BT in the AM – Monday Mornings (registration required)

Class 1: The Genesis of Jewish Values
9:30-10:20 am, facilitator: Rabbi Mitchell Wohlberg
 
How do Adam and Eve teach us about gender in the Jewish tradition? Should we always tell the truth? What does Abraham’s mourning of Sarah teach us about death and the afterlife? What are the important qualities for effective Jewish leadership? Learn and laugh with Rabbi Wohlberg while exploring Jewish values through the lens of the book of Bereishit.

Class 2: Complex Conversations: An Insider’s View on Israel
10:30-11:30 am, facilitators: BT shlichim Shani and Matan Shefler
 
Get the inside scoop on hot button issues in Israel. In dialogue with guest presenters, the Sheflers will discuss polarizing topics such as Shabbat observance in a diverse population, kashrut and the Rabbanut, marriage, LGBTQ rights, understanding Israeli politics and how the IDF operates, and Israel advocacy.

What does it mean to be created “in the image of G-d?” Gain practical tools for personal and spiritual growth as we learn about the seven core middot (character traits), how they parallel the divine sefirot, and how to integrate them into our everyday lives.  

 

 

Are midrashim fact or fiction? How can we mine them for their inner meaning? Through a careful reading of intriguing midrashim related to the weekly Torah portion, Dr. Schorr will help us understand the methodology of studying midrash and what it can teach us today.  

 

 

How do we, as believing Jews in the 21st century, find meaning and inspiration in the world around us? How do we strike the right balance between tradition and modernity, material and spiritual, our relationship with G-d and relationship with others? We will address these important questions as we work our way through Rabbi Soloveitchik’s timeless essay, “The Lonely Man of Faith.”  
 

From Lincoln’s relationship to a then-fledgling Jewish community to the reasons why the Jewish-owned New York Times' Holocaust scant coverage, journey through the highs and the lows of Jewish life throughout American history and discuss the Jewish impact on the American cultural, industrial, and political realms. The course will unpack the Jewish battle against the American-style anti-Semitism of Father Coughlin and Henry Ford and conclude with the mid-20th century and Baltimore’s historic roles in the dynamics of the creation of a State of Israel.  

REGISTER FOR BT IN THE AM HERE