ADULT EDUCATION

SPRING 2020

JewishCommunityofAmherst742MainStreet,Amherst,MA01002413.256.0160~www. jcamherst.org

JCAadulteducationprogramsreflect

religious,secular,practical,andculturalaspectsofJudaism.Wehopethatyouwillfindsomethingthatappealstoyou.

Registerandcontributeonlineat

https://forms.gle/PYSbmFRwSQGiPWou7

Ifyouprefertoregisterbymailandcontributeviacheck,pleaseusetheregistrationformattheendofthisbrochure.

SPRING2020PROGRAMSATAGLANCE

LunchandLearnRabbiBenjaminWeiner

Wednesdays•12:15–1:15pmIntermediateHebrewLiteracyJanisLevy

February17,24;March2,23,30;April6,13,20

Mondays•7:00–8:30pm

FamilyPictures:LookingandTalkingAboutSnapshots•MichaelLesy

March5,12,19,26;April2,16Thursdays•7:30–8:30pmMaidelsandDreidelsandLadles,OhMy!TheJourneyofaJewishChildren’sBookWriter•LesléaNewman

Sunday,April2•2:00–3:30pm

JCAat50:CelebratingAdultEducationFriday–Sunday•March27–29

(seebelowforapreviewofthisexcitingweekendofstudy;detailedinformationaboutprogramsandregistrationwillfollowinFebruary)

Ifyouwouldliketosuggestfutureprogramming,pleasecontactamemberoftheAdultEducationCommittee:

BarbaraBurkart(chair),JaneBrodwyn,DavidGlassberg,DianeGnepp,PhyllisHerda,JonathanLewis,MelanieLewis,RuthSmith,

LindaTerry,BorisWolfson,RabbiBenjaminWeiner(exofficio)

LunchandLearn

RabbiBenjaminWeinerWednesdays•12:15–1:15pm

Nowinitseighthyear,LunchandLearncontinuesitsinvestigationofHalakha,orthetraditionofJewishlaw.Overthepastfewyears,wehaveinvestigatedavarietyoftopics:holidayobservanceandperspectivesonShabbat,divorce,suicide,deathandmourning,purityandimpurity,kitniyot,thegivingoftzedaka,andabortion.Theconversationisintellectuallystimulatingandemotionallyexpansive,givingparticipantstheopportunitytodeepentheirtraditionalJewishknowledgeandprocessthethoughtsandfeelingsthatthematerialbringstolight.Pleasebeassuredthatifyouhavenotalreadybecomeapartofthismeaningful,oddlyexhilarating,andevenfunexploration,itisnevertoolate.Youcancomeandgoasyou’reable,anddrop-insarealwayswelcome.Bringyourownlunch,andpleaserememberthatJCAkashrutrulesallowonlyfordairyandparevefoodsinsidethebuilding—nomeat!

Noregistrationneeded.

Pleasebringanon-perishablefooditemtobedonatedtotheSurvivalCenteraspartoftheJCAPerpetualFoodDrive.

IntermediateHebrewLiteracy

JanisLevyFebruary17,24;March2,23,30;April6,13,20

Mondays•7:00–8:30pmThisclassisforthoseofyouwithexposuretotheHebrewalphabet,whetherrecentlyorinyourchildhood,andwhoareabletoreadoutloud,howeverslowly.Itisnotnecessarytohavecomprehensionofthetext,althoughsomefamiliarityishelpful.Also,participationinearlierHebrewLiteracyclassesattheJCAisnotrequired.Inthisintermediateclass,pronunciationofconsonantsandvowelsiscontinuallyreviewedwithreadingpractice,whileprovidingbuildingblocksof languagestructure,includingverbrootsandgrammaticalconcepts;encouragingcomprehension;andenhancingvocabularythroughstudyofTorahtext. Asthisclassbegins,wewillreviewthefinalchaptersofLindaMotzkin’sAlephIsn’tEnough:HebrewforAdults,Book2.Ifyouhaveacopyofthisbook,pleasebringtotheclass.Ifnot,handoutswillbeavailable.WewillthenmoveontoBetIsforB’reishit:HebrewforAdults,Book3(URJPress,2003;ISBN978-0807408452),alsobyLindaMotzkin,asourmaintext;itisavailableforpurchaseonline,includingAmazonandBehrmanHouse(store.behrmanhouse.com).

JanisLevyhasbeenamemberoftheJCAsince2011andshehelpstocoordinatecommunicationsforthecommunity.Herpreviousvolunteerworkinsynagoguelifeincludesleadingservicesandteachinginadulteducationprograms.Fortenyears,sheworkedwitharabbiformerlyinthevalleytolaunchandthenteachfollow-upclassesforamajoradultHebrewliteracyprogram.ShebeganteachingHebrewLiteracyattheJCAinFall2018.

Registrationrequired.

Aminimumofsixparticipantsisneededforthecoursetorun.Suggestedcontribution:$36,notincludingthetextbookcost.

Noonewillbedeniedaccesstoprogrammingbecauseoffinancialneed.Yourparticipationinourcommunityismoreimportantthantheamountofyourmonetarycontribution.

FamilyPictures:LookingandTalkingaboutSnapshotsMichaelLesy

Thursdays•March5,12,19,26;April2,16•7:30–8:30pmSnapshotstriggermemories,andthosememoriesproducestories.Sometimessnapshotstellstoriesthataretrue.Mostofthetime,thepicturesandthestoriestheytellareincomplete.Sometimesthepicturestellmoreofthetruththantheyintended.Sometimestheyevenlie—theequivalentofforgeddocumentsthatlookreal,butaren’t.

Thisclasswillbebasedonthefamilypicturesthatpeoplebringinandonthestoriesthataccompanythem.It’llbea“show-and-tell”classforgrown-ups.Peoplewillbeaskedtolookandlistencarefully.Empathy,clarity,compassion,andskepticismwillbeencouraged.Firstimpressionsareimportant,butthinkingbeforetalkingwillserveeveryone

well.Pictureshavelayersofmeaning,wrappedaroundeachotherlikeDeadSeascrolls.Ourjobistocarefullyunrollthem.Ourfirstclasswillbedevotedtolookingatandtalkingaboutacollectionofanonymoussnapshotsfromthe1970s.

MichaelLesywasborninCleveland,Ohio,in1945.From1990until2018heservedasProfessorofLiteraryJournalismatHampshireCollege.Mr.LesyreceivedaB.A.intheoreticalsociologyfromColumbiaUniversity,anM.A.inAmericansocialhistoryfromtheUniversityofWisconsin,andaPh.D.inAmericanculturalhistoryfromRutgersUniversity.Hehaspublishedthirteenbooksofhistory,biography,andnarrativenonfiction.Manyofhisbookshavebeenbasedonhistoricphotographs,gatheredinarchives;severalhavebeenbasedonoralhistories,gatheredduringfieldwork.Hisbookshavebeenmadeintoplays,ballets,operas,andmovies.

Registrationrequired.

Aminimumofsixparticipantsisneededforthecoursetorun.Suggestedcontribution:$54

Noonewillbedeniedaccesstoprogrammingbecauseoffinancialneed.Yourparticipationinourcommunityismoreimportantthantheamountofyourmonetarycontribution.

Photo:NeilStillings

MaidelsandDreidelsandLadles,OhMy!TheJourneyofaJewishChildren’sBookWriter

LesléaNewman

Sunday•April2•2:00–3:30pmInthisprogram,LesléaNewmandiscussesherjourneytobecomingaJewishchildren’sbookwriterincludingwhereshegetsherideasandhowthoseideasbecomepicturebooks.Shewilldiscussindetailhernewestbook,Gittel’sJourney:AnEllisIslandStoryandshowashortfilmentitledWeAreaCountryofImmigrantsinwhichhergodmother,PhyllisRubin,daughterofthereal“Gittel”discusseshermother’sjourneyasachildfromEasternEuropetoAmericathroughEllisIsland,growingupasthedaughterofanimmigrant,andthemostimportantlifelessonshermothertaughther.LesléaNewmanistheauthorofseventy-fivebooksforreadersofallagesincludingmanyJewish-themedchildren’sbookssuchasKetzel,TheCatWhoComposed;WelcomingElijah:APassoverTalewithATail;RunawayDreidel;and

Gittel’sJourney:AnEllisIslandStory.SheisalsotheauthorofmanyLGBTQ+children’sbooksincludingHeatherHasTwoMommiesandSparkleBoy.HerliteraryawardsincludetheAssociationofJewishLibrariesSydneyTaylorAward,theMassachusettsBookAward,twoAmericanLibraryStonewallHonors,andaParents’ChoiceSilverMedal.From2008to2010sheservedasthepoetlaureateofNorthampton.

CurrentlysheisafacultymemberofSpaldingUniversity’slow-residencyMFAinWritingProgram.

Noregistrationneeded.

Pleasebringanon-perishablefooditemtobedonatedtotheSurvivalCenteraspartoftheJCAPerpetualFoodDrive.

JCAat50:CelebratingAdultEducation

Friday–Sunday•March27–29

Friday,March27 6:15pm ErevShabbatServiceSaturday,March28 10am ShabbatwithGuestRabbiAllanLehmann

RabbiLehmannhasbeenco-directorofHebrewCollege’sBeitMidrashfortenyears.AformercongregationalandHillelrabbi,AllanLehmannhasbeenatHebrewCollegesince2006,andalsoservesasassociatedeanoftheRabbinicalSchool,teachesseveralcourses,andcoordinatestheschool’sspiritualdirectionprogram.

Afterthemorningservicefeaturingad’varfromRabbiLehmann,andkiddushlunch,wewillgatherat1pmforchevrutahstudyandinteractivediscussionwithRabbiLehmannaboutthenatureofJewishlearning.

Sunday,March2911:30am–4pmAMini-LimmudAfternoonofLearningLimmudisanimmersivemodelofJewishstudythatbeganinLondonsomeyearsagoandhassincespread,withgreatacclaim,tocitiesincludingBoston,NewYork,andLosAngeles.Overthecourseofanextendedperiodoftime,participantshavethechancetomovefromclassroomtoclassroom,engagingindynamicJewishlearningwithahostofpresentersandteachers.TheJCA's“mini”versionwillfeaturetwodifferenttimehour-longslots,eachofferingthechoiceofstudyacrossarangeofcategories—HigherJewishlearning;Jewishliving;spirituality;tikkunolam;andcreativearts—withsomeofourfavoritelocalteachers:DevorahJacobson,EdwardFeld,MerleFeld,ShirahNeumann,ShoshanaZonderman,andothers.

Pleasemarkyourcalendarnowforthiscan't-missevent!Detailedinformationabouttheafternoon’sschedule

andaspecialregistrationformwillbeavailablebymid-February.

ADULTEDUCATIONREGISTRATION•SPRING2020(notincludingtheMarch27-29weekend)

WestronglyencourageyoutoREGISTERONLINEat

https://forms.gle/PYSbmFRwSQGiPWou7

Tomakeyourcontributiononline,viaPayPalorcreditcard,gotoourwebsiteathttps://jcamherst.org/payments-and-donations/paymentsandchooseAdultEducationClassfromthemenuofoptions.

Pleasemakesuretocompleteyourregistrationformandpress“SUBMIT”beforeyoumakethecontribution.

Ifyouprefertopaybycheck,pleasecompletethisRegistrationFormandsend

totheJCAofficewithyourcheckmadeouttotheJCAand“AdultEd”inthememoline.

Participants’namesandemailaddresses(pleaseprint)

Indicateprogramsforwhichyouareregistering

Contri-butionamount

IntermediateHebrew

8mtgs

$36

FamilyPictures

6mtgs

$54

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Noonewillbedeniedaccesstoprogrammingbecauseoffinancialneed.Yourparticipationinourcommunityismoreimportantthantheamountofyourcontribution.

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Forinquiriesaboutregistrationemailadultedprog@comcast.netForinquiriesaboutprogramsemailbarbruth@comcast.netPleaseputthenameoftheprogramintheemailsubjectline.