Learning for Life: Adult Education
5775/Mar-June 2015
At Mishkan Shalom, we believe in learning for life. In this catalogue, you’ll find a varied, robust range of classes, workshops and experiences to help you—no matter your age or prior experience with Judaism—grow and learn.
The catalogue lists class titles, times, dates and descriptions; it offers instructor bios and outlines the cost for members and non-members (some scholarship assistance is available to Mishkan members; contact Rabbi Shawn Zevit at 215-508-0226).
What the catalogue doesn’t capture is what happens inside these classes and workshops: the chance to ask questions, challenge assumptions, make new friends, learn skills, explore your connection to Judaism and deepen your ties to community.
How to Register
You can register and pay online for any class listed, using the Adult Education page on Mishkan’s website, or you can mail your registration and a check, using the form in the back of this booklet. You’ll find a map and directions to Mishkan there, too.
Have Ideas for Adult Education?
If you have a suggestion for a class you’d like to take—or teach—contact . We have a great adult education committee, chaired by AnndeeHochman () and working with Rabbi Shawn. Let us know if you have ideas, thoughts or would like to join the conversation!
1st Class / Course / Pg / Timing / Ses- sions / Instructor / Costmember
non-memb
3/15/15 / Of Course You Can Dance!
Line Dance & Square Dance / 3 / Sun
1-4 pm / 2 / various instructors / $12
$15
3/28/15 / Preparing for Pesach / 3 / Sat
9-10 am / 1 / Rabbi Yael Levy / no fee
3/29/15 / Theatre of Witness Presentation / 4 / Sun
4-6 pm / 1 / TeyaSepinuck / donate
at door
4/1/15 / Crime & Punishment in America / 4 / Weds
6:30-9 pm / 4 / Chaplain Phyllis Taylor & guests / $72
$90
4/5/15 / Through the Gates:
Writing for the Weeks of the Omer / 5 / Sun
3-5 pm / 7 / Susan Windle / $126
$140
4/11/15 / Pause & Refresh Your Soul Shabbat Exploration / 5 / Sat
4:30-6 pm / 3 / Rabbi Shawn and
Rabbi Simcha / $9
$18
4/19/15 / God in an Expanding Universe
A One Book Panel Discussion / 6 / Sun
7 pm / 1 / Harold Gorvine
others / suggested
$10 donation
4/21/15 / Make It a Night:
Make It a Tallis! / 6 / Tuesday 5-8 pm / 1 / Rabbi Rayzel Raphael / $100
$118
5/16/15 / Walk the Talk:
Nature through a Jewish Lens / 7 / Sat
12:30-2pm / 1 / Steve Jones / no fee
5/16/15 / Arts Night Delights:
A One Book Mishkan Program / 7 / Sat
7:30 pm / 1 / various performers / suggested
$10
donation
5/23/15 / Shavuot Study Session / 8 / Sat
9-10 am / 1 / Rabbi Shawn / no fee
5/29/15 / Mishkan Retreat! / 8 / Fri-Sun / 1 / all are welcome! / details inside
6/14/15 / SoulCollage® with a Jewish Spin: Here Comes Summer / 8 / Sun
1-4 pm / 1 / Susan Richards / $36
ongoing / Torah Study / 9 / Sat
9-10 am / various leaders
Rikud: Of Course You Can Dance!
Jewish Folk Dance, Line Dance and Square Dance for All Ages
Sundays March 15 and April 12, 1-3 p.m. in the social hall
light fare & beverages provided
$12 per session (adult Mishkan members)
$15 per session (adult non-members)
$5 per session (children 12 and under)
Join friends young and older for two exuberant afternoons of dance instruction and time to rock your new moves. Invite friends, non-members or prospective members! Doesn’t matter if you have two left feet, if you can’t tell a cha cha slide from a cakewalk or if the last time you danced was in 1972. Energetic instructors, great company and a little nosh add up to a terrific time!
March 15—Line Dance (polish your steps for that next bar/bat mitzvah or wedding!)
April 12—Square Dance (don’t be square; be there!)
Preparing for Pesach: Readying to Leave Mitzrayim
Shabbat morning, Saturday, March 28, 9-10 a.m.
taught by Rabbi Yael Levy
no fee
In Exodus 6:6-7, the Mystery calls to all of us:
V’hotzayti—I will take you out
V’hitzalti—I will deliver you to a new place
V’ga’alti—I will help you be clear and present
V’lachati—I will bring you into relationship with all life
These calls are represented by the four cups of wine at the Seder. Through Biblical texts, we will explore layers of the Passover festival, with the intention of readying ourselves to leave Mitzrayim, the narrow places.
Rabbi Yael Levy’s approach to mindfulness is deeply rooted in Jewish tradition. It grows out of her personal commitment to spiritual practice and a passionate belief in its potential to change not only individuals but also the world. Rabbi Yael is beginning her 20th year with Mishkan Shalom. She has developed the A Way In Jewish mindfulness program over the past seven years.
Theatre of Witness Presentation:
The Work of TeyaSepinuck
Sunday, March 29, 4-6 p.m.
Sponsored by Mishkan Shalom Jim Crow Action/Study Group
donations accepted at the door
Join the founder and artistic director of Theatre of Witness for a multi-media program of films, readings and stories from her work creating original testimonial theater with those whose voices haven’t been heard in society—including ex-combatants, victims and survivors of war and those affected by inner-city violence and poverty. Teya will speak about the power of using personal and collective story to inspire healing and peace-building.
Crime and Punishment in America
Wednesdays April 1, 15, 29, May 6, 6:30-9 p.m.
taught by Chaplain Phyllis Taylor & guests
co-sponsored by the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College
$72 Mishkan members/$90 non-members
(maximum 10 Mishkan or community participants, so register early!)
How does our society deal with violations of law, and what can we do to bring more compassion and justice for everyone caught up in the criminal justice system? This course looks at how our system does and does not work for the victims and the accused, their families and the community. Each class will feature one or two guest speakers along with Chaplain Taylor. Students in the class will all be invited to a tour of the Philadelphia prisons in May.
Phyllis B. Taylor, R.N. brings decades of experience as a prison chaplain and an activist on behalf of crime victims, incarcerated persons, prison wardens, and returning citizens.
Through the Gates:
A Writing Circle for the Weeks of the Omer
Sundays April 5-May 17, 3-5 p.m.
taught by Susan Windle
$126 Mishkan members/$140 non-members (plus $18 forThrough the Gates)
A structured process for spontaneous writing in community as a way of opening to the energies of the sevensephirot, the divine attributes profoundly available to us during the days of the Omer, the seven weeks between Pesach and Shavuot. Participants will write in class, with the option of sharing their writing within the sacred container of the circle. This group is open to all: no previous experience with the Omer, nor with spontaneous writing, is necessary--only a willingness to explore! Bring a notebook and writing implement.
Mishkan member and poet Susan Windle uses her craft to explore and share the wonders of everyday life, to strengthen community and to challenge the forces of injustice within and without. Her most recent book, Through the Gates—A Practice for Counting the Omer, is a spiritual memoir and daily Omer guide in letters and poems. Susan has led writing circles and other soulful gatherings for over twenty years in her Northwest Philadelphia neighborhood and beyond.
Pause & Refresh Your Soul: An Exploration of Shabbat-Unplugging in the Shmita Year
Saturdays April 11, May 9 and June 13
led by Rabbi Shawn and Rabbi Simcha at their Mt. Airy home
$9/session for Mishkan members; $18/session for non-members
(We will not collect money on Shabbat; pay in advance via the website, )
Join us for our second-Saturday-of-the-month BeitShabbat. Building on our winter sessions, we will continue to explore and celebrate what our tradition offers as the sweetest part of Shabbat. Spend minchah/afternoon in meditation, study, prayer and song. Our spring series will include a study of PirkeiAvot, the Teachings of the Sages, and the counting of the Omer as is customary between Passover and Shavuot. Please join our new addition to Shabbat consciousness and practice at Mishkan, whether or not you have participated before!
Rabbi Shawn Zevit is the lead rabbi of Mishkan Shalom. He is also a consultant, liturgist and recording artist, community organizer, faculty member and associate director of ALEPH Hashpaah (Spiritual Direction) Training Program. Rabbi SimchaZevit is the founder and former director of HaMakom in Cleveland, a gathering place for exploring Judaism as a spiritual path.
God in an Expanding Universe:
A One Book Panel Discussion
Sunday, April 19, 7 p.m.
suggested donation $10
Our intellectually stimulating panel discussion returns with a stellar cast:
- Rabbi Nancy Fuchs Kreimer, associate professor of religious studies and director of the Department of Multifaith Studies and Initiatives at the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College
- Joseph M. Dougherty, physicist, religious Catholic and longtime AkibaHebrew Academy teacher
- Rabbi Michael Yondorf, Orthodox rabbi and longtime Akiba teacher
Beloved teacher and scholar Harold “Doc” Gorvine will moderate. Refreshments will be served.
Make It a Night! Make It a Tallis!
A One-Evening Intensive Workshop
Tuesday, April 21, 5-8 p.m. in the social hall
taught by Rabbi Rayzel Raphael
$100 members/$118 non-members (includes all materials, supplies & tzitzit)
This workshop requires 10 participants; register & pay online by April 8!
Express your artistic vision, the colors of your soul or your favorite images in a one-of-a-kind 14”x72” silk tallis that you will design and paint. Make one for yourself or as a gift for a future b’nai mitzvah! Workshop is open to adults and kids 12 and up; no artistic experience required. Pizza dinner included!
Rabbi Rayzel Raphael brings a rich background in spirituality and ritual, feminism and music to Judaism. She has been silk-painting for more than 25 years.
Walk the Talk: Knowing Nature through a Jewish Lens
Saturday, May 16, 12:30-2 p.m.
(meet at Mishkan after services, then carpool to the woods;
wear sturdy shoes and dress for the outdoors)
led by Steve Jones
no fee for this class
Experience our nearby natural world through a Jewish lens: What do Jewish texts and traditions have to say about our relationship to the natural world?On this Shabbat, Behar-Bechukotai, we reflect on the meaning, for us and for the natural world, of the shmita/sabbatical year. We’ll focus on the natural sounds and the wild plants of the urban forest. All ages are welcome to gather after morning services at Mishkan, then head into the woods together to explore the Wissahickon forest as a “text”.
Steve Jones is president of Wissahickon Restoration Volunteers and chair of MishkanShalom’s Spiritual Life Council.
Arts Night Delights: An Evening of Performances
Celebrating One Book Mishkan’s 10th Year!
Saturday, May 16, 7:30 p.m.
$10 donation suggested
Members and friends of Mishkan Shalom present a very special evening of music, poetry, theatrical performances and more. Once again, MakhelatMicha’el: The Mishkan Community Choir, conducted by Miriam Davidson, joins us as we cap off our tenth year of reading and learning together.
Reception to follow.
At the Foot of the Mountain:
A special Shavuot study session
Shabbat morning, Saturday, May 23,9-10 a.m.
taught by Rabbi Shawn
no fee
Read and discuss “Revelation and Evolution in the Festival of Shavuot”—a one-hour study session during the usual Shabbat morning Torah study slot.
Weekend in the Woods
MishkanShalom’s annual retreat
May 29-31
details and fee schedule on website,
All Mishkan members, their families and Mishkan-curious friends are welcome to join Weekend in the Woods, a chance to get out of the city and relax in the beautiful Pocono Mountains at Camp JRF. The weekend offers outdoor Shabbat services, Torah study, Jewish-themed crafts, jewelry making and a campfire sing-along, along with active programming that includes hiking, biking, outdoor games, swimming and boating. You can also just sit and savor the quiet!
SoulCollage® with a Jewish Spin: Here Comes Summer!
Sunday, June 14, 1-4 p.m. in the social hall
led by Susan Richards
$36 includes all supplies
SoulCollage®is an imaginative and creative process; participants create their own deck of SoulCollage® cards with images they choose from provided supplies. With Shavuot behind us, we now approach Rosh Hodesh Tammuz and the summer solstice, the day of most light in the year. Let’s share this shift into a new season by making, sharing and reading cards together.
Susan Richards says, “Being a SoulCollage® Facilitator is the perfect integration of my life-long spiritual pursuits, my 30 years as a psychotherapist in private practice in Solana Beach, California, and my current life as a full-time artist in the Philadelphia area.” For more information, see
Torah study
Saturday mornings, 9-10 a.m. in the library
Each Shabbat morning a group gathers to read, discuss, question and explore that week’s Torah portion. These sessions are open to adults and teens; they’re led by Mishkan rabbis, members and friends of the community. Together, we become both teachers and students. If you’d like to lead a session or have questions about Torah study, contact Eugene Sotirescu at
Registration Form – Adult Education
To register online:All course information is on Mishkan’s website, Click on the Adult Education page to see course details and directions for online registration and payment.
To register by mail: Fill in below and mail, along with a check made out to Mishkan Shalom, to: Mishkan Shalom / Attn: Adult Education / 4101 Freeland Ave /Philadelphia PA 19128
Questions? E-mail or phone the office, 215.508.0226.
Name: ______Day phone: ______
Street ______Eve phone: ______
City, ST, Zip ______Mishkan member? ______
Email: ______
Course Name ______Fee ______
Course Name ______Fee ______
TOTAL ______
PAYMENT INFO:
Check included
I will charge my tuition by bringing my credit card to Mishkan (please contact office to make sure someone will be available)
I am interested in serving on the Adult Education Committee.
Please send me membership information about Mishkan Shalom.
Directions to Mishkan Shalom (Freeland Avenue and Shurs Lane in the Manayunk/Roxborough section of Philadelphia)
By Public Transportation (SEPTA):
From Center City or Norristown: R6 Train to Wissahickon Station; #9 Bus on Ridge to Ridge Avenue and Walnut / Shurs Lane
From Plymouth Meeting: #27 Bus to Manayunk Avenue and Shurs Lane
By Car: Check out Mishkan’s website for detailed directions.
Parking: Use Freeland Ave. as one-way downhill (see map). There are two parking lots on either side of Mishkan’s building accessible from Freeland Ave. Back in to parking spaces in Mishkan's lot. If those lots are full, park on Freeland in front of Mishkan’s property.Because we share our space with a church, please park in the lower lot on Sunday mornings.
Mishkan Shalom is a Reconstructionist congregation in which a diverse community of progressive Jews finds home. Mishkan's Statement of Principles commits the community to integrate Prayer, Study and Acts of Caring — and to work with other people of faith to repair the world in justice and peace.
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