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Or Shalom Jewish Community offers a diversity of online and in-person classes and discussion groups, exploring Jewish texts and traditions, contemporary issues, and more through writing, discussion, prayer, and study.

The Lay Leader Empowerment Institute

Is intended to empower Or Shalom and potential lay leaders to feel more confident not only engaging in Jewish practice, but facilitating it. We will bring in educators with different specialties to help round out our community’s learning. 

The School of Jewish-Living Arts (SJLA)

Offers hands-on, fun classes that are open to members & non-members, adults and those younger than adults.

Affinity Groups

Considering God Salon For over 12 years, member-led discussions intimately explore our range of views about God, including secularism/atheism, spirituality, meaningful prayer, language and metaphor, the role of women in Judaism, beliefs about the “soul,” Jewish heretics, death, and more. Our Salons deepen our connection to Judaism and to each other. Co-chairs are Betsy Strausberg and Robin Roth.

Book Group Our Book Group meets monthly over dinner to discuss books of Jewish interest.

Lunch & Learn A project of the Southside Jewish Collaborative, 3rd Thursday of every month, designed for people with flexible schedules who would like to come to the synagogue for a bite to eat, learn, and volunteer.

Thursday Torah Study Zoominyan Our weekly Zoominyan is a place for anyone interested in studying Torah to pray, share gratitude, and examine the weekly Parsha in an open, warm, and encouraging online community. We welcome all levels of knowledge and people of all ages and backgrounds. This weekly Torah Study is lay-led and includes the Healing prayer and Mourner's Kaddish.  Join us every Thursday morning at 10:00 am via this Zoom link (Passcode: THURSDAY). You can find our online siddur by clicking here.

Kvetch and Kvell Or Shalom’s Kvetch and Kvell is a craft and chat group that meets at 4:00 on the 2nd and 4th Tuesdays on Zoom. Participants bring some kind of hand work, such as quilting, knitting, sewing, costume design, mending, collage, etc and we spend an hour working on our projects and chatting. It is a very welcoming group and aims to provide a pleasant, easy atmosphere where people can get to know each other.  The name Kvetch and Kvell was intended to imply that anyone is welcome to share troubles and frustrations, or to share positives from their and their families’ lives (i.e. bragging about children or grandchildren or friends). Join via this Zoom link (Passcode: KVETCH)

News Minyan What have we taken in from the world in the last week? What has left an impression? What are we wrestling with? Structure, silence, and focused listening allow words to have weight. News Minyan discussions utilize the wisdom of Jewish texts to review contemporary issues and events.


Upcoming Classes

All Events
  • Monday ,
    DecDecember  4 , 2023
    Reconstructing “God” with R’ Faryn
    Monday, Dec 4th 7:00p to 8:30p
    This is part of the “Reconstructing” Series with R’ Faryn. Each class in "Reconstructing God" builds on the previous class and these are not meant to be drop-ins, so please try to come to all classes in this section if you register for this course. We encourage you to register for "Reconstructing Prayer" and "Reconstructing Israel" as well but it is not a requirement. Reconstructionism is not a set theology or body of thought, but rather, an ongoing Jewish process of Reconstructing. Therefore, to learn about Reconstructionism we will apply its practice–Reconstructing–to three core Jewish concepts over the course of the year: God, Prayer and Israel. For each series, we will begin with a survey of all the different ways the concept has been understood throughout Jewish time in order to first deconstruct, and then reconstruct anew.

    MORE INFO

  • Tuesday ,
    DecDecember  5 , 2023
    Learn to read the Alef-Bet with Elizheva Hurvich
    Tuesday, Dec 5th 7:00p to 8:30p
    Learn how to decode the Alef-Bet with our guest teacher, Elizheva Hurvich! In this class, you will learn the 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet, as well as the vowel system. You will also get a brief glimpse into both the grammatical and mystical structure of the Hebrew language.

    MORE INFO

  • Monday ,
    DecDecember  11 , 2023
    Reconstructing “God” with R’ Faryn
    Monday, Dec 11th 7:00p to 8:30p
    This is part of the “Reconstructing” Series with R’ Faryn. Each class in "Reconstructing God" builds on the previous class and these are not meant to be drop-ins, so please try to come to all classes in this section if you register for this course. We encourage you to register for "Reconstructing Prayer" and "Reconstructing Israel" as well but it is not a requirement. Reconstructionism is not a set theology or body of thought, but rather, an ongoing Jewish process of Reconstructing. Therefore, to learn about Reconstructionism we will apply its practice–Reconstructing–to three core Jewish concepts over the course of the year: God, Prayer and Israel. For each series, we will begin with a survey of all the different ways the concept has been understood throughout Jewish time in order to first deconstruct, and then reconstruct anew.

    MORE INFO

  • Tuesday ,
    DecDecember  12 , 2023
    Learn to read the Alef-Bet with Elizheva Hurvich
    Tuesday, Dec 12th 7:00p to 8:30p
    Learn how to decode the Alef-Bet with our guest teacher, Elizheva Hurvich! In this class, you will learn the 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet, as well as the vowel system. You will also get a brief glimpse into both the grammatical and mystical structure of the Hebrew language.

    MORE INFO

  • Monday ,
    DecDecember  18 , 2023
    Reconstructing “God” with R’ Faryn
    Monday, Dec 18th 7:00p to 8:30p
    This is part of the “Reconstructing” Series with R’ Faryn. Each class in "Reconstructing God" builds on the previous class and these are not meant to be drop-ins, so please try to come to all classes in this section if you register for this course. We encourage you to register for "Reconstructing Prayer" and "Reconstructing Israel" as well but it is not a requirement. Reconstructionism is not a set theology or body of thought, but rather, an ongoing Jewish process of Reconstructing. Therefore, to learn about Reconstructionism we will apply its practice–Reconstructing–to three core Jewish concepts over the course of the year: God, Prayer and Israel. For each series, we will begin with a survey of all the different ways the concept has been understood throughout Jewish time in order to first deconstruct, and then reconstruct anew.

    MORE INFO

  • Tuesday ,
    DecDecember  19 , 2023
    Learn to read the Alef-Bet with Elizheva Hurvich
    Tuesday, Dec 19th 7:00p to 8:30p
    Learn how to decode the Alef-Bet with our guest teacher, Elizheva Hurvich! In this class, you will learn the 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet, as well as the vowel system. You will also get a brief glimpse into both the grammatical and mystical structure of the Hebrew language.

    MORE INFO

  • Thursday ,
    JanJanuary  4 , 2024
    Teshuvah series with R’ Faryn
    Thursday, Jan 4th 7:00p to 8:30p
    This year-long study-to-action series will be a deep-dive into one social justice issue of the community’s choosing, where we will apply the principles of teshuvah (repentance & repair) to the issue in order to explore and determine what actions we at Or Shalom should take to renounce, repair and resolve our complicity in the harm, and commit to an ongoing process of accountability.

    MORE INFO

  • Sunday ,
    JanJanuary  7 , 2024
    Beginning Hebrew Calligraphy & the Mystical Meaning of the Alef-Bet
    Sunday, Jan 7th 2:00p to 4:00p
    There is a tradition that the vehicle of Creation of the Universe was the holy letters of the Aleph-Bet. Interestingly, we count Jewish time from the period when writing was invented. Come learn how to form those holy letters with a felt calligraphy pen, or a brush, and write your own favorite verse in Hebrew! You can frame it to hang over your desk as inspiration. 7 sessions with R. Me’irah.

    MORE INFO

  • Tuesday ,
    JanJanuary  9 , 2024
    Learn to read the Alef-Bet with Elizheva Hurvich
    Tuesday, Jan 9th 7:00p to 8:30p
    Learn how to decode the Alef-Bet with our guest teacher, Elizheva Hurvich! In this class, you will learn the 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet, as well as the vowel system. You will also get a brief glimpse into both the grammatical and mystical structure of the Hebrew language.

    MORE INFO

  • Tuesday ,
    JanJanuary  16 , 2024
    Learn to read the Alef-Bet with Elizheva Hurvich
    Tuesday, Jan 16th 7:00p to 8:30p
    Learn how to decode the Alef-Bet with our guest teacher, Elizheva Hurvich! In this class, you will learn the 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet, as well as the vowel system. You will also get a brief glimpse into both the grammatical and mystical structure of the Hebrew language.

    MORE INFO

 

Sun, December 3 2023 20 Kislev 5784