Rabbi Cohen will lead a 4-part series. Enjoy coffee and bagels all while learning amongst our Sinai community.

Our first session Coincides with Kristallnacht, “the night(s) of broken glass,” mark the anniversary of November ninth and tenth  in 1938, during which violence erupted, as Jewish stores and synagogues were smashed and burned – and then the German  government made the Jewish community pay for the clean up. We will focus on the phenomenon of anti-semitism, its religious roots and its most famous manifestations, with special attention to the period we are currently living through. 

Our second session will address the question: “what’s God got to do with it?”  We will review the ways Jews have understood God is and isn’t, as well as the question of Mitzvah/commandment and how we can relate to the mitzvot if we are not sure there exist a “M’tzaveh” a command-giver. 

Our third session will focus on the ideology of Zionism and the State of Israel’s role in today’s Jewish world. Is there an understanding of Zionism that means more than a dying idea in a post-colonial world? Given the current military threats to Israel, how might it continue to be a source of spiritual ideas and strength? 

Our fourth session will look at Jewish responses to the question: “What happens after we die?” Though we lack any personal reports on the issue, we    continue to wonder and imagine: what lies beyond this life? Is there something of us that continues to exist even after we die? Have our souls experienced lifetimes other than this one? Well query Jewish texts from the Torah to Kaballah to Philip Roth.