Chevrutah

Chevrutahs are learning pods, hosted by community members and are open to anyone. Click on the Chevrutah name to learn more.

All Chevrutot will be held via ZOOM unless otherwise noted. Links will be sent with registering, in the confirmation email.

Meditation: An Introduction

Led by Michael Posnick

  • Led by Michael Posnick, meditation opens the way to greater awareness, to living in the present with greater clarity and freedom. Seeing things as they are allows us to accept what is and to act according to need. Meditation is a means of self -discovery and wholehearted participation in the divine play of creation. 

    Useful preparation: Jack Kornfield's Meditation for Beginners.

  • Wednesdays @ 8:45-10:00 AM

Politics and Dissidence

Led by David Ponet

  • What does it mean to speak truth to power? What is the relationship between freedom and dissidence? We live in a screen-based world beset by climate change, disinformation, social isolation, and rising oligarchy. In this context it behooves us to probe the relationship between freedom and dissidence. This chevruta will explore how individuals can express truths, or offer voices of dissent - sometimes against overwhelming forces of oppression. The textual basis will include Arendt's "Truth and Politics," Vaclav Havel's "The Power of the Powerless," and the Book of Job.

  • Mondays (2.10, 2.24, 3.3 3.17) @ 8 PM

Torah Byte

Led by Rabbi Misha Shulman

  • "A weekly midday Torah study in which we can take a break from our nonsense and look at the weekly Torah portion and related ideas. This year we will be looking at the Haftarah of each parsha to see what the prophets have to say to us. I'd love to learn with you!"

    *Join the Simchat Torah Challenge, where UJA are building a community of Jews who are pledging to read the weekly Torah portion. 

  • Thursdays @ noon

Adult B Mitzvah

Led by Rabbi Misha Shulman

  • We are excited to begin an adult B Mitzvah cohort in the coming weeks for folks who have never had one. This is an opportunity to engage in the tradition and think about your place in it, and finally come up to the Torah in a powerful and joyful ritual. It will include a monthly group study, along with a personal study and exploration.

    If you have felt like you may have missed something by not having a B Mitzvah when you were younger, or if you weren't raised Jewish, or if you felt like the B Mitzvah you had back when was not as rich an experience as you would have liked, please consider joining this process.

    We hope it will give participants a greater sense of belonging, an appreciation of different aspects of Torah, and enhance their pride and joy to be a part of this tradition and a part of The New Shul. Please reach out to me if you have any questions.

    This class is FULL! Stay tuned for more classes to open.

Kabbalah & Healing

Led by Jeff Casper

  • This Chevrutah looks to offer an embodied sense of the healing potential of Kabbalah.  We'll review some of the key concepts that Rabbi Abby introduced last year, guided by writings from Torah, the Sefer Yetzirah, the Zohar, the Ari, and more modern interpreters like Aryeh Kablan and Jason Shulman.  Through discussion and practice, we'll experiment with how these apparent metaphors actually live in our own hearts, minds, and bodies, what they have to teach us about both healing and suffering, and how they might guide us towards Wholeness.  

  • Tuesdays (3.25, 4.1, 4.8) @ 7:30 PM

Women Of The Bible

Led by Elana Ponet

  • Existential challenges continue … Planning to further our learning about creative, courageous responses of Biblical, Talmudic, contemporary Jewish women figures through the lens of ancient and modern Midrash (Imaginative Investigation of Jewish text long used by commentators that make texts more relevant to our current moment, recognizing that we are part of the continuing chain). See our group supporting one another’s search and realization of new possibilities/expanded visions which can feed Hope and POSITIVE ACTIONS.

    *Join the Simchat Torah Challenge, where UJA are building a community of Jews who are pledging to read the weekly Torah portion. 

  • Wednesdays (2.5, 2.26, 3.19, 4.2) @ 7:30 PM