Ongoing Classes

"Transition to Modernity"  with Meyer Katzper Mondays 1:30 pm 

There have been many changes and different practices in Judaism in Modern times. I will cover some of these changes in my lectures. Some were caused by Emancipation others were independent of the Emancipation movements and varied from place to place. Consider the following-- In 1788, Philadelphia hosted a parade celebrating Pennsylvania's ratification of the Constitution, and the procession was followed by a feast. An eyewitness reported that "there was a number of long tables loaded with all kinds of provisions, with a separate table for the Jews, who could not partake of the meals from the other tables." It is difficult to find a prior civic celebration in Jewish diaspora history that is its like. In a single setting, Jews were embraced as equals by their fellow Philadelphians, as full partners in the nascent constitutional republic, while at the same time feeling entirely able to observe the dietary habits that set them apart.

 Throughout the 1780s, a prominent scholar at the University of Göttingen  inveighed against the emancipation of the Jews, insisting they could never truly become part of German society. "As long as [the Jews] observe the laws about kosher and non-kosher food," he insisted, "it will be almost impossible to integrate them into our ranks." If Jews would not eat the food of Germany, he insisted, then Germany could not welcome them. Taken from https://ideas.tikvah.org/meirsoloveichik/essays/the-costs-of-keeping-kosher

Sources include -

The Judaic tradition : texts by Glatzer, Nahum [western Europe]

The golden tradition : Jewish life and thought in Eastern Europe

Author:Lucy S. Dawidowicz

Sephardic and Mizrahi Jewry: From the Golden Age of Spain to Modern Times 5

by Zion Zohar (Editor)Cover Religious Changes and Cultural Transformations in the Early Modern Western Sephardic Communities

And Wikipedia articles. 

Kabbalah and Chassidut

Wednesday at 11:30 AM

Join Rabbi Antine in his study for an informal class on Kabbalah and Chassidut The material will often relate to the weekly parshah or upcoming holidays. The texts that we will study ask some of the big questions in Judaism: What is the nature of G-d? How does revelation work? Why is the point of Prayer and Mitzvot.  Please email rabbiantine@gmail.com if you would like to be put on the class email list.

Special Classes 15 Minutes After Kiddush

Over the course of many Shabbatot, special classes are given 15-20 minutes into the beginning of Kiddush.  Interested in a particular topic? Let us know--we are excited to learn with you.