Come spend Shabbat learning, davening, eating and singing together with your Beth Sholom family. Choose from approximately 25 different learning sessions, all taught by Beth Sholom members and friends. This year’s overall theme will be “Building Community.” The Shabbaton also includes performances by Tavim, Tzipporei Shalom and the Russian Club Choir.
** Registration for the Shabbaton is now closed. For information, contact the synagogue office at (201) 833-2620 or click here **
Click here to download a copy of the Shabbaton Brochure.
Shabbaton 2010 Program Schedule
Friday, January 29
5 p.m.: Kabbalat Shabbat
6 p.m.: Dinner/Russian Chorus
7:30 p.m.: SESSION ALEPH
9 p.m.: Oneg Shabbat/Tisch
Saturday, January 30
9 a.m.: Shaharit/End of Services – Tzipporei Shalom
Noon: Lunch – with performance by Tavim
1:30 p.m.: Minhah
2 p.m.: SESSION BET
3:30 p.m.: Dessert
4 p.m.: SESSION GIMMEL
5:45 p.m.: Ma’ariv and Havdalah – Shavua Tov!
Volunteers
The success of Congregation Beth Sholom’s Shabbaton is due to the active participation of members in all activities. Please circle a time on the registration form below when you can volunteer. Thanks.
Shabbaton 2010 Program Schedule
Session Aleph | Friday, Jan. 29 | 7:30 – 9 p.m.
A. Ketem Shel Sheket | Ofra Backenroth
We will study Yossl Kirstein’s story, Ketem Shel Sheket (Edge of Tranquility).
This session will be conducted in Hebrew.
B. Community and the Individual: The Potential Contribution of the Visual Arts
Reuben M. Baron & Joan Boykoff Baron
Can art contribute to our understanding of the relationship between the individual and the collective?
Can art mediate the operation of individual and collective memory? Can art foster Tikkun Olam? We will look
at the work of several contemporary artists to help answer these and related questions.
C. Issues of Communication Between Parents and Their Children with Interfaith Partners
Stuart Kaplan and Howard Schreiber
Keruv is a program to bring interfaith couples closer to Judaism. Howard Schreiber is a consultant from the
Federation of Jewish Men’s Club’s Keruv program.
E. The Future of the Federations: A Panel Discussion
The Jewish federations and UJA, the classic Jewish fundraising institutions of the 20th century, have been
challenged by competition and demographics. How is the movement adapting to a new generation?
F. Efraim Sevela and his Works | Russian Jewish Club
Members of the Russian Club will discuss works by the Jewish writer Efraim Sevela. American writer Lucas
Longo says: “Among us appears a new magnificent writer. Efrain Sevela achieves the summits of Jewish
comedy.” This session will be conducted in Russian.
G. The Soft Middle, the Triumphant Right, and the Emergent Left | Andrew Silow-Carroll
The three major trends that make sense of a fast-changing American Jewish world. Andrew Silow-Carroll is the
editor in chief of the New Jersey Jewish News.
H. What It Takes to Lead a Jewish Community | Benjamin Sommer
A close reading of Numbers 11 and related texts. Is Moses the ideal prophet? What sort of political leader is
he? What sort of man is he on a personal level? What are biblical attitudes towards political leadership?
CH-A. Shabbat Shenanigans (Grades 3-6) | TBD
Come hear some stories, specially selected for our Shabbaton!
Session Bet | Saturday, Jan. 30 | 2-3:30 p.m.
CH-1. Shabbat Fun for kids (ages 2-4) | Dori Resnick
CH-2. Circle of Friends (Grades K-1) | Hillary Kessler-Godin
An afternoon of Shabbat games, stories and friendship activities.
CH-3. Building Blocks of Community (Grades 2-4) | Ilana Picker
Come along with our group as we work together to find friends, create connections, and build weird and
wonderful structures.
CH-4. Lunch ‘n Layn (Grade 5) | Adina Avery-Grossman and Ronit Hanan
CH-5. Wii vs. We (Grades 6-8) | Rabbi Scott Bolton
Are iPods, video games, texting, and youTube any way to create community? Come with your arguments,
and make your case. We’ll have a great debate about adult ideas and kids’ ideas of what it means to be
together.
I. Mystical Prayer in Kabbalah and Hasidism | Eitan Fishbane
What do kabbalists think about when they pray? How have Hasidic masters understood the meaning of
devotion? In this session we will study mystical reflections on contemplative practice and kavvanah with an
eye to the nature of mystical experience and meditation.
J. Kavanah and Emunah: The Sofer as Shaliah for the Community | Jay Greenspan
The community relies upon the integrity of the sofer for items central, vital, essential, and fundamental to
Jewish life. We’ll discuss the challenge of ensuring that integrity, as well as the required technical skills.
K. Schools, Shuls and Pools - Options in Jewish Education: A Panel Discussion
Is there a “best” place to educate Jewish kids? Our panelists will discuss the tradeoffs and advantages of
formal and informal settings, and the role of a synagogue.
L. Tzorchei Tzibbur: Community Responsibility (Grades 9-12) | A Panel of High Schoolers
An open discussion for high school students about responsibilities and opportunities to build communities,
both locally and globally.
M. Magen Tzedek: A Community’s Aspirations | Rabbi Mayer Rabinowitz
The Magen Tzedek seeks to certify compliance with Jewish ideals of social justice, including labor concerns,
animal welfare, environmental impact, consumer issues and corporate integrity. Come hear about this
groundbreaking idea, and the steps being taken to bring it to fruition.
N. The Karaite Community - a Model for Sectarian Judaism | Ilana Sasson
Who were the Karaites, when and where did they appear, what did they believe in, who were their sages and
scholars, and where are they today?
O. From Temple to Living Synagogue: The Spirituality of a Green Community
Rabbi Lawrence Troster
The architecture and furnishings of a synagogue are symbolic references to an ancient cosmology and
theology. This presentation will explore how new ecological perspectives on the universe might be reflected
in our communities’ physical spaces and programs. Rabbi Troster is the director of the Fellowship Program
at GreenFaith.
P. How to Build Community through Israel Advocacy | Amy Winn-Dworkin
Come learn about why and how one person or one community can make a difference and hear the latest about
the status of the U.S.-Israel relationship.
Session Gimmel | Saturday, Jan. 30 | 4-5:30 p.m.
D. Giyur (Conversion): Past, Present, and Future | Rabbi Gary Karlin
This session will look at background texts and discuss conversion: What has it been in the past? What has it
become in the contemporary Jewish world? And what it should be in our future?
Q. Where is Obama Trying to Lead Israel and the Middle East? | Stephen Cohen
President Obama began his involvement in Middle East affairs by flying to Cairo and delivering a major
address to the Muslim people. Fulfilling that vision - given Netanyahu, Hamas, and Iran - has so far proved
beyond Obama’s grasp.
R. Yahid ve-Rabim: Rabbinic Approaches to Resolving Conflicts between the Individual and the Community
Rabbi Eliezer Diamond
Community is one of the most significant values in Judaism. That value has always lived in tension with the
desires and needs of the individual. We will look at some cases where the priorities of the one and the many
clash, observe how these conflicts are resolved by the rabbis, and think out loud about what we can learn from
them about addressing similar conflicts in our own Jewish communities.
S. Is New Jersey Politics Good for the Jews? | Ben Dworkin
What role does the Jewish community play in New Jersey political life? Why be active at all, especially if the
system seems so dysfunctional and corrupt? This session will explore these and related issues by weaving
together political trends in Teaneck, the state, and the nation.
T. One People, One Book - An Introduction | Sue Marcus and others
We will discuss the literary, artistic and historical dimensions of this year’s choice, People of the Book:
A Novel, by Geraldine Brooks.
U. God, Prayer and Healing: A Psycho-Spiritual Approach | Sam Menahem
This workshop will explore a developmental approach to the God Concept as it relates to prayer and healing.
Four concepts of God will be explored as well as four types of prayer. A psychological-spiritual model of the
universe will be presented as it pertains to healing from all maladies. Demonstration and practical
explanations will be presented.
