Adult Education

Temple Emeth’s Adult Education program provides an abundance of opportunities to give our hearts to learning.

There is no charge for Temple Emeth members to participate in any of our programs (except those that provide meals, or are trips). Some courses may require books and/or other materials, for which there may be a charge. There is a fee for non-members of Temple Emeth, based on the specific program, plus book or material costs.

For more information, contact adulteducation@emeth.org or the Temple office at 201-833-1322.

Ongoing Programs

Lunch and Learn is a weekly conversation on ideas that challenge us to think deeply. This year, our textbook will be Tikkun Ha'Am: Israel and the Crisis of Liberal Judaism, by Rabbi Jeffrey K. Salkin. The book's message: The role of religion is to challenge us as individuals and to challenge society. The author invites readers to think deeply about the contemporary world, showing that Judaism has a stake in our world’s political, religious, and cultural battles. Copies of the book are available for purchase in the Temple office; it is also available as an e-book. Every six weeks or so, we set our books aside and discuss a topic from current events. You bring your lunch, and we provide the learning…and the coffee.

Lunch and Learn is held in the Library, as well as on Zoom for those who wish to participate virtually. To participate via Zoom, see the weekly email for a link, or contact the Temple office for the meeting ID and password.

Because of the when the High Holy Days fall this year, we will have our first three classes before the holidays.

September 11: During our first class, we will check in on everyone’s summer, sell books to those who need them, and use last year’s book, Prophetic Voices, one more time. Please bring your copy of Prophetic Voices, and prepare by reading the Haftarah for Ki Teitzei, Isaiah 54:1-10, and the section in the book on pages 315-318.

September 18:  We will have a current events discussion on a topic we determine on September 11.

September 25: Temple member Sara Halman will lead this week’s session. Her topic will be the poetry of Mishkan HaNefesh. Poetry and prayer have the power to comfort and inspire us. Sara will lead a discussion of selected poems to illuminate our understanding of our journey during the High Holy Days. We will explore these extraordinary poems interspersed in the prayer book, giving the background of the poets. We will share our thoughts and emotions through the chosen poems. Together, in the words of Derek Walcott on page 667 of Mishkan HaNefesh (silver volume), we will “feast on your life.”

After these three September classes, we will take a break for the fall holidays, resuming on October 23 when our topic will be the introduction of Tikkun Ha’Am on pages 9-29.

Shabbat Morning Torah Study

Mini-University 2024-25
Stories from a Jewish Perspective
Tuesdays, October 29, November 12, 19, 26, December 3, from 7:45 tp 8:45 p.m.
This popular course is taught by participants on a rotating basis, giving us an array of authors and genres and a variety of teaching styles. Yet each class has something in common—a group of people who love the written word and Jewish ideas. Come join the conversation. Teach a class is not a requirement of attendance. The class will be offered in person and online. This semester, all stories will be selected from Joan Leegant's new and highly acclaimed collection, Displaced Persons.

Stories from a Jewish Perspective
Tuesdays,  January 21, 28, February 4, 11 (make-up date), from 7:45 to 8:45 p.m.
Author Dara Horn took a break from novels to write a groundbreaking 2021 book about the differences between how the world sees Jews and how we see ourselves. People Love Dead Jews is a work about antisemitism, and about history, culture, and ritual. We will focus on one chapter of the book in each of our three sessions, leaving plenty of time for an ongoing discussion.

Movies That Mattered

Tuesday, September 24, 2024 at 7:30 p.m.
This American biographical comedy-drama was adapated from the novel of the same name by Jonathan Safran Foer and was the debut film of Liev Schreiber both as a director and as a screenwriter. It is about a young American Jew who goes on a quest to Ukraine to find the woman who saved his grandfather, Safron Foer, during the Holocaust. It stars Elijah Wood as Jonathan and Eugene Hutz as Alex, his English-speaking guide obsessed with American pop culture.

Tuesday, December 17, 2024 at 7:30 p.m.
Diner is a 1982 comedy/drama by Barry Levinson, part of the Baltimore Trilogy, which is set in the director’s hometown. The movie follows a close-knit circle of friends who reunite at a Baltimore diner when one of them prepares to get married. The cast includes Kevin Bacon, Mickey Rourke, Tim Daly, Steve Guttenberg, Paul Reiser, and Ellen Barkin.

Tuesday, January 14, 2025 at 7:30 p.m.
Europa Europa is a 1990 historical war drama based on a true story about a Jewish boy, separated from his family during WWII. Posing as a German orphan, he is taken into the heart of the Nazi world as a war hero and eventually made a Hitler Youth. The movie is based on the 1989 autobiography of Solomon Perel, who briefly appears as himself in the film's finale. The title refers to WWII's division of continental Europe, resulting in a constant shift of allegiances, identities, and front lines.

Saturday, February 22, 2025 at 6:00 p.m.
Steven Spielberg's 2005 movie, Munich, is about the Mossad assassinations following the massacre of Israeli athletes at the 1972 Olympics. The movie tells the store of the five men chosen to eliminate the people responsible for that fateful day. Written by Tony Kushner, Eric Roth, and George Jonas, the film stars Eric Bana, Daniel Craig, and Marie-Josée Croze.

Yiddish Lessons

Mondays, September: 16, 23, 30; October: 7, 14, 21, 28; November: 4, 18, 25, 2024
January: 6, 13, 20, 27; February 3, 10, 24, 2025
10:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
Mameloshen: Temple Emeth's Yiddish Class is a unique opportunity to cultivate your knowledge of Yiddish. The class, led by David Braun, meets on Monday mornings in our hybrid mode (in our Library and on Zoom). It focuses on conversation using multimedia, gezang (songs), written, as well as oral stories, and a variety of other materials. Be part of a worldwide resurgence to make certain Yiddish continues to be alive and well! There is a small fee for all students.