Seminarion

Join Rabbi Cohen for these mini-courses offered, via Zoom, Monday evenings beginning October 10th, 2022 from 7:00pm-8:30 pm.

If you would like to be on the list to get the Monday evening links, please register below or call the office at 610-435-9074.

1. Writing Your Spiritual Autobiography: The students in this class will be guided through several topics that will invite them to explore their lives as spiritual men and women. In addition to writing, this class will afford students opportunity for discussion. At the end of this class, students will have a small portfolio of their explorations. Rabbi Cohen is a certified Guided Autobiography instructor.
2. Judaism and Bioethics: The Jewish tradition has a great deal to say about the many bioethical issues that we confront in modern times. In this course we’ll study several of them, including abortion, stem cell research, the distribution of scarce medical resources, and organ donation.
3. Women in the Bible: When you take a close look at the women of the Bible it becomes clear that their character and stories are not as minor as you might think. I this class we’ll look at the character of Eve, Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel, Leah, Miriam, and Devorah.
4. Reading Roth: Through a study of four stories found in Philip Roth’s Goodbye Columbus, we’ll see Roth’s trenchant observations of the American Jewish community.  
5. What is Reform Judaism? Through the study of several platforms going back to 1885, as well as other sources, we will examine the roots of Reform Judaism as well as Reform’s meaning for us today.
6. The Paradigmatic Jewish Leader: A study of texts about Moshe Rabbenu
7. The Music of Leonard Cohen: Click HERE for the lyrics and performances found on YouTube of five of Leonard Cohen's songs. These songs contain a particular religious/spiritual resonance, and thus make them of special interest to Jewish listeners.  In this course we will listen to the songs and discuss their meaning. Over the decades I have found these songs to be personally meaningful, even as their meanings are more than occasionally puzzling. But that is the role of good poetry, so difficulty and some degree of ambivalence in understanding is to be expected.  I hope you will consider joining me for what will be an enlightening experience.