Encompassing learning, prayer and other innovative experiences, our Center represents the multiple spiritual dimensions of Jewish living and tradition. Our Center is a place to call home, inside and outside walls, because of the many different paths that inspire us to build community, with a Lev Shalem (a full heart). - Anna Simon, Director of Congregational Life Browse recordings of past classes and lectures |
Contact Anna at annas@adath.net with questions about programs below. Subscribe to our newsletter here!
Programs & Events
Contesting 21st Century Jewish Life
With Rabbi Barry Cytron Thursdays, January 26-March 16 | 4-5:15pm | Zoom |Free RSVP Here for the Zoom Link Note: If you have been taking this class all year, you do NOT need to re-register. Registration for new participants only. 2023 offers many intriguing issues and their Jewish perspectives. Using The New Jewish Canon and recent essays, op-eds, and news reports, we’ll explore and converse together. Topics for opening sessions:
Required Material: The New Jewish Canon |
JDAIM Weekend with Charlie Kramer
Shabbat, February 3-4 | Adath | Free JDAIM is Jewish Disabilities Awareness, Acceptance & Inclusion Month. The mission of JDAIM is to unite Jewish communities worldwide to raise awareness and champion the rights of all Jews to be accepted and included in all aspects of Jewish and community life like anyone else. Friday, February 3 | 6pm | Friday Service Charlie will join us with prayer and song at services. Saturday, February 4 | 9:30am | Shabbat Service Charlie will deliver the D’var Torah and will hold an informal Q&A at Kiddush Luncheon. Singing in the Dark Saturday, February 4 | 7pm | Chapel RSVP Here to Singing in the Dark Join Charlie for a transformative and moving evening. Not quite a concert, not quite a service, this experience is a journey of the senses, blindfolding ourselves to experience the present moment without our sight. Come prepared to deeply feel the challenges in your life, and to sing them into prayer. Space is limited - RSVP Required. |
Community Luminary Havdalah
Saturday, February 4 | 7-7:45pm | Levin Triangle Park | Free RSVP Here for Havdalah Join us for a community-wide Havdalah at Levin Triangle Park (east of Lake of the Isles). Jews and friends from around the Twin Cities are invited to come together to sing, celebrate, and bring some light into the night. The elaborate musical ceremony will feature the musical talents of:
IMPORTANT NOTE: Though the Luminary Loppet event has been postponed due to warm weather, the Community Havdalah will still take place on Saturday, February 4. |
Tu B’Shvat Hike and Hot Cocoa
Sunday, February 5 | 1-3pm | Westwood Hills Nature Center Aspen Room | Free RSVP Here Join us for a lovely stroll through parts of the 160-acre preserve followed by hot cocoa and Tu B’Shvat treats in the newly-renovated nature center. Tree expert, Madelyn Carpentier, will be on hand to answer your tree questions. Powered by Atid (50s-ish + group) and Makom (young adults group). Everyone is welcome. |
Jewish Studies for a Better World Series
Reproductive Rights: A Religious Perspective March 11, 12 & 23 | Free Saturday, March 11 | 9:30am | Shabbat Service |Attend in person or on Live Stream Kiddush lunch to follow RSVP not required Hazzan Dulkin, Rev. Jia Starr Brown, and Rev. Kelli Clement will deliver the D'var Torah to honor NCJW's Repro Shabbat. Sunday, March 12 | 10:30am-Noon | Zoom RSVP Here for the Zoom Link Life, Personhood, Great Need, and Great Pain in Halakhic Sources Presented by Earl Schwartz and moderated by Rabbi Kravitz. Thursday, March 23 | 7pm | Adath RSVP Required Here Roe by Lisa Loomer - A reading of the play* This is a reading of the play with no staging. Run time is approximately 2 hours, including a short intermission. Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 case that legalized abortion, is still fiercely debated over forty years later. In this incisive play, acclaimed writer Lisa Loomer cuts through the headlines and rhetoric to reveal the divergent personal journeys of lawyer Sarah Weddington and plaintiff Norma McCorvey ("Jane Roe") in the years following the fateful decision. In turns shocking, humorous, and poignant, Roe reflects the polarization in America today while illuminating the heart and passion each side has for its cause. The Jewish Studies for a Better World Series is sponsored by The Fischer Family Jewish Studies for a Better World Fund, The Bertram and Charlotte Cooper Adult Education Fund, and The Andrew Seitel Memorial Fund. In partnership with NCJW Minnesota and the Women of Adath. *The reading of Roe is presented in partnership with Adath's TAMID (Theater, Arts, Music, Israel, Dance) Committee. ROE is presented by special arrangement with Broadway Licensing, LLC, servicing the Dramatists Play Service collection. (www.dramatists.com) |
Scholar-in-Residence: Rabbi Geoffrey Claussen
Shabbat, May 12-13 | Adath | Free Claussen is the Associate Professor of Religious Studies, Lori and Eric Sklut Scholar in Jewish Studies and Chair of the Department of Religious Studies at Elon University. He is the author of Sharing the Burden: Rabbi Simhah Zissel Ziv and the Path of Musar and Modern Musar: Contested Virtues in Jewish Thought, and co-editor of Jewish Virtue Ethics. His scholarship focuses on Jewish ethics and theology, and he has interests in questions of love and justice, war and violence, animal ethics, moral formation, and the legacy of the nineteenth-century Musar movement. Sponsored by The Sandra and Irwin Mandel Family Fund. |
Scholarstream
Dates throughout the year | Online |Free with Code RSVP Here Enter coupon code Minnetonka5783 under “Event Fees" and click “Apply” The Conservative Movement seminaries and institutions are partnering to offer seven online series that will bring your community face-to-face with the brightest and most engaging scholars our movement has to offer. Questions? Contact caucoin@rabbinicalassembly.org. |
Classes & Study Groups
Tuesday Torah Study
With Adath Clergy, Staff & Guests • Every Tuesday • 12-1 pm • Zoom link • Free Study the weekly parasha (Torah portion). 2022-2023 Dates: Sept 6, 2022 - June 13, 2023. No session on Sept 27, Oct 4, 11 & 18, and Dec 27. Tuesday Torah will take a hiatus in the summer. To join by phone, dial: 312.626.6799 Meeting ID: 953 845 093 |
Weekly Talmud Study
With Don Masler • Every Wednesday • 8:30-9:30 am • Zoom • Free Begin or continue learning Talmud study via English translation. To join the Talmud Study Group, contact Anna Simon at annas@adath.net. |
Mussar
With Rabbi Kravitz, Heidi Schneider, Ofer Geller and Hope Melton • Days/dates & times vary, click here for class and registration information Dive into Mussar practice! Enrich your life by listening to your inner middot (soul traits). You'll explore a spiritual path of contemplative exercises and text study to help create personal transformations and deepen your connection with yourself, community, and God. 2022-23 Class Selections & Registration: Click here for details. |
Downtown Study Group
With Rabbi Harold Kravitz & Riv Ellen Prell • Alternating Tuesdays • 11:30 am-12:30 pm • Zoom • Free Take a break from your busy day for our spirited lunch-hour study group. We will be reading Jack Wertheimer's The New American Judaism, Princeton University Press 2018. The book is especially useful for discussing, where, how, and why Judaism is practiced as it is today. 2022-23 Dates: Dates provided when you join the group. To join the Downtown Study Group and get the Zoom link, contact Anna Simon at annas@adath.net. |
Soul Sisters - a Feminist Beit Midrash
With Hazzan Joanna Dulkin • Monthly Thursdays • 10:30 am-12 pm • Hybrid (in-person at Adath & on Zoom) • Free • Zoom link Many of us have heard, told and retold the tales of our fearless matriarchs. The Torah is full of women—but not all of them are recognized to the same level as their male counterparts. What's up with that? In our ongoing study of Biblical women through a feminist sense, we explore the stories behind the stories, examining both ancient and modern midrashim (commentary and stories) to pull Biblical women out of the shadows of the text and center them in the narrative. Through engaging discussion and sharing from our own lives, we strive to more fully understand these Biblical women, and ourselves. All genders welcome. Hear what Hazzan has to say about Soul Sisters here! 2022-23 Dates: Oct 13, Nov 3, Dec 1, Jan 12, Feb 9, March 9, May 4 & June 1. Soul Sisters will take a hiatus in the summer. To join by phone, dial: 312.626.6799 Meeting ID: 817 4600 9316 To join the Soul Sisters class email list, contact Anna Simon at annas@adath.net. |
Intro to Judaism
With Adath, Beth El, and Sharei Chesed clergy • Tuesdays • 7:30-9 pm • In-person at Beth El, Sharei Chesed & Adath • $50/individual, $75/couple • Contact Anna Simon at annas@adath.net to register Open to Jews, people of other faiths or no faith, and those considering conversion. The rabbis of Adath Jeshurun, Beth El and Sharei Chesed Synagogues jointly offer this class. Every participant must have a sponsoring rabbi to meet with initially. Optional: Hebrew Reading (see below for class information). 2022-23 Dates: Sept 6, 2022 through May 16, 2023. No class on April 4. |
Hebrew Reading (for Students in the Intro to Judaism Class)
With Rachel Levitt • Tuesdays • 6:30-7:30 pm • In-person at Beth El, Sharei Chesed & Adath • $125/individual or $160/couple • Register Learn phonetic Hebrew reading and home-based prayer skills (blessings for foods, Shabbat home rituals, etc.), plus some frequently used modern Hebrew terms. 2022-23 Dates: Oct 25, 2022 - Mar 28, 2023. No class on April 4. |
Finding Meaning in Shabbat Prayer
With Lon Rosenfield • Thursdays (some Mondays) • 7:30-8:30pm • Zoom • $50 • Register here (Zoom links will be included in registration confirmation email) Want to enhance your experience at Shabbat services? This program will help you feel more comfortable participating in Shabbat prayer and Jewish activities. We will use the Siddur Lev Shalem, but any Conservative or Traditional Siddur will work. We will discuss Shabbat prayers beginning with those of Friday Evening and concluding with Havdalah. In addition to discussing possible interpretations of the prayers, we’ll investigate their origins in Tanach, try to answer the question ‘what is a prayer,’ see how prayers become part of our everyday lives, and take virtual field trips to find out ‘what really happened on Mt. Sinai.’ We will pay attention to ‘choreography,’ and try to make participating in services more comfortable and meaningful. 2022-23 Dates: Oct 24, Nov 1 & 17, Dec 1, 8, 15 & 22, Jan 5, 12, 19 & 26, Feb 2, 9, 16 & 23, March 2, 9, 16, 23 & 30, April 20 & 27, May 4, 11 & 18. No class on Nov 24, Dec 29, April 6 & 13. Pre-requisite: None Note: If you wish to participate in the Bar/Bat Torah Program, you may also take the Hebrew 1.0 or 2.0 course. At the end of the year, on the second day of Shavuot, graduates of this program will have the opportunity to help lead services, read from Torah, and/or deliver a d’var Torah. |
Hebrew 1.0: Beginning Biblical Hebrew
With Lon Rosenfield • Tuesdays • 4:30-5:30 pm • Zoom • $50 • Register here (Zoom links will be included in registration confirmation email) 2022-23 Dates: Oct 25, Nov 1, 9*, 15, 22 & 29, Dec 6, 13, 20 & 27, Jan 3, 10, 17, 24 & 31, Feb 7, 14, 21 & 28, March 8*, 14, 21 & 28, April 4, 11, 19* & 25, May 2, 9, 16, 23 & 30, June 6, 13 & 20. *These are Wednesday classes. Pre-requisite: Familiarity with the Hebrew alphabet and vowels is really helpful; those who lack this may still take this course but will need to spend extra time getting up to speed and should contact Lon as soon as possible to plan out a strategy for this. Required material: Learning Biblical Hebrew by Karl V. Kutz and Rebekah L. Josberger and the Learning Biblical Hebrew Workbook also by Kutz and Josberger. Click here to watch an interview with Rebekah Josberger to learn about the techniques used in the book. Hebrew 2.0: Reading from the Tanach With Lon Rosenfield • Tuesdays • 7-8:30pm • Zoom • $50 • Register here (Zoom links will be included in registration confirmation email) 2022-23 Dates: Oct 25, Nov 9* & 22, Dec 6 & 20, Jan 3, 17 & 31, Feb 14 & 28, Mar 14 & 28, April 11 & 25, May 9 & 23, June 6 & 20 *This is a Wednesday class. Pre-requisite: This course is open to those who have completed at least one year of Biblical Hebrew or the equivalent. Required material: Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia: A Reader’s Edition and The Brown Driver Briggs Hebrew and English Lexicon. Optional material: The Jewish Study Bible. Note: If you wish to participate in the Bar/Bat Torah Program, you may also take Finding Meaning in Shabbat Prayer. At the end of the year, on the second day of Shavuot, graduates of this program will have the opportunity to help lead services, read from Torah, and/or deliver a d’var Torah. |
Adult Haftarah Lessons
With Bev Fishman • Free Interested in taking lessons? Contact Anna Simon at annas@adath.net. |
Torah Reading for Adults
With Todd Werner • Free Interested in taking lessons? Contact Anna Simon at annas@adath.net. |
Social Groups & Clubs
Makom
Powered by young adults, Makom is everybody friendly. Makom, the Hebrew word for space, reanimates ancient Jewish wisdom for today. We're in the land of 10,000 lakes with 10,000 ways to create young Jewish community. Come as you are and ride the waves with us. If you have an idea, let's make it happen. Check out our website page and join our Facebook group. Want to join our Makom email list to hear about future events? Contact Jenifer Robins, Director of Young Adult and Family Life at jeniferr@adath.net. |
Atid
Powered by adults, Atid is everybody friendly. Atid, the Hebrew word for future, is an open group for anyone who's looking for opportunities for deeper engagement through gatherings and events that take advantage of all the Twin Cities has to offer, as well as social, spiritual and educational opportunities at Adath. Join our Facebook group To join the Atid email list, contact Anna Simon at annas@adath.net. |
Hillsiders
Powered by seniors, Hillsiders is everybody friendly. To join the Hillsiders email list, contact Anna Simon at annas@adath.net. |
Adath Film Club
With Reb Jim Sherman & Anna Simon • Monthly Mondays • 1 pm • In-Person at the Minneapolis JCC • Free Love movies? Join Adath's film club where we'll enjoy a movie followed by a lively discussion. Movies are typically screened the second Monday of the month. 2022-23 Dates: June 13, July 11, Aug 8, Sept 12, Oct 3, Nov 14, Dec 12, Jan 9 & 23, Feb 13 & 27 To join the Film Club email list, contact Anna Simon at annas@adath.net. |
Adath Reads
With Marcy Harris • Monthly • Days Vary • 7-8:30 pm • Adath Library or on Zoom (see below for specifics) • Free Join book club leader Marcy Harris for our thought-provoking and engaging book club. 2022-23 Dates & Selections: Nov 1: Shayna by Miriam Ruth Black (This session will be co-facilitated by Stuart Borken) Dec 8: The Man Who Sold Air in the Holyland by Omer Friedlander Zoom Jan 10: The Aleppo Codex by Matti Friedman (This session will be guest-facilitated by Sharon Zweigbaum) Zoom Feb 16: The List by Martin Fletcher Zoom Mar 16: But Where is the Lamb? by James Goodman (This session will be co-facilitated by Bettina Waldman) Zoom April 11: Hip Set by Michael Fertik May 16: The Boy with Four Names by Doris Rubenstein To join the Adath Reads email list, contact Anna Simon at annas@adath.net. |
Contact Anna for more information about any program, or if the cost for any event or class is prohibitive at annas@adath.net or 952.215.3911