Adult Learning
Speakers, classes and more—explore the best of Reform Jewish thought
From classes taught by Temple clergy to scholar-in-residence weekends to small groups built around shared interests, adult learning is core to Temple Emanu-El’s mission and values. Explore the programs below and join a community that grows, questions and learns together.
ONGOING CLASSES
Chever Torah: Weekly Torah Study, Saturday mornings, 9.a.m.
Connect on Zoom
Talmud with Rabbi David Stern: Wednesdays, 7:30 a.m. online
For information contact Jennifer Dietz
Jewish and You: Foundations of Jewish thought and practice
Learn more here
Choosing Judaism: For those converting to Judaism
For more information contact Anjelica Ruiz
Psalms: Online study of Psalms, periodically taught by Rabbi Debra Robbins
Connect on Zoom
Yoga Emanu-El: Yoga through a Jewish lens, most Tuesdays at 3 p.m.
Mussar: Jewish spiritual ethics, with partner study
BOOK CLUBS
If you are interested in joining a Temple book club or starting one, contact Anjelica Ruiz, Director of Libraries.
SEASONAL CLASSES
Goin’ to the Chuppah: Four-week class for engaged couples planning to build a Jewish home
For information contact Erica Matsil
Gon’ to the Delivery Room: Four-week class for expectant parents
For information contact Erica Matsil
Spiritual and Mental Well-Being Workshop: Course with practical ideas to build emotional resilience
For information contact Meredith Pryzant MSW, Director of Pastoral Support
CINEMA EMANU-EL
Cinema Emanu-El is Temple’s long-running film series that occurs every summer. The films shown are meant to add to our enjoyment of Jewish life and understanding of Jewish culture and feature the opportunity for talk-backs with community members, clergy and other people who are relevant to the topic of the selected film.
CZECH TORAH SCROLL
Temple is lucky to be the keeper of a Torah scroll that is identified as being from Klatovy in southwestern Czech Republic. It was among the more than 1,800 scrolls that were sent to the Central Jewish Museum in Prague, along with over 100,000 items of Judaica, following a letter sent by the Jewish curators with the agreement of the Nazis. After the war, the scrolls were transferred to a damp warehouse, which had been the 16th century Michle Synagogue. They were bought from the Czech government by Ralph Yablon in 1964 and sent to the Westminster Synagogue who set up the Memorial Scrolls Trust to repair and care for them. In 1976, the Confirmation Class of Temple Emanu-El and Rabbi Levi Olan made arrangements to take on the care and guardianship of the scroll. Our scroll is #726 and was written in 1880, according to the Czech Memorial Scrolls Trust. It has distinctive curlicues and crowns in many of the letters that are known as a “kabbalistic font” believed to date back to the 17th century.
For more information on the Memorial Scrolls Trust, click here.