Now that we have turned back to the beginning in the Torah, there is no better time to begin taking a look at traditional Jewish study. Join in or simply observe our Rashi Study: Weekday mornings, Sunday – Friday 7:30 – 8:00 a.m. Also streamed and recorded on YouTube, available any time.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtMLk4BGrEQZzGVlc2vOFiA
We examine the text of the coming week’s Torah reading using the original Hebrew text and Rashi’s commentary. It’s all screen-shared, no textbook is needed. A full oral translation is always provided and there’s ample opportunity for discussion. Rashi’s exposition often gives a novel understanding of the words in the Torah. This is pitched intentionally for the person who is just starting out a path of traditional Jewish learning.
See the Beth Ami Virtual Week for Tuesday Mishnah class, Wednesday evening Midrash, and Thursday Tanach discussion. The description of all the classes is below.
1. Rashi Study: Weekday mornings, Sunday – Friday 7:30 – 8:00 a.m. Also streamed on Facebook and recorded on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtMLk4BGrEQZzGVlc2vOFiA
We examine the text of the coming week’s Torah reading using the original Hebrew text and Rashi’s commentary. A full oral translation is always provided and there’s ample opportunity for discussion. Rashi’s exposition often gives a novel understanding of the words in the Torah. This is “pitched” intentionally for the person who is just starting out a path of traditional Jewish learning.
2. Weekday Minyanim: We are fortunate to be able to host a “minyan” at least once a day. We try to make it possible for those saying “Kaddish” to recite it. There are a number of our members who have suffered recent losses and are committed to recited Kaddish in their loved-ones memory. Yahrtzeit at a daily Minyan
El Maleh Rachamim will be recited at the daily minyan service when a mourner is present. There is no requirement that 10 people be present to recite this. This prayer is directed to the deceased, asking God to grant peace to the soul of the deceased.
Mornings: Sundays – Friday 8:00 a.m. (Average time is about an hour. Times can vary depending on the “menu” for the day which can include a Torah Reading, Hallel, Musaph, Tachanun (prayers of supplication)
Afternoon – Evening: Currently Sunday through Thursday evenings 7:00 – 7:45 p.m. with daylight savings time. We are fortunate that Lisa Iskin has been providing music for many of our services.
3. Mishnah Class Tuesday afternoon at 2:00 p.m. Discover the Oral Torah. Tradition has it that Moses was given two Torahs: one written: that is, the words in the Scroll of the Torah, and the other oral: passed down by word of mouth through the generations until the year 200 of our current era. At the time, the Romans, who occupied the land of Judea, forbad the study of Torah on pain of death.
Extreme situations called for extreme measures. Rabbi Judah haNasi, the leader of the community at the time, took the revolutionary step of committing what had always been kept strictly oral and committed it to writing. In this way he and the leaders of the people hoped to prevent the Oral Torah from being entirely forgotten. The result: the Mishna exists even today!
4. Midrash Class Wednesday evenings at 8:00 p.m. This is a unusual analysis of the text of the Torah. Every significant word is analyzed thorough a lively discussion on the page. Disagreements are frequent between these scholars. The result: we all turn out a little wiser with a depth of understanding that is a source of joy; sometimes even a smile.
5. TaNaCH class: Thursdays, 2:00 p.m. We read through the text in English and pause to take questions and comments. There’s usually a lively discussion. We have just started the Second Book of Kings. As you might imagine, there’s plenty of intrigue and political struggle as we read about wise and poor leadership.
