Calendar

Come explore the rich fabric of Judaism! Using traditional texts and modern examples, we will cover the fundamentals of Jewish life, including Shabbat and holidays, prayer, lifecycle rituals, ethics, and beliefs.

This class is ideal for learners with questions – whether you’ve never studied Judaism before in your life, you’re looking for a Hebrew School refresher, or you’re somewhere in between!
This session will be 7 sessions on Zoom and one in person session, the instructor will be in touch to confirm the date and location of your in-person session.

Dates: 8 Mondays, October 18 – December 6, 2021

Cost:
General Registration: $200
Discounted Member: $170
Interfaith Couples Workshop Alumni: $150
Did you go on Birthright or Honeymoon Israel in the past year? Send us an email to learn about special discounts for program participants.

Instructor: Rabbi JoHannah Potts
JoHanna Potts is the former director of The Department of Jewish Life and Learning at the Jewish Federation of Greater Washington. Her teaching passion is to bring enjoyment to Jewish learning with a view towards empowering individuals to create lives of meaning through Judaism. Previously, she served as Director of Education at Temples Solel and Shalom, Director of The Primary School at Washington Hebrew Congregation, and Director of the Middle School at Gesher Jewish Day School. In 2006, she served as co-chair of the Conference for Alternatives in Jewish Education at Duke University. She has been involved with the DCJCC Jewish Women’s Project and helped coordinate and lead the group’s text study activities. JoHanna currently teaches the Florence Melton School of Adult Jewish Learning, the Heritage series, a Women’s Torah Study Group, and conducts teacher training workshops.

Please contact Amanda Herring by email with any questions. Before registering, make sure you are familiar with the JLL Registration Policies.

This class is a 5-part series on Mondays from 7:00 PM – 8:00 PM
November 8 – December 6

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 Anti-Racist Children
2 Thursdays, February 3 and 10, 8:00 PM

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 to this work, rather than 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 (February 3, 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 (February 10, 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.

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

REGISTER FOR THIS WORKSHOP