Upcoming Classes:
The Amen Effect Study Group — with Rabbinic Intern Evan Traylor & CBE Ritual Committee Member Adam Greene
Tuesdays | Mar 18 & 25, Apr 1 & 8 | 8-9 p.m. | Zoom
In her book The Amen Effect, Rabbi Sharon Brous, Founder and Senior Rabbi of Ikar in Los Angeles, describes saying “amen” to another person as a “verbal affirmation, a kind of sacred witness: ‘Yes!’ we’re saying. ‘I’m with you.’” In a world filled with many challenges, both personal and societal, how can we better show up for others in our lives and heal the world? We’ll explore that question and more in this study group. Register now and get your copy of The Amen Effect wherever you buy books. Questions? Please email etraylor@cbebk.org.
Hebrew 101: Decoding with Roz Koch
Mondays, beginning Mar 10 | 7 p.m. | Boardroom
This course is designed for true beginners and anyone who needs a brush up from Hebrew School. In ten sessions, you will learn how to “decode” Hebrew, which means you’ll be able to read from any Hebrew text with vowels. Cost is $180 for members/$240 for non-members. Register here.
Current Classes & Series:
Drop-in Welcome:
Chevrah Torah Study with Rabbi David Kline
Weekly on Saturdays at 11:15 a.m. (year round) over Zoom
Following the cycle of the weekly parashah, we select passages from Torah/Pentateuch and Haftarah/Prophets. We do close reading and open discussion. Our object is to get acquainted with our earliest ancestors through their writings about the world, God, our people, and moral values.
Lunch and Learn with Rabbi Matt Green
Every other Thursday at 12:30 p.m. in the CBE Boardroom and over Zoom
Rabbi Green’s beloved class will focus on prophetic texts from the Bible and rabbinic commentaries.
This is a hybrid class. You are welcome to join in person or on Zoom.
Meditation Group
Weekly on Thursdays at 7:30 p.m. over Zoom
CBE hosts a meditation class every week on Zoom. The group is open to people with all levels of experience and our participants span the range. Beginners will be completely comfortable. Those with experience will also enjoy our wonderful teachers. Email cbemeditationgroup@gmail.com to get on the mailing list for a once a week Zoom link notice. Open to members and non-members.
Mussar
Weekly on Tuesdays at 7:30 p.m. over Zoom
Check our calendar for specific dates
Zoom links are updated weekly. For up to date information and links, please email Gary Shaffer at mussar@cbebk.org
Mussar seeks to improve our relations with others and ourselves. The class is discussion based and focuses on character traits, or middot, such as patience, generosity, gratitude, anger, and humility. The method is to study these traits and put into practice what we study. The goal is to make us not just more insightful, but to effect a change in behavior by making the heart feel what the mind knows. We draw upon both classic and modern Mussar writings, though no prior knowledge of Mussar or Hebrew is required.
Registration Required:
Basic Judaism: An Intro to Jewish Life, Text, and Ideas, with Rabbi Matt Green
Registration Closed, next course will begin in the Fall
This is an overview course in broad strokes about Jewish life, culture, belief, non-belief, and thought. Designed in a 24 week module, this course will attempt to give the participants a solid background to the ideas, practices, and expressions of Jewish life from ancient times to the present, and serves as a prerequisite for conversion at CBE and in many other communities. To learn more and join the wait list, click here.
Modern Jewish Movements
Saturdays | Sept 21 – March 29 | Noon | CBE Chapel & Boardroom
There’s an old adage that for every two Jews, there are three opinions — but there is real truth to this contention, particularly in the modern era. In this course we’ll survey major Jewish movements such as Hassidism, Haskalah, Wissenschaft, Bundism, the various Zionisms, and religious denominations, unpacking primary sources to explore each in its own context. The course will be light on advance reading and will focus more heavily on in-class study of select primary sources followed by discussion. Email njaffe@cbebk.org to sign up.