Preparation for the Days of Awe 2016
Starting Tuesday, August 30, Preparation for the Days of Awe, 7:30pm – 9pm. This 5-part study series will help you work on your spiritual path. starting wiht “How to Make the Most of Elul, Our Month of Spiritual Preparation,” guided by BCC member and writer Jeff Bernhardt on August 30. Join BCC member and author Maggie Anton Parkhurst on September 6, Rabbi Heather Miller on September 13, Cantor Juval Porat on September 20 and Rabbi Lisa Edwards on September 27 for other topics in this series.
Session 1: Jeff Bernhardt
Tuesday, August 30, 2016 | 7:30pm – 9:00pm
“How to Make the Most of Elul, Our Month of Spiritual Preparation,” will be led by BCC member and writer Jeff Bernhardt.
Elul is a gift, a time during which we are called upon to reflect on our lives and our relationships as we enter the High Holidays. This session will use selections from the High Holiday liturgy to help us begin this sacred task and to set the tone for the Days of Awe and beyond. Participants are encouraged to bring writing materials (journal, paper, i-pad, etc). If you have the new Reform machzor you are encouraged to bring that as well
Session 2: Maggie Anton Parkhurst
Tuesday, September 6, 2016 | 7:30pm – 9:00pm
Various & miscellaneous Talmudic origins behind our HHD practices. How did Rosh Hashana come to be in the 7th month, not the first like one would expect. And how did the ideas of judgement and repentance, originally Zoroastrian, come into Judaism during Talmudic times? And how did the ideas of judgement and repentance, originally Zoroastrian, come into Judaism during Talmudic times, I’ll be teaching about the Talmudic origins of Avinu Malkenu, how it morphed from 2 lines in the Talmud to 44 [and more] over time and the balagan when the Reform machzor tried to revise it in a way that didn’t go with Janowski’s medody. Also about the “sexism” in the prayer and the debate in progressive Judaism of what to do about it, which should lead to our class discussing how do we feel about it
Session 3: Rabbi Heather Miller
Tuesday, September 13, 2016 | 7:30pm – 9:00pm
Join us as we explore the Yom Kippur alternative readings in the Machzor. Dive into their context and theology, and bring new meaning to this sacred service of introspection.
Session 4: Cantor Juval Porat
Tuesday, September 20, 2016 | 7:30pm – 9:00pm
You say Aleynu, I say Aleinu: Cantor Juval Porat is joined by Jeanelle LaMance on piano to explore the endless ways of accessing this ancient liturgical poem, originally exclusively utilized on Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur. Learn about Aleinu’s origin, varied interpretations and musical settings in this High Holiday preparation class in anticipation of reciting the Aleynu in its original placement during Rosh Hashana.
Session 5: Rabbi Lisa Edwards
Tuesday, September 27, 2016 | 7:30pm – 9:00pm
Inscribed and Sealed: During Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur we often hear the term, May you be written/sealed in the Book of Life.
What is the origin of the Jewish concept of a Book of Life, and what can it mean for us today?
