Adult Education
Kehillah offers a variety of ways to learn and evolve.
You’ll find social clubs meeting in homes, Chavurah, serious study groups grappling with heavy topics, or larger gatherings involved in social action.
Learn to read and understand Hebrew—mastering the language of the Jewish people. Or, attend scholarly lectures by acclaimed intellectuals about current global issues.
At Kehillah, you’ll find multiple ways to connect with and make a difference in your community. From that comes the best part: enduring friendships.
Kehillah Book Club
Join fellow Kehillah members in-person or via Zoom to discuss the book selection of the month. To learn more and/or to join the club, please contact Sherrie Stohl at frontdesk@kehillahsynagogue.org.
January 12th: Lovesong: Becoming a Jew by Julius Lester
March 2nd: Cover Me With My Izar by Nora Houri-Haim
Sunday, May 21st: Who by Fire: Leonard Cohen in the Sinai by Matti Friedman. This meeting will be in person only!
Thursday, July 13th: The Sum of Us: What Racism Costs Everyone and How We Can Prosper Together by Heather McGhee. KRET (Kehillah Racial Equity Team) is organizing the July Kehillah Book Club discussion. The discussion leader will be Jonathan Kotch.
Jewish Approaches to Life’s Challenging Times
A three part series exploring how Jewish tradition and community can support us through times of illness, healing, and loss.
Wednesday, February 8th: Jewish Stories of Illness and Healing. Taught by Student Rabbi Solomon Hoffman
We’ll look at narratives from Jewish tradition that explore individual and communal experiences of illness and healing. These texts provide the foundation for the mitzvah of Bikur Holim (visiting the sick), and we will learn about how Jewish tradition approaches this sacred act. We will reflect on our own experiences through the lens of these texts and traditions, and consider how they might inspire us toward fulfilling the mitzvah of Bikur Holim. The Loving Kindness Circle will provide dessert/coffee to add some sweetness to this difficult topic. Feel free to bring a dessert to share! This will be in-person and via Zoom.
Wednesday, February 22nd: Jewish Approaches to End of Life. Taught by Student Rabbi Solomon Hoffman
We will begin with stories from the Jewish tradition about the dying process and death, exploring how these ancient texts have continued resonance. Alongside these, Solomon will share about his experience working as a chaplain with a hospital palliative care team. We will consider how Judaism might inform our approach to the current medical landscape, including advanced care planning and hospice. This will be in-person and via Zoom.
Thursday, March 30th: Jewish Ritual After Death. Taught by members of the Kehillah Chevra Kadisha
Members of the Kehillah community will share their experiences of offering Tahara (the ritual washing of the body), serving as a Shomrim (watching over the body before burial), and other aspects of supporting the deceased and their families after a death. This will be an opportunity for those who might be interested in supporting our community through these sacred acts to learn more about how to get involved.
Hidden Gems of the Haggadah
Sunday, 4/2 – 10-11 am at Kehillah and on zoom
Taught by Student Rabbi Solomon Hoffman
Join us for this opportunity to prepare for Passover as a community. We’ll reflect on the themes of the holiday by looking at some of the Haggadah’s often overlooked and little understood elements. The class will have ideas for all, whether you’ve led many seders or you’re thinking of leading for the first time. We’ll look at the Reconstructionist Haggadah, A Night of Questions. Kehillah has copies available for members to borrow. If you’re interested in borrowing haggadot, email Sherrie Stohl at sherriestohl@kehillahsynagogue.org.
When Flowers Appear: Nature’s Beauty in the Song of Songs with Rabbi and Professor Laura Lieber
Shabbat Morning Kiddush, April 15 “The flowers appear on the earth; the time of singing is come.” Song of Songs
Join Us in the Kehillah courtyard garden for a special Kiddush talk on April 15th, co-sponsored by the Adult Education Committee and the Kehillah’s volunteer Garden Crew. We’ll enjoy a kiddush luncheon in the Kehillah’s courtyard garden, being lovingly brought back to life by our members, while we go on a spiritual journey with poetry.
Rabbi/Professor Laura Lieber will talk in our courtyard garden about religious poetry such as Song of Songs, in which flowers, especially roses, become symbols of love and sensuality: “My beloved is mine and I am his: he who browses among the roses.” (Song of Songs)
Laura Lieber is a Professor of Religious Studies at Duke University. Her primary area of research is synagogue poetry (“piyyut”) from Late Antiquity and the Byzantine period. Professor Lieber grew up in Arkansas and received her B.A. from University of Arkansas (in English literature and Classics). She received her rabbinical degree from Hebrew Union College and her Ph.D. in Jewish Studies from University of Chicago.
