Join the Jewish Life & Learning Department and the Morris Cafritz Center for Social Responsibility for a four-part class series addressing Hot Topics in Jewish Thought.

Dive deep into ancient, mid-century, and modern Jewish texts as your learning cohort tackles a new social justice topic each week in December from housing rights, to reproductive justice, food equity, and climate justice. Go beyond the typical talking points and standard text study to grapple with how Jewish tradition has approached these relevant topics throughout time. Bring your critical thoughts, opinions, questions, and passion for each topic. Each session will include ways for participants to get involved with organizations doing important work on the ground both in our local DC community and beyond.

Class dates: December 9, 16, 23, and 30 from 7:00 – 8:30 PM EST.

Tuition for this session of classes is $80 per student. Each person must register individually, including those in the same household, to ensure the correct class size. This helps us maintain a level of in-class participation and intimacy, and enables us to pay our instructors equitably for each student. The EDCJCC reserves the right to cancel classes that do not have the minimum required number of students in order to proceed. We can refund tuition up to one week prior to the class starting. Tuition for classes that have already started is not refundable.

If you have any questions please contact Amanda Herring at aherring@edcjcc.org.

About the teacher: Rabbi Miriam Liebman is a graduate of the rabbinical school at the Jewish Theological Seminary. She served as the Senior Jewish Educator at the University of Maryland Hillel as well as the Rabbinic Intern at the NYU Bronfman Center for Jewish Student Life. Miriam spent a summer with Kulanu as a Global Teaching Fellow where she worked with the Jewish community of Uganda. She was previously an Avodah: the Jewish Service Corps member in New Orleans, where she worked as an Outreach Assistant at the Greater New Orleans Fair Housing Action Center. She has also worked as a community organizer with low-income tenants and faith-based communities in Detroit. A native Detroiter, she graduated from the University of Michigan where she earned a BA in Middle East and North African Studies and spent a semester at the American University in Cairo, Egypt.

Many parents today are terrified of the toilet training process, having heard horror stories from friends about the power struggles and stress they encountered. This workshop will address ways to approach potty learning in a way that is developmentally appropriate, respectful to the child’s growing need to feel in control of his or her body and which frees parents from unnecessary stress and anxiety. The workshop will also address ways to manage typical challenges that arise during the process.

Join the Manager of Jewish Life & Learning, Amanda Herring, to learn about each month of the Hebrew calendar on Rosh Chodesh, the first day of the new month.

During this unprecedented time when our regular schedules and ways of marking time have been disrupted, it is more important than ever to be in touch with the calendar and its wisdom. Dive into the themes of each lunar month, learn how they helped our ancestors track time agriculturally, and keep hold of important events in the Jewish people’s history.

We will take time to relate the month’s themes to our own lives in small groups, focusing on individual wellness during this stressful time. Participants will leave with tools to tackle the month ahead with purpose and the ability to plan for what’s to come.

Tuesday, December 15, Tevet

This class is a 5-part series on Wednesdays from 7:00 PM – 8:00 PM
January 6 – February 3 

What does Judaism actually say about God? What happens if we don’t believe in God, or if we question the kind of God whom we might meet in the Bible?  Does Judaism require a belief in God the way other religions do?  Join this five-session deep-dive into Jewish theology, belief, and struggles with God, and with what God represents.  We will explore God-texts from the biblical layer, to the Talmudic and Midrashic layers, Kabbalah, Hasidism, and beyond.  We will also compare the “Jewish God” to the “Christian God” and to the ways that Divinity appears in other religious streams. No previous background in Jewish text-study or Hebrew is required, but come prepared to discuss, to respectfully argue, and wrestle with God–in our time-honored Jewish way!

Cost: $118
$25 discount for EDCJCC members and members of Kol Shalom synagogue 

Taught by Rabbi Gil Steinlauf:  Rabbi Gil Steinlauf is a nationally recognized spiritual leader who innovatively combines bold vision and grounded wisdom to steward and evolve communities and organizations. Rabbi Steinlauf is currently the director of the Hineni Institute for LGBTQ Jewish Leadership in Washington, D.C. and is the Rabbi at Kol Shalom in Rockville, MD. He joined Adas Israel Congregation as senior rabbi in 2008 and currently serves as Senior Rabbinic Advisor. He is also the co-creator of the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism’s “Innovation Labs” for synagogue renewal. Rabbi Steinlauf is widely respected for his success in re-envisioning the nature of Adas Israel, the largest and oldest Conservative synagogue in Washington, DC, and has pioneered a national paradigm shift that lifts up innovative modes of study and exploration of meaning as central in synagogue and organizational life. 

Raising children to build a just world is a life-long process, as well as a difficult challenge for parents to navigate. Join us for a two-part series with expert educator Dr. Nabina Liebow, who will take us through the learning and practical steps necessary to raise anti-racist children and help us create a cohort of race conscious parents in our community.

This workshop is designed for anyone who wants to understand how white supremacy and white privilege affect all parts of our lives and how to bring these ideas into conversation and action in parenting. It is meant as a beginning, and not to be comprehensive or all-encompassing.

Although we understand that life is unpredictable, we request that you commit to both Part 1 and Part 2 of this workshop in order to honor the learning process and receive the full benefit of this workshop. Attendance will be capped in order to create an intimate cohort of parents.

Part 1 (January 7, 8:00-9:30 PM): Discussing race and racism with your children is a vital part of antiracist and race conscious parenting. But some people might feel a little rusty on the basics! In the first part of the workshop, Dr. Liebow will give a “Crash Course in Racial Literacy” to provide an important framework and context for race conscious parenting. This session will go over the basics of anti-racist thought and ideology, as well as challenge participants to explore their own biases and thought processes before they are able to address these ideas with their children. By the end of this session, participants will gain a deeper understanding of race, white supremacy, white privilege, and antiracism.

Part 2 (January 14, 8:00-9:30 PM): In the second part of the workshop, parents will learn strategies for helping their child develop an antiracist consciousness and how to apply concepts learned in the first session to raising their children.

Part 3 (optional): As follow-up to Dr. Liebow’s sessions, we are offering a monthly 1-hour meeting for parents who have participated in this workshop to come together and follow up with each other, insure accountability, share thoughts and resources, and continue the work of anti-racist parenting. This monthly meeting will be facilitated by Sonya Weisburd, MSW, EDCJCC’s Director of Social Justice and Volunteer Programs.

This program is brought to you by the Edlavitch DCJCC Parenting Center and Morris Cafritz Center for Social Responsibility