Scholar-in-Residence Program

Judaism in the 21^st Century: A Weekend of Learning with Shira Telushkin

Friday, November 21^st -  Saturday, November 22^nd

Friday Night

• 5:45 PM: Shabbat Dinner
   
• 7:00 PM: Shabbat Services with Rabbi Greenspan and Cantor Apt
   
• 8:00 PM: Gourmet Dessert Oneg sponsored by the Adult Education Committee
   
• 8:15 PM: Should Moral Differences Ever End a Friendship? A Jewish Perspective
  Jewish life has always celebrated the role of friendship in the good life, but these relationships can come at a cost. Through a look at three famously difficult friendships in Jewish history, we'll consider our obligations to our friends, the limits of those obligations, and what to do when people we love hold opinions we hate. 

Saturday

• 9:30 AM: Shabbat Services with Rabbi Greenspan and Cantor Apt. 
  D'var Torah by Shira Telushkin: Holy, Not Good: How to Understand Our (Sometimes) Selfish Saints
  Stories abound in the Jewish tradition of sages, mystics, and scholars who abandon their families or flee from the needy in pursuit of God, Torah, or prayer. How do we understand these stories, and by extension, the human need for holiness, even when such holiness comes at the expense of serving others? These questions offer new perspectives for all of us trying to balance time for ourselves with the needs of others, and guidance on reclaiming the mystery of the divine relationship. 
   
• 12:00 PM: Kiddush luncheon followed by a session led by Shira Telushkin: A Century of Change for the American Rabbi
  One hundred years ago, American rabbis were all men, ordained at only a handful of schools, and almost exclusively served pulpits. Today, the American rabbinate is a diverse, broad spectrum of Jewish leaders, more likely to be focused on community work than congregations, and ordained at over a dozen different institutions (and counting). What does this mean for the future of American Jews, and the future of Jewish leadership? We'll look at how the mechanics of becoming a rabbi have changed, how the needs of American Jews have changed, and why the skills of the rabbi will likely adapt and change in the next one hundred years of American Jewish life, all through anecdotes, data, and stories from the history of American rabbis. 
   
• 4:30 PM: Seduah Shlishit - A light meal followed by learning and discussion: Bentel Brief
  The early 1900s advice columns in Yiddish newspapers are full of letters from Jewish men and women who have fallen in love with non-Jewish partners, no longer believe in God, are curious about socialism, and otherwise struggle with many questions that have resurfaced in Jewish life today. These glimpses into the Jewish past can put modern debates into perspective and shed light on the enduring role of advice in the Jewish tradition. There will also be ample time to debate and offer our own advice to these past letter-writers! 

Register by November 14^th.         
                                                        

This program is sponsored by the Adult Education Committee. 

About Shira Telushkin:

Dinner Menu (subject to change)

Entrée Choices:
• Chicken Schnitzel
• Serengeti Eggplant Curry (vegan)