Binah 2015
Syllabus and Dates
Thursday 26 February (6-7.30pm) – Torah, Tanakh, and Talmud
If you’re wondering what a five thousand year old story could possibly have to do with your life as a Jewish teenager, this is the session for you. We’ll explore the text at the core of Jewish life and the B’nei Mitzvah journey: the Torah. We’ll talk about the structure and format of the Torah, Tanakh (bible), and Talmud (Jewish law and commentary), answering questions ranging from the technical: “what’s the difference between a Torah and Haftarah portion?” to the essential: “what does this all mean for me, and why is it so important?”
Thursday 19 March (6-7.30pm) – Prayer 101 & YourB’nei Mitzvah
A Shabbat service can be a mystifying place. What we’ll learn in this session is how and why a service is structured the way it is, and the unique role each prayer plays in both morning and evening t’filot. We’ll cover the structural: when do we bow? When do we stand? And we’ll cover the spiritual: why are these prayers meaningful? How can their words, however ancient, apply to us today?
Saturday 25 April (9am-1pm) – BinahShul Hop with Rabbi Kim Ettlinger
Join Rabbi Ettlinger as we take a Saturday morning stroll around Melbourne’s synagogues, learning about how the rest of our wider Jewish community does prayer! Drop off at TBI.
Sunday 3 May (3-5pm) – Israel Connections (guest-led by Netzer Australia)
Placed around Yom Ha’atzmaut (Israeli Independence Day), this special session with Netzer Australia will provide our course with a connection to Israel: its culture, history, people, and places.
Thursday 21 May (6-7.30pm) – Tallit, Tefillin, and Jewish Ritual Objects (guest-led by Rabbi Gersh Lazarow)
We are each given a tallit on our Bar or Bat Mitzvah day, but what is the significance of this special garment? What other things do Jews use to bring meaning to our rituals and festivals? Join Rabbi Lazarow on a guided tour of Jewish ritual objects, and maybe try a few on for yourself!
Saturday 13 June (10-12.30pm) – The Holocaust
In our 2014 Taster class, questions came up again and again about this dark period in our people’s history, so we’ve decided this term to dedicate a chapter of our class to learning about how and why the Holocaust happened. We’ll focus primarily on the overarching concepts of global anti-Semitism, and how we—as the future of the Jewish people—can come to terms with our history. We’ll end this class with a chance for reflection and discussion over lunch.
Saturday 27 June (10am-12.30pm) – Jewish History and Heroes: 1990-2015
In this session, we’ll have a chance to consolidate some of our learning from the previous week, explore the history of anti-Semitism as a wider concept, and move into present tense.Many of our students have already experienced anti-Semitism: at school, on the sports field, or just among friends.How do we deal with these moments when they arise?How do we want to respond to anti-Semitism in the world today?Again, we’ll have time at the end for reflection, discussion, and lunch together as a class.
Thursday 16 July (4-6.30pm) – Jewish History and Heroes: 1930-1989
From Albert Einstein to Sandy Koufax, Bob Dylan to Levi Strauss, the world has seen meaningful contributions from Jewish people in practically every area: science, music, movies, athletics, visual arts, literature, and more. As we learn about all these amazing people, we’ll ask ourselves: how are we like them? How do we carry on their legacy, and make our own positive impact on the world?
Thursday 23 July (6-7.30pm) – Jewish History and Heroes: 1990-2015
In this second part of our History and Heroes series, we’ll get to share and talk about our Jewish heroes: the people who are our contemporaries and our role models. For this week, we’ll get a chance to do some personal research, and learn about our favourite famous Jews of today.
7 August(5-8pm) – B’nei Mitzvah Panel (with special guests) and Binah Graduation
Our final session of the term is an all-time favourite: the B’nei Mitzvah Panel. Our students will have a chance to ask other young people ages 13-25 what their bar or bat mitzvah experiences were like, leading into a broader discussion about what it means to be a young Jewish person in the Jewish community. After the panel concludes, we’ll join the rest of the congregation for Shabbat evening services, where we’ll take an opportunity to honour our Binah class in front of the whole congregation. Services are followed by our TBI community dinner. Please arrived dressed for shul, with a vegetarian potluck dish!