Rosh Hashanah 2011/5772
A Difficult Journey: Depression and the Family
Depression directly affects 20 per cent of the population at some point. Therefore, depression hurts people we know, are related to, and care about. We will discuss the effect of depression on the individual and those who are close. Join us to share and learn.
Discussion leaders: Carol Goldbaum and Kathy Rose, JRC’s Reggi Marder Memorial Task Force
Speakers from the West Bank and Israel
The JRC Peace Dialogue has invited several guest speakers from the West Bank and Israel to share with us their personal experiences as inhabitants of these countries, living under the occupation. Attendees of this discussion group are encouraged to join the conversation, to listen to our guests, hear their stories.....and leave all personal politics at the door.
Discussion leaders: Members of JRC’s Peace Dialogue.
New Year’s Resolutions
New Years’ resolutions are as American as apple pie. But are they Jewish? Discuss what spin Jews apply to such pledges-to-ourselves, what has helped you keep resolutions in the past, what experts say about making and fulfilling resolutions, and share the resolutions you plan to keep in the year to come.
Discussion leader: Adrienne Lieberman
Yom Kippur 2011/5772
A Chosen People in a Pluralist Nation
Rabbi Mordecai M. Kaplan wrote: "If one's people is God's chosen, then its interests must surely take precedence over those of any secular nation." The critical issue is, how could American Jews reconcile chosenness with the spirit of toleration at the foundation of American ideals? How did Kaplan answer this important question? And, what are its continuing implications for Jews in the United States and around the world?
Discussion leader: Daniel Greene
A Contemplative Look at Yom Kippur and Sukkot
Together we will discuss the intersection between personal spiritual practice and communal Jewish holiday observance and how they can (and do) enhance each other.
We will talk about culturally popular techniques such as yoga, meditation, tai chi, drumming, chanting; experience some techniques; discuss what works for us and whether we would like to be doing more of it with each other at JRC.
Discussion leader: Carole Caplan
Creating a Legacy from One Generation to Another: L’dor V’dor
Is social action part of your legacy for your grandchildren? From Pat the Bunny to Peace Now….How do we empower our grandchildren to improve our world? From Tots to Teens, how do we share our values here and across the miles? Join us to discuss our own social action life histories, grandparenting in all kinds of families, and ways of developing activities together which create lifelong memories for our grandchildren.
Discussion leader: Bryna Cytrynbaum
Greening Our Community - How to do it Joyfully
When we hear about the need to "go green," we may think to ourselves: another mitzvah. We invite you to a conversation about how to "go green" as a community and as individuals - to find the joy in "going green" while truly living our Jewish values.
Discussion leader: Elliot Zashin, JRC’s Environmental Task Force
JRC Book Discussion: Hare with Amber Eyes: A Hidden Inheritance
Author Edmund de Waal follows the wealthy Jewish Ephrussi family through the decades from commercial Odessa to the Paris of the Impressionists, to Vienna in 1938 and a familial diaspora over three continents. Parallel to this, the author describes his own journey to reclaim the lives of his forbears, imagining his way there through archives, letters and contemporary fiction. De Waal manages to write an elegant history of people, the places they inhabited, and the things they loved and touched.
Discussion leaders: Jill Berkeley Goldman and Leslie Rosen
The Gates of Repentance Close in 4 Hours: What Have We Done to Prepare: What Will We Do Now?
A walk through what repentence has meant to us at High Holidays past and present.
Discussion leader: Boris Furman