Two venues to host noted Jewish educator

By JEWISH REVIEW

article created on: 2009-01-15T00:00:00

From Jan. 30 to Feb. 1, Portlanders will have opportunities in two settings to study with Jewish educator Rachel Brodie.

Brodie will be the scholar-in-residence at Congregation Neveh Shalom Jan. 30 and 31. On Feb. 1, she is the keynote speaker at the Women’s Day of Jewish Learning at the Mittleman Jewish Community Center. The Feb. 1 program will focus on women and prayer. (See schedules below.)

Brodie is a Jewish educator who specializes in adult and family education. She is the co-founder and executive director of Jewish Milestones (www.JewishMilestones.org): a nonprofit organization serving as an educational resource for those who seek to have Jewish lifecycle ceremonies (typically related to birth, maturation, partnering and loss) that are both authentic and personally meaningful. She co-authored “Jewish Family Education: A Casebook for the Twenty-first Century” with Vicky Kelman (Torah Aura, 2002).

After spending a year in Israel on a Melton Senior Educator’s Fellowship at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, Brodie settled in the Bay Area in 1997. She holds a master’s degree in rabbinic literature from The Jewish Theological Seminary of America and a bachelor’s degree in literature and history from Brown University.

She lives in Berkeley with Adam Weisberg, the executive director of Camp Tawonga, and their daughters, Sophia (in 3rd grade) and Ariella (in 2nd grade).

Women’s Day of Jewish Learning
“Praying in Her Heart:
Women Seeking God”

8:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m., Feb. 1
Mittleman Jewish Community Center
8:30–Registration and breakfast
9–“Bakashat Elohim: Desires Divine.” Introduction to the text and to Hevruta study by Rachel Brodie
9:45–Hevruta session in small groups facilitated by local educators
10:30–Break
10:45-noon–Workshops (participants select one of three workshops led by local Jewish educators)
“Touching the Transcendent: Exploring Women of the Bible and their Prayer,” by Aviel Brodkin, Kesser Israel rebbetzin. Focus on Biblical women and their prayers using biblical, Talmudic and midrashic sources.
“Tekhines/Supplications: The Voices of Women in Prayer,” by Rabbi Annette Koch of Beit Haverim/SMJC. Explore some of the supplications and prayers composed by women as well as those written for women. These prayers address personal needs and issues not usually acknowledged in Jewish prayer.
“Kol Isha be’Tefilah: Voices of Women in Prayer,” by Ilene Safyan, singer/songwriter, cantorial soloist. Throughout Jewish history, women have offered prayers on behalf of their communities and loved ones. Focus on the words, the spirit and the melodies of women’s tefillot. Sing the melodies and create personal or communal prayers during the session.
Noon-1 p.m.–Lunch, singing and post-workshop session with Rachel Brodie. “New Directions of Women communicating with God based on Aliza Lavie’s book, ‘Tefilat Nashim: Jewish Women’s Prayers.’”
1:00–“Channah, Mother of Prayer,” monologue by Melissa Carpenter.
1:20-2:30–“Va’Ani Tefilati: The Sacred Present,” workshop on ritual by Rachel Brodie. Drawing on personal experiences designing and facilitating rituals, Brodie will focus on ritual innovations that have had a lasting impact on the lives of Jewish women.

Cost for the conference, including breakfast and lunch, is $36 before Jan. 23 or $45 thereafter. Students are $18. Patrons wishing to support scholarships pay $60. Scholarships are available before Jan. 23; contact Deborah Eisenbach-Budner, Havurah Shalom educator, at debudner@havurahshalom.org.
   For more information, contact Sylvia Frankel at frankel@lclark.edu or visit www.oregonjcc.org.

Neveh Shalom Schedule
for Scholar-in- Residence

Friday, Jan. 30
6:15 p.m. Kabbalat Shabbat Service
Weekday Judaism: Work, Play, and the Everyday
“What’s so special about a rainy Tuesday in January?” From finding meaning in our work (whatever we may do, as long as it’s legal) to the evaluation of our homes as sacred space, from how we handle money to our relationships to food and sex, Judaism offers us opportunities to go off auto-pilot and live mindfully. Explore the concept of “normal mysticism” in our tradition.
Saturday, Jan. 31
9 a.m. Shabbat Morning Service
12:30-1:30 p.m. Lunch & Study Session: “Rosh Hodesh: It’s About Time”
Good time management—the Jewish way—involves taking time on a regular basis to pause, reflect and rededicate ourselves to the priorities we espouse. Rosh Hodesh (the holiday marking the beginning of each new month) is one such “speed bump” in the Jewish calendar. Through text study and discussion rediscover this most “timely” of holy days and reconsider the challenge of leading a balanced life.
Havdalah 5:30-8 p.m.
This Shoreshim family event will combine teaching on brachot and havdalah.

All sessions take place at Neveh Shalom, 2900 SW Peaceful Lane.

For more information, call JoAnn Bezodis at 503-293-7301. All events are free.