Session I: The Book of Job

The class will run Wednesday evenings January 23, 30, February 6, 13 at 7:30 p.m.

Why do the righteous suffer? That question has been asked as long as humans could formulate it. The problem of the people who do all that God commands and still seem to suffer is one that shadows Jewish history. Perhaps the rabbis who created the canon of religious texts that we call the Tanakh, the Hebrew Bible, had this problem in mind when they included the Book of Job in that canon. How can a God who is in charge of justice treat the righteous poorly? Is God evil, at least in part? Can humans do ought but bemoan their fate or suffer it? These questions and others will be discussed as part of our course in Job. We are privileged to have Johanna Stiebert Ph.D. associate professor of Religious Studies at the University of Tennessee, to be with us for all four sessions of this course of study, together with Rabbi Zivic. The two will help create a participatory dialogue with those in attendance in which the questions above as well as any you may have may be answered.

Johanna Stiebert is a German-New Zealander who teaches Hebrew language and Bible at the University of Tennessee. She obtained her degrees from the Universities of Otago (New Zealand), Cambridge and Glasgow and has also taught in Lancaster (England), Botswana, and Kerala (Southern India). Her Ph.D. thesis and first book focus on the Hebrew vocabulary of self-conscious emotions, especially shame, in the prophetic discourses of the Tanakh. Her primary focus of interest, alongside Hebrew philology, are the literary construction of the event of the Exile in Babylon and the book of the prophet Ezekiel.

Session II: The New American Judaism

The class will run Wednesday evenings February 20, 27, March 5, 12 at 7:30 p.m.

Using the book The New American Judaism, by Rabbi Arthur Blecher as a starting point, this class will discuss Judaism as it enters the 21st century. Rabbi Blecher points to seven myths that he claims American Judaism are built on and that in order to move forward these myths have to be deconstructed, and perhaps changed or even removed from the guiding principles of Judaism in the United States. This course will examine Jewish institutions and Jewish ideas. Among the subjects covered will be denominationalism, rabbis, authenticity and intermarriage. The main text for the course will be The New American Judaism, by Rabbi Arthur Blecher, Palgrave Macmillan. It is available at major bookstores. Handouts will also be distributed.

Popular Washington, D.C. rabbi and psychotherapist Arthur Blecher believes that the American Jewish community is actually flourishing amidst fears of dying out. He shows us that intermarriage strengthens Judaism--a concept that many Jews continue to debate. In straightforward and engaging chapters, he provides a progressive and positive outline of how this religion has changed over the years, and why American Jewish culture must be embraced and discussed in depth in Jewish families. This is a fascinating exploration of the ways in which social and psychological forces created a new and quite different form of Judaism in America more than one hundred years ago.

Arthur Blecher has served as Rabbi of Beth Chai for over twenty years, and is a nationally recognized authority on interfaith couples. He has taught at various universities and is a member of the Washington Board of Rabbis and the American Mental Health Counselors Association. A practicing psychotherapist, he has been featured on such media as CBS and PBS. He lives in Washington, DC.

“The New American Judaism uncovers and confronts some of the distortions in self-perception that guide the Jewish world today. Blecher’s book is provocative and may wake some of the American Jewish leadership from their dogmatic slumbers.” - Rabbi Michael Lerner, Tikkun

Sunday March 30th, 2008
10:00 a.m. - 3:30 p.m.

COST: $50 for Heska Amuna members, $75 for non-members (Fee covers snacks, lunch, and all learning materials.)

Learn the basics in this crash course on the language of our Torah, our prayer book and our Haggadah. Over the course of a few hours, become familiar with the letters of the aleph bet, recognize and read short words, and discover some of the roots of the biblical Hebrew in our texts. The day will be taught by Morah Chaya Silver-Alford, Education Director. DEADLINE FOR REGISTRATION IS MARCH 20th. A minimum of 10 students will be required to make this course a success.

Talmud Study

Led by Rabbi Louis Zivic
Tractate: Gittin (Divorce, Talmudic Style)
Sunday Mornings (contact Synagogue for details)

Weekly Parashah Study

Led by Rabbi Louis Zivic
Saturday mornings after Kiddush - approximately 1:00 p.m.
Come and join this lively study group that links one Shabbat to the next.
“It will be the best hour of your week” - regular participant

HAZAK!

Led by Rabbi Louis Zivic
“For everyone who wants to discuss the current state of the world.”
Second and fourth Tuesdays at 11:00 a.m.

Heska Amuna Tu B'Shevat Program

Sunday, January 27

10: 45 a.m. A special presentation by Richard Shelter from the Jewish National Fund “Water Currents: The Politics, Problems, and Potential of Water in the Middle East”. Lunch 12:45 p.m. - 1:45 p.m.

11:30 a.m. Special presentation with live animals by the Knoxville Zoo.