Fall Programs 5784/5785
Want to deepen your skills and your connection to Jewish wisdom and spirituality? Join us for Shabbat programming, weekday learning, special guests, and more. For Zoom links and updated information about all of our classes and programs, please visit the CDT calendar. Unless noted otherwise, all in-person programs take place at 60 Highland Street in West Newton.
Return to the Place: An Elul Workshop on Teshuva
With Rabbinic Intern Beck
Wednesdays, September 4, 11, 18, and 25, 7:00-8:30 pm
Session 1 and Session 2 on Zoom, Session 3 and Session 4 at CDT (60 Highland St)
Elul is the season of self-reflection, as we consider the ways that our actions have fallen short of our values, and we begin the spiritual hike to return to our highest selves. Often translated in English as "repentance," the word teshuva comes from the Hebrew root shuv meaning "to return." The Hebrew word for sin, chet, derives from archery, and has the sense of "missing the mark." Thus, in Judaism, when we sin by messing up or causing harm, we atone for this by returning our aim and our actions to the mark that we missed. Through a mix of discussion, text study, song and bibliodrama, this 4-session workshop series explores teshuva, in preparation for the High Holydays. Participants are invited (but in no way required) to bring with them a way that they have "missed the mark" this past year to focus on during the class.
Session 1, Paths of Return: What does it mean to spiritually return? How do we do that? In this session we will look at Maimonides’ steps for teshuva to learn about the process of atonement and spiritual return.
Session 2, Accounting of the Soul: We will learn about the reflection practice of cheshbon ha nefesh or "accounting of the soul," and apply it to our own High Holydays teshuva work.
Session 3, Songs of Return: Teshuva is fueled by the ache in our hearts when we realize we’ve messed up, and our deep longing to make it better. In this session, we will chant and davven some of the High Holydays prayers whose melodies and lyrics best express this yearning and see what they open within us.
Session 4, The Spiritual Alchemy of Azazel: The Torah describes a peculiar atonement ritual for Yom Kippur involving two goats and a Wilderness Deity called Azazel. What kind of spiritual alchemy is happening there? And what happens on the spiritual plane when we do teshuva? This workshop combines text study with Bibliodrama, using techniques from Augusto Boal's Theater of the Oppressed.
Aleph-Bet, No Sweat: Part Two!
With Rabbinic Intern Beck
Sundays, September 29, October 6, October 27, and November 3, 10:00-11:00 am
November 24 and December 8 11:00 am-12:00 pm
CDT Religious School (Temple Reyim Shared Campus, 1860 Washington St, Newton)
Register here by September 25! When registering, please note if you will need assistance in purchasing your workbook.
Join us for more Hebrew learning in Aleph Bet No Sweat: Part Two! Continue to deepen your relationship with the Hebrew alphabet (and Judaism!) in a relaxed and fun learning environment. We will review consonants and vowels, practice decoding words and phrases, and then focus on recognizing common prayerbook Hebrew words in order to build confidence with the siddur. Feel free to drop in as able, or attend all 6 sessions! Basic familiarity with the Hebrew alphabet required.
Participants will be asked to purchase a workbook, Aleph Isn't Enough by Linda Motzkin (the sequel to Aleph Isn't Tough, used in Part One of AB-NS). However, if purchase of the workbook is a financial barrier, we will happily cover it — please simply note it in when you register below. This class will take place during Sunday Religious School hours, but it is also open to the broader CDT community, not just Religious School parents! Please register by September 15!