Adult Education Fall 2024

Fall 2024 Offerings

Ethical Wills

Taught by Rabbi Tsurah August

Mondays, Oct. 28 and Nov. 11 and 25, 6:30-8 p.m.

(First two classes at P’Nai Or, third at Mishkan Shalom)

Suggested donation: $60 members, $75 nonmembers

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We are delighted to offer this collaborative class between P’nai Or and Mishkan Shalom.  This three-week series aims to inspire and guide us in creating documents for passing down the wealth of wisdom and enduring values we have developed over our lifetimes, to future generations. Tzava’ot, the Jewish term for these documents, often called “Ethical Wills” — or, more recently, “Heart Wills” — is an ancient practice, frequently cited as having its origins in Jacob’s final blessings to his sons. Tzava’ot can be created in almost any format, e.g., written letter, poem, audio or video. Unlike a traditional “memoire,” Tzava’ot focus on our values, beliefs and life lessons, presented via personal stories, hopes, dreams, feelings, etc., woven together to help our values live on.

Dance Your Inner Fire
Taught by Natanya Apfelbaum
Thursdays, 6-7:30 p.m., Nov. 7-Dec. 19
(No class on Nov. 28)
Tuition: $120 members, $150 nonmembers
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Would you like to feel more free to be yourself and authentically connected to others? Come experience how dance is a natural way to express your spirit and to deepen in community.  In this series, you will transform stuckness into joy, feeling disconnected into belonging, and feeling scattered into inner rhythm.

Dance Your Inner Fire draws inspiration from the dances of the Romani people, nomadic peoples with a vast tradition of movement and from the concept of duende, the inner fire. These dances are earthy and liberatory — a celebration of life and spirit in trying times! This movement practice is an invitation to strengthen your own embodiment and find a rich source of inner and outer connection. At times deeply meditative, at times high energy, we will invite duende into our dance and into our lives. Moving together will inspire you to lift your energy and mood, to develop a sense of community through movement and to find more musicality in your dance. 

The class will comprise three main parts: (1) waking up the body through stretching and rhythm practice; (2) dance games to playfully engage with others; and (3) group co-created movement. There is absolutely no experience required, and the class is a welcoming space for people at all levels of ability.  

From Self-Critic to Self-Care
Taught by Claudia Apfelbaum
Wednesday, Nov. 13, 6:30-8:30 p.m.
Tuition: $20 members, $25 nonmembers
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There is so much beauty in our shared Jewish history and so much to be proud of: our creativity, intelligence and zaniness, our pluck and perseverance, our moral and ethical values. Sometimes we, as Jews, value ourselves too much and at other times we sharply criticize and undermine ourselves.

In this mini-workshop, we will take a look at our own personal take on ourselves. Where do we overvalue ourselves? Where do we cut ourselves down? And most importantly, how can we develop and maintain a sense of well-being in the midst of all that is raging in our lives and in the world? Time will be spent learning effective strategies for self-compassion, ways to reframe the critical voice in our heads and ways for self-repair and self-care.

Soulful Sundays: Further Along the Road of Jewish Peoplehood
Taught by Rabbi Shawn Zevit
Sunday, Nov. 17, 10-11:30 a.m.
Tuition: $10 members, $15 nonmembers
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Building on the theme we explored during the High Holy Days, we will study the ideas of Jewish peoplehood and ethical community, as initially offered by Rabbi Mordecai Kaplan as part of Reconstructionist thought, and how that idea has evolved through the window of contemporary events and evolving ideas and experience of being part of Jewish community today. To prepare, please read the following: Kaplan Center: Belonging; Jewish People Reconsidered; and Jewish Peoplehood.

Soul Collage
Taught by Wendy Galson and Susan Windle
Sunday, Nov. 17, 2-5 p.m.
Tuition: $40 members, $45 nonmembers
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Awakening to Earth’s Call through Soul Collage offers a quiet afternoon gathering of intuition-driven creativity, informed by the season and the moment in the Jewish year. Participants assemble collages from Mishkan’s collection of visual images; journaling and sharing allow the collages to unfold their personal meaning. We use the card-making techniques of Seena Frost’s SoulCollage. We invite participants to experience the card creation process as dream work, to journal and talk about our cards as dreams, using a process developed by the Kohenet Institute. No experience necessary; all materials provided.

Torah and Film: 'The Book of Job' and 'A Serious Man'
Taught by Rabbinic Intern Noah Dor Lind
Sunday, Jan. 5, 2025, 5:30-7:30 p.m.
Sunday, Jan. 12, 2025, 5:30-9 p.m. (dinner provided)
Tuition: $40 members, $60 nonmembers
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Rabbinic intern Noah Dor Lind brings their passion for cinema and scripture together with this two-part adult education offering. Please note this class is only open to those over age 18. "The Book of Job" is one of the most powerful and paradoxical stories in our tradition.

Through its recitation, we hear ancient questions echoing across time: "Why is there suffering? By what process does misfortune fall on one person and not another? Where is Hashem in the midst of tragedy?" These questions are also at the heart of the 2009 film, "A Serious Man," which follows Larry Gopnik (Michael Stuhlbarg), a Midwestern physics professor who turns to his faith to try to understand why his life is falling apart.

This class is a two-parter: The first week we will study excerpts of Job to get an overview of the themes and do a close reading practice to reveal its resonances in our modern context. The second week there will be a screening of "A Serious Man," followed by a discussion on the movie and the same close reading practice adapted to fit the medium of film. Dinner will be provided.

Though the Coen brothers have since debunked the rumor that "A Serious Man" is an adaptation of the book of Job, putting these two Jewish stories of misfortune and absurdity next to each other has rich spiritual lessons for us to uncover.