A Shalom Hartman Institute Course; led by Rabbi Michael Berk
Wednesday evenings, January 14 – March 18 (not March 4) (9 sessions), 5:30 – 7:30 p.m.
Fee: $36 members; $48 nonmembers; Cost includes a workbook and all study materials

Why should American Jews care about Israel? What are the benefits of Jewish sovereignty? How should a Jewish state exercise military power ethically? How do we create and maintain a Jewish democracy? What values should a Jewish state embody? What can Israel offer the world?

After a brutal summer of fighting between Israel and Hamas, the fighting in Gaza has ceased for the moment; the rockets aimed at Israel are, for the most part, silent; the accounting of death and destruction is proceeding in relative quiet. Even if the rawness has subsided, the fault lines exposed last summer remain as vivid as ever. The perennial questions regarding how we should view Israel need to be answered more than ever in light of these recent events. Israel as a nation and an aspiration is a fundamental part of Jewish life. But ‘”we owe it to ourselves,” says Rabbi Angela Buchdahl of Manhattan’s Central Synagogue, “to know what we are talking about and even to disagree civilly and knowledgeably. Real love does not wither when it faces imperfection. Real relationships are based in knowing.”

For 65 years, world Jewry gave Israel their support based on a core “traditional” post-Holocaust narrative of the precariousness of Jewish survival. While the challenges of occupation and the issue of peace continue to be at the forefront of Israeli politics, Israel’s impressive military and economic vitality belie the notion that it is a weak country in crisis and in desperate need of our help. The focus of American Jewry has now shifted from the crisis mode of protecting Jews in danger to how we can be enriched and positively influenced by the reality of a Jewish nation. American Jews are engaged in supporting Israel as a key to the continuity of Jewish ideas and values.

Each class features a 25 minute DVD with Rabbi Donniel Hartman, Ph.D-a world renowned scholar, President and faculty member of the Shalom Hartman Institute in Jerusalem-preceded by small group study of the texts alluded to in the lecture and followed by an interactive, lively discussion led by Rabbi Berk. You are invited to bring a “brown bag” dinner or order from our moderately priced menu. Rabbi Berk will provide dinner for the first class.
Fee: $36 for Beth Israel members; $48 for non-members. Cost includes a workbook and all study materials. RSVPS will be taken until the class begins but there is a background reading assignment before the first class.

Registration is now closed. For more information, contact Program Director Bonnie Graff at bgraff@cbisd.org or 858 900-2519.