Judaism 101
Congregation B’nai Israel
Little Rock, Arkansas
5775 (2014-15)
August 28
Jewish Views of God
Reading: Kertzer, Section IV, parts 1-5, 9-11
September 4
Shabbat
Reading: Syme, Chapter 2
Kertzer, Section VII, parts 1, 4
September 11
Navigating the Prayerbook
Reading: Kertzer, Section III, parts 4-8, 12
September 18
The High Holy Days: Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur
Reading: Syme, Chapters 3, 4
September 25 – No Class – Rosh Hashanah Day
October 2
The Pilgrimage Festivals: Passover, Shavuot, and Sukkot – Ellyn Polsky teaching
Reading: Syme, Chapters 5, 9, 10 and 11
October 9
Judaism and Christianity: Similarities and Differences
Reading: Kertzer, Section IX, all, section IV, parts 8, 12, and 13
October 16
Life Cycles 1: Birth and Bringing a Child into the Covenant
Reading: Syme, Chapters 13, 14, and the first part of 15 (about Pidyon Haben)
Kertzer, Section VIII, parts 1-5, Section V, part 2
October 23
Life Cycles 2: Jewish Education, Bar/Bat Mitzvah, and Confirmation
Reading: Syme, Chapter 15 (portion not previously assigned)
Kertzer, Section VIII, parts 6, 7
October 30
Life Cycles 3: Marriage (and Divorce)
Reading: Syme, Chapters 16, 17
Kertzer, Section VIII, parts 8-10; Section V, part 8 (but note that this section is dated)
November 6
Life Cycles 4: Conversion to Judaism
Reading: Kertzer, Section I, part 1; Section IV, Parts 5, 14; Section VIII, part 15
Kling, Chapter 13
November 13
Life Cycles 5: Death and Mourning
Reading: Syme, Chapter 18
Kertzer, Section VIII, parts 11-14
November 20
Life After Death
Reading: Kertzer, Section IV, part 7
November 28 – No Class - Thanksigiving
December 4
Jewish History 1: The Tanach and its Time
Reading: Kling, Chapter 8
Kertzer, Section II, parts 1-4
December 11
Jewish History 2: The Rabbinic Period and Oral Torah
Reading: Kertzer, Section I, parts 7,8; Section II, parts 5-10; Section III, all
December 18
Chanukah
Reading: Syme, Chapter 6
December 25, January 1 – No Class
January 8
Jewish History 3: Medieval Jewish History – Guest Lecturer, Prof. Phillip Spivey
Reading: Review Kling, Chapter 8
January 15
Jewish History 4: The Dawn of Modernity
Reading: Kling, Chapter 9
January 22
Jewish History 5: Holocaust – Guest Lecturer, Prof. Dorian Stuber, Ph.D.
Reading: Kertzer, Chapter V, part 12
January 29
Jewish History 6: The History of Israel I
Reading: Kling, Chapter 11
February 5
Jewish History 7: The History of Israel II
Reading: Kertzer, Section VI, parts 9-16
February 12
Jewish History 8: Jewish Life in America – Ellyn Polsky teaching
Reading: Kling, Chapter 10
Kertzer, Section I, part 13
February 19
Comparative Judaism: Reform, Conservative, Orthodox, and more
Reading: Kertzer, Section I, parts 2-5, 9, 10, and 12
Reading: Kertzer, Section II, all, Section III, parts 1-3
Bibliography
Kertzer, Morris N., What is a Jew, Revised by Rabbi Lawrence A. Hoffman, New York: MacMillan
Publishing Company, 1993.
Kling, Simcha, Embracing Judaism, New York: The Rabbinical Assembly, 1987.
Syme, Daniel B., The Jewish Home, Revised, New York: URJ Press, 2004.