*Please also check our Weekly Mail and Monthly Bulletin for the latest on Adult Ed classes we are offering and for registration details.
We invite you to experience Judaism on a new level. You can take a year-long course or a single class, come to a three-session series or attend a once-a-month discussion group. Classes, lectures, concerts, and tours are all opportunities to deepen your connection to Judaism. We offer classes at all levels of learning. You are welcome to participate in any course or event whatevver your prior Jewish educational background. Our clergy, teachers, and guest speakers are dedicated to helping you develop and strengthen your relationship to Judaism.
Read about and register for our classes below!
Beginning Conversational Hebrew
Instructor: Orly Farhi-Haley
Beginning October 10 at 6:30 pm for 6 weeks (October 10, 17, 24, 31, November 7, 14)
In Person. No previous knowledge of Hebrew required.
Our Israeli method of teaching is for all Hebrew language skills: speaking, comprehension, reading, and writing.
Cost: $75 Members, $100 Non-Members
Ready to register? Sign up here.
The World’s First Murder: A Closer Look at Cain and Abel
Instructor: Rabbi Alder
Thursdays, beginning October 12 at 6:30 pm for 3 weeks (October 12, 19, 26) in Person.
Cain and Abel, children of Adam and Eve, each bring offerings to God. God expresses pleasure with the offering brought by Abel, but not with the one brought by his older brother Cain. Cain becomes very upset. Shortly thereafter, he kills his brother, Abel. Let’s discuss. And yes, why does God have to reject one and accept the other?
Ready to register? Sign up here.
Numismatic Exploration of Ancient Judea... Coins!
Monday, October 16, 7:00 pm on Zoom
Instructor: David Hendin, First Vice President and Honorary Curator of The American Numismatic Society
A visual tour of the coins of the Second Temple Period, beginning in the Persian Period and Ending with the defeat of Bar Kokhba in 135 AD.
David Hendin is first vice president and honorary curator at the American Numismatic Society. He is author of Guide to Biblical Coins, 6th Edition, and 16 other books.
Ready to register? Sign up here.
Bad Girls of the Bible
Mondays, November 6, 13, 20 and 27 at 7:00 pm on Zoom
Instructor: Rabbi Jessica Lenza
Explore the rich history of the female countercultural pioneers in our sacred texts. Wielding whatever power they could muster despite the patriarchy of the Bible, our female ancestors boldly and cleverly flouted taboos — sometimes earning praise from the Rabbis, other times being excoriated. Learn about these rebel ladies who dared to defy the status quo and how bad girls can inspire us to be good.
Rabbi Jessica Lenza, also known as the Rebel Rabbi, brings her signature irreverent style to everything she does. Her path to the rabbinate included studying at schools like Pardes, HUC-JIR’s School of Sacred Music, and Leo Baeck College in London. It was from the Rabbinical School at Hebrew Union College that she received her ordination and earned an MA in Jewish studies. Rabbi Lenza has also completed training as a yoga teacher, a maven and a mikveh guide, seamlessly integrating all of these unique and diverse experiences into her rabbinate. In New York City, she has served communities like the Manhattan JCC, Temple Shaaray Tefila, the Village Temple, and Congregation B’nai Jeshurun. As a freelance rabbi, she brings unique Jewish experiences to families worldwide. She lives in Manhattan with her pleasantly plump cat, Dolci.
Ready to register? Sign up here.
Harmoni-AH! – The Brotherhood Synagogue Congregational Choir
with Cantor Isaac Yager and Meredeth Kelly
Tuesdays, September 5 - December 12 , 6:00-7:30pm in Person
Jewish music offers a rich selection of choral music that can greatly enhance our spiritual experience. After strengthening our group sound through listening and vocal exercises, the choir will begin to tap into some of this music in a manner that is accessible for participants with advanced or no musical background. The choir will also have opportunities to perform this music for the community throughout the year, performance dates TBD. Our congregational choir is open to everyone at all levels of experience.
Please email Cantor Yager directly if you are interested in newly participating. You can also sign up here.
Lunch & Learn with Cantor Isaac Yager
Thursdays, beginning October 26, 11:15 am to 12:15 pm in Person and on Zoom
Join us for lunch on Thursdays as we discuss, learn, and engage in Jewish textual study, specifically the Parashat Hashavuah (weekly Torah reading). Following in the footsteps of the generations that preceded us, we will continue the long legacy of commenting and intellectually dissecting Jewish texts from the Torah, the book of Prophets, and other holy texts. Questions will be encouraged and debate is inevitable. This will be an inclusive, non judgmental learning environment where everyone's voice will have equal value. No prior text study is required. All are welcome to attend and participate.
Conversion Class with Cantor Isaac Yager
Wednesdays, beginning October 25, 6:30 - 7:30 pm in Person
“For wherever you go, I will go; wherever you lodge, I will lodge; your people shall be my people, and your God my God.”
Book of Ruth, Chapter 1
In the spirit in which Ruth was welcomed into the Jewish community, Brotherhood Synagogue offers conversion classes to those interested in joining the Jewish faith. Classes run from October through June and meet on Wednesdays from 6:30-7:30 in person at the synagogue. Our first class date will be TBD. Admission to the class is accepted on a rolling basis based on the individual, all experience levels with Judaism are welcome to inquire. Conversion classes are provided at no cost, though participants are requested to make a donation to Brotherhood Synagogue in an amount of their choosing at the end of the conversion process. Please contact Cantor Yager or Rabbi Alder if you are interested in the program.