Education

We are delighted to announce our new and ongoing Adult Education courses!  Registration information has been sent to all current members and to the Friends of CSR mailing list.  If you did not receive the registration email or if you are not on one of our mailing lists and would like to register, please let us know here.  

All courses are led by highly qualified CSR members and held via Zoom. Most of our classes meet once a month; the Torah Study, Hebrew, and Pirkei Avot classes meet weekly.  Our Spring/Summer 2025 semester runs from March through August.  The Fall 2025 semester will begin in September 2025.  Non-members are welcome as space permits; a donation to the Congregation is requested (but not required). 

Below is general information about each class being offered this semester; just scroll down for more info.
 

1.  Taylor Book Club: ongoing, the 3rd Thursday of each month, 11:00 am – 12:30 pm. The Taylor Book Club has been meeting for 12 years. After picking a Jewish-themed book, typically about history, participants discuss various points of the chapter(s) of the month.  Facilitated by Sandra Litwin. 

2. Standing Again at Sinai and Womyn’s Circle: ongoing, the 4th Thursday of each month, 6:30 – 8:00 p.m. Continues the study of the book Standing Again at Sinai and includes the popular Womyn’s Circle. Salkana Schindler leads the Womyn’s circles and Sandra Litwin will co-lead the classes focusing on the book study.

3.  Weekly Torah Study (BESHT):  a weekly Torah study using the commentary attributed to the Baal Shem Tov (BESHT), called Sefer Baal Shem Tov Al HaTorah.  This is a holy sefer (book) that Rabbi Monty Elizsov studied, may his memory be a blessing; the weekly Torah Study is in his honor and all donations from this class will be dedicated to our Mitzvah Fund (which he started and felt passionately about).  We will use Sefaria as our primary source text, with the translation from R' Eliezore Shore (also in paperback: volume 1, volume 2)supplemented by additional translations and reference sources. 
March 3–July 28 (Mondays 7-8pm). Led by Ya’akov Love.

4. Hebrew Reading - Level I.  (Beginning Siddur Hebrew.) Participants in this free course will learn to read Hebrew. Designed for Jews with little or no background in Hebrew, it concentrates on teaching the Hebrew alphabet and reading skills (primarily TaNaKh and Siddur Hebrew). Each participant will receive a free copy of National Jewish Outreach Program (NJOP)’s "Reishith Binah" Hebrew primer. March - August weekly on Mondays 6 pm - 6:50 pm. First meeting, March 3, 2025.  Per NJOP policy no donation is requested for this class.  

5.   Pirkei Avot is a tractate in the Mishnah. From at least the time of Saadia Gaon (10th century), it has been customary to study one chapter a week between Passover and Shavuot; we will follow that tradition from April 20 – June 1 (Sundays 9:30 -10:30 am).
Pirkei Avot ("Ethics of Our Fathers") contains almost no laws, consisting instead of short statements of advice, ethics, and wisdom. The first chapter outlines the stages of the transmission of the Oral Torah, beginning with Moses at Mount Sinai and continuing through the prophets and sages. The next four chapters contain statements of rabbinic sages, largely in chronological order. The last chapter focuses on the merits of Torah study.  We will use Sefaria as our primary source text, supplemented by traditional and modern commentaries - including excerpts from The Baal Shem Tov on Pirkey Avoth.  An Introduction doc and Brief Biographies of the Sages with chronological timeline is provided for reference. Led by Ya’akov Love. 

Additional Information:

We request a $18- donation for each course from members and a $36- donation from non-members.  CSR does not turn anyone away for financial reasons; please donate according to your means.

Non-members are welcome as space permits.

Each instructor sets the minimum and maximum registration requirements for their course. Registration information has been sent to all current members and to the non-members on our Friends of CSR mailing list.  If you did not receive the registration email or if you are not on one of our mailing lists and would like information, please let us know here.  Kindly register by March 1, 2025.