TRS Beit Midrash (House of Study)
Winter 2017
a community for adult Jewish learning
A New Model for Adult Learning – Choose from 4 exciting courses!
Thursday evenings January 12, 19, and 26
Sign up now at https://beitmidrashjan2017.eventbrite.com
Gather at 6:30 pm for soup and sandwiches (yummy)
Classes are from 7:00 -8:30 pm
The cost for a course is only $36 (additional support is provided by our Adult Education Fund).
Inner Piety and Ethical Relationships from the Tales of the Talmudic Rabbis
Rabbi Stephanie Bernstein
What can we learn from the lives of Talmudic Rabbis about being more
compassionate, loving human beings? Through a close reading and discussion
of three texts, we will examine the relationship between God’s compassion
for us and our compassion for one another. We will learn what the Rabbis
had to say about the conflict between our personal quest for self-fulfillment
and our interpersonal relationships.
Torah Trope Workshop
Cantors Mike Shochet and Rachel Rhodes (4 sessions, Feb 2 added)
What are those funny little signs above and beneath the Hebrew Torah
text? In this four-week course, you will learn the basics of chanting Torah.
Some basic Hebrew reading ability is required, though you do not need to
be able to read music.
Jewish Storytelling
Bob Rovinsky, storyteller and teacher, the Jewish Study Center
Why is Jewish storytelling so essential to our tradition? Bob will
lead us through the varied, rich, and important world of Jewish
stories from Europe and Asia, and from ancient through modern
times. Through his stories he will illustrate how Jewish stories both
differ from and are similar to the cultures around them. Bob will
also help us learn and tell stories to and about our own families, so we can pass our stories on
to future generations.
Bob Rovinsky has been a long time teacher at – and former President of - the Jewish Study Center, and
has taught classes in Basic Judaism, Jewish Storytelling, and Dealing with Grief and Loss. He is an active
member of the Fabrangen Havurah and belongs to several other congregations as well.
Heroes, Vamps, and Vixens – Great Women of the Bible
Steve Ruth, GMU professor & TRS Torah Study participant
Which Bible women would be successful as leaders today? We will examine
many of these intriguing women, whose reported deeds range from heroic
to treacherous and profane. We will concurrently review some of today's
public policy issues that these great personalities faced in their own time,
such as women's rights, punishments for rape, inheritance rules, women in
government, abortion, harassment, bullying, and many more.
Steve Ruth is a professor in the Schar School of Policy and Government at George Mason University
where his specialty is technology policy. For many years he has been deeply interested in the Tanach and
the Christian Bible and in 2012 his book “One Year Trip Through the Bible--Readings and Reflections: A
Layman's Fresh Perspective on the Complete Old and New Testaments”, offered commentary on all 73
Jewish and Christian Bible books, including several in the Apocrypha. He has been attending TRS Torah
study for over a decade along with other Temple activities, and has given several other presentations at
TRS.
There will be a new set of Beit Midrash courses spring 2017
Save the dates: Thursdays, 5/11-6/1
Also beginning this January:
Hands on Conversational Hebrew for Beginners
A new addition to our array of Hebrew classes
8 Wednesday evenings, Jan 11 – March 1, 7:00 - 8:00 PM; $36
Lior Doron, TRS Shlicha
Have fun learning to speak Hebrew without learning how to read Hebrew
https://handsonconversationalhebrew.eventbrite.com
The Unfinished War: Perspectives on the Fiftieth Anniversary of the Six-Day War
A new daytime partnership with JCCNV and its Adult Learning
Institute – taking place here at TRS!
4 Monday afternoons Jan 23 - Feb 13 Mon 12:30 - 2:00 PM
How does the shortest war in recent memory have seismic effects that resonate fifty years later?
Instructors: Col. Yaron Formoza, Military Attache, Embassy of Israel; Jack Sztrigler, Director of Strategic
Outreach, Embassy of Israel; Jennifer Raskas, Director of the Israel Action Center, Jewish Community
Relations Council of Greater Washington; Na’ama Gold, JCCNV-JAFI Shlicha; and Robert Budoff, CoChair, Virginia Commission and Executive Committee Member, Jewish Community Relations Council of
Greater Washington
Cost: $48 Non-member/$32 J member rate for TRS members using Code: #7967
RSVP: http://bit.ly/2ghYNVq
For more information about classes at TRS, please contact
Cantor Allen Leider, Director of Lifelong Learning
[email protected]