News & Events - Aug 20

NEWS & EVENTS

Aug. 20, 2024

5785 IS AROUND THE CORNER!

Rosh Hashanah begins on Wed. Evening, Oct. 2

CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL SCHEDULE!

THE JEWISH DAY OF LOVE

CLICK HERE TO READ

✦ THIS FRIDAY

August 23, 7PM

▶︎ LEARNING WITH RABBI FALICK

THE RELEVANCE OF TISHA B'AV (THE 9TH OF AV) TO HUMANISTIC JEWS

Tisha B'Av - the 9th Day of the Hebrew month of Av - is considered the saddest day of the Jewish liturgical year. It recalls the destruction of both the First and Second Temples in Jerusalem (586 BCE & 70 CE respectively).

Over the millennia it has also taken on the sadness of too many persecutions and disasters that befell the Jewish people.

What does its observance have to teach HumanistIc Jews? Rabbi Falick will share some of the lore and history of the day, reaching back to tales of the Hebrew Bible from the sixth century BCE all the way forward to today.

PLEASE NOTE! We're aware that the day has passed for this year. The topic was moved due to a scheduling change. However, its lessons remain with us always so please join us!

In person and streaming LIVE (or recorded) on YouTube.

CLICK HERE OR ON THE GRAPHIC TO WATCH THE STREAM

NO SHABBAT PROGRAM ON AUGUST 30 ... HAPPY LABOR DAY!

✦ September 6, 7PM

▶︎ RABBI FALICK WILL SPEAK

HAS WOKE IDEOLOGY GONE TOO FAR? A REVIEW OF TWO BOOKS

Rabbi Falick has spoken in the past in support of the basic concepts of "wokeism." Now come two books challenging much of what is being taught in its name.

From the pen of Dr. John McWhorter, renowned professor of linguistics at Columbia University, author, and NYTimes columnist comes "Woke Racism: How a New Religion Has Betrayed Black America." This acclaimed scholar argues that an illiberal neo-racism, disguised as antiracism, is hurting Black communities and weakening the American social fabric.

David L. Bernstein, founder of the Jewish Institute for Liberal Values and former President and CEO of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs - a national umbrella for local Jewish advocacy - has also written a book about "wokeness" from a Jewish perspective. In his new volume, "Woke Antisemitism: How a Progressive Ideology Harms Jews," he argues that woke ideology shuts down discourse, corrupts free speech, and has helped to spawn the new virulent strains of antisemitism.

What are the merits of these arguments? Rabbi Falick will share his thoughts from the perspective of freethought humanism.

✦ September 13, 7PM

▶︎ RABBI FALICK WILL SPEAK

OUR HUMANISTIC COMMITMENT TO THE ENLIGHTENMENT

American society has long grappled with the tension between Enlightenment ideals and religious beliefs. Today, a new challenge has emerged. Some on the philosophical left now reject the Enlightenment, claiming it imposes Western norms on non-Western societies and is a form of cultural imperialism. This perspective, known as "cultural relativism," has led to support for authoritarian regimes and oppressive societies.

Drawing on the work of Prof. Joe Chuman, a Columbia University philosopher and Ethical Culture Humanistic leader, Rabbi Falick will explore how to balance these competing forces. He will discuss how we can respect religion and cultural diversity while maintaining the Enlightenment’s core commitments to reason, equality, and universal human dignity.

✦ September 20, 7PM

▶︎ RABBI FALICK WILL SPEAK

PREPARING OURSELVES FOR THE NEW JEWISH YEAR

Rabbi Falick will introduce some of the history of the holiday and discuss those traditions and ideas that still have relevance to modern secular, Humanistic Jews.

He will also discuss some of the changes (beyond the "worship" aspects) that Humanistic Jews have made to our High Holiday communal celebrations over the years.

WED., AUG. 28, 12:30PM

LUNCH BUNCH

With a discussion of the next chapter of "Getting Good at Getting Older"

On Wed., Sept. 25, Noon

Join us to discuss...

by Isabel Wilkerson

In this brilliant book, Isabel Wilkerson gives us a masterful portrait of an unseen phenomenon in America as she explores, through an immersive, deeply researched, and beautifully written narrative and stories about real people, how America today and throughout its history has been shaped by a hidden caste system, a rigid hierarchy of human rankings.

Beyond race, class, or other factors, there is a powerful caste system that influences people’s lives and behavior and the nation’s fate. Linking the caste systems of America, India, and Nazi Germany, Wilkerson explores eight pillars that underlie caste systems across civilizations, including divine will, bloodlines, stigma, and more. Using riveting stories about people—including Martin Luther King, Jr., baseball’s Satchel Paige, a single father and his toddler son, Wilkerson herself, and many others—she shows the ways that the insidious undertow of caste is experienced every day. She documents how the Nazis studied the racial systems in America to plan their outcasting of the Jews; she discusses why the cruel logic of caste requires that there be a bottom rung for those in the middle to measure themselves against; she writes about the surprising health costs of caste, in depression and life expectancy, and the effects of this hierarchy on our culture and politics. Finally, she points forward to ways America can move beyond the artificial and destructive separations of human divisions, toward hope in our common humanity.

Original and revealing, Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents is an eye-opening story of people and history, and a reexamination of what lies under the surface of ordinary lives and of American life today.

This book is now the subject of "Origin," a major motion picture written and directed by Ava DuVernay.

Coming this Autumn...

A New Weekly Class with Rabbi Falick

THE AMERICAN JEWISH EXPERIENCE

Join Rabbi Falick most Mondays at 12:30PM for a new class about Jews in America. Beginning with the pivotal year of 1653, at each session Rabbi Falick will explore the significant events and individuals that defined American Jewry.

From the earliest 17th-century settlement in New Amsterdam to the long-established American Jewish community today, participants will learn about the indelible mark the Jews of our continent and nation have made upon the millenia-long arc of Jewish history.

** The class will be held in person.

** Brown bags encouraged, coffee and tea provided.

** A Zoom stream will also be available and class sessions will later be posted to the CHJ YouTube channel.

BEGINS OCTOBER 14, 12:30PM

For members and approved guests only.

COMING UP

SPECIAL PRE-ELECTION WAYS TO GET INVOLVED!

Instead of our usual committee meeting, during the month of September we will be hosting in-person (non-partisan) election action work sessions: get-out-the-vote letter and postcard writing and information about other opportunities:

Saturday, September 14, 1:00 to 3:00
Monday, September 16, 1:00 to 3:00
Wednesday, September 18, 6:00 to 8:00.

Come for any or all of these. You may also request materials to work on at home. For more information, contact Audrey Pleasant (audreypleasant@gmail.com).

ADL WALK AGAINST HATE

(Sept. 29 - Save the date!)

We will show support for our congregation's social justice values with a team at this event. When you register--see link below--you will have an option to sign up for the CHJ TEAM. All temple members (it's family friendly) and their guests are welcome to join. You may choose to walk or just to mingle with positive people and listen to the brief program. A financial donation is NOT required.

⬇️ CLICK BELOW TO REGISTER! ⬇️

JOIN THE SJC EMAIL LIST!

Stay up-to-date!

If you want email updates about events, contact Audrey Pleasant:

(audreypleasant@gmail.com) to sign up!

No obligation!

NEW COLLECTION UNDERWAY!

To help the patrons of Oakland County Foster Closet have a positive start to the school year, we will be focusing our collection efforts for the next few weeks on their requested items:

** clean, good quality ** clothes in sizes preemie to teen **

strollers ** bedding ** suitcases ** duffel bags ** baby bottles ** 3-in-one shampoo/conditioner/body wash.

For anything else, please check with Audrey Pleasant at (audreypleasant@gmail.com) for more information.