Adult Education 

Winter/Spring 2015 Course Offerings

 Archaeology of Israel           

                 From Canaanite to Israelite: The Transformation from Bronze Age City States to the Iron Age National State.  

Tuesdays, April 14th, 21st, and 28th at 7:45 p.m. with Dr. Michael Hornum, Archaeologist and Smithsonian Scholar

 In three lectures Dr. Hornum will cover the archeological evidence for the nature of the Canaanite city state system in the period 1500-1200 BCE, the collapse of that system about 1200 BCE, and the emergence of the Israelite national state from 1200-1000 BCE. This is course is not related to previous 2013 and 2014 courses, but is confined to a period from 1500-1000 BCE, and deals with the broad topics of the transformation from City States to the National State and the emergence of Ancient Israel. Former students as well as new students will all find the lectures filled with new and fascinating information. Fee:  $15 members; $20 non-members

Heroines and Harlots: Women in the Book 

Tuesdays, May 5th, 12th, and 19th at 7:45 p.m. with Rabbi Susan Grossman

Join Rabbi Grossman for a fascinating exploration of the role of well-known and lesser known women in Hebrew Scripture, focusing on stories of heroines, female villains, and women who “cross the line,” sometimes with surprising results.  No knowledge of Hebrew is required.

Rabbi Susan Grossman, DHL, well known as a feminist scholar and author on women and Judaism, is one of the editors of Etz Hayim: Torah and Commentary. She received her doctorate in Ancient Judaism from Jewish Theological Seminary and is the author, most recently, of “Women Leaders in Judaism,” included in the Religious Leadership: A Reference Handbook. Text. Bring your Bible.    Fee:  $15 members; $20 non-members  

Workshops

Shofar Blowing Workshop

Sunday, April 12th at 7:30 p.m. with Howard Lessey

This is your chance to learn the technique required to get the lovely yet piercing sounds heard at Beth Shalom out of your own Shofar. The correct approach will be shown by our own master of the technique who yearly amazes us as he blows the Shofar on Rosh Hashanah and at the close of Yom Kippur.  Bring a Shofar to the workshop. Co-sponsored by Sisterhood. Fee:  $5 Sisterhood members; $7 members; $10 non-members