Torah Study
Every Saturday at 9:30am *In Person & Virtual*
October 8: Haazinu
October 15: Chol HaMo-eid Sukkot
October 22: B’reishit
October 29: Noach
Talmud Study
Every Wednesday at noon *Virtual*
Join Rabbi Michael Pincus to explore a bit of Talmud together. Discover questions you never thought to ask and the beauty of rabbinic thinking.
No experience or homework required!
The Most Important Lessons Judaism Can Teach Us
Sundays 9:30 to 10:30am
October 16, November 20, December 18, January 22, February 5, March 19, April 23, May 14
Join us for a new series of classes taught by Rabbi Michael Pincus. Whether you are a lifelong Jew or new to this path, come explore the foundational ideas of our tradition. Learn about the power of doing, the ability for change, the meaning of Shema, and the invention of the weekend (among others). To register, email Mary Messana at mmessana@cbict.org or call 860-233-8215. The cost is $18.
Introduction to Judaism
Wednesdays 7:00 to 9:30pm starting October 19
This class is presented by the Reform Rabbis of Greater Hartford and will be taught in person at CBI. Discover the endurance and traditions and learn more about the Jewish way of life. Tuition is $180 per person or $230 per couple (scholarships are available). To register, please contact Wendy Berg at wberg@cbict.org or 860-233-8215. Students interested in this class can also choose to do remote learning via 21 Zoom classes by the Reform Judaism Organization at: The Union for Reform Judaism – learning@urj.com
Lay-Led Minyan
Wednesdays at 6:00pm *In Person*
October 19
Join us for a lay-led informal evening service with Deborah Savage. It is a chance for us to connect with the holy, to feel connected to something bigger than us, to feel the support of the community. Often people turn to this daily service to honor and remember loved ones who have died, to pray for the health and well being of someone they love, or just as much needed space in their day.
Short Story Coffee Break
First and third Thursdays of the month at 11:00am *Virtual*
Karen Beyard has retired as Learning Center Director, but Coffee Break discussions about Jewish short stories live on! Join a lively group of readers who have met on Zoom since May 2020. We talk about classic and contemporary Jewish stories by American, Israeli, Yiddish, and international writers. Both CBI members and our friends in the community are welcome. For more information or to be added to our mailing list, contact Karen (kbeyard@cbict.org).
October 6: The second in our fall series of great 20th century writers is Nobel Laureate Saul Bellow (1915-2005). We will read “The Old System” and “Something to Remember Me By”. And just for fun, we will try “The True World”, a fantasy by Jonathan Rosen (Joy Comes in the Morning) that imagines a journalist interviewing Bellow in the afterlife.
October 20: Amoz Oz (1939-2018), the beloved Israeli writer, is the third of our 20th century greats. “The King of Norway”, translated for the New Yorker in 2011, returns us to kibbutz life in the 60s. And since Short Story Coffee Break readers have enjoyed Oz before, look for another of his New Yorker stories in November.
Adult Education Learning Series
Join us for our free virtual programs this month!
Registration is requested for all programs, which will take place on Zoom (unless otherwise indicated). Register via the links below or check Chai Lights and Adult Education emails. Once you have registered, you will receive an email with the program’s Zoom link. If you are not receiving adult education emails and wish to be included, please contact Rabbi Rosenbaum at hrosenbaum@cbict.org.
All CBI adult education 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.
Thursday, October 6 at 8:30pm
“Women as Ritual Experts in Ancient Israel”
with Carol Meyers, Mary GraceWilson Professor Emerita of Religious Studies, Duke University
Who were the most important religious figures in ancient Israel? Most people would probably say that the priests were. But they would be wrong. The main arena of religious life for most people in the biblical period was not the Jerusalem temple nor a regional shrine. Rather, it was the family household, and women were major figures in household religious activities. Those activities are largely invisible in the Bible with its focus on the priesthood and sacrifice. However, archaeological materials—and some fascinating ethnographic data—can reveal many aspects of women’s household religious culture and its meaning for the lives of ordinary ancient Israelites.
Carol Meyers, the Mary Grace Wilson Professor Emerita of Religious Studies at Duke University, earned the AB with honors from Wellesley College and the MA and PhD from Brandeis University. She specializes in biblical studies, archaeology, and gender in the biblical world. A prolific scholar, she is the author of more than 450 articles, reports, reference-book entries, and reviews; and she has authored, co-authored, or edited twenty-three books, including Rediscovering Eve: Ancient Israelite Women in Context. She has co-directed several of Duke’s archaeological projects in Galilee and has been a frequent consultant for media productions dealing with the biblical world. She recently served as President of the Society of Biblical Literature, and currently she is a trustee of the Albright Institute of Archaeological Research in Jerusalem, the American Society of Overseas Research, and the Dead Sea Scrolls Foundation.
Click HERE to register
Ways to Help Ukraine
“Responding to the Crisis in Ukraine” – Click HERE for the Union for Reform Judaism’s blog listing steps you can take to support the Ukrainian people, including the Progressive Jewish community.
