Bulletin THE BETH TFILOH
Celebrating the Joy of Judaism, Embracing all Jews. TISHREI-CHESHVAN 5779 OCTOBER 2018
After the Holidays, What’s Next? By Rabbanit Bracha Jaffe Beth Tfiloh Community Educator
We have just completed the arc of the High Holiday season! The process of self-reflection, teshuva (repentance), and renewal included: • Crowning God as King on Rosh Hashanah, heralded with the majestic sounds of the Shofar • Feeling the solemnity and spirituality of Yom Kippur • Welcoming guests into our Sukkah and connecting with diversity and nature through the Four Species • Ending on a spiritual high point with community dancing and celebration
with our Torah scrolls on Simchat Torah
It may feel like we have settled back into our day-to-day lives with business as usual. School, work, carpools, errands are now back full-time with weekly breaks for Shabbat. So what’s next? How do we infuse Torah values and spirituality into our everyday lives? There is a famous verse that we sing after lifting and dressing the Torah and when we put the Torah back into the ark: "/ratn vhfn,u vc ohehzjnk thv ohhj .g" “It is a tree of life to those who grasp it.” (Proverbs 3:18) All of us at Beth Tfiloh are committed to finding ways to help you grasp the Torah and its values. This mission aligns
perfectly with my own core value of finding resonance in our lives through learning of Torah in diverse and multifaceted ways. Here at the Mercaz Dahan Center for Jewish Life & Learning we have been working with our talented adult education faculty to create a rich smorgasbord to suit everyone’s palate: • Fall Semester: Four weeks of inspiring talks by Rabbi Wohlberg and Dr. Schorr, followed by options ranging from Israeli Dance and learning Hebrew, to the spiritual and supernatural! • BT in the AM: Start Monday mornings off with Torah study and current events with classes ranging from Talmud and Torah study to what makes us the “People of the Book”, debunking myths Continued on page 3
MERCAZ FALL SEMESTER
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Wednesday, October 10 / 7:30 pm
Wednesdays, Oct. 17, 24, 31, Nov. 7 / 7 pm
Four Strangers, Three Faiths, and One Extraordinary Escape to Freedom
SESSION 1: What We’ve Learned After 40 Years
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STANLEY Z. PENN LECTURE
Our remarkable speaker, Mohammed Al Samawi, is the author of The Fox Hunt: A Refugee’s Memoir of Coming to America, the unforgettable story of war, unlikely friendship, and a harrowing escape from Yemen’s brutal civil war. As a Muslim who has developed a very close relationship with the Jewish community, Mohammed’s story reminds us that goodness and decency can triumph in the darkest of circumstances. We will hear the story of how he escaped, through a discussion with Daniel Pincus, one of the four people who helped engineer his escape. To be followed by a book signing.
Hear Rabbi Mitchell Wohlberg and Dr. Zipora Schorr share their old and new perspectives regarding: God, prayer, the “ultras” in Judaism, why bad things happen to good people, the role of women, and the future of American Jewry.
Tu Rabbi Mitchell Wohlberg
Dr. Zipora Schorr
SESSION 2 / 8 pm. Select an exciting elective course: • The Magical, Mythical and Extraterrestrial in Jewish Tradition, Rabbi Eli Yoggev • The Many Faces of Israeli Women, Ayelet Koren-Steiner • Learn Hebrew, Elana Vogel • Israeli Dance, Mona Atkinson (8-9:30 pm)
Free and open to the public.
Event will be preceded by a DONOR RECOGNITION DINNER for all those making gifts of $1,000 or more to the Beth Tfiloh Annual Campaign. See bethtfiloh.com/annualcampaign.
Rabbi Eli Yoggev
Ayelet Koren-Steiner
Elana Vogel
Mona Atkinson
Session 1 will take place in the Beth Tfiloh Tuvin Assembly Hall Beth Tfiloh Rosen Arts Center • Mintzes Theatre
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To view our 2018-19 Beth Tfiloh Program Guide please visit our website at www.bethtfiloh.com/mercaz or call 410-413-2321.
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