Starting a New Year with New Programs!
All CBI Adult Education programs require registration. Some programs are virtual only. Check Chai Lights, our bi-monthly Bulletin and Adult Education emails for registration information and links. To receive Adult Education emails, please contact Rabbi Rosenbaum at hrosenbaum@cbict.org. Most programs are free of charge. You are encouraged to make a donation to Congregation Beth Israel’s adult education fund to make continued offerings possible and we thank you for your consideration. CLICK HERE to support our program.
UPCOMING PROGRAMS:
“How a Torah Changed My Life Forever” with Sheila Pallay
Thursday, May 2 at 8:30pm
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Rescued from the Shoah and now 250 years old, a Czech Torah sat before her. As she reached out to touch that Torah, Sheila felt a sudden, unanticipated and intense personal connection with generations past. Those who had held in their hands that very Torah. Chanted from it. Kissed it. And carried it around their synagogue with great pride. It was this seminal event that changed her life forever. Sheila Pallay spent 3 1/2 months in the Czech Republic visiting synagogues that once housed the Holocaust Torahs now housed in our synagogues and photographing what is left Judaically after the Shoah. She and Julius Mũller collaborated on a book, “Life Beyond the Shadows, The Legacy of the Czech Torah Scroll and the Renewal of Jewish Life in Czechia”.
Dr. Shira Billet, Jewish Theological Seminary: “How Jewish Philosophers Think about Troubling Traditions”
Thursday, May 9 at 8:30pm
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This session will introduce Jewish philosophy as a means of grappling with what I call troubling traditions. Traditions refer to sacred texts that are authoritative for us in some significant way. They are „troubling“ when they conflict with other strong beliefs we hold, be they epistemic beliefs about what is true or false, moral beliefs about right or wrong, or political beliefs about how we ought or ought not to live. We will look at methods that Jewish philosophers have articulated in attempting to resolve these contradictions, and gain insight into the history and practice of Jewish philosophy. Shira Billet is Assistant Professor of Jewish Thought and Ethics at the Jewish Theological Seminary of America. Her research focuses on the work of nineteenth-century German Jewish philosopher, Hermann Cohen, his ethical and Jewish thought, and the history of Jewish philosophy broadly.
Rabbi Dr. Haim Rechnitzer, Hebrew Union College: “What is Judaism? – The Dispute between Martin Buber andFranz Rosenzweig”
Thursday, May 30 at 8:30pm
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In 1923 Rosenzweig wrote an open letter to Martin Buber titled “Die Bauleute” (The Builders), a letter that later became a central part of Rosenzweig’s Jewish theological legacy. In “The Builders – Concerning the Jewish Law” Rosenzweig accuses Buber that despite liberating “us” from the shackles of 19th century academic objective engagement with “Judaism” and opening our minds and hearts to seek the “inner power” of the Jewish tradition, he failed to answer the crucial existential question “what are we to do?” That is, Buber’s answer left the question of Jewish praxis, of Halakhah, outside o the realm of possible answers. Buber, of course, did not leave the question of action in this world unanswered. He provided a non-halakhic answer, arguing that the “truth” of Judaism lies in its religiosity, not its manifestation as a religion, or as Law. Our session will be dedicated to the exploration of these two opposing concepts of “Judaism” and in fact, of the ever-present existential question of ““what are we (Jews) to do?”
Rabbi Dr. Haim O. Rechnitzer is a Professor of Jewish Thought at HUC-JIR in Cincinnati, Ohio, and a poet.
S.A.G.E. Programs
Second and fourth Tuesdays of the month at 11:00am *In person at CBI unless otherwise specified*
These programs are for everyone, regardless of age! Visit our calendar for information on upcoming speakers. Most programs are followed by a light buffet lunch at $12 per person. For more information, contact Barb Lavine (wslavine@comcast.net) or Kay Weiss (steven.k.weiss@gmail.com).
