The Center for Adult Jewish Learning

GRAND OPENING:

Torah

THE CENTER FOR ADULT JEWISH LEARNING AT TEMPLE ISRAEL

By Rabbi Suzie Jacobson

Since Temple Israel’s inception in 1854, we have been a center for Jewish living and learning in the greater Boston area. We are known as a place committed to deep Jewish scholarship, a community that is unafraid to ask the difficult questions and think about Judaism in new and exciting ways. Temple Israel is a synagogue where some of the greatest Jewish teachers, preachers and learners have gathered to find deeper meaning, understand our shared history and incubate ideas for a new generation.

Building upon the wonderful Torah study, clergy teaching and learning opportunities that are already staples in our yearly calendar, in the 5777 year we will be piloting an educational structure for our generation: The Center for Adult Jewish Learning at Temple Israel. This center is initiated by clergy and the newly re-launched adult education committee led by co-chairs Gabriella Strecker and Ted Greenwood. Though there will be new learning opportunities in each setting, we are excited to pilot a new structure for classroom learning. On Monday evenings we will offer courses in Jewish history, philosophy, theology, and culture, taught by eminent scholars in the Boston area. On Thursday evenings we will hold text study courses in Bible and Rabbinics, led by local rabbis and rabbinical students. On Sundays we will debut our “Spiritual Practice Lab,” which will include a series on prayer and alternative spirituality led by Rabbi Suzie Jacobson, classes in Jewish meditation, yoga, Israeli Dance and Jewish singing, half day spiritual retreats with leaders in Jewish spirituality, and more. In addition, our TI clergy will each hold monthly, early morning study groups and will continue to offer Torah study each Shabbat morning. No matter your schedule, interest, or background in Judaics, you will find a course that works for you.

The introduction of the Center for Adult Jewish Learning represents Temple Israel’s commitment to remain a central location for Jewish education in the Boston area. Through strategic partnerships with Jewish organizations such as Hebrew College, The Jewish Arts Collaborative, and Israeli Stage, we will highlight the best of Jewish Boston within our gates and create opportunities for all to deepen their connection to Judaism, enhance personal knowledge and encourage spiritual and intellectual growth.

In Pirkei Avot, the rabbis give this advice for our Torah study –“Turn it, and turn it, for everything is in it. Reflect on it and grow old and gray with it. Don’t turn from it, for nothing is better than it.” Join us as we mine the richness of our tradition, turning it and exploring it as we discover new wisdom for our generation.

The Center will organize adult learning in four primary “locations” throughout our calendar:

• The Open Door, introductory courses and content such as introduction to Judaism and basic Hebrew classes;

• The Town Hall, large events for the whole community, including our endowed lecture series;

• The Classroom, varied opportunities to learn

Jewish content in small groups with TI clergy, and local rabbis and scholars; and

• The Beit Midrash, learning experiences cultivated and facilitated by TI members, particularly TILLI our initiative for life-long learners.