perspectives on the questions of “Who is the Mashiach?” and “When will the ultimate redemption take place?”
Monday mornings, 10:15-11:15 am, in the Feinberg Library
Dr. Davin Wolok’s Love Story: An Exploration of the Hebrew Bible and Jewish Tradition
“Does love make the world go ‘round’?” In our course this year, we will explore the theme of love in all of its varieties. The love between friends, the love between G-d and humans, the love between parents and children, the love between lovers – and more – we will also absorb our attention as we plumb texts beginning with the Biblical and extending through the whole range of the Jewish tradition. Narrative will be a major, though not the exclusive, focus of our inquiries.
Wednesday evenings, 7:30-8:30pm, in the Feinberg Library
Dr. Stephen Simons’ Talmud Class: Masechet Haggigah
Following an introduction to the Mishnah and the Talmud, the class will examine sections from the Talmudic tractate Haggigah. In addition to learning content, we will examine Talmudic methodology and concepts that influence and determine Conservative Jewish practice today.
Thursday evenings, 5:45-6:45 pm, in the Feinberg Library
Jewish Practice
Dr. Stephen Simons’ Class: Hebrew Reading Skills for Synagogue Participation and Comprehension
Learn the fundamentals of Hebrew decoding (letter and vowel recognition, reading letter and vowel combinations, words, phrases and sentences) and basic vocabulary for home rituals and synagogue use. This class is designed for parents lacking these skills who wish to take greater responsibility in their children’s success in Jewish education, and for all adults who wish to gain entry to full participation in synagogue and home observances and services.
Tuesday mornings, 11:15am-12:00noon, in the Religious School Conference Room
Dr. Davin Wolok’s Tutorial: Synagogue Chanting Skills as Taught in the Little Red Schoolhouse
Would you like to learn how to lead a weekday service? Would you like to know how to read Torah or chant a Haftarah? You may do so in the homey, personalize setting of one-on-one lessons, scheduled to your convenience. If a group has a common interest, lessons can be arranged for them, too. Give your fellow congregants a thrill when they hear one of their own get up and participate. Give yourself the opportunity for a spiritual high.
Contact Dr. Wolok, CMT Ritual Director, at 617-332-7770, for customized lessons in Jewish chanting. And visit Digital Davin online
Dr. Davin Wolok’s Tutorial: Ritual Minis: A Bite-Size Approach to Jewish Observance
Would you like to learn how to recite the Torah blessings? Or learn how to conduct a Friday evening Shabbat home celebration? Or dispel the mysteries of putting on Tefillin for our weekday morning services? These or any other elements of Jewish observance are yours to learn in one-on-one lessons, scheduled to fit in with your other demands of your time.
Get in touch with Dr. Wolok, CMT Ritual Director, at 617-332-770 for a fulfilling “dip in the sea of Jewish life.”
Mishkan Tefila Adult Learners
Institute
Name(s)_____________________
Telephone
_________________
E-mail
(1)____________________
E-mail
(2)____________________
Course
number________________
Course
number________________
Course
number________________
Fees enclosed (if applicable)______
