Adult Education

Weekly Parsha Class with Rabbi Ariella and Rabbi Jacob 
Fridays 12:00-1:00 pm, CBI Library, in person only, drop in; no registration required.
Join Rabbi Ariella and Rabbi Jacob for a discussion of the weekly Torah portion.  All are welcome, no prior knowledge or experience required. Each session will stand alone, feel free to come whenever it works for you.  And please feel free to bring your own lunch! 

Elul Learning Sessions to Prepare for the High Holy Days 
Learning sessions will take place from 7:00 to 8:30 pm in the CBI Library, in person only. 
Register for all Elul classes here 

Wednesday, August 27: Sacred Music and Liturgy of the High Holy Days 
Facilitated by Rabbi Jacob Fine 
We will learn and sing some beautiful new melodies that will be part of our High Holy Day services this year and briefly explore the liturgy connected to the melodies. Come prepared to sing! 

Tuesday, September 2: Teshuvah in Light of Mass Starvation
Facilitated by Judi Wisch and Naomi Barnesky
The Jews Read Palestinian Stories havurah is offering an opportunity to share in small groups what it means to make teshuvah personally and communally at this time of mass starvation in Gaza. Our eyes have been opened in our havurah as we have read stories from the Palestinian perspective. It is up us to take this time in Elul to reflect on what is meaningful teshuvah.

Wednesday, September 3: Responding to the Call to Action: Lessons from Jonah 
Facilitated by Rabbi Ariella, Eva Gerstle, Bella Levavi 
We’ll explore and study themes in the Book of Jonah followed by completing the crankie* panels on Jonah that our community began on Shavuot. No art background necessary!   
*A crankie is a storytelling device that consists of a scroll inside a box, where a puppeteer “cranks” the scroll as a performance unfolds, revealing a visual representation of the story. We are creating the panels for the Book of Jonah, and the crankie will be performed on Yom Kippur afternoon. 

Wednesday, September 10: The Psalms of Elul 
Facilitated by Rabbi Ed Feld 
Customarily, we recite Psalm 27 each day during the month of Elul. How does this psalm prepare us for the High Holidays? How does it speak to us? What other psalms might we look to for inspiration in this month, suggested by its themes? 

Wednesday, September 17: Rosh Hashanah as Communal Experience  
Facilitated by Rabbi Ben Barer 
In this class, we will explore key texts from משנה ראש השנה (Mishnah Rosh Hashanah) that explore what it takes to create and maintain a religiously/theologically effective communal ritual like Rosh Hashanah amidst discord both within the Jewish community and between the Jewish community and neighboring communities. 

Israel in a Changing Neighborhood 
Led by Joel Migdal and Peggy Brill. Register Here
August 31, 10:00 am–12:00 pm, CBI Social Hall, In person and on livestream 

The dynamics of the Middle East region changed dramatically between October 7, 2023, and June 24, 2025. What were those changes? Can Israel take advantage of new opportunities to build a lasting peace. Joel S. Migdal is Professor Emeritus at the University of Washington, Visiting Professor at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and a Library Fellow at the Van Leer Institute in Jerusalem.

Living a Meaningful Jewish Life 
Led by Rabbi Ariella and Rabbi Jacob. Register Here
Wednesdays, beginning October 29, 7:00-8:30 pm, in person in the CBI Library with Zoom option* 
Oct. 29, Nov. 5, 12, 19, Dec. 3, 10, 17, Jan. 7, 14, 21, 28, Feb. 4, 11, 25, March 4, 11, 18, 25 
*We encourage students to attend in person whenever possible to get the most out of the experience. A Zoom option is available for those who need it.  

In this 18-week course we will explore together many aspects of Jewish life: daily spiritual practices, the holiday cycle, Shabbat, eating practices, migration, history, and more. This class is geared toward anyone who wants to learn more about Jewish life: individuals exploring conversion, non-Jews part of Jewish families, and Jews of all stripes who want to learn more. If you think this class might be for you, it is! Students are encouraged to come with questions, curiosity, and challenges. Ever wonder why Jewish do [insert curious custom here]? Ask us and we’ll cover it! 

Kabbalistic Ritual Practices 
Led by Larry Fine. Register Here
Tuesdays, 7:00–8:30 pm. October 21, 28, November 4, 11, 18, CBI Library, in person only 

In this course we'll study the kabbalistic liturgy of Kabbalat Shabbat, developed in 16th century Safed; Ushpizin, welcoming guests (human and divine) into one's Sukkah; the kabbalistic tradition of study on the night of Shavuot, and the practice of 'counting the Omer' between Pesach and Shavuot. How can these practices inform and enrich our own spiritual experience? 

Refusenik film 
Led by Michael Perlman. Register Here
Tuesday, December 2, 6:30–9:00 pm, CBI Library, in person only 
Viewing and discussion of film describing the 30-year international movement to free Soviet Jewry. Michael Perlman is a retired psychiatrist who was a former President and Board member of CBI. 

Prayer in Person and on Screen: How and Why Together?  
Led by Lois Dubin. Register Here
Tuesdays, January 6, 13, & 20, 7:00–8.30 pm, CBI Social Hall, in person and livestream 
An exploration of our novel experiences of online, virtual prayer in light of fundamental ideas of Jewish prayer and liturgy.  These include: (1) the basic definition of praise, petition, and gratitude; (2) the daring act of "blessing God"; (3) regular obligation vs. cry of crisis; (4) keva vs. kavvanah – fixed text vs. spontaneous intention.  Readings from classical and modern sources (Talmud, Maimonides, Nahmanides, and Soloveitchik), as well as my article "Prayer in a Time of Pandemic: Loneliness, Liturgy, and Virtual Community" (2023). 

Sundays, in person at CBI
10:30-11:00 am: Coffee and nosh  
11:00-12:00 pm: Presentation and discussion 
Registration is encouraged, but not required

October 26: President Calvin Coolidge and The Jews 
CBI Social Hall, in person and on livestream 
Led by Jennifer Young and Aaron Berman. Register Here

Discussion of the historical significance of President Calvin Coolidge and American Jews in the 1920’s. This talk will be led by Jennifer Young of the Yiddish Book Center Aaron Berman- Professor Emeritus at Hampshire College 

November 2: The Dramatic Life of Rebbe Nachman of Bratslav
CBI Social Hall, in person and on livestream 
Led by Larry Fine. Register Here

Rebbe Nachman of Bratslav (1772-1810) was one of the most extraordinary early Hasidic masters, A 'tormented master' in the words of one of his biographers, Nachman was among the most profound Jewish teachers in the history of Judaism, but his life was marked by great personal challenges and emotional drama.

Larry Fine is the Irene Kaplan Leiwant Chair of Jewish Studies and Professor of Religion, emeritus, Mount Holyoke College. He is a widely published scholar in the field of Kabbalah and Hasidism. 

November 16: Ruth Gruber; unknown Jewish heroine
CBI Library, In-person only, as the majority of the session will involve viewing a film that cannot be shown via livestream.  
Led by Michael Perlman. Register Here
Documentary film and discussion of Ruth Gruber, remarkable foreign correspondent, photojournalist, novelist, who brought 1000 Holocaust refugees to America during World War II. This presentation will run longer than the typical Sunday Cafe and will conclude at 12:30 instead of the usual 12:00.   

Michael Perlman is a retired psychiatrist who was a former President and Board member of CBI. 

December 7: Music, Memory, and Legacy: The Rich Legacy of Rabbi Ben-Zion gold 
CBI Library, in person only 
Led by Jane Myers. Register Here
Jane will share what she learned from her 50-year relationship with Rabbi Ben-Zion Gold, including the power of music and memory to sustain a person. Rabbi Gold’s life began in the rich traditional educational and cultural life of Radom, Poland. After experiencing the Nazi invasion and barely surviving Auschwitz, he eventually came to America as his family’s sole survivor. 

Their shared love of traditional Jewish music later led Jane to encourage him to record, from 1976 to 2010, dozens of songs and Chassidic niggunim that would otherwise be lost to history if not for his fine voice and his outstanding memory. Jane will share video clips, archival photographs, and his singing from the CD she published, titled Touching the Memory: Songs Remembered from a Childhood in Poland. Annotated CDs will be available for purchase. 

Professor Mark Auslander
"Mourning across borders: honoring the voices of the lost" --- Read the transcript of this talk here.
January 14, 2024

Professor Omar Bartov
"Weaponizing Language: Misuses of Holocaust Memory and the Never Again Syndrome" --- Fill out this form to receive the recording link.
February 28, 2024

Laurie Sanders
"History of the Northampton Alms House" --- Watch the Zoom presentation here.
February 4, 2024

Rabbi David Seidenberg
"Jews and Indigenousness" --- Watch the livestream recording here.
March 11, 2024