Spring Offerings
Anguish & Complexity in Israel & Gaza: A Conversation Among Friends
Sunday, April 5, 2009, 5:30-7:30 pm. A focused conversation on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and the present state of anguish and complexity. Hosted by holocaust scholars Myrna Goldenberg and Henry Knight. Dr. Goldenberg, a part-time resident of Brattleboro, is Professor Emerita of Montgomery College in Montgomery County, Maryland where she taught courses in Holocaust Studies, Women’s Studies and Literature. In 2005-06 she was the Ida E. King Distinguished Visiting Professor of Holocaust Studies at Richard Stockton College of New Jersey. Dr. Knight is Director of the Cohen Center for Holocaust Studies at Keene State College in Keene, NH and teaches in their academic program in Holocaust Studies. Both are members of the Stephen S. Weinstein Holocaust Symposium in Wroxton, England and contributors to the book Anguished Hope: Holocaust Scholars Confront the Palestinian-Israeli Conflict (Eerdmans, 2008) representing the work of thirteen colleagues from this internationally constituted, interfaith community of scholars and artists. Register
The Jar of Tears: A Memorial Story for the Rebbe of the Warsaw Ghetto
Sunday April 19th, 3:00-5:00 pm. Rabbi Kalonymus Kalman Shapiro wrote of his spiritual struggles while confined in the ghetto. He buried his writings in a milk jug that survived the Rabbi and were found in 1954. This performance imagines a series of personal letters addressed to the Master of the World that Rabbi Shapiro might have written and tucked into that milk jug. The letters provide a portrait of his life, the pain he endured, and how he managed to stay a compassionate human being- even though his whole community was shattered. Performed by Maggid (Mah-geed; storyteller) David Arfa. Maggid David performed this story at Poland’s International Storytelling Festival, amazingly just 3km from where Rabbi Shapiro was the community Rabbi. Register
Learn-to-Read Hebrew
Wednesday evenings, 5:30-6:45 pm, beginning May 13th. If you don’t know an aleph from a gimmel and would like to be able to read Hebrew, this is the class for you. In eight to ten sessions, you will learn to decode Hebrew letters, put sounds together, and read (slowly!) the words of many of the prayers and songs in our siddur. Although you will learn some vocabulary and a tiny bit of grammar, the emphasis is on reading prayer-book Hebrew. Catch up with your children in Hebrew school; refresh rusty skills from long-ago; be able to read prayers you have been reciting by rote! There is no charge for the course for BAJC members, but you will need to order a book ($20). The fee for non-members is $40, plus the textbook. Taught by Faith Schuster, BAJC Administrator and late-in-life learner of Hebrew. It’s never too late to learn! Register
Confronting Holocaust Denial
Thursday, May 7, 6:30 - 8:30 pm. Holocaust denial is an active propaganda effort to deny the reality of the approximately 6 million victims of the Shoah. This presentation will answer questions such as, “How do we know what we know?” “Who would deny the Holocaust and why?” The context and origins of Holocaust denial (initiated by the Nazis themselves), categories of Holocaust distortion, main denier motives and tropes will be examined. Using the documented facts of the Shoah, this presentation will illustrate how denier arguments have no basis in truth. Taught by Thomas M. White, Coordinator of Educational Outreach for the Cohen Center for Holocaust Studies. Tom, who holds a Masters in History Education, taught for sixteen years at Keene High School before receiving a Fellowship to create his current position. He is a long-term member of the Cohen Center for Holocaust Studies Advisory Board and serves on the Diocese of Manchester’s Diocesan Ecumenical Commission for Interfaith Relations. ($50 honorarium payable to The Cohen Center.) Register
The Children of Abraham: Isalm, the Koran, and their Links to Judaism
Brought back by popular demand on Shabbat afternoon, May 9th, 2:00-4:00 pm. In modern times, the anguished tribulations Jews & Muslims have suffered, at each other’s hands & from others, have made them forget their shared origins. Their shared history of 13 centuries of accommodation & acceptance is far richer than their equally intense shared belligerence dating from the 20th Century. Throughout most of their interaction, Jews & Muslims recognized & accepted the common origins of their faiths, the ancestry of Abraham, the belief in Ilahi/Elohi as the One God, the high morality defined by the Jewish prophets, all of whom are considered Muslim prophets, & the evolution of Judaic law over the millennia, incorporated into the Quran & the Sharia, the Muslim religious code. We will discuss some of these shared beliefs, their unshakeable place in the hearts of both peoples, shared laws, culture, morality, practices & trace areas of divergence. It will become apparent that history has changed the “faces” of the two peoples but has not affected their hearts which are still infused with the love of the same God. Taught by Javed Chaudhri, born in Pakistan, who attended the unique Lawrence College at Ghora Gali, founded in 1860 in the Himalayas. He attended Marlboro College, studying Social Research, Anthropology & Management. Javed has worked as a business executive & teacher & is a lay member of the Interfaith Clergies in Brattleboro & Greenfield, MA. Register
Tzedakah
Sunday, May 17th, 10:00 am -12:00 pm. This discussion will help us understanding the Jewish roots of Tzedkah, how acts of loving kindness and righteousness can be undertaken “Jewishly,” and how they not only affect the receivers of our work or money or caring, but each of us. We will explore references to Jewish thinking and participate in a few exercises for each of us to begin to think about ourselves not only as tsedakah givers, but as tzedakah “doers.” Taught by Jackie Gould, area teacher and BAJC congregant. Register
Judaism and Magic
Wednesday, June 10th, at 7:00-8:30 pm. Miracles & magic drive many of the stories in Talmud, Torah, & the Gospels. What do we make of this? Ignore these accounts completely, judge them as ignorance, or try to understand the belief-systems of antiquity? Marjorie Pivar became interested in Jewish magic after discovering a similarity with Southeast Asian magical practices. Pivar later found The Book of the Sacred Magic of Abra-Melin the (Jewish) Mage on her own bookshelf. Written in 1400 by “Abraham the Jew,” this book has the reputation of being “the most genuine & powerful magical manual ever published.” Join a discussion exploring our ideas about magic. Pivar lives in East Dummerston. She is a Shiatsu therapist & the co-author of Fourth Uncle in the Mountain: the Remarkable Legacy of a Buddhist Itinerant Doctor in Vietnam. Register
Ongoing Monthly Gatherings
(no registration necessary)
Torah Study
Usually held the 2nd & 4th Saturday of each month (see the online calendar), 10 am - 12 noon. Lay-led discussion of the week’s parashah allows for wonderful insights. Discussion in English, no previous experience necessary. Study guides can be found on our website. A short morning service precedes study.
Torah Study Resources >>
Singing is Like Praying Twice
Held on the 1st Shabbat morning of the month, 8:30 a.m. Learn about the joyous path to Jewish experience through song. Our hope is to learn and practice the music that will enhance the Shabbat service that follows. Led by BAJC members Allen & Andi.
Yoga & The Jewish Spirit
2nd Sunday every month, 6:30-8:00 p.m., beginning November 9th. A yoga practice combining Kim’s Anusara yoga practice with Jewish mysticism. The class will consist of a short meditation that focuses on a Kabbalist concept, chanting of a Hebrew prayer, asana practice (yoga postures), and a short relaxation. The class is open to all levels. Participants will need to bring a yoga mat, a foam block & a cotton blanket. Led by BAJC member Kim, long-term yoga practitioner who is married to a Zen Buddhist priest.
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