Scholar Stream is once again offering NCJC congregants a wide variety of courses at no cost. The first 2 series of courses are as follows:

Series 1: Elul: A Journey Toward Repentance 

Wednesdays (Aug. 31st - Sep. 21st)

Please note that the first two lectures in this series take place at 12 PM ET / 9 AM PT / 7 PM Israel Time, and the last two lectures take place at 8 PM ET / 5 PM PT.

• Aug. 31st (12 PM ET) - Questioning the Unquestionable God: A Heart to Heart Mono/Dialogue with God
• Sep. 7th (12 PM ET) - Was Adam the First Ba’al Teshuvah (repentant sinner)? From the Apocrypha to the Midrash 
• Sep. 14th (8 PM ET) - The Light of Repentance: Horned Altars, Glittering Priests, and Illuminated Souls
• Sep. 21st (8 PM ET) - Sin and Repentance in Judaism and Christianity: It All Depends on How You Understand Human Beings in the First Place 

Series 2: What's Your Burning Question?

Wednesdays, 8 PM ET / 5 PM PT (Oct. 26th - Nov. 16th) 

• Oct. 26th - Why Study Talmud?
• Nov. 2nd - Why Shouldn't We Give Up On Synagogue Schools?
• Nov. 9th - TITLE TBD
• Nov. 16th - Changing Times: How Do We Know When to Change or When to Stay the Course?

To register, click here.

Use coupon code: NewCity5783. (case sensitive)

All courses (there are 7 series in all) may be found on line here.

After Kiddush Book Club

The next After Kiddush Book Club will be held September 10th:

Based on the true story of a forgotten hero, Beneath a Scarlet Sky is the triumphant, epic tale of one young man’s incredible courage and resilience during one of history’s darkest hours. Italian young man Pino joins an underground railroad helping Jews escape over the Alps, and falls for Anna, a beautiful widow six years his senior. By enlisting in the German army, he has the opportunity to spy for the Allies inside the German High Command. Pino endures the horrors of the war and the Nazi occupation by fighting in secret, his courage bolstered by his love for Anna and for the life he dreams they will one day share. A riveting saga of history, suspense, and love.

Selichot - September 17, 2022

Below you will find an advanced copy of the promotional flyer for this year’s Selichot's program which will begin with an in person collation (Horray) at 9 PM in the Social Hall. It will be followed at 10 PM by an interview with Jonathan Ornstein the Executive Director of the JCC in Krakow Poland and a musical Selichot service at approximately 11 PM led by Rabbi Berkman and Cantor Josh Ehrlich.

Please make every attempt to join this year’s program and service in person sponsored by the Merle and Byron Zabusky Memorial Fund in their memories Z”L.

The U.S. and the Holocaust

"I will not work on a more important film,” says Ken Burns about The U.S. and the Holocaust, a three-part, six-hour documentary (Sept. 18, PBS) about America’s response to the Nazis’ genocide. A comprehensive examination of both President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s actions and the anti-Semitic and anti-immigration climate in which he operated, Burns’ latest—co-directed by long-time collaborators Lynn Novick and Sarah Botstein—seeks to grasp why we chose to admit so few Jewish refugees in the 1930s and 1940s, and whether we could have done more to stop, or at least slow down, Hitler’s “Final Solution.”  Inspired by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum’s “Americans and the Holocaust” exhibition, it’s a film filled with individual heroes and tragic victims.

The entire article, in which Ken Burns spoke to the Daily Beast, is available here. 

Another interesting article on this documentary, from the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, may be found here.

Jews in Medicine 

The following video is presented by the Genesis Prize Foundation

The Jewish Theological Seminary offers a wide variety of courses (both online and in person). These include "Library Events", "Preparing for the Days of Awe", and "In the Media".

September’s classes include:

Book Talk: The Torah’s Legal Codes in Historical Context (September 20)

The Journey Toward Repentance and Forgiveness (September 12)

The invitation of Unetaneh Tokef  (September 19)

Peretz/Kafka/Chagall: A Jewish Modernist Triptych (3 Thursdays starting September 8)

Register for these courses, and more, on line at https://www.jtsa.edu/community-learning/.

Nine Things You Didn't Know About Rosh Hashanah

My Jewish Learning has published Nine lesser-known facts about the Jewish new year. Read these so you can Impress your friends and family with these little-known facts about Rosh Hashanah. 

Virtual events include: 

• Virtual Walking Tour of London: The Heart of Jewish London & England Today – September 18^th
• Modern Jewish Sounds Concert: Jake Sherman Dream Band – September 22
• Virtual Walking Tour: The Jewish Community of Buenos Aires – September 28

There is a concert series (September 8 & 22) and 3 films beginning Sunday September 18^th.

Register for all these (and more) programs on line at the Museum’s website here.

JTS Fall Learning Series 2022/Dangerous Ideas: Censorship Through a Jewish Lens

October 24–December 19, 2022

Online | Mondays, 1:00-2:30 PM (except for Wednesday, November

October 24- WRITTEN IN STONE? WRITING AND REWRITING THE BIBLE with Dr. Benjamin Sommer, Professor of Bible and Ancient Semitic Languages 

For more information about the series and to register go to: JTS Fall Learning Series 2022/Dangerous Ideas.

What is Elul?

The month prior to the Jewish new year is a time of introspection and personal stock-taking.

Elul is the last month of the Jewish year and the final month prior to Rosh Hashanah. This year Elul begin on Sunday, August 30^th. Elul is traditionally a time of introspection and personal stock-taking, known in Hebrew as cheshbon hanefesh — literally “an accounting of the soul.” This process is conducted in preparation for Rosh Hashanah when, Jewish tradition teaches, all of humanity is called to account and a divine judgment is issued. The customs associated with Elul are all intended to help cultivate the proper mindset for this preparation. 

If you would like to learn more about the customs and traditions of Elul, My Jewish Learning has a website that explains many of these. You can access the page here.

The Israel Forever Foundation was founded on the principle that Zionism was a beacon of light against the threat of hate and division that threatened the stability of Jewish life in Europe in the 1800s. They are now pleased to present original resources compiled in honor of the 125th anniversary of the Zionist Congress on behalf of The Israel Forever Foundation.

These include: 

Zionism & Israel as the Jewish Nation State 

Focsani Congress of 1882: Advancing Jewish Settlement in our Ancestral Home 

An Extraordinary Zionist Conference. New York, 1942

My Herzl: Live the Legacy