WEEKDAY JUDAISM
  • TIME MANAGEMENT
  • MANDATED MOODS
  • WORK
  • ​NATURE
  • CHOSENNESS
  • SPIRITUAL DISOBEDIENCE

WEEKDAY JUDAISM:
WORK, PLAY & THE EVERYDAY
“What’s so special about a rainy Tuesday in February?” From finding meaning in our work (whatever we may do, as long as it’s legal) to the evaluation of our homes as sacred space, from how we handle money to our relationships to food and sex, Judaism offers us opportunities to go off auto-pilot and live mindfully. Explore the facets of kedusha—holiness—in the rhythms of daily life and the “normal mysticism” of our tradition. 

Sitting in Traffic:
Jewish Wisdom around Time Management

Good time management—the Jewish way—involves taking time on a regular basis to pause, reflect, and rededicate ourselves to the priorities we espouse. Through text study and discussion we  reconsider the challenge of leading a more balanced life.

It's Not Easy Being Green:
Mixed Messages from the Bible on the Role of Humans in Nature

Mother Earth.  Father Time.  As the offspring of this metaphoric pair, does this dynamic make us apathetic, and risk-taking adolescents, with seriously fraught relationships to both parents? One of the many ways Westerners justify shortsighted environmentally destructive behaviors is by quoting the Bible. By taking a more nuanced look at Biblical texts that suggest different relationships between earthlings and the rest of Creation, we   ask: What is the place of human beings in Creation?  What is the relationship between Jews and nature?  What are Jewish environmental values? 
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This session begins with an in-depth study of the first two chapters of Genesis, followed by an investigation of Jewish wisdom regarding the environment and its contemporary applications:  from recycling and urban planning to animal rights. 
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  • Partners in Creation: Text, Context, and Subtext
  • Time Among the Trees: Spiritual Suicide?!
  • Land Mine: Nationalism & Other Unnatural Disasters In The Poetry Of Yehuda Amichai
  • Tiyul Breishit—Walk Genesis (an outdoor, meditative walk guided by Jewish wisdom) 

​Be Happy... or else?
Mandated Moods and Forced Feelings
​in Jewish Texts and Times 

The catch phrase of the month of Adar is "Be happy, it's Adar!"  Indeed, with spring approaching and the holiday of Purim shedding rhinestones and dripping schnapps all over the calendar, many people find it easy to get into the spirit of Adar. But what about the times we find ourselves out of synch with religiously or communally-dictated emotional states?  This session is not intended to be a downer, rather a thought-provoking exploration of mandated moods and forced feelings in a variety of Jewish texts and times. 

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Out of ​Service: Work Reworked 

As human beings, work looms as large in our daily lives as it does in our collective destiny.  The enormity of this concept is reflected in the very broadness of the term, encompassing everything from physical labor to personal transformation. In Hebrew, avodah is a term that covers an equally broad range of `activities but it is also a vital part of the Jewish spiritual vocabulary. Unpacking the use of the word avodah in Jewish sources raises questions about the value of labor, the sacred aspect of creativity, the concept of service, and the necessity of boundaries. 

UNfollow: The Necessity of Spiritual Disobedience

In the Talmud it says, "There are times when the setting aside of the Law might be the very means of its preservation." This brilliantly subversive statement is at the heart of an even more radical idea: Sometimes we must transgress—violate laws, commit betrayals, take risks—in order to bring about positive change in our relationships (with the Divine, other people, ourselves). Together we look at how this concept has played out in Jewish history as well as the implications for our own lives.
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Does "Chosen" Mean Better? 

As Americans how can we value tolerance, equality, and religious pluralism while still believing that God has chosen the Jews and reserved for them a special destiny? What does it mean to be “the chosen people?" Does it imply a sense of superiority? Doesn’t it smack of elitism? If not, then what have we been “chosen” for? Learn about the origin of this doctrine and the various ways it has been distorted over the centuries.  Discover how this idea can be made meaningful to modern Jews with egalitarian/democratic principles.