TABLE OF CONTENTS:
Archive of Previous Talks
Weekly Parsha Class
CBI Cafe: Autumn '24 Schedule
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Questions about our Adult Education offerings? Please reach out to our Engagement Coordinator Amy Stein.
The Adult Education Committee is comprised of Penina Glazer, Phyllis Eckstein, Larry Fine, Joshua Roth, Laura Katznelson, Dave Gorin, and Steffi Schamess.
Winter 2024/2025 Offerings
Weekly Parsha Class with Rabbi Ariella and Rabbi Jacob
Fridays 12:00-1:00 pm in the CBI Library
In person only. Drop in; no registration required.
Join Rabbi Ariella and Rabbi Jacob for a discussion of the weekly Torah portion. All are welcome, no prior knowledge or experience required. Each session will stand alone, feel free to come whenever it works for you. And please feel free to bring your own lunch!
Shabbat Morning Talmund Study with Rabbi Jacob
Mayim (Water) Building upstairs room (farm office) Shabbat Mornings 9:45-11:00
Nov 23, Dec 7, Dec 21, Jan 4, Jan 18, Feb 22, March 15
After a long hiatus, Rabbi Jacob's longstanding and beloved Talmud class is back! The Talmud is the central text of rabbinic Judaism; you could say that the Talmud, more than the Torah, has shaped what it means to be Jewish today. The Talmud is a vast ocean. Within its 5,422 pages, it provides us with an extraordinary compendium of Jewish wisdom in the form of law, ethics, philosophy, history, and stories. During these Shabbat study sessions, we will look at a variety of the most important, fascinating, and evocative Talmudic selections.
This class is intended for a wide audience, including both people who have never studied Talmud before as well as those who have. Absolutely no prior knowledge is required.
Living a Meaningful Jewish Life: Exploring the Foundations of Jewish Tradition, Culture, and Practice
Wednesday evenings from 7:00-8:30 beginning November 6 and ending April 9 (skipping Dec 25, Jan 1, Feb 19). With Rabbi Jacob Fine and Rabbi Ariella Rosen in the CBI Library. In Person & Virtual Options.Registration is now closed
In this 18-week course we will explore together many aspects of Jewish life: daily spiritual practices, the holiday cycle, Shabbat, eating practices, migration, history, and more. This class is geared toward anyone who wants to learn more about Jewish life: individuals exploring conversion, non-Jews part of Jewish families, allies, members of community, lifelong learners, and Jews of all stripes who want to learn more. If you think this class is for you, it is! Students are encouraged to come with questions, curiosity, and challenges. Ever wonder why Jewish people do [insert curious custom here]? Ask us and we’ll cover it!
Talmudic Storytelling: The Greatest Hits
Tuesdays, 7:00-8:00 pm with Jake Marmer (In Person Only)
10/29, 11/5, 11/12, 11/19, 11/26, 12/3 Registration is now closed
We'll read and discuss some of the most iconic stories found in the Talmud. Mystical, absurd, hilarious, tragic, wise, moving, pious, irreverent - these stories have it all. To borrow Ruth Calderon's term, we'll walk into these texts "barefoot" - with our own minds and hearts, rather than traditional interpretations (although we'll reference those when/if warranted). No familiarity with Talmud needed whatsoever, and everyone is welcome!
Jake Marmer is a poet, educator, and the Head of School at Lander-Grinspoon Academy. He is the author of three poetry collections, including "Jazz Talmud", which explores the poetic dimension of the Talmudic discourse.
Zionism and the Jewish People 1896-1948
Tuesdays, 7:00 pm with Michael Perlman. In person at CBI. There is no virtual option since the class will involve watching films together.
11/12, 11/19, 12/3, 12/17, 1/7, 1/21, 1/28 Registration is now closed
In each session of this 7-session course we will view an hour of documentary film detailing the relevant Jewish events and people in Europe and the Middle East starting with the trial of Alfred Dreyfus in France in 1895 and ending with the rebirth of Israel in 1948. After viewing the documentary for 1 hour we will have a discussion for 30 minutes.
Michael Perlman is a former President and board member of CBI. He's given previous courses at CBI including one on "1948" by Benny Morris and one on Rabbi Nahman of Bratzlav. He first visited Israel in 1957 at age 17and has remained fascinated by the facts and meaning of Jewish history. He looks forward to hearing your responses to this detailed, exciting documentary.
Chanting Torah
8 Thursdays, 6:30-8:00 pm with Bill Gertzog
11/7, 11/14, 11/21, 12/5, 12/12, 12/19, 1/9, 1/16 Registration is now closed
We will learn the function and structure of the biblical cantillation system through study of the major patterns and the cantillation symbols (trope) that comprise biblical chant. Anyone with a phonetic reading knowledge of Hebrew is welcome regardless of other prior experience. We will use a clear and concise text with audio recordings of all examples. Our model will be active participation in a supportive learning environment. Students must acquire the book for this class: The Art of Torah Cantillation, Vol. 1 by Cantors Josee Wolff and Marshall Portnoy.
Bill has been a member and Torah reader at CBI since 2020. He is a part-time ESL teacher for adults, and a mostly self-taught Torah reader with 25 years' experience.
Sundays, in person in the CBI Social Hall and on Livestream
10:30-11:00 am: Coffee and nosh
11:00-12:00 pm: Presentation and discussion
No registration required
January 12: Sing, O Barren One: Reproduction in Jewish Texts and Magic in the Ancient World
This presentation will explore what the Jewish tradition teaches us about how birthing people in antiquity navigated questions of fertility, pregnancy, and birth. We will examine not only written texts from the Torah and rabbinic literature, but evidence of magical traditions such as amulets and incantation bowls. This conversation will help us gain a deeper understanding of how Jews in antiquity understood larger issues such as bodies and health, reproduction, community, and identity, and what we can learn from them today.
Sari Fein is a birth doula and a scholar of women and gender in the Hebrew Bible and Jewish antiquity. She teaches in the Jewish Studies program at Smith College. Sari recently published the article “A ‘Queer’ Mother of Nations: Reproductive Futurism and the Maccabean Mother of Seven” (Journal of Ancient Judaism, 2024). Sari lives in Northampton and is a part of the CBI community along with her partner, two children, three cats, and six chickens.
January 26: Once subterranean and now no longer hidden LGBTQ+ Orthodox community with Miryam Kabakov
Miryam will discuss the odyssey she has taken in finding the hidden communities of Orthodox and LGBTQ+ people, starting with Maimonides account of women in his midst.
Miryam is Founder and Executive Director of Eshel, a national organization that supports LGBTQ+ Orthodox individuals and their families. Miryam is the editor of Keep Your Wives Away From Them: Orthodox Women, Unorthodox Desires (North Atlantic Books, May 2010) a collection of writings about the challenges and joys of LGBTQ+ Orthodox Jews. Previously, she was the national program director of AVODAH: The Jewish Service Corps, Coordinator of LGBT programming at the JCC Manhattan, and the first social worker at Footsteps.
February 2: From Generation to Generation/I Carry My Mother, I Wish My Father
Lesléa Newman had the honor and privilege of being the primary caretaker for each of her parents as they made their separate journeys from this world into the world to come. In this presentation, she will read and discuss both her memoirs-in-verse, "I Carry My Mother" and "I Wish My Father." A book sale and book signing will follow.
Lesléa Newman has created 87 books for readers of all ages including the dual memoir-in-verse, "I Carry My Mother" and "I Wish My Father" and the children's books, "Ketzel, the Cat who Composed," "GIttel's Journey: An Ellis Island Story," "The Babka Sisters," and "Joyful Song: A Naming Story." She has received two National Jewish Book Awards, two American Library Association Stonewall Honors, the Association of Jewish Libraries Sydney Taylor Body-of-Work Award and the Massachusetts Book Award. She is a former poet laureate of Northampton, MA.
(Date TBD): Abraham v. Joshua: The Torah of the stranger v. the Torah of genocide with David Seidenbeg
The intra-Jewish culture wars of today go all the way back to the Bible, where the Torah of kindness to the stranger--Abraham's Torah--directly conflicts with the laws to wipe out the Canaanite nations--Joshua's Torah. But this is not a battle between two equal camps: there is evidence that the Torah of kindness to the stranger is the original Torah, and the Torah of ethnic cleansing is a revanchist effort to change or subvert the purpose of the covenant itself. We will wrestle the conflict as it appears in Scripture and learn about evidence of its historicity.
Rabbi David Seidenberg is the creator of neohasid.org, the author of Kabbalah and Ecology: God's Image in the More-Than-Human World, and the organizer and facilitator of Torah Warriors weekly Torah study, and the Prayground Minyan.
(Date TBD): A Modern Jewish Odyssey from Egypt with Marlene Lesley
Marlene Lesey was born and raised in Alexandria, Egypt. In her youth, there were many thousand Jews there. Now there are only a very few. Her story started in comfort and affluence, and ended in leaving, stripped of their Egyptian citizenship and all their money. Join us for a very special CBI Cafe to hear about a modern experience Coming Out of Egypt.
Archive of Previous Talks
Professor Mark Auslander
"Mourning across borders: honoring the voices of the lost" --- Read the transcript of this talk here.
January 14, 2024
Professor Omar Bartov
"Weaponizing Language: Misuses of Holocaust Memory and the Never Again Syndrome" --- Fill out this form to receive the recording link.
February 28, 2024
Laurie Sanders
"History of the Northampton Alms House" --- Watch the Zoom presentation here.
February 4, 2024
Rabbi David Seidenberg
"Jews and Indigenousness" --- Watch the livestream recording here.
March 11, 2024
