Adult Jewish Education News
September 2016
According to Jewish tradition this time of the year (the month of Elul) is when we search our hearts and go deeper inward. During this month a Shofar (a hollowed out ram’s horn) is blown in the mornings as a wake-up call to all of us. Its piercing sound is a call for teshuvah (repentance) and forgiveness.
In Judaism, the acts of repentance and forgiveness are linked, and we are asked to never let our anger toward others cause us to lose sight of self-reflection and cleansing. We set aside this time of the year and the holidays of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur as a time to look at our own behavior and to come face to face with the concept of forgiveness, a demanding and ultimately, spiritually fulfilling obligation.
Forgiveness fulfills distinct roles, one symbolic and the other personal. The symbolic aspect of forgiveness is that it enables the wrongdoer to achieve atonement for his act. Jewish belief states that God doesn't forgive our sins against others until we ask and receive forgiveness directly from the person we wronged. In "The Power of Forgiveness,” Elie Wiesel discuses that view as a holocaust survivor. The German government, in response to his request, did indeed issue a formal apology at the Knesset in Israel for its involvement in the Holocaust. At the same time, Wiesel looks at pictures of the murdered children and questions whether he can, in fact, forgive the acts that took so many lives and destroyed so many families.
Please click on image to play an unbelievable presentation of Hatikvah by German Nazi descendants
For many, the personal act of forgiveness is more difficult. Its purpose is to enable people to put a hurtful incident behind them and to restore a meaningful and compatible relationship; for the wronged party to wipe the slate clean of negative feelings and let go. We are asked to try to rise above anger and to help dissolve it by believing in the beauty and goodness of this world and the people in it, even when it takes all the power of our imagination.
I hope that in this Jewish New Year, all of us, regardless of our own faith or tradition, will give ourselves the gift of taking time for cheshbon ha-nefesh, for the accounting of our own souls, giving us the time to learn something new and engage with our community.
As always, I wish to see many of you at our classes and lectures. Please see the many learning opportunities below. We are privileged to have Professor Eli Berman, a renowned global terror conflict expert speak on ISIS and radical organizations on Wednesday, September 28, 2016. Click here for more information.
May we recognize and be grateful for the generosity and goodness around us, be honest with ourselves about those qualities that we need to improve and may we seek, every day, to do so in the year ahead.
Shanah Tovah,
Ilana
Economics of Terrorism: Lessons for Confronting ISIS
9/28/2016
7:00 pm
Lecturer: Professor Eli Berman,
Chair, Department of Economics, UCSD
Lawrence Family JCC
JACOBS FAMILY CAMPUS
4126 Executive Drive
La Jolla, CA 92037
With ISIS in the headlines following attacks nationally and abroad, the world is on heightened guard. We turn to our renowned global conflict expert Professor Eli Berman, to make sense of ISIS' logic and evaluate the threat level here in the U.S.
Professor Berman is the Chair of the Department of Economics at UC San Diego and holds a dual appointment at the UCSD School of Global Policy and Strategy (GPS).
Click Here for a Short Video of Professor Berman on KPBS
Box Office: 858-362-1348
Election 2016: What's at Stake?
10/26/2016
7:00 pm
Lecturer: Professor Sanford Lakoff
Lawrence Family JCC
JACOBS FAMILY CAMPUS
4126 Executive Drive
La Jolla, CA 92037
Although American elections usually turn on domestic issues, this one raises important questions for foreign policy, which is mainly the preserve of the Executive Branch. Another Democratic administration would most likely continue the globalist policies of the Obama administration in trade, human rights, and climate change, but with a stronger emphasis on reforming immigration policy and combating terrorism and regional instability. A Trump presidency may move us away from the status quo, including our relationships with America's allies in Europe and Asia, treaty-based trade relations, and immigration. Come hear Professor Lakoff's analysis just weeks before the election.
Box Office: 858-362-1348
The Florence Melton School of Adult Jewish Learning, a project of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Starting 9/22, this 25-week course is an innovative concept for Jewish learners from all backgrounds, aimed at enabling Jewish adults to learn seriously about our heritage and culture in a challenging and inspiring course of study.
Click Here to Read More about Melton
To Register or for More Information: Katey Lindley 858-362-1134
