Adult Ed: Lamentations
01/20/2021 12:06:33 PM
Author | |
Date Added | |
Automatically create summary | |
Summary |
The Book of Lamentations
Summary of Lamentations
About Lamentations
Lamentations on Tisha B'Av
Other Jewish Poems of Lament
Link to a PDF about Lamentations and Gender
Tevye asking, "Eicha?"
Read more...
Adult Ed: Ruth
01/13/2021 04:13:28 PM
Author | |
Date Added | |
Automatically create summary | |
Summary |
The Book of Ruth
Summary of the Book of Ruth (but it's only four chapters!)
The Power of Names in the Book of Ruth
Brief analysis of the Book of Ruth
Read more...Adult Ed: Song of Songs
01/06/2021 03:29:01 PM
Author | |
Date Added | |
Automatically create summary | |
Summary |
The Book of Song of Songs
Summary of Song of Songs (Disclaimer: I think Shmoop is a cute and fun site for easy summaries, but their Biblical summaries all take an "Old Testament" view rather than a "Hebrew Scripture" view. In general, be a little wary of any source that refers to this book as the Song of Solomon.)
My Jewish Learning - Song of Songs
Sefaria Text Study on Song of Songs
Read more...Book Club: January
01/06/2021 12:35:14 PM
Author | |
Date Added | |
Automatically create summary | |
Summary |
The Ner Shalom Book Club is reading Apeirogon by Colum McCann this month and trying to get back on track with our last Wednesday of the month meetings!
Join us at 10:30 am on January 27th via Zoom to discuss this book.
From Goodreads:
Colum McCann's most ambitious work to date, Apeirogon--named for a shape with a countably infinite number of sides--is a tour de force concerning friendship, love, loss, and...Read more...
Adult Ed: Jewish Mysticism
12/23/2020 11:50:35 AM
Author | |
Date Added | |
Automatically create summary | |
Summary |
Bonus class with Rabbi Geoffrey Dennis! We will be looking at the texts themselves that we've been learning about.
In case you missed the class explaining what the Zohar is, check out this article.
If you're looking to get into mystical study of your own, this is the edition of Zohar you want.
Read more...
Adult Ed: Jewish Mysticism
12/02/2020 12:31:51 PM
Author | |
Date Added | |
Automatically create summary | |
Summary |
This month we will be having a guest teacher for Adult Ed!
Geoffrey Dennis is rabbi of Congregation Kol Ami in Flower Mound, TX. He is a popular professor in Rabbinics at the University of North Texas, where he teaches Kabbalah, Biblical Literature, and the History of Messianism. He received his M.HL and was ordained at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion. He also has degrees in Education and Nursing. Prior to his...Read more...
December/January Book Club
12/02/2020 12:04:24 PM
Author | |
Date Added | |
Automatically create summary | |
Summary |
The Ner Shalom Book Club will be meeting January 6th at 10:30 am via Zoom to discuss The Garment Maker's Daughter by Hillary Adrienne Stern.
The Garment Maker's Daughter is a multigenerational saga of immigrant dreams and sweatshop realities, labor strikes and women's rights. It is the story of Lena Rothman, a shirtwaist-maker and active suffragette whose plans get derailed when she falls in love with her best friend's boyfriend, Jake...Read more...
Adult Ed: Job
11/25/2020 10:08:21 AM
Author | |
Date Added | |
Automatically create summary | |
Summary |
The Book of Job (Full Text)
What is the Book of Job?
Introduction to Job through the Classical Rabbinic Lens
What is the Point of this Book?
Theodicy and Linguistic Structure of Job
What's the deal with Satan here?
Read more...Adult Ed: Proverbs
11/18/2020 10:25:53 AM
Author | |
Date Added | |
Automatically create summary | |
Summary |
The Book of Proverbs
Claymation Interpretations of Selected Proverbs
What is Proverbs?
Google Drive of Some Academic Articles about Proverbs, Patriarchy, and Sexual Politics of Biblical Israel
Read more...Adult Ed: Psalms
11/11/2020 11:42:09 AM
Author | |
Date Added | |
Automatically create summary | |
Summary |
Psalms is a collection of poetry. There's no narrative or decisive author, but we will look at the book of 150 poems as deeply as we can in one hour!
Since there isn't as much room for the sort of literary-historical look we often employ for understanding a whole book of TaNaKh in one hour, instead I suggest everyone bring a Psalm for us to discuss.
The Book of Psalms
What is Psalms?
Read more...
November Book Club
10/28/2020 06:59:15 PM
Author | |
Date Added | |
Automatically create summary | |
Summary |
Due to Thanksgiving and the length of our next book, there will not be a meeting for Book Club in November itself. We will meet December 2nd at 10:30 am over Zoom to discuss Marjorie Morningstar by Herman Wouk. The amazon.com description of the book is:
Now hailed as a "proto-feminist classic" (Vulture), Pulitzer Prize winner Herman Wouk's powerful coming-of-age novel about an ambitious young woman pursuing her artistic dreams in...Read more...Adult Ed: Chronicles
10/20/2020 03:08:14 PM
Author | |
Date Added | |
Automatically create summary | |
Summary |
Join us on November 8th at 1 pm via Zoom for a discussion of Chronicles, and some comparing/contrasting between Chronicles and the tales they are are repeating from the other books of the Tanakh.
I Chronicles
II Chronicles
I Chronicles Summary
II Chronicles Summary
What is Chronicles?
Some Examples of Chronicles repeating or "fixing" stories from other parts of the Tanakh
Divine Justice...Read more...
Adult Ed: Fighting Against Antisemitism
10/14/2020 12:06:58 PM
Author | |
Date Added | |
Automatically create summary | |
Summary |
Join us Sunday, October 18th on Zoom (reach out if you need the link) for a special presentation on antisemitism and what action we can take to promote safety for Jews and all minorities.
We recommend you bring paper and pen, or have a word processing app open during this presentation so that you can start your letters to your local papers or representatives with us during the call.
Resources to check out before or after the...Read more...
Book Club Updates
10/13/2020 05:12:13 PM
Author | |
Date Added | |
Automatically create summary | |
Summary |
With the holidays taking away from almost every other programming, Book Club has continued on!
In September we read Deathless: the Complete, Uncensored, Heartbreaking, and Amazing Autobiography of Serach Bat Asher, the Oldest Woman in the World by Andrew Ramer.
Now we are reading The Hired Girl by Laura Amy Schlitz, to be discussed via Zoom at 10:30 on October 28th.
Read more...Adult Ed: Jewish Views on the Afterlife
08/02/2020 10:54:57 AM
Author | |
Date Added | |
Automatically create summary | |
Summary |
Join us via Zoom as we delve into some Jewish views on the afterlife!
Classes will run the first three Sundays in August, taught by guest lecturer Professor John Rybicki!
Email Rabbi@nershalomva.org if you need the zoom link.
August Book Club
07/29/2020 12:12:13 PM
Author | |
Date Added | |
Automatically create summary | |
Summary |
The Ner Shalom Book Club will be meeting via Zoom at 10:30 am on August 26th to discuss The Third Daughter by Talia Carner.
From Goodreads about the book:
The turn of the 20th century finds fourteen-year-old Batya in the Russian countryside, fleeing with her family endless pogroms. Desperate, her father leaps at the opportunity to marry Batya to a worldly, wealthy stranger who can guarantee his daughter an easy...Read more...
Adult Ed: Final Session on Reform Jewish Values!
07/19/2020 02:19:44 PM
Author | |
Date Added | |
Automatically create summary | |
Summary |
For the last several weeks, we have been studying Reform Jewish values, through the responsa, formal statements, and platforms of the Central Conference of American Rabbis, and through the book, A Life of Meaning: Embracing Reform Judaism's Sacred Path. This Sunday (7/26) will be our final session on this topic. If you have been reading the book along with us, the following essays are recommended as starting points for our discussion on...Read more...
Adult Ed: Embracing Reform Judaism's Sacred Path
07/15/2020 10:40:47 AM
Author | |
Date Added | |
Automatically create summary | |
Summary |
Adult Ed: Embracing Reform Judaism's Sacred Path
07/08/2020 06:29:00 PM
Author | |
Date Added | |
Automatically create summary | |
Summary |
This week's topic is "Living the Texts". You do not have to have done the reading to join us, but if you do have the book A Life Of Meaning, we are strongly encouraging reading the following essays:
Our Tree of Life by Rabbi Amy Scheinerman Why Reform Jews Should Study Talmud by Rabbi Dvora Weisberg, PhD Reform Liturgy: Then and Now by Rabbi Dalia Marx, PhDIf you are so inclined, you should also feel empowered to read the whole...Read more...
Adult Ed: Embracing Judaism's Sacred Path
07/01/2020 02:54:05 PM
Author | |
Date Added | |
Automatically create summary | |
Summary |
After a week off, we are continuing again this Sunday with our study of Reform Jewish values.
This week's topic is "Connecting to the Divine" and we will be discussing where traditional ritual fits into Reform Jewish life. Those who purchased the book, A Life of Meaning, were encouraged to read at least the following chapters:
The Power and Pitfalls of Personal Religious Autonomy The Jewish Path Ceremony vs. RitualFor...Read more...
July Book Club
06/24/2020 02:45:29 PM
Author | |
Date Added | |
Automatically create summary | |
Summary |
Adult Ed: Embracing Reform Judaism's Sacred Path
06/10/2020 02:21:54 PM
Author | |
Date Added | |
Automatically create summary | |
Summary |
We are moving on to a new, but related topic from our look at "Reform Halakha". Using A Life of Meaning by Rabbi Dana Evan Kaplan as our guide, we will spend the next six weeks looking at the following topics through the modern/progressive Reform Jewish lens:
Knowing God Choosing Covenant Connecting to the Divine Living the Texts Building Community Dignity of the Other
This week, as we begin our conversations...Read more...
Adult Ed: Reform Responsa on Gender and Sexuality
06/03/2020 02:35:24 PM
Author | |
Date Added | |
Automatically create summary | |
Summary |
A General Question of Marriage after Gender Affirming Sugery (1978)
A Question About Sex/Gender/Sexuality in Marriage (ca. 1980)
Circumcision for Trans Converts (ca. 2009)
Conversion and Marriage with Genderbending Individuals (1990)
Gender Transitions within an Existing Marriage (ca. 2015)
Current CCAR Resolution (2015)
Read more...June Book Club
06/03/2020 02:31:28 PM
Author | |
Date Added | |
Automatically create summary | |
Summary |
If you enjoyed our Shavuot People of the Book event last week, you will love the Ner Shalom Book Club! This month's pick is The Plot Against America by Philip Roth. We are meeting by Zoom to discuss on June 24th at 10:30 am. Message us for the zoom link or other information about Ner Shalom programming!
https://www.goodreads.com/…/sh…/703.The_Plot_Against_America
Adult Ed: Reform Responsa on Gender and Sexuality
05/25/2020 05:12:26 PM
Author | |
Date Added | |
Automatically create summary | |
Summary |
Gay Marriages/Families:
Can a Reform Rabbi Officiate (1985)
Can both moms participate in their son's Bar Mitzvah (1986)
Evolution of Reform Acceptance, and where Civil Law factors (2014)
Jewish LGBTQ Communities:
Gay Synagogues (ca.1972)
Gay Converts (1982)
Contemporary CCAR Resolutions (2015):
Reform Judaism Celebrates 25 Years of Gay Rabbis (now 30!)
CCAR Opposed...Read more...
May Book Club
05/19/2020 04:35:40 PM
Author | |
Date Added | |
Automatically create summary | |
Summary |
Adult Ed: Reform Responsa on Gender
05/19/2020 04:34:48 PM
Author | |
Date Added | |
Automatically create summary | |
Summary |
Before we move on to Responsa on LGBT inclusion, there were some questions about the Responsa Committee more generally.
Here are the two most recent Responsa on the CCAR website (COVID-19 themed) - they list the names of the current committee members at the end, including the current chair (a woman):
Virtual Minyan during a Pandemic
Brit Milah during COVID-19
For Comparison: Rabbinic Assembly (Conservative)...Read more...
Adult Ed: Reform Responsa on Gender
05/13/2020 01:28:47 PM
Author | |
Date Added | |
Automatically create summary | |
Summary |
Adult Ed: Reform Responsa on Gender
05/06/2020 02:49:37 PM
Author | |
Date Added | |
Automatically create summary | |
Summary |
Pregnancy and Reproductive Health:
Is Birth Control Permitted? (1927)
On Artificial Insemination and Emergency C-Sections (ca. late 1940's)
When is Abortion Permitted? (1985)
Motherhood:
On Breast-Feeding (ca. 1950's)
Accepting Jews of Patrilineal Descent (1983)
Marriage:
Jewish Commitment Ceremonies Outside of Marriage (1979)
Agunot (1988)
Regulating Uteruses...Read more...
Adult Ed: Reform Responsa on Gender
04/28/2020 12:53:04 PM
Author | |
Date Added | |
Automatically create summary | |
Summary |
Reponsa on Educating Jewish Girls:
Religious Misogyny is a Western Invention and Not True to Judaism's Semetic Roots, But We're Going to Uphold it Anyway
The Reform Movement Returns to the Practice of the Bar Mitzvah and Discusses Whether to Include Bat Mitzvah Ceremonies as Well
Reform Attitudes On Bar/Bat Mitzvah
Do Girls Really Mature Earlier than Boys?
Women in Ritual Practice:
Wearing...Read more...
Tue, January 26 2021
13 Shevat 5781
Upcoming Events
-
Thursday ,
JanJanuary 28 , 2021
Thursday, Jan 28th 12:00p to 1:00p
-
Friday ,
JanJanuary 29 , 2021
Friday, Jan 29th 7:30p to 8:30p
-
Saturday ,
JanJanuary 30 , 2021
Motzei Shabbat, Jan 30th 7:30p to 8:00p
-
Sunday ,
JanJanuary 31 , 2021
Sunday, Jan 31st 10:00a to 12:00p
Reach out if you need the Zoom link! -
Sunday ,
JanJanuary 31 , 2021
Sunday, Jan 31st 1:00p to 2:00p
Join us as we look at the last few books in our study of Tanakh! We will look at each of the Five Megillot in each of these five weeks: Song of Songs, the Book of Ruth, the Book of Lamentations, Ecclesiastes and the Book of Esther -
Monday ,
FebFebruary 1 , 2021
Monday, Feb 1st 5:00p to 6:00p
-
Thursday ,
FebFebruary 4 , 2021
Thursday, Feb 4th 12:00p to 1:00p
-
Friday ,
FebFebruary 5 , 2021
Friday, Feb 5th 7:30p to 8:00p
-
Saturday ,
FebFebruary 6 , 2021
Shabbat, Feb 6th 10:00a to 11:30a
-
Saturday ,
FebFebruary 6 , 2021
Motzei Shabbat, Feb 6th 7:30p to 8:00p
Ner Shalom in the News
- Washington Jewish Week - June 30, 2020
CNS Branded Masks Save Lives
- Prince WIlliam Living - September 20, 2019
Annual Patriot Day Shabbat
- Prince William Living - August 26, 2019
Learn About the Jewish High Holidays!
- Prince William Living - August 16, 2019
It's that Time Again!
- Prince William Living - July 16, 2019
Synagogue in Summer
- Prince William Living - June 17, 2019
You Want a Revolution; I Want a Revelation!
- Prince William Living - May 16, 2019
Seasons of Our Joy
- Prince William Living - April 16th, 2019
Leaving Egypt in Every Generation
- Prince William Living - March 20, 2019
- Learning About Jewish Traditions
- Building an Inclusive & Vibrant Community
- - Prince William Living - February 15, 2019
- Lifelong Learning at Ner Shalom
- - Prince William Living - January 14, 2019
- You Shall Love Your Fellow as Yourself
- - Prince William Living - December 14, 2018
- The Future of the Community
- - Prince William Living - December 13, 2018
- What It's Like to be Jewish at Christmastime
- - Prince William Living - November 20, 2018
- Coming Together After a National Tragedy
- - Prince William Living - July 31, 2018
- Finding Faith: Religions Across Region
- - Prince William Living - March 28, 2017
- Come Visit Congregation Ner Shalom
like Our Facebook Page