Today is October 13, 2025 ()
At B’nai Sholom Reform Congregation we believe that Jewish learning is a lifetime project. Throughout the year Adult Education presents a range of programming, including classes, lectures and movies. We also offer weekly Torah Study and an ongoing discussion of Pirkei Avot with Rabbi Weisbrot. Committee volunteers are always welcome.
Join our study group at 10 am Saturdays for a continuation of our 20-year tradition of sacred text study. We closely examine the weekly Parashat with the first Shabbat of the month devoted to the Prophets and the Writings. On Saturdays where there is a Shabbat Service at B’nai Sholom, we meet at 9:30 am.
All are welcome to participate and learn, reading sections aloud (if you desire) and discussing the context of the history of the Bible, including the sociology, archaeology, and politics of the land. No prior registration or experience is necessary! Sessions generally last 90 minutes with the Prophets and Writings often taking 2 hours.
These sessions are open to all on a drop-in, occasional, or regular basis. BYOB – Bring your own Bible (Having a variety of translations/interpretations increase the scope of our discussions.) Contact the office to receive the ZOOM link.
MOVIE NIGHT
“THE MAMBONIKS”
Saturday, November 8 at 7:30 p.m.
Bagels meet bongos in this joyous documentary telling the surprising story of Jewish dancers who fell in love with the Cuban mambo in the 1950s sparking a dance craze that swept the nation. This group of free-spirited dancers earned a nickname: the mamboniks. It’s a lovely story of building bridges between cultures and communities enhanced by great archival footage and the film is guaranteed to get your hips swaying. By the director of “The Catskills”. There will be a $5 admission fee and non-members are requested to pre-register via website link here.
Synagogue Scholar Talk by Mary Warrener
Torah and Shakespeare in Conversation: Genesis, Richard III, and Hamlet
Sunday, December 7 at 10:30 AM
Preceded by bagels and coffee/tea 10:00-10:30 AM
According to Rabbi Jonathan Sacks in his famous book The Dignity of Difference, conversation is the “greatest single antidote to violence,” but when fear makes direct conversation difficult we can look to literature, sacred and secular, to help us find wisdom—the truth that can’t be faked. In conversation, Torah and Shakespeare can tell us that this moment, fraught with so much conflict, may be new to us, but it is also old. Civil strife starts with sibling rivalry. It can undermine families and nations because it’s driven by overwhelming emotions that smother reason, reflection, and perspective. And it’s no wonder—siblings represent our first encounter with the other and thereby our first glimpse of the self. All our stories tell us that when we destroy them, we destroy ourselves. By listening to Torah and Shakespeare in conversation, particularly the stories of Cain and Joseph in Genesis and Shakespeare’s Richard III and Hamlet, we will try to access some much needed perspective, to fear less, to think better, to believe in the future, in the world we can make together.
Mary is a professor at SUNY Orange Community College, where she taught the college’s Shakespeare course for 23 years, as well as other literature, writing and philosophy courses. Over the years, Mary has given a number of presentations and led discussions on Shakespeare plays, including at B’nai Sholom.
All are welcome and non-members are requested to pre-register via website link coming soon.
420 Whitehall Road, Albany, NY 12208
518-482-5283|Email Us
Tuesday through Friday 9:30 am - 4:00 pm
Closed Mondays