Dates: Saturdays, October 3,24, 31 and December 5, 12, 19
Time: After Shabbat Morning Services
Place: Main Sanctuary
Taught By: Rabbi Marvin Schwab

Can you sing? Can you read Hebrew? Would you like to learn more about the Mishkan T’filah? If so, maybe you want to become a lay expert who can lead a service: a shaliach tzibor. Rabbi Schwab will teach you the necessary skills following Shabbat Morning Services when there are no Bar or Bat Mitzvahs. Each class session will be no more than 20 minutes and will cover a specific section of the service, how to choose whether to do English or Hebrew, which prayers are “optional” and which ones form the core of the service. The ultimate goal of the class is to develop a cadre of lay leaders who can conduct Shabbat morning services if called on to do so.

Take these classes and even by a maven, you’ll be a maven!

Beit Midrash

Dates: Tuesday evenings starting September 15th until May
Time: 6:00- 8:30 pm
Place: Upper Sanctuary
Cost: $16-22 per session, paid monthly (Partial scholarships are available)
Participation is limited to twenty students. An introductory interview is required for all new students.
Contact: Rabbi Ward-Lev, 473-4248, or thelevs@q.com
Beit Midrash is a serious commitment, so plan on regular attendance.

Now in our tenth year of the Beit Midrash, this is an invitation to take part in an exceptional learning experience. A Beit Midrash is a learning community whose members seek to transform their lives through entering together into a serious study of Jewish texts. Our study is designed to be both personal and intellectual, to engage the heart as well as the mind. As a learning community, we enter into a careful study of traditional texts, and, guided by the text, we engage in searching conversation and creative exploration of core issues in our lives.

Our initial text for this year will be the story of Joseph’s reconciliation with his brothers as found in Genesis as well as in midrashim and traditional and contemporary commentaries. This study will give us an opportunity to take a broad perspective on the theme of family rivalry and resolution in the book of Genesis, and apply these insights to the ever-present rivalries and struggles in our contemporary lives. We will also examine Jacob’s move to Egypt to live in Goshen and the important theme of diaspora in Jewish life. Next we will study the “Ten Commandments” as found in Exodus and Deuteronomy, and explore how these ten essential ethical principals speak to our lives today. Every year, we also work with a midah, a spiritual/ethical quality that emerges from our study. We will allow that quality to emerge naturally out of our study and exploration.

Daytime Interfaith Beit Midrash

Dates: Thursday Mornings starting September 24th
Time: 10:00 am-12:00 pm
Place: Ghost Ranch on Old Taos Highway in downtown Santa Fe
Cost: $10-15 per session, paid monthly
Scholarships are available. Participation is limited to twenty students.
Contact: Rabbi Ward-Lev, 473-4248, or thelevs@q.com

The new Daytime Beit Midrash will begin with an introductory four week section, starting Thursday, September 24th. During these four weeks, participants can learn about the Beit Midrash form of study. Following the fourth session, people can choose whether or not to continue in Beit Midrash. The daytime Beit Midrash will include both Jews and people of other faiths and will be hosted by Temple Beth Shalom and Ghost Ranch in Santa Fe.

This first year our study will start at the beginning, with Genesis. We will enter into a careful study of the Genesis text, along with the accompanying Midrashim as well as traditional and contemporary commentaries. While our text study will be very focused, our conversation on the text is always eclectic and far ranging.

Please see the explanation of Beit Midrash above for a more detailed explanation.

Jewish Mindfulness Circle
Dates: Information Meeting Thursday, September 24th Time: 5:30-6:30 pm
Place: Upper Sanctuary
Cost: TBA
Contact: Rabbi Ward-Lev, 473-4248, or thelevs@q.com

We are gathering a circle of people who would like to explore the practice of mindfulness in daily living and in Jewish practice. By mindfulness, I mean the practice of attending to one’s immediate experience, the direct experience of one’s inner and outer world. I feel drawn to this work, because I am becoming ever more aware of the importance of being mindful-- as a parent, a husband, a teacher, a citizen. Mindfulness is a key to both wise action and to an enhanced sense of well being. Furthermore, mindful practice can add levels of meaning and depth to Jewish life. Mindfulness is not foreign to Jewish tradition. Along with numerous meditation practices, the 613 traditional Rabbinic mitzvoth are designed to invoke a daily mindfulness practice.

A strong mindfulness practice requires learning and practicing with communal support. My intent is to form such a community, a Jewish Mindfulness Circle. The Circle will meet twice a month to explore daily mindfulness practice and mindful Judaism. If you are interested, but cannot make the meeting please call me at 473-4248 or email the levs@q.com

Dates: Sunday Afternoons
January 10th, February 21st, March 14th and May 9th
Time: 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm
Place: Upper Sanctuary

Contact: For information call Seren Cohen at (505) 474-5240.

A series of four programs explores the “Longevity Era” - its problems and promise. We will ask: “How can we humanize our ever-increasing lifespan?”, “How can we re-claim meaning and thrive while living long?” We will seek answers together. Our teachers include professionals from the field of gerontology as well as each other. Programs combine talks and interactive groups to deepen our understanding of well-being, longevity, and adult life passages. Experiential sessions explore culturally innovative attitudes for living well at any age. Jewish sources will add wisdom about living long with justice and without ageism. We will reflect on our inner “sage” who teaches ways to say “L’Chaim” to aging in our time.

2009-10 Selections:
The theme for this year is: The Second Generation – Children of Holocaust Survivors.

Sunday, December 6: Children of the Holocaust by Helen Epstein
Sunday, February 7: Maus (Parts I and II) by Art Spiegelman
Sunday, May 2: My Germany by Lev Raphael

The discussions take place from 1-2:30 pm
Cost: members, $10 per session; non-members, $15 per session

These three works of non-fiction all deal with the profound effect the survivors’ trauma and suffering had on their children and the difficulties for the second generation of living with ghosts from the past.

Children of the Holocaust, Helen Epstein’s groundbreaking work, is considered a classic of second generation literature. Maus, Art Spiegelman’s riveting account of his father’s survival and their problematic relationship, is written in comic strip style and won a Pulitzer Prize in 1992. My Germany, Lev Raphael’s intensely personal memoir, depicts the writer’s coming to grips with his parents’ harrowing treatment by the Nazis, his acceptance of his homosexuality, and his very different experience of Germany and the German people.

All of the books are available at Amazon.com. There are several copies of Maus (Parts I and II) in the Santa Fe Public Library and the TBS Library.

Learning Hebrew is a lot more exciting and enjoyable than you think! Come join one of our on-going Hebrew classes and enhance your participation in Shabbat and holiday services. In addition, pick up some modern Hebrew expressions for that future trip to Israel. Please call Bonnie at 820-1334 to determine your level. Classes start October 18th.

*New* Beginning Hebrew: (Sundays 10-11:00 a.m):
Eight sessions to get you started on learning Hebrew.

Advanced Beginners (Mondays from noon – 1:30):
This level assumes a very basic Hebrew reading ability and some understanding of roots and vocabulary. We will continue with the textbook: Aleph Isn’t Enough.

Intermediate Plus (Sundays from 11-12:30):
For fairly fluent readers with a working knowledge of basic Hebrew grammar and vocabulary. We will begin the textbook on Genesis: Bet is for B’reishit.

Advanced (Mondays from 10-11:30): For students who read quite well and have a good level of comprhension. We will focus on the second half of the textbook on Genesis: Bet is for B’reishit

Time: Mondays, 7:30 pm to 9:30 pm
Place: Children’s Library (except December 7th, class to be held in the Social Hall)
Taught By and Contact: Steve Russell at (505) 466-3137

November 9, 2009 - A Beginner's Introduction to the basic principles and practices of Kabbalah as set out on the Tree Of Life.

December 7, 2009 - Ascending and descending the Tree Of Life to establish an interior and exterior relationship with the physical, psychological, spiritual and divine worlds. This class will be held in the Social Hall.

March 15, 2010 - An exploration of the Hokhmah Nestorah or Hidden Wisdom of Exodus 10-12 from a Kabbalistic perspective with an emphasis on the Passover.

March 22, 2010 - An exploration of the Kabbalistic symbolism contained in the celebration of Passover and the Seder.

Note: The reference text for March 15 & 22, 2010 is "Kabbalah and Exodus",
by Z'ev ben Shimon Halevi, ISBN 0-87728-687-6