Adult Learning

B'nai Jacob offers a rich array
of classes and guest lectures
every season. 

Join us! 

Speaker Series Winter 2018/2019

Saturday, December 1, after Kiddush (12:30pm)
Jaime Gerber, MD, FACC
Associate Proffesor Clinical Medicine, Yale University
“You Should Live So Long! A Guide to Longevity”
Israel ranked 5th for healthy longevity as cited in the UN World Happiness Report 2018! What are the secrets to a healthy lifestyle? Is there a fountain of youth? Yale cardiologist and CBJ member Dr. Jaime Gerber will be our teacher and guide. Young or old, come and join the discussion.

Sunday, December 9, 10:00am
Hasia Diner, PhD
Steinberg Professor of American Jewish History and Director of the Goldstein-Goren Center for American Jewish History at NYU
“Roads Taken: The Great Jewish Migrations to the New World and the Peddlers Who Forged the Way”
Between the late 1700s and the 1920s, nearly one-third of the world’s Jews emigrated to new lands. Crossing borders and often oceans, they followed paths paved by intrepid peddlers who preceded them. Hasia Diner’s new book tells the story of millions of discontented young Jewish men who sought opportunity abroad. These traveling men brought change to the geography of Jewish history. We are privileged to hear this fascinating story from Dr. Diner, scholar, author and National Jewish Book Award winner.

Rabbi Shapiro's Classes

Mondays evenings 7:30pm  •   Oct 15, 22, 29  •  Nov 5, 12, 26  •   Dec 3, 10
Reading the Talmud
The Babylonian Talmud, in many ways more so than the Bible, is the core text of the Jewish people and yet it is unknown to many of us. We will explore some of its breadth and depth, looking at both stories (aggadah) and law (halacha) as we work to gain insight into the rabbinic project and its meaning for us. No knowledge of Hebrew or Aramaic is required.

Saturdays 1:00pm •  Nov 17  •  Dec 15
The Poetry of Yehuda Amichai
Amichai is Israel’s poet laureate. He, more than any other poet, captures the paradoxes of faith and love and “Israeliness” in familiar language and bold simile. We will take two Shabbat afternoons to explore a poem or two each time. Poems will be sent out to participants ahead of time, so registration is necessary.

Rabbi Shapiro explores the weekly Torah portion and how its story relates to our own. Lively discussion over bagels and coffee. No experience necessary