Adult Education

Adult Education at Temple Beth El is designed to create a center for Jewish learning in Northern Westchester that is relevant and meaningful. Our intent is to provide temple members and members of the community with the opportunity to participate in programs and courses on a variety of Jewish topics that are infused with excitement and diversity.

Click here to view Israel Based Programming

Click on each event below for additional program details and registration information.

Beth El Mini Courses

The Jewish Holidays 201
with Rabbi Londy
Select Sundays, 9:15-10:30 am

We are all familiar with the basic tenets of the Jewish holidays.  But where do these observances come from, how do they differ and what are some often overlooked aspects which deserve our attention?  Join Rabbi Londy in engaging with the core texts and traditions which provide so much of the depth and richness we associate with the Jewish holidays.

Sponsored by the Resnick Fund.

Topics:
September 15 – The High Holy Days
December 15 – Chanukah
April 6 – Passover

Debates Between the Founders of Modern Zionism
with Rabbi Jaffe

Prior to the founding of the state of Israel, 19th and 20th century figures debated the merits of Zionism and what a Jewish state might look like.  What would the Jewish state be called and how would it express both particularistic aspects of Jewish peoplehood with a universalistic system of democracy?  Would the Jewish state understand Judaism religiously or culturally?  And what would be its connection to world Jewry?  Together we will explore thinkers such as Theodore Herzl, Ahad Ha’Am, Zev Jabotinsky, Franz Rosensweig, Martin Buber and Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook.  Join us in exploring the roots of those issues which continue to be debated today.

Sunday,January 12 at 11:30 am
Session 1: Jewish State or Jewish Renewal?
Bialek, The City of Slaughter (1903)
Herzl, The Jewish State (1896)
Pinsker, Auto-Emancipation: An Appeal to His People by a Russian Jew (1882)
Smolenskin, It is Time to Plant (1877)
Ha’am, The Jewish State and the Jewish Problem (1897)

Click here to view video of Session 1.

Sunday, January 26 at 9:15 am
Session 2: Models of Jewish Power
Nordau, Jewry of Muscle (1903)  
Herzl, The Jewish State (1896)
Jabotinsky, The Iron Wall (1923) 
Gordon, People and Labor (1915)
Kook, Lights for Rebirth (1910)

Click here to view video of Session 2.

Sunday, February 9 at 9:15 am
Session 3: Secular vs Religious Identity
Klatskin, Boundaries (1914)
Berdyczewski, Wrecking and Building (1903)
Kook, Lights for Rebirth (1910)
Shlonsky, Toil (1928)
Ravina, Mi Yimalel (1936)
Ze’ev, We Are Carrying Torches (Anu Nosim Lapidim) (early 1930’s) 
Guri, Inheritance (1960)

Click here to view video of Session 3.

Click here to view the course materials.

Lunch will be provided and sponsored by the Resnick Fund.

Beth El Continuing Education

Studies in the Weekly Torah Portion
With Rabbi Londy
The second and fourth Fridays of the month, beginning November 8 at 10:00 am

Utilizing classical and modern commentators, Rabbi Londy will lead a discussion on the parsha hashavua weekly Torah portion.  This class will provide an opportunity for both explorers and deepeners to familiarize themselves with the cadence and structure of weekly Torah study.  No prior experience necessary.

Torah Circles Informal Jewish Learning

We realize that many barriers often exist to Jewish learning, especially meeting in the synagogue at a specific time.  It is for this reason that we have introduced the Torah Circles Program.  For any congregant who brings together at least 10 adult learners, we members of the Beth El clergy will come to you and lead a study or discussion.  You name the time, place, subject and frequency and we will bring the learning directly to you.  To begin a Torah Circle, we work with you to set up an initial session at the time and location of your choice.  We can then discuss the interest in possible future meetings.  So if you want to host a few Beth El friends for wine and cheese at your home and talk about a Jewish topic of interest, we will happily come to you and provide the learning component.  If interested, please reach out to Jaclyn Dubray at jdubray@bethelnw.org. 

Previous Programs

Beth El Lecture Series

Bret Stephens Presenting: October 7th, The Election, & The Future of Jews in America
Thursday, November 7
7:00 - 8:30pm
The Richard and Lee Laster Annual Lecture Series

NY Times Columnist Bret Stephens has emerged as one of the leading voices in support of Zionism and the fight against rising antisemitism.  We are thrilled to welcome Mr. Stephens just two days after the November 5th election and one year after the atrocities of October 7th, so that he can help us navigate the shifting tectonic plates beneath the American Jewish community.

Temple Members please click here to register for the event. On the evening of November 7th, adults will also need to present your Digital ID to enter the building.

*Please note that this event is currently open to members only. On November 1, if space is available, tickets sales will be open to the public at $75 a person and a link will be posted here. 

Rabbi Shai Held: Judaism is About Love
Sunday, December 8 at 12:00 pm
The Bader and Meisel Annual Lecture Series

We are thrilled to welcome Rabbi Shai Held back to Beth El to present on his newest opus, Judaism is About Love, which eschews the idea that Judaism is solely founded upon rigid law but rather a deep sense of empathy and connection to God and one another.  Rabbi Held serves as President and Dean at the Hadar Institute.  He received the prestigious Covenant Award for Excellence in Jewish Education is the author of Abraham Joshua Heschel: The Call of Transcendence (2013), The Heart of Torah (2017), and Judaism is About Love (2024) and he is the host of Hadar's newest podcast, Answers WithHeld.

Understanding Our Biblical Ancestors Through A Modern Israeli Lens
With Rabbinic Intern Margeaux Dressner-Wolberg

Israeli author Liad Shoham writes witty, satirical stories about Biblical figures in his book "Friends of God" (Chaverim Shel Elohim), re-imagining them as everyday people in modern Israeli society. Together, we'll compare his interpretations to the original text. This class will be an opportunity to learn a little Hebrew (though texts will be offered in translation), familiarize ourselves with the Tanakh's stories, encounter Israeli literature, and consider how we might be more similar to our foremothers and fathers than it might seem! 

Sponsored by the Resnick Fund.

September 29 at 9:15 am
October 27 at 9:15 am
December 14 at 12:00 pm