Lifelong Learning

Who is wise? The one who learns from everyone. —Pirkei Avot: 4:1

Teaching and learning, guiding and studying: These are integral to Judaism, essential to the life of a Jew. According to our tradition, God is “HaM’lamed Torah, the One Who teaches Torah. Moses is “Rabbeinu, our teacher.”

Learning is not confined to any particular stage of life, but is an ongoing process to be pursued throughout one’s life. This is the core belief behind Lifelong Learning at Temple Emanuel. Our mission is to provide all congregants opportunities for connecting to the 3,000 year tradition of Jewish learning, exploring what it means to be a Jew in the 21st century, heightening personal spirituality and confronting the self-imposed limitations that prevent us from fully inhabiting our Jewishness. We do this through text study, art, music, films, mindfulness training, inculcating “middot, Jewish soul traits,” and through any and all stimulating learning vehicles.

Listed below are just some of the programs we have offered at Temple Emanuel over the past few years. In the year to come, we will be providing additional opportunities for learning, always with the goal of presenting in an open, respectful, and congenial atmosphere. We hope you will find something that appeals to you and that you will join your fellow explorers in the holy task of “Talmud Torah, Jewish Learning.”
 

Previous Programs

2020-2021:

• “Ilustrations of the Book of Ruth”: Rabbi Lewis Warshauer
• “The Healing Power of Music”: Art Bloom
• “Mindfulness” and Jewish “Soul Traits (Middot)”: Institute for Jewish Spirituality
• “iEngage: Together & Apart: The Future of Jewish Peoplehood”: The Hartmann Institute
• “Pirkei Avot” through Movies”

2019-2020:

• “The Forever Letter Workshop”: Rabbi Elana Zaiman
• “Paper Midrash”: Isaac and Rabbi Shawna Brynjegard-Bialik
• “Vaccinations”: Dr. Steve Mizel
• “Havdalah and a Movie”: BlacKKKlansman
• “What the Prayers Really Mean”: Dr. Joel Hoffman

Ongoing and Future Programs

2021-2022:

• “Adult B’Not Mitzvah
• “Eva and Eve: Julie Metz”
• “Exploring the Tanakh: The Megillot”
• Temple Teachers
• Torah Study
• More to come?

For more information about Lifelong Learning at Temple Emanuel, please contact Lifelong Learning Committee Chair, Mike Backfield by email, or by calling (336) 624-5390