Adult Education Blog

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?"

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

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.

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...

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

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:

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...

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.

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...

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:

If you are so inclined, you should also feel empowered to read the whole...Read more...

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)

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...

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...

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...