United Synagogue of Hoboken
Introduction to Judaism Syllabus
7 Thursday nights beginning January 8, 2009
7:45-9:45 pm
Rabbi Robert Scheinberg
Rafi Lehmann
United Synagogue of Hoboken
115 Park Avenue
Hoboken, NJ 07030
(201) 653-6696, (201) 659-4000
www.hobokensynagogue.org
Texts:
Wayne Dosick, Living Judaism and/or parallel readings from myjewishlearning.com
Harold Kushner, To Life!
Packet of photocopies, to be distributed
Recommended for further reading:
Jewish Publication Society, Tanakh: A New Translation of the Holy Scriptures
Michael Strassfeld, The Jewish Holidays: A Guide and Commentary
David Wolpe, Why Be Jewish? (a brief essay in book form)
Joseph Telushkin, Jewish Literacy (an entertaining reference book)
Bradley Artson, It’s a Mitzvah! (step-by-step to Jewish observance)
www.myjewishlearning.com
Where can I find these books?
Barnes & Noble - Hoboken and throughout New York area
On the Internet -- the United Synagogue of Hoboken receives a commission for every book purchased from Amazon.com through the link on our congregation’s web page (www.hobokensynagogue.org)
J. Levine Co.
5 West 30th Street (between Broadway and 5th Avenue)
(212) 695-6888
1. Welcome and Introduction (1/8/09)
Three dimensions of Jewish life: “Ethics, Peoplehood, Spirituality”;
“Jewish values”
Harold Kushner, To Life, p. 9-15 (packet)
Dosick 1-6 (introduction), 249-256 (Jewish values)
http://beingjewish.org/htmlpages/esp.html - essay by Gil Mann
2. Jewish practices – Mitzvot (1/15/09)
Shabbat - the Sabbath
Kashrut (Jewish dietary laws)
Dosick 31-35, 106-113 (mitzvot), 127-130 (Shabbat), 256-268 (dietary laws)
Abraham Joshua Heschel, The Sabbath, p. 95-101 (packet)
3. God and Prayer (1/22/09)
Dosick 7-17, 25-29 (God), 201-206 (prayer); [207-245]
Kushner “What we believe about God” p. 143-175 (packet)
Gillman, “Why You Can’t Pray” (packet)
4. The study of Torah (1/29/09)
Dosick 73-84, 85-91, 93-105
Joseph Telushkin, Jewish Literacy, #1, #82, 84, 338 (packet)
5. The Jewish life cycle: (2/5/09)
Birth, Bar/Bat Mitzvah, marriage and sexuality; death and mourning
Dosick 285-290, 293-300, 303-308 (death and mourning)
Ron Wolfson, “The Art of Making a Shiva Call” (packet)
Joyce Slochower, “The Therapeutic Function of Shiva“ (packet)
Michael Gold, “God in the Bedroom” (packet)
New York Times, “Where Lingerie Sells to the Orthodox” (packet)
6. Jewish time: holidays; the Jewish role in the world (2/12/09)
Dosick 130-138, 147-180, 195-199 (the holiday cycle); 37-42 (Tikkun Olam)
Francine Klagsbrun, “Jewish time is different…” (packet)
[Dosick 181-194 (Holocaust)]
7. Diversity of Jewish experience; Contemporary issues; Women in Judaism (2/19/09)
Dosick 61-64 (four movements in American Judaism)
Merle Feld, “We All Stood Together” (packet)
Article on interfaith families:
http://www.myjewishlearning.com/lifecycle/Marriage/Issues/Intermarriageintro.htm
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