2020 Sweet Tastes of Torah Program
It's our 11th! Come celebrate with us.
A careful and compassionate reading of the Bible enables us to learn a tremendous amount from and about Biblical characters, God, and our understanding of the Jewish world. Considering biblical characters as relatable individuals, we can apply their experiences as inspiration to overcome our own challenges and embrace them as opportunities for growth. The Keynote on Limping Toward the Promised Land: Seeing Ourselves in the Characters of the Bible is meant to be a conversation starter for our first session discussion groups.
The themes presented in Esau's Blessing: How the Bible Embraces Those with Special Needs serve as the basis for our first session discussion groups. A limited number of copies of the book will be available for purchase on site (cash or check only) for $18.
FIRST SESSION DISCUSSION GROUPS
Biblical Personalities and Depression
Rabbi David-Seth Kirshner, Temple Emanu-el, Closter
Disabilities of the Soul: Emotional and Spiritual Disabilities
Rabbi Baruch Zeilicovich, Temple Beth Sholom, Fair Lawn
Esau and ADHD
Rabbi Randall Mark, Shomrei Torah, Wayne
Family Dynamics in Families with a Disabled Member
Rabbi Beni Wajnberg, Temple Beth Rishon, Wyckoff
Isaac and Intellectual Disability
Rabbi Leiah Moser, Reconstructionist Congregation Beth Israel, Ridgewood
Joseph and Giftedness
Rabbi Jeremy Ruberg, Temple Emanu-el, Closter
Jacob and Physical Disabilities
Rabbi David Bockman, Temple Beth Sholom of Pascack Valley, Park Ridge
Miriam and Gender in Education
Rabbi Beth Kramer-Mazer, Temple Sinai of Bergen County, Tenafly
Moses and Speech Disorders
Rabbi David Fine, Temple Israel & Jewish Community Center, Ridgewood
Perspectives on Samson: How We Understand and What We Can Learn from the Story of Samson
Rabbi Debra Orenstein, Congregation B'nai Israel, Emerson
The Trouble with Isaac
Rabbi Shammai Engelmayer
SECOND SESSION CLASSES
The American Sound: A Musical Refuge from Antisemitism
For lovers of music, Using Richard Wagner's antisemitic treatise Jewishness in Music, we will explore how Jews were excluded from German nationalistic music only to become foundational composers of American jazz and classical music. Includes music selections from Wagner, Mendelssohn, Copland, Bernstein, and more!
Rabbi Jim Stoloff, Temple Avodat Shalom, River Edge
The Case of the Biblical "Blemished Priest": Commentaries and Implications
The Torah talks about priests with blemishes (or physical deformities), who are disqualified from the most central priestly duties in the Temple. Through reading and discussing various commentaries, we will unpack this Biblical and rabbinic prohibition. The contemporary approach will also lead us to consider disability, eugenics, and genetic engineering as options of understanding.
Rabbi Ziona Zelazo, Temple Beth Rishon, Wyckoff
The Classic Path to Personal and Communal Jewish Excellence
"Classical" means Yossel-endorsed, with charts and arrows and bold-faced truths you can immediately disagree with. You will thank me forever, and wonder why it took so long to get this revelation to you.
Rabbi Gerald Friedman, Rabbi Emeritus, Temple Beth Sholom of Pascack Valley, Park Ridge
From "Challahs in the Ark" to "Bagels from Benny": Learning from an Evolving Jewish Folk Tale
Jewish folk tales aren't only for kids! We'll discuss an entertaining 400-year-old Jewish story that has a lot to teach us about changing conceptions of God, miracles, rabbinic authority, and the value of truth.
Rabbi Robert Scheinberg, United Synagogue of Hoboken
Divine Disability: A Disabilities Studies Approach to Understanding God
Analyzing Biblical characters as individuals with disabilities has contributed a great deal to our reading of the Bible and to our understanding of the importance of diversity and inclusiveness in the Jewish world. This becomes even more significant when we consider what it means to think about God as disabled. Using tools of disability studies, we will read Biblical texts and think about the ramifications of this study for our understanding of God and of Jewish life.
Ora Horn Prouser, Executive Vice President and Academic Dean at The Academy for Jewish Religion, Yonkers, New York
Do Not Stand Idly By: Addressing Gun Violence
Join others to discuss the Torah's commandment of "not standing idly by the blood of our neighbor" (Lev. 19:1). Listen to Rabbi Schlosberg discuss her own involvement in this bipartisan non-legislative campaign and how you and members of your community can become involved to feel like you are making a difference to curb gun violence in America.
Rabbi Jennifer Schlosberg, Glen Rock Jewish Center, Glen Rock
Embracing the Convert: A View from Both Sides of the Mikvah
In our amazingly diverse Jewish community, chances are you know and love (or are!) someone who chose to become Jewish. Drawing on classic Jewish texts and Rabbi Healey-Pollack's personal experience as a Jew-by-choice and a rabbi, we will explore what it means to create welcoming communities and how the insights of Jews-by-choice can enhance Jewish life.
Rabbi Lindsey Healey-Pollack, Kol HaNeshamah, Englewood
God and Guns
This class will be devoted to a consideration of guns, gun control, and related issues. As our nation confronts both the epidemic of gun violence, as well as the constitutional right to gun ownership, there is much to be learned from traditional Jewish sources. We will study relevant Halachic (Jewish legal) sources and voices to understand what our rabbis and teachers can add to our understanding of this vexing national debate.
Rabbi Arthur Weiner, Jewish Community Center of Paramus/Congregation Beth Tikvah, Paramus
Is Esther Marginalized in Her Own Book?
The name of the Megillah (The Book of Esther) might suggest that Queen Esther is the heroine of the story of Purim. Yet many people see Mordecai as the main protagonist of the drama, with Esther as a mere supporting character—the "woman behind the man." In this session, we will examine both possibilities through selected commentaries, from short rabbinic texts to classic Purim songs, as we seek an understanding that makes sense for our time.
Rabbi Dina Shargel, Fair Lawn Jewish Center/Congregation B'nai Israel, Fair Lawn
Locating God in the Book of Esther
Megillat Esther, though well known as the liturgical centerpiece of Purim, is a profoundly misunderstood book of the Bible. God's name is conspicuously absent in Esther, leading many to read the book as a strictly human, even secular work. A careful decoding of the Biblical text, however — especially its literary relationship to the Minor Prophets — reveals that Esther is all about the presence of God in Jewish history.
Rabbi Joseph Prouser, Temple Emanuel of North Jersey, Franklin Lakes
Yom Tov Sheini: The Second Day of Jewish Holidays
In this session, we will learn the history of the "Second Day" of Jewish holidays that stretches back nearly two millennia. How did if affect Jewish lives and communities in the Land of Israel (where there was only one day of holidays) and in the Diaspora, especially a newly ascendent Babylonia, and even here in America? The history is fascinating, and the legal and societal issues are far-reaching when we consider what should be the relationship of "outlying communities" versus a "spiritual center."
Rabbi Joel Pitkowsky, Congregation Beth Sholom, Teaneck
The evening will wrap up with dessert and Israeli folk dancing to be led by Rabbi David Bockman.
The themes presented in Esau's Blessing: How the Bible Embraces Those with Special Needs serve as the basis for our first session discussion groups. A limited number of copies of the book will be available for purchase on site (cash or check only) for $18.
FIRST SESSION DISCUSSION GROUPS
Biblical Personalities and Depression
Rabbi David-Seth Kirshner, Temple Emanu-el, Closter
Disabilities of the Soul: Emotional and Spiritual Disabilities
Rabbi Baruch Zeilicovich, Temple Beth Sholom, Fair Lawn
Esau and ADHD
Rabbi Randall Mark, Shomrei Torah, Wayne
Family Dynamics in Families with a Disabled Member
Rabbi Beni Wajnberg, Temple Beth Rishon, Wyckoff
Isaac and Intellectual Disability
Rabbi Leiah Moser, Reconstructionist Congregation Beth Israel, Ridgewood
Joseph and Giftedness
Rabbi Jeremy Ruberg, Temple Emanu-el, Closter
Jacob and Physical Disabilities
Rabbi David Bockman, Temple Beth Sholom of Pascack Valley, Park Ridge
Miriam and Gender in Education
Rabbi Beth Kramer-Mazer, Temple Sinai of Bergen County, Tenafly
Moses and Speech Disorders
Rabbi David Fine, Temple Israel & Jewish Community Center, Ridgewood
Perspectives on Samson: How We Understand and What We Can Learn from the Story of Samson
Rabbi Debra Orenstein, Congregation B'nai Israel, Emerson
The Trouble with Isaac
Rabbi Shammai Engelmayer
SECOND SESSION CLASSES
The American Sound: A Musical Refuge from Antisemitism
For lovers of music, Using Richard Wagner's antisemitic treatise Jewishness in Music, we will explore how Jews were excluded from German nationalistic music only to become foundational composers of American jazz and classical music. Includes music selections from Wagner, Mendelssohn, Copland, Bernstein, and more!
Rabbi Jim Stoloff, Temple Avodat Shalom, River Edge
The Case of the Biblical "Blemished Priest": Commentaries and Implications
The Torah talks about priests with blemishes (or physical deformities), who are disqualified from the most central priestly duties in the Temple. Through reading and discussing various commentaries, we will unpack this Biblical and rabbinic prohibition. The contemporary approach will also lead us to consider disability, eugenics, and genetic engineering as options of understanding.
Rabbi Ziona Zelazo, Temple Beth Rishon, Wyckoff
The Classic Path to Personal and Communal Jewish Excellence
"Classical" means Yossel-endorsed, with charts and arrows and bold-faced truths you can immediately disagree with. You will thank me forever, and wonder why it took so long to get this revelation to you.
Rabbi Gerald Friedman, Rabbi Emeritus, Temple Beth Sholom of Pascack Valley, Park Ridge
From "Challahs in the Ark" to "Bagels from Benny": Learning from an Evolving Jewish Folk Tale
Jewish folk tales aren't only for kids! We'll discuss an entertaining 400-year-old Jewish story that has a lot to teach us about changing conceptions of God, miracles, rabbinic authority, and the value of truth.
Rabbi Robert Scheinberg, United Synagogue of Hoboken
Divine Disability: A Disabilities Studies Approach to Understanding God
Analyzing Biblical characters as individuals with disabilities has contributed a great deal to our reading of the Bible and to our understanding of the importance of diversity and inclusiveness in the Jewish world. This becomes even more significant when we consider what it means to think about God as disabled. Using tools of disability studies, we will read Biblical texts and think about the ramifications of this study for our understanding of God and of Jewish life.
Ora Horn Prouser, Executive Vice President and Academic Dean at The Academy for Jewish Religion, Yonkers, New York
Do Not Stand Idly By: Addressing Gun Violence
Join others to discuss the Torah's commandment of "not standing idly by the blood of our neighbor" (Lev. 19:1). Listen to Rabbi Schlosberg discuss her own involvement in this bipartisan non-legislative campaign and how you and members of your community can become involved to feel like you are making a difference to curb gun violence in America.
Rabbi Jennifer Schlosberg, Glen Rock Jewish Center, Glen Rock
Embracing the Convert: A View from Both Sides of the Mikvah
In our amazingly diverse Jewish community, chances are you know and love (or are!) someone who chose to become Jewish. Drawing on classic Jewish texts and Rabbi Healey-Pollack's personal experience as a Jew-by-choice and a rabbi, we will explore what it means to create welcoming communities and how the insights of Jews-by-choice can enhance Jewish life.
Rabbi Lindsey Healey-Pollack, Kol HaNeshamah, Englewood
God and Guns
This class will be devoted to a consideration of guns, gun control, and related issues. As our nation confronts both the epidemic of gun violence, as well as the constitutional right to gun ownership, there is much to be learned from traditional Jewish sources. We will study relevant Halachic (Jewish legal) sources and voices to understand what our rabbis and teachers can add to our understanding of this vexing national debate.
Rabbi Arthur Weiner, Jewish Community Center of Paramus/Congregation Beth Tikvah, Paramus
Is Esther Marginalized in Her Own Book?
The name of the Megillah (The Book of Esther) might suggest that Queen Esther is the heroine of the story of Purim. Yet many people see Mordecai as the main protagonist of the drama, with Esther as a mere supporting character—the "woman behind the man." In this session, we will examine both possibilities through selected commentaries, from short rabbinic texts to classic Purim songs, as we seek an understanding that makes sense for our time.
Rabbi Dina Shargel, Fair Lawn Jewish Center/Congregation B'nai Israel, Fair Lawn
Locating God in the Book of Esther
Megillat Esther, though well known as the liturgical centerpiece of Purim, is a profoundly misunderstood book of the Bible. God's name is conspicuously absent in Esther, leading many to read the book as a strictly human, even secular work. A careful decoding of the Biblical text, however — especially its literary relationship to the Minor Prophets — reveals that Esther is all about the presence of God in Jewish history.
Rabbi Joseph Prouser, Temple Emanuel of North Jersey, Franklin Lakes
Yom Tov Sheini: The Second Day of Jewish Holidays
In this session, we will learn the history of the "Second Day" of Jewish holidays that stretches back nearly two millennia. How did if affect Jewish lives and communities in the Land of Israel (where there was only one day of holidays) and in the Diaspora, especially a newly ascendent Babylonia, and even here in America? The history is fascinating, and the legal and societal issues are far-reaching when we consider what should be the relationship of "outlying communities" versus a "spiritual center."
Rabbi Joel Pitkowsky, Congregation Beth Sholom, Teaneck
The evening will wrap up with dessert and Israeli folk dancing to be led by Rabbi David Bockman.
Sweet Tastes of Torah • 32 Franklin Place, Glen Rock, NJ 07452 • 201-652-1687 • [email protected]