Lifelong Learning

Education is a continuing commitment for persons of all ages. We sponsor a variety of introductory, intermediate, and advanced courses in Hebrew Language and Jewish Studies ranging from a single session to a year-long commitment. We join with other Reform congregations in sponsoring an Introduction to Judaism course. We also host book discussions, guest lectures, scholar-in-residence, and family workshops, as well as special events throughout the year, open to the community. Finally, we offer links to the many other institutions of Jewish learning throughout New York City. Please contact clergyassistant@bhsbrooklyn.org or call 718-522-2070 x138 if you have any questions.

Click here for a full list of classes available at BHS.


Classes by Rabbi Serge Lippe


Continuing Education Classes

Advanced Prayer / Biblical Hebrew (Zoom)

Thursdays, 10:30am – 11:30am on Zoom
(Beginning October 12)

Register here.

Join us on Zoom here.


Fall 2023

Judaism, Tort Law, and The Environment (In-Person)
A Deep Reading of Rabbi Ariel Evan Mayse’s article “Where Heaven and Earth Kiss”

Wednesdays, 6:00pm – 7:00pm
October 25 – November 15, & December 6

How could the Jewish legal principles and concepts of Nezikin, damages (or torts), help us respond to the questions of responsibility and liability for environmental damage? We will undertake a deep reading of Rabbi Mayse’s 2019 article from Penn State University’s ‘Journal of Jewish Ethics’.

Register here.


Winter 2023

Elijah the Prophet – Bible & Legends (In-Person)

Wednesdays, 6:30pm – 7:45pm
(January 10, 24, 31, & February 7 & 21, 2024)

Elijah was, according to the Books of Kings in the Hebrew Bible, a prophet and a miracle worker who lived in the northern kingdom of Israel during the reign of King Ahab (9th century BCE). Following his ascension to heaven, Elisha, his disciple and most devoted assistant, took over his role as leader of this school. The Book of Malachi prophesies Elijah’s return “before the coming of the great and terrible day of the LORD,” making him a harbinger of the Messiah and of the eschaton in various faiths that revere the Hebrew Bible. References to Elijah appear in Sirach, the New Testament, the Mishnah and Talmud, the Quran, the Book of Mormon, Baháʼí writings, and much of the Talmud and later Jewish literature.

Register here.


Spring 2024

Discovering the Mishna – A Survey of Orders and Tractates

Wednesdays, 6:30pm – 7:45pm
(March 13, 27, April 3, 10, 17, & May 8, 2024)

We will be using the edition of Rabbi Eugene Lipman: The Mishnah: Oral Teachings of Judaism, Selected and Translated, New York: Schocken, 1974. Pp. 318

Rabbi Lipman provides the reader with an introduction to the ‘Mishnah’. The Mishnah is the compilation of Oral Laws made in the second century which along with the commentaries on it (the Babylonian and Jerusalem Gemaras) constitute the Talmuds. Rabbi Lipman explains what the Mishnah is, and the part it plays in Jewish life. The main text of the work consists of excerpts from the Six Orders and over sixty Tractates that comprise the Mishnah.

Register here.


Classes by Rabbi Bailey Romano


Continuing Education Classes

Beginner Hebrew for Adults

Thursdays, 6:00pm – 7:00pm
(October 26, November 2, 9, 16, 30, December 7, 14, 2023, January 11, 18, 25, 2024)

Join Rabbi Romano to learn the Hebrew Aleph Bet and vowels; giving you the ability to read and decode Hebrew words. This class will prepare students to be able to read and decode most words in Hebrew with little difficulty.

 *No prior Hebrew background is required for this class, just a willingness to learn!*

 Texts: ‘Teach Yourself to Read Hebrew’, EKS Publishing

Click here to register for this class.

Prayer Hebrew for Beginners

Thursdays, 6:00pm – 7:00pm
(February 1, 8, 15, 22, 29, March 7, 14, 21, 28, April 4, 11, 18, May 2, 9, 16, 23)

This class will be a continuation of Beginner Hebrew for Adults. Students will build on their Hebrew reading and decoding abilities to develop a deeper understanding of Hebrew prayers through vocabulary acquisition, translation, and interpretation.

 *Students must have either taken Beginner Hebrew in the fall or have prior knowledge of Hebrew reading and decoding to take the class. *

 Texts: ‘Prayerbook Hebrew the Easy Way, Third Edition’, EKS Publishing

Click here to register for this class.


Fall 2023

What Page Are We On?

Wednesdays, 6:30pm – 7:30pm
(November 1, 8, 15, December 6)

November 1: Getting Ready to Pray (Kabbalat Shabbat, Psalms of Praise, and Texts for Study)
November 8: Shema and Her Blessings (Love and Redemption)
November 15: Diving into the Amidah (Avot, G’vurot, Kedusha, and more!)
December 6: Concluding Prayers: Aleinu and Kaddish (Repair and Remembrance)

This class is for anyone who has ever been confused about what page we’re reading, chanting, or singing from in the siddur. Join Rabbi Romano for a primer on Jewish prayer and for a particular look into what prayers and pages we pray from in our siddur at BHS, Mishkan Tefilah. Through this class, you’ll better understand how our service is structured while also learning a few themes and intentions that can help deepen your own experience of Shabbat services each week.

Click here to register for this class.


Winter 2023

Let’s Talk, God | G-d | G?d

Thursdays, 7:30pm – 8:30pm
(Jan. 4, 11, 18; February 1)

January 4: Meet the God of Abraham, the God of Moses, the God of Hannah, and the God of Deborah
January 11: G-d According to the Rabbis of the Mishnah and Talmud
January 18: G!d Conversations with Rambam, Rabbi Isaac Luria, and Baruch Spinoza
February 1: Are you there God? Exploring Jewish Theology Today (Kaplan, Heschel Plaskow, and Artson)

Join Rabbi Romano to explore Jewish beliefs about the God you may or may not believe in. Together we’ll examine Jewish theologies found in the Torah and rabbinic literature, in addition to the spectrum of Jewish beliefs on God from the Enlightenment to today. Throughout our time together, we’ll discuss what Jewish theologies resonate with us wherever we are on our Jewish journey. Through our time together, you just might find that the God you learned about in Sunday school isn’t Rabbi Romano’s G!d either.

Click here to register for this class.


Spring 2024

Pirkei Imahot: The Wisdom of our Mothers Then and Now

Wednesdays, 6:30pm – 7:30pm
(May 8, 15, 29, June 5)

Have you ever wondered what wisdom our matriarchs have passed down from generation to generation? Throughout our lives we’ve heard stories of the male characters in Torah again and again. We’ve learned important lessons from rabbis in the Talmud, all men, through midrash and text. But where are the voices of our mothers in Torah, Talmud, and throughout Jewish history? Join Rabbi Bailey Romano to explore  Jewish women’s wisdom passed down throughout the centuries, while reflecting on the wisdom you’ve received from women in your life and the lessons you hope you will pass on to the next generation.

Click here to register for this class.


Classes by Cantor Ayelet Porzecanski


Continuing Education Classes

All the World’s a Stage:
The History of Yiddish Theater

Thursdays, 7:00pm – 8:00pm
(October 26, November 2, November 9, 2023)

From Europe in the Middle Ages to major cities across America, this class will follow the evolution of this great cultural passion of the immigrant Jewish communities in the United States.

Jewish Comedy: A History!

Thursdays, 7:00pm – 8:00pm
(February 29, March 7, March 14, 2024)

This class will trace Jewish-American comedy through the Borsht Belt and beyond, uncovering the origins of Jewish comedy and its development from biblical times to the age of Twitter. Come ready to laugh!

All of Cantor Ayelet’s sessions are ©Lowell Milken Fund for American Jewish Music at The UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music.


Chavurah: Let’s Talk Torah


Chavurah

Saturdays, 9:30am – 12:00pm

It’s Shabbat morning and a short prayer service is beginning. By 10:00am coffee has been served, along with bagels, cream cheese, and muffins. The leader is often Rabbi Romano, but occasionally Rabbi Lippe or Cantor Porzecanski, or perhaps a special invited teacher.


Visiting Lecturers


The Hebrew Bible in American History and Culture
by Professor Amy Weiss, PhD., University of Hartford

Mondays, 7:00pm – 8:00pm via Zoom
(Oct. 16, 23, 30, November 6)

This course examines the role the Hebrew bible has played in American history and culture. Specifically, it demonstrates how Hebraic ideas (values, traditions, and stories that emerged throughout ancient Israel) have shaped the United States, from its founding through to the present. We will use passages from the Hebrew bible to inform our understanding of significant moments in American history, including the creation of the American government and rule of law, the elimination of slavery, the

establishment of the Thanksgiving holiday, the role of the Ten Commandments in American culture, and the existence of various slogans and symbols (i.e., the 1954 inclusion of the phrase “under God” in the Pledge of Allegiance)

Click here to register for this class.


One Thousand Years of Jewish Life in Poland
by Daniel Erhlich

Sunday, October 22, 11:00am – 12:00pm via Zoom

Daniel Ehrlich has been a leader in Jewish and Zionist education for over thirty years.  Today, he guides tour groups all over Israel. Just one day touring with him, and you immediately sense the passion this man has for the Land of Israel and its history.

Click here to register for this class.


Starting November 2nd, this 20-session class will meet remotely via Zoom on Thursday and Sunday evenings from 7:00pm – 9:00pm and 7:30pm – 9:30pm respectively. For registration & questions, contact Rabbi Sue Oren at introclass@earthlink.net or (917) 539-1334.


Community Engagement


Wise Aging

Register here for more information.

Israeli Movie Watch Group

Meeting biweekly, the Israeli Movie Watch Group at BHS convenes to discuss films recent and classic works of cinema.

Book Group

Meeting once a month, the BHS Book Group examines literature from a pre-selected list compiled by members

Men’s Group

The Men’s Group at BHS is a monthly meeting of congregants to discuss what matters to us in the world, in the community, in our relationships, and in ourselves.

If you are interested in any of the groups listed, please email our Director of Membership or our Adult Education Administrator.


Classes by Rabbi Sue Oren