We believe in life-long learning and offer the adults in our community a variety of ways to expand their knowledge and education. In addition to our stimulating cultural programs at Shabbat, we also offer stimulating opportunities for adult study throughout the year.
Adult Perspectives is the name of our Sunday Adult Education program. These sessions are led by Rabbi Peter Schweitzer or by a member of the congregation. TCC Members occasionally participate on panel discussions and guest speakers, including our own members, are also invited to make a special presentation. All are welcome to attend.
Sessions are held primarily on Sundays from 3:30 to 4:45 at 15 West 86th Street (SAJ), between Central Park West and Columbus Ave. in Manhattan. We meet in the Social Hall on the 2nd floor. Other Adult Education programs may be scheduled for a weekday or evening, either at SAJ or another location.
All dates and programs are subject to change. To confirm events and for more information, contact the office at 212-213-1002 or info@citycongregation.org.
Sunday, September 26
TEVYE AND GOLDA GO TO A THERAPIST: A Study of Harmonious Conjugal Antagonism Rabbi Peter Schweitzer, who is also a clinical social worker, imagined what it would be like if Tevye and Golda of Fiddler on the Roof fame had sought him out as a therapist for their marital issues. His clinical presentation relies heavily on verbatim conversations and direct quotes from the clients themselves. His analysis of Tevya and Golda’s relationship offers useful observations and strategies that may hopefully benefit all marriages and partnerships.
Sunday, October 3
DEFENDING THE DETAINEES: A Personal Account from a Guantanamo Lawyer
How do we fight torture and illegal detention? How do we restore the role of law? When will Guantanamo finally close?
TCC member Jonathan Hafetz is a civil and human rights attorney with the National Security Project of the American Civil Liberties Union. He has represented numerous detainees held without charge at Guantanamo and other U.S.-run prisons in the "war on terror" and was lead counsel in the landmark habeas corpus case of Ali al-Marri, one of two individuals arrested and held in the U.S. as an "enemy combatant". He is co-editor of The Guantanamo Lawyers and this fall will be joining the faculty of Seton Law School as a law professor.
Sunday, October 24
HUNGER: A Global Problem - A Local Challenge - What is Our Responsibility?
1.4 million New Yorkers live in homes without enough to eat. Worldwide, there are over 1 billion people who are hungry.
What are the immediate challenges both locally and around the globe? What are the answers, from local soup kitchens and food pantries to long-term sustainable solutions?
Representatives of organizations that are working to address this major social problem will present information about their work and teach us what can be done about it. What can we do ourselves and how can we formulate an action plan as a congregation? It is not your duty to complete the task, but nor are you free to desist from it. (Rabbi Tarfon, Pirke Avot, 2:21)
Sunday, November 14
TALKING ABOUT THE HOLOCAUST TO OUR CHILDREN: When Do We Start? What Do We Say?
The immensity of the Holocaust defies comprehension. The feelings it evokes can be overwhelming. How do we impart the history of the Holocaust to our kids without traumatizing them? What are the strategies for framing this event in a way that doesn't just present Jews as victims – but that also doesn’t deny the unspeakable reality that millions were killed? How we enlarge the conversation to talk about other genocides and the persecution of other peoples? Elizabeth Edelstein, Director of Education at the Museum of Jewish Heritage, will serve as a resource and talk with us about ways to approach these questions. TCC members will also share accounts of their own experiences learning about the Holocaust when they were children and how they are now handling the challenge of educating their own children.
Photograph taken in April 1945 by the late Joseph Persing when he was a member of the Third Army, 120th Evacuation Hospital Unit. Museum of Jewish Heritage—A Living Memorial to the Holocaust. Gift of Mary Feeney.
Photo by Star Black
Sunday, November 21
THE LAST JEWISH VIRGIN: Jewish Myth Meets Jewish Reality
Janice Eidus' playful, provocative, sensual, and suspenseful new novel, The Last Jewish Virgin: A Novel of Fate, explores Jewish secularism vs. Jewish faith, the complicated love between mothers and daughters, and the lure of "Mr. Wrong" for women of all ages, while merging the timeless, romantic myth of the vampire with contemporary life in New York City and beyond.
Janice Eidus, author and TCC member, writes frequently on Jewish themes. Her latest novel is The Last Jewish Virgin, and her other books include The War of The Rosens, Urban Bliss, and The Celibacy Club. She's written for The New York Times, Jewish Currents, Lilith, Tikkun, The Forward, and The Oxford Book of Jewish Stories, and has twice won the O. Henry Prize.
Sunday, December 12 (Note: Change in date from Dec. 19)
FOUR CRAK! THREE BAM! EIGHT DOT! What's the Deal About Mah Jongg and the Jews?
Attend a screening of the documentary Mah-Jongg, The Tiles That Bind, with co-director and producer Bari Pearlman. This film presents a "light-hearted yet deeply moving portrait of the Asian- and Jewish-American women who play this centuries-old Chinese game, shedding light on the common and uncommon experiences of the players that simultaneously define and transcend cultural boundaries."
Bari Pearlman is the founder of BTG Productions. Her work includes the award-winning documentary Daughters of Wisdom, about the exceptional women of the Kala Rongo Monatery in Tibet and A Period Piece, about women's relationships to menstruation. She has several films in development, including Looking for Lepke, about the notorious Jewish gangster Lepke Buckalter who was her grandfather's first cousin.
Sunday, January 9 (Note: Change in date from February 6)
SECULAR JEWS AND SPIRITUALITY: A Contradiction In Terms?
Is it really true that people who pray live longer? If so, what are the implications for us if we don’t believe in prayer? Is there a secular alternative? What is prayer anyway?
If we don’t believe in a supernatural deity who intervenes in our lives, is there still room for believing in a “higher power”? Experiencing transcendental moments? Having parking karma? Where does spirituality fit into our lives – or not?
Rabbi Peter Schweitzer will lead a discussion on these questions.
Sunday, January 23Starts at 3:15pm
PEOPLE OF THE LIBRETTO: 1960 to the Present
A sequel to last year's popular and entertaining People of the Libretto program! TCC members Jack Lechner and Peter Mones will provide commentary, and Trudy Elins, Michelle Lang Zalph, Anne Shonbrun and Dan Wyman will sing, accompanied on the piano by musical director Louise Moed. This year's presentation will pick up where the last one left off, bringing the history of the Jewish composers and lyricists who played a central role in creating American musical theater from 1960 up to the present.
Whereas last year's program covered the work of Broadway's Jewish founding fathers -- Rodgers and Hammerstein, Lerner and Loewe, George and Ira Gershwin, Irving Berlin -- this year's program will look at Sondheim, Adams and Strouse, Kander and Ebb, Jonathan Larson, Steven Schwartz, and many others. It will also feature a special musical number by some TCC KidSchool students. Come enjoy the music!
This same production will also be performed at our Shabbat program on January 21.
Rice Cutter, Kottareddipalem, India, 2007 (Photo by Chrystie Sherman)
Sunday, February 13
JOURNEYS INTO SMALL AND DISAPPEARING JEWISH COMMUNITIES: A Photo Essay
Chrystie Sherman has been exploring the anomalies of Jewish survival in places as varied as the Former Soviet Union, Cuba, Central Asia, India, the Caucuses, and North Africa. Her photographs capture the distinctiveness, courage and resiliences of these far-flung people and preserves a record of their fragile communities that are at risk of vanishing. Viewers of her work will rethink their notions of what it means to be a Jew, what a Jew looks like, and what kind of bonds we have with Jews all around the world.
Sunday, March 6
AND A TIME TO DIE: How Do We Make Decisions for Our Loved Ones? How Can We Take Control of Our Own End of Life Process?
Why, for so many, is death with dignity so elusive? The final stage of so many lives seems fraught with medical choices and complex decisions. How do we gain competent control over these complicated challenges?
Nancy Dubler, Consultant for Ethics, New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation, and former director of bioethics at Montefiore Medical Center, will present a series of case studies that demonstrate the dilemmas people face in making end of life decisions for themselves and their loves ones. We’ll also examine how these issues are dealt with in American law, Jewish law, and in the current practices of American hospitals.
Sunday, March 27
JEWS AND JOURNALISM: Where We Fit, How We Are Depicted, and What Does the Future Hold?
What is the experience of being a Jewish journalist today? Is anti-Semitism a vestige of the past, or is it alive and well in American newsrooms? How does the media treat Judaism and Israel? Is there bias and, if so, in which direction? As journalism seems to be morphing into entertainment and/or being taken over by political points of view, what kind of credibility will reporting have in the future??
A panel presentation of TCC members will reflect on these questions. Moderated by Carol Sternhell, TCC member and professor at the NYU Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute.
NEW DATE: Sunday, May 15 (originally scheduled for April 10)
JEWISH SURVIVAL STRATEGIES: The Secret to Our Continuity
How have the Jewish people managed to survive for some 3000 years? How did we overcome the destruction of the ancient Temple, deportation, and exile? How have we withstood centuries of persecution, oppression, and anti-Semitism? How have we responded to the lures of assimilation and the challenges of modern thinking?
Rabbi Peter Schweitzer will discuss how we became the original spinmeisters by re-framing tragedy into new meaning. He will explore the ways we have re-invented ourselves and adapted our practices and beliefs in each generation including our own secular, cultural, and humanistic approach.
