Calendar

The Foundation for Jewish Studies Programs

Holiday Weekend Study Retreats

The Distinguished Scholar Series

Lunch & Learn Bible Study Groups

Bible Study Center

Labor Day Study Retreat: August 31-September 1, 2008
Martin Buber and the Post-Holocaust Renewal of Faith
Rabbi Joshua O. Haberman, Founder and Chairman of the Board of the Foundation for Jewish Studies, Rabbi Emeritus of Washington Hebrew Congregation

March 6, 2008
The Ecstasy and the Agony of our False Messiahs: Shabbetai Zevi and Jacob Frank
Prof. Rachel Elior, Hebrew University, Professor of Jewish Philosophy

March 19, 2008
Men of Silk: The Hasidic Conquest of Polish Jewry” “The Rise and Evolution of Hasidism
Prof. Glenn Dynner, Department of Religion, Sarah Lawrence College

April 3, 2008
The Mystical Messiah: Shabbtai Zevi and the Crises of Rabbinic Authority
Prof. David Ruderman, Department of History, University of Pennsylvania

May 15th, 2008
The Merchant of Venice: Shakespeare's Jews and their Cultural Context
Prof. Lindsay Kaplan, Associate Professor of English at Georgetown University

May 22, 2008
Has Modern Jewish Thought Recovered From the Shock of the Holocaust?
Professor Michael Berenbaum, Professor of Jewish Studies at the American Jewish University

Thursday, May 29
The Forgotten Jewish Refugees from Arab Lands
Professor Naomi Gale, Schusterman Visiting Professor, Center for Israel Studies, AmericanUniversity

Downtown Lunch & Learn

The Sixth and I Historic Synagogue
600 I Street, NW.
(Chinatown metro stop on the Red Line)

January 3, 10, 17, 24, 2008
Eshet Chayil: Breaking Jewish Female Stereotypes
Sharon Freundel

January 31, February 7, 14, 21, 2008
Where Were the Forty-two Stops in the Desert? A Study of Text and Rabbinic & Non-Jewish Holyland Maps
Nat Lewin

February 28, March 6, 13, 20, 2008
The Best of the Rest: “Forgotten” Classics of Jewish Literature

• Saadia Gaon, The Book of Beliefs and Opinions
• Bachya Ibn Pakuda, Duties of the Heart
• Yehuda HaLevi, The Kuzari
• Gersonides, The Wars of the Lord

Michael Feshbach

March 27, April 3,10, 17, 2008
Elijah the Prophet, Our Favorite Guest for 3,000 Years
Norman Shore

May 8, 15, 22, 29, 2008
Jewish Approaches to War
Shmuel Herzfeld
(At The Hudson Institute, 1015 15th Street, NW , 6th floor WDC 20005)

Rockville Lunch & Learn

Jewish Community Center of Greater Washington
6125 Montrose Road
Rockville, MD
301-881-0100

January 2, 9, 16, 23, 2008
Parashat HaShavuah: As the Torah Turns, Modern Power in Ancient Words
Michael Feshbach

February 6, 13, 20, 27, 2008
Messianic Expectation As Seen Through the Midrash: A Discussion with Text
Jack Luxemburg

March 5, 12, 19, 26, 2008
Kabbalah and Meditation: Getting the Most from Your Prayers
Yaacov Benamou

May 7, 14, 21, 28, 2008 - CANCELLED
Most Blessed of Women? Victors & Victims in the Book of Judges
Gilah Langner

Northern Virginia Lunch & Learn

Jewish Community Center of Northern Virginia (library)
8900 Little River Turnpike
Fairfax, VA
703-323-0880

January 8, 15, 22 (snow January 29), 2008
Biblical Views on the Beginning and End of Life
Gideon Amir, Biblical Scholar

February 5, 12, 19, 26 (snow March 4), 2008
The Apocryphal Book of Daniel: Assimilation in the Diaspora, Post-Biblical Style
John Rybicki, Interfaith Scholar

March 11, 18, 25, 2008
Elijah and Elisha: Prophets or the First Rabbis? Exploring Their Relationship and Transformation
Rabbi Joshua Ben Gideon, Congregation Olam Tikvah

April 1, 8, 15, 2008
Contemporary Understandings of the Meaning of Freedom, as Seen Through Our Readings of the Haggadah
Rabbi Bruce Aft, Congregation Adat Reyim

May 6, 13, 20, 2008
The Origins of the Israelites, Part ll; Their Egyptian Background
Paul Forbes, Historian

June 3, 17, 24, 2008
Sin, Punishment and Divine Justice in the Hebrew Bible
Gideon Amir, Biblical Scholar

July 8, 15, 22, 2008
The Evolution of the Creation Stories in the Bible
Gideon Amir, Biblical Scholar

The Bible Study Center at the Dennis & Phillip Ratner Museum will resume its weekly sessions on Sunday, September 30, 2007, 10:30 – 12 noon with a year’s study of the weekly Torah portions with Gideon Amir, teacher-coordinator and various guest speakers.

Feb. 17, 2008
(Ki Tissa) Ex. 30:11-34:35