Congregation Beth El of Montgomery County THE RABBI SAMUEL SCOLNIC ADULT INSTITUTE FOUNDED IN 1977 IN MEMORY OF SAUL BENDIT Fall 2020/5781 “ Fix a p eri od f or th e stud y of Torah” Pirk ei Avot 1: 15 REGISTER ONLINE! Register NOW for the Early Bird Discount. Deadline: October 7 SIX TUESDAY MORNINGS October 13, 20, and 27; November 3, 10, and 17 SIX WEDNESDAY EVENINGS October 14, 21, and 28; November 4, 11, and 18 All classes are open to the public. There is no prerequisite–only a desire to participate, learn, and enjoy. The Rabbi Samuel Scolnic Adult Institute, founded in 1977 in memory of Saul Bendit, is one of the leading synagogue-based adult education programs in the Washington, DC area. Now in its 43rd year, the Institute has received national and international recognition. The Fall program, running for six weeks, comprises 11 courses offered Wednesday evenings beginning October 14, and five classes offered Tuesday mornings, beginning October 13. Classes meet by Zoom only; technical support for Zoom will be available. We are confident that you will find the courses interesting and informative. SCHEDULE OF CLASSES Wednesday Night Schedule with Minyan break from 8:20-8:40 pm 7:30 - 8:20 pm 8:40 - 9:30 pm Innovative Jewish Thinkers: Shtisel: Why Do We Love It? Henrietta Szold Rabbi Emeritus Bill Rudolph Rabbi Greg Harris Mindfulness and Meditation George Eliot’s Daniel Deronda: Hazzan Asa Fradkin Philo-Semitism and Proto-Zionism in 19th Century England Adjunct Rabbi Mindy Avra Portnoy The Dynamics and Diversity Jewish Resistance in the Holocaust of Jewish Music Eric Gartman Hazzan Emeritus Abraham Lubin Us and Them: Jews and Non-Jews What Kind of State Is the Rabbi Avis Miller United States of America? Dr. Jerome Copulsky God's System of Divine Justice: Judges: A Baffling Book? Biblical Sources Dr. Richard Lederman Gideon Amir Degenerate Art Dr. Naomi Daremblum Tuesday Morning Schedule with break from 10:50-11:10 am 10:00 - 10:50 am 11:10 am - Noon George Eliot’s Daniel Deronda: What Kind of State Is the Philo-Semitism and Proto-Zionism in United States of America? 19th Century England Dr. Jerome Copulsky Adjunct Rabbi Mindy Avra Portnoy God's System of Divine Justice: Us and Them: Jews and Non-Jews Biblical Sources Rabbi Avis Miller Gideon Amir Judges: A Baffling Book? Dr. Richard Lederman Class Descriptions Innovative Jewish Thinkers: Henrietta Szold Instructor: Rabbi Greg Harris, Wednesday evening Henrietta Szold is best known as the founder of the women’s organization Hadassah in 1912. Szold’s achievements includ- ed scholarly work with JTS rabbi and academic Louis Ginz- berg; founding the Ihud political party in Mandate Palestine; and saving 30,000 children from the Shoah through Youth Ali- yah. The Ihud party was dedicated to a binational solution. We will look at her life, which has been mythologized and cele- brated, and discuss her impact on Zionism. Wikimedia Commons Mindfulness and Meditation Instructor: Hazzan Asa Fradkin, Wednesday evening What is Jewish mindfulness and meditation? What is the connection to Kabbalah? What is the intersec- tion between Judaism and Buddhism, Hinduism and other Eastern philosophies when it comes to medi- tation and mindfulness? How long have Jews been meditating and what place does it have in today’s tradition? The course will be presented through video, guest lectures, source materials and “in class” demonstrations. The Dynamics and Diversity of Jewish Music Instructor: Hazzan Abraham Lubin, Wednesday evening Jewish music derives from every corner of the world. From Spain to Morocco, and from Poland, Hungary, Romania, and Russia to Italy, Yemen, and Ethiopia, Jews have developed distinct folk and liturgical musical tradi- tions. These practices have been influenced by accultura- tion and local musical customs. Colorful examples will be illustrated with live and recorded performances. continued on next page Us and Them: Jews and Non-Jews Instructor: Rabbi Avis Miller, Tuesday morning and Wednesday evening How are non-Jews portrayed in the Torah? What are Jewish responsibilities to non-Jews? How and why has the relationship between Jews and non-Jewish people of color evolved from civil rights to Black Lives Matter? This course will feature study of Jewish texts from the Tanakh to today. We will explore the obligations binding on all Rabbi Abraham Joshua of humanity (Noahide Laws) as well as ancient, medieval, Heschel presents Martin and contemporary Rabbinic sources dealing with distinc- Luther King, Jr. with the tions and commonalities between Jews and Gentiles. We Judaism and World Peace Award, 1965, Wikimedia Commons will consider social boundaries and barriers, leading to a discussion of conversion and intermarriage. God’s System of Divine Justice: Biblical Sources Instructor: Gideon Amir, Tuesday morning and Wednesday evening God is good. God is just. All monotheistic religions struggle with two major related issues. (1) God’s Provi- dence: Just how much does God intervene in our world? Has God been active after setting the world in motion? How does God's activity - or inactivity - reconcile with the idea of individual freedom of choice? (2) Divine Justice: How does (the good and just) God permit the Tzedek Tzedek Tirdof, courtesy of injustices we see in the world? “Why do bad things hap- hebrica.com pen to good people?” and how is it that injustices often continue without discernible consequence? We explore the Biblical answers and analyze whether the Bible has a consistent view on these complex questions. Additionally, we will discuss post-Biblical ideas that emerged when the Biblical answers seemed to be insufficient. Please be sure to have a full Bible when attending the class. These are available online. Degenerate Art Instructor: Dr. Naomi Daremblum, Wednesday evening On July 18, 1937, the Nazis opened what was to become an annual art show of Nazi approved art-the “Great German Art Exhibit” in Munich’s Haus der Kunst. The following day a counterpoint exhibition opened nearby, called “Degenerate Art” (Entartete Kunst). Degenerate Art, now generally called “Mod- ern Art”, was displayed to educate the public on the “Art of Decay.” The exhibit included more than 650 paintings and artworks, part of a total of almost 20,000 works confiscated from German muse- ums. Among them were works by some of the great international artists of the time such as Paul Klee, Pablo Picasso, and Oskar Koko- schuka-along with famous German artists including Max Bech- mann, Georg Grosz, and Emil Nolde, a committed member of the Nazi Party. This course will examine the history and ideology of the exhibit while exploring the art at its heart En Canot (Im Boot), Jean Metzinger, 1913 (oil on oak panel). Confiscated by and analyzing its subversive power. We will also the Nazis c.1936 and displayed at the De- delve into the artists, a few of whom were Jewish, generate Art Exhibition. Wikimedia commons. whose lives the exhibit dramatically altered. Shtisel: Why Do We Love It? Instructor: Rabbi Emeritus Bill Rudolph, Wednesday evening “Everybody Loves Shtisel” read the headline that an- nounced Season Three of this Israeli television series is on its way. This course will analyze various episodes, focusing on why we can’t help but watch and what may make us squirm (for example, what will the Gentiles think?) and how we might understand the variety of emotions we feel. We will also explore what we learn Shtisel cast poster, courtesy of Netflix about varieties of Orthodox Judaism and why the Israeli film industry is so successful and so much copied (think Homeland and Fauda.) Shtisel is available for streaming on Netflix. Netflix requires a monthly payment. George Eliot’s Daniel Deronda: Philo-Semitism and Proto-Zionism in 19th Century England Instructor: Adjunct Rabbi Mindy Avra Portnoy, Tuesday morning and Wednesday evening This course, set in a historical context, will focus on George Eliot's (Mary Anne Evans) last book, Daniel Deronda. A writer who defied conventional Victorian anti-Semitism and images of women, Eliot, a non-Jew, also provided a unique perspective on Jewish life at the time, including the stirrings of proto-Zionism in England. This remarkably prescient novel is also pri- Poster for the BBC adaptation of marily a brilliant tale of moral choices and romantic Daniel Deronda, courtesy of the BBC tragedy and triumph. Our main secondary sources will be two works by the late intellectual and cultural historian, Gertrude Himmelfarb; Jen- nifer Uglow’s biography of Eliot; and the 2002 BBC video, Daniel Deronda. No outside reading is required; excerpts will be discussed in class. Jewish Resistance in the Holocaust Instructor: Eric Gartman,Wednesday evening Jewish resistance during the Holocaust has been misunderstood for many years. Are the postwar charges of Jewish passivity cor- rect? Only in recent decades have scholars be- gun to truly understand the extent and limits of Jewish revolts. We will examine the major episodes of armed Jewish resistance against the Nazis, including the Warsaw Ghetto Upris- ing, the Treblinka and Sobibor revolts, and the Bielski Brothers’ rescue and resistance strug- Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, Wikimedia Commons gles. Our focus will be to explain the situation from the perspective of the people involved and the options and possibilities open to them at the time. We will also look at why these particular actions occurred and ex- plore whether there could have been more armed uprisings. continued on next page What Kind of State Is the United States of America? Instructor: Dr. Jerome Copulsky, Tuesday morning and Wednesday evening Is the U.S. a Christian nation, a Judeo-Christian nation, or a secular state? Beginning with the question of whether the U.S. was founded as a Christian or secular state, we will then look at how the religious foundations of the country played out in 19th century debates over slavery, immigration, and religious practice.