Judaism 101
Congregation B’nai Israel
Little Rock, Arkansas
5776 (2015-16)
August 20
Jewish Views of God
Reading: Kertzer, Section IV, parts 1-5, 9-11
August 27
Navigating the Prayerbook
Reading: Kertzer, Section III, parts 4-8, 12
September 3
Shabbat – Ellyn Polksy teaching
Reading: Syme, Chapter 2
Kertzer, Section VII, parts 1, 4
September 10
The High Holy Days: Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur – Ellyn Polsky teaching
Reading: Syme, Chapters 3, 4
September 17
Judaism and Christianity: Similarities and Differences
Reading: Kertzer, Section IX, all, section IV, parts 8, 12, and 13
September 24
The Pilgrimage Festivals: Passover, Shavuot, and Sukkot
Reading: Syme, Chapters 5, 9, 10 and 11
October 1
Life Cycles 1: Birth and Bringing a Child into the Covenant
Reading: Syme, Chapters 13, 14, and the first part of 15 (about PidyonHaben)
Kertzer, Section VIII, parts 1-5, Section V, part 2
October 8
Life Cycles 2:Jewish Education, Bar/Bat Mitzvah, and Confirmation
Reading: Syme, Chapter 15 (portion not previously assigned)
Kertzer, Section VIII, parts 6, 7
October 15
Life Cycles 3:Marriage (and Divorce)
Reading: Syme, Chapters 16, 17
Kertzer, Section VIII, parts 8-10; Section V, part 8 (but note that this section is dated)
October 22
Life Cycles 4:Conversion to Judaism
Reading: Kertzer, Section I, part 1; Section IV, Parts 5, 14; Section VIII, part 15
Kling, Chapter 13
October 29
Life Cycles 5:Death and Mourning
Reading: Syme, Chapter 18
Kertzer, Section VIII, parts 11-14
November 5, 12 – No Class
November 19
Chanukah
Reading: Syme, Chapter 6
November 28 – No Class – Thanksgiving
December 3 – No Class
December 10
Life After Death
Reading: Kertzer, Section IV, part 7
December 17
Comparative Judaism: Reform, Conservative, Orthodox, and more
Reading: Kertzer, Section I, parts 2-5, 9, 10, and 12
Reading: Kertzer, Section II, all, Section III, parts 1-3
December 24, 31 – Winter Break, No Class
January 7
Jewish History 1: The Tanach and its Time
Reading: Kling, Chapter 8
Kertzer, Section II, parts 1-4
Guest teacher: Phillip Spivey
January 14
Jewish History 2: The Rabbinic Period and Oral Torah
Reading: Kertzer, Section I, parts 7,8; Section II, parts 5-10; Section III, all
January 21, 28 – No Class
February 4
Jewish History 3: Medieval Jewish History
Reading: Review Kling, Chapter 8
February 11
Jewish History 4: The Dawn of Modernity
Reading: Kling, Chapter 9
February 18
Jewish History 5: Holocaust – Guest Lecturer, Prof. Dorian Stuber, Ph.D.
Reading: Kertzer, Chapter V, part 12
February 25
Jewish History 6: The History of Israel I
Reading: Kling, Chapter 11
Guest Lecturer: Prof. Phillip Spivey
March 3
Jewish History 8: Jewish Life in America – Ellyn Polsky teaching
Reading: Kling, Chapter 10
Kertzer, Section I, part 13
March 10
Jewish History 7: The History of Israel II
Reading: Kertzer, Section VI, parts 9-16
Bibliography
Kertzer, Morris N., What is a Jew, Revised by Rabbi Lawrence A. Hoffman, New York: MacMillan Publishing Company, 1993.
Kling, Simcha, Embracing Judaism, New York: The Rabbinical Assembly, 1987.
Syme, Daniel B., The Jewish Home, Revised, New York: URJ Press, 2004.
© 2015 Rabbi Barry Block