Jewish learning is at the heart of our communal and spiritual life at Beth El. We strive to provide enriching and inspiring educational opportunities, no matter your background or experience. Our adult education programs are facilitated by our clergy, fellow community members, and guest scholars from around the country. Learning opportunities include multi-session series and one-off classes to accommodate your schedule.
Our vision for adult education is to foster a culture of learning that enables every member of our community to become a seeker of Jewish wisdom. We create space to investigate pressing issues of our time through the lens of traditional Jewish texts. Our Open Beit Midrash Intensives, taught by our rabbis, and the monthly Scholar Series, funded by the Yvette and Herman Gordon Century Fund for Adult Education, helps us embody a practice of learning that has sustained the Jewish people for over 2000 years. To donate to the Yvette and Herman Gordon Century Fund click here.
Textual Magic: The Jewish Wisdom and Themes. That Ignited My Love for Judaism with Rabbi David Schuck (In Person & Zoom)
Tuesdays at 7:30 pm: 10/24, 11/7, 11/14, 11/21, 12/5, 12/12, 12/26, 1/2, 1/9, 1/16
In this course, we will study some of the texts that made me fall in love with the Jewish intellectual canon. We will study selections from the Hebrew Bible, Mishnah, Gemarrah (Talmud), Midrash, Halacha (Law), Philosophy, History, Poetry, and Hasidut. We’ll also explore diverse topics such as time, love, loss, joy, spirituality, friendship, community, subversive texts, Israel, and the permissibility of Tattoos, among others. This class is taught by Rabbi David Schuck.
Register here. Join online here.
Guf & Nefesh: Body & Soul
Thursdays: November 2, 9, and 16, 12:00-1:00 pm
Tracing concepts of the body and soul from biblical times to the present. We will use the insights found in the mythical-erotic language of Tony Bennet, Amy Winehouse, Frankie Valli, and the Zohar as refracted through the lens of Professor Melila Hellner-Eshed’s A River Flows From Eden: The Language of Mystical Experience in the Zohar. This class is taught by Rabbi Barry Kenter.
Register here. Join online here.
Looking for new ways to connect with your friends? Searching for new ways to engage with your Judaism? We have just the opportunity for you. Beth El is excited to offer the chance to learn Torah with your friends facilitated by our clergy. And the best part is that we come to you! You supply the wine and cheese and we’ll teach on topics relevant to our time.
If you are interested in hosting one of our small group learning cohorts, please contact Rabbi Sitkin at zsitkin@bethelnr.org. If you can’t host a cohort this year, please join us for one (or all) of our many adult education offerings over the course of the year. If you are interested but not sure you can put together a group, we’ll help put one together for you!
Parashat HaShavua (Weekly Torah Portion) with Jack Gruenberg
Thursdays at 1:30pm on Zoom
Join here
Daf Shevui (Weekly Page of Talmud) with Dr. Joshua Kulp
Sundays at 10:30am on Zoom
Join here
Contact David Horowitz at dbhlspc@aol.com
To learn more about upcoming adult education opportunities at Beth El or for resources and suggestions for your own course of study, please contact Rabbi Zachary Sitkin at zsitkin@bethelnr.org or 914-235-2700, ext. 338.