Adult Education: Past Programs

If you missed one of these programs and would like to see it offered in the future, please let us know.

New and Prospective Member Shabbat

Please join the membership committee as we welcome new members and give prospective members a taste of what we’re all about. We’ll have Torah study beginning at 10:00 am, followed by services at 11:00 am, and a potluck lunch at 12:30 pm. During lunch members of the community will share their experiences about Shaarei Shamayim and answer questions. Please bring a vegetarian dish to share!

Midwest Reconstructionist Women's Retreat

Rabbi Renée Bauer will be organizing this year’s Midwest Reconstructionist Women’s Retreat. Reconstructionist women from around the Midwest will gather for a weekend full of singing, sharing, and learning at the Perlstein Resort and Conference Center in the Wisconsin Dells. Reconstructionist Rabbi Leila Gal Berner, a well-known liturgist and creator of new life cycle rituals for Jewish women, will be the scholar-in-residence for the weekend. Rabbi Berner and lay leaders will weave together learning and spirituality for a weekend that will enrich participants’ minds and souls. It would be wonderful to have Shaarei Shamayim women at the retreat. Please let Rabbi Renée know if you are interested or have further questions.

What’s God Got to Do with It?

Rabbi Laurie will be teaching this 3-part adult education series that will explore God, spirituality, holiness, and the role of personal prayer in our lives. This will be geared towards those who want to deepen their spirituality, as well as towards those who aren’t quite sure what they believe.

Shabbat Singing

Learn the Shabbat blessings and morning service. We’ll listen to the new Shaarei Shamayim Learner’s CD and sing along. This is a great way to familiarize yourself with our services.

Documentary Film: Encounter Point

Encounter Point is an award-winning 85-minute feature documentary film that follows a former Israeli settler, a Palestinian ex-prisoner, a bereaved Israeli mother and a wounded Palestinian bereaved brother who risk their lives and public standing to promote a nonviolent end to the conflict. For more information about the film, please visit www.encounterpoint.com.

Jewish Social Justice Thinkers of the 20th-21st Century

Rabbi Laurie will be teaching this adult education series, in which we will focus on the writings of rabbis, scholars, and activists who have melded Judaism and Jewish identity with their quest for making the world more just.

Exploring Saul and David

The story of Saul and David is one of the most complex and interesting in the Bible. It involves tribal loyalties, love, jealousy, politics, mental illness, and yearning for the divine. Explore the intricacies of the text and find connections to our own life and times. Zoë Werth will be teaching this session.

Ethical Wills

"There is a lovely Jewish custom, one that is unfortunately not sufficiently known in our time – of writing... an ethical will..."
-- Jack Reimer

Let’s learn together!

Led by Judith Zukerman Kaufman, whose Judaica background includes a Master’s degree from Jewish Theological Seminary, N.Y.C. and Scholar in Residence Programs for Synagogues and Organizations in the U.S. and Netherlands.

In the first of two sessions we will begin to explore the world of ethical wills by examining samples of traditional ethical wills from the Shoah (Holocaust), from Israel and from the U.S, as well as excerpts from the book Ethical Wills, A Modern Jewish Treasury, edited by Jack Reimer and Nathaniel Stampfer.

For part of each session, we will follow a mode of Jewish study called in Aramaic havruta, fellowship.

"...[Learning with a partner] turns text study into dialogue and makes books into tools for overcoming, not strengthening, isolation...learning a powerful source of community cohesion, a source of speech, not silence...Let’s learn together. The life of the mind and the life of the society were one...solitary study tends to seek meaning while study behevruta tends to look for implications. When we read by ourselves, and we are satisfied that we have understood, we naturally move on. But when ‘learning’ is a kind of conversation, there is always more to be said."
-- Back to the Sources, edited by Barry Holtz, p. 169.

At the close of the first session, we will begin to focus on our own non-material values. There will be a thinking homework assignment between the two sessions.

During the second session, we will highlight what we have learned from the ethical wills we studied and write a first draft of our own ethical will.

Reconstructing Halachah: Making Jewish Practice Relevant and Compelling

As members of a Reconstructionist/Renewal Jewish community, we live in what is often termed a "post-halachic" community, meaning that as a community we understand that halachah (Jewish law) is no longer binding. Moreover, the Reconstructionist understanding of God is not a commanding God. We engage in Jewish practice because we are drawn to it in some way. And yet, the obligation to follow halachah is central to Jewish tradition. Given that, how can Jewish practice have integrity without the force of halachah behind it? Can one voluntarily obligate oneself to certain practices, and if so, which ones? We will discuss these and other related issues in this Shabbat morning discussion led by Rabbi Laurie.

Discussion about the crisis in Israel, Lebanon, and Gaza

This Saturday we will be having a discussion about the crisis in Israel, Lebanon, and Gaza. We will be meeting at the Prairie Unitarian Society, 2010 Whenona Drive from 5:30-7:30 with a potluck dinner to follow. This will be a time for members to discuss their feelings about the violence and share their own personal thoughts. This conversation will be well facilitated and everyone will have an opportunity to speak.

Service Leading Workshop

Want to learn to lead services but don't know where to begin? Feel confused when you go to services because you don't understand its structure? Want to continue your summer Jewish learning? Rabbi Laurie will be teaching two service leading workshop sessions. Feel free to come to either or both of the sessions.

Community Conversations: Jewish Identity, Community and Peoplehood

Rabbi Laurie will be holding four sessions this July that will be an opportunity for members of Shaarei Shamayim to discuss the complex issues of Jewish identity, community, and peoplehood.
The first discussion will focus on Jewish outreach and its implications for the Jewish community. Subsequent discussions will be based on two books: The Jew Within by Steven Cohen and Arnold Eisen and Spiritual Community: The Power to Restore Hope, Commitment and Joy by David Teutsch.
These sessions will be hosted by individual members.

Jewish Meditation Series

A series of Jewish Meditation sessions on Sunday mornings include some time for basic meditation while also continuing to examine what is particularly "Jewish" meditation as distinct from other forms and traditions of meditation. It is not necessary to already be experienced as a meditator. We will review the basics for anyone new to meditation. If you are interested in participating, please contact Celeste Robins.

Judaism and Social Justice

In this 3-part series, Rabbi Laurie will teach about Judaism and social justice. We will explore the following: Is there an inherent connection between the two? How have Jews historically linked the two? What can Jewish values and texts teach us about social justice? How might we reinvigorate the tradition of Jewish social justice? What forms might that take?

Planning a Passover seder

Want to make your Passover seder a little more lively? Want to incorporate new readings or understand the structure of the seder a little better? We will examine different haggadot (books used for the Passover seder), discuss important themes, and brainstorm how to make Passover more meaningful.

Death, Dying, and the Mourning Process

Judaism has many rituals and customs associated with death and dying.
In this two-part adult education series, we will explore some of these traditions and discuss participants' own experiences of mourning their loved ones.

Why Does Prayer Matter To Kids?

A Group Discussion for Parents and Grandparents Led by Bet Sefer Teacher Michael Swerdloff (with the participation of Rabbi Laurie)

It is easy to overlook the benefits and power of prayer in our busy, mostly secular society. Together, we can discuss and explore how prayer has helped us feel connected to our Self, Community and all Creation. What do we remember about prayer from our childhood and how has it shaped who we are today? Are we offering those same opportunities to this generation?

Beginning Hebrew

In this four-part series, participants will learn basic Hebrew: how to recognize letters, form syllables, and read. If you can't tell an aleph from a bet, this class is for you. If you do know the letters but cannot read, this class will also be helpful for letter review and practice with reading. The class is free for members, and we will again be using materials from the National Jewish Outreach Project.
There is a nominal fee for non-members -- please call the office for more information (257-2944).

Creating Sacred Time and Space

Judaism provides us with many opportunities to create holiness in our lives. Shabbat is one primary vehicle for that. In this class we will examine Jewish texts on Shabbat, discuss traditional and contemporary ways of making Shabbat sacred, and learn from each other how we each sanctify Shabbat as a holy time. This class is for people who want to begin a Shabbat practice, deepen their existing Shabbat practice, or simply learn more about Shabbat in general.