January 10, 2008
How about a little Torah with your tea on Friday night? In dining rooms and dens around West Orange on Jan. 11, hosts will welcome friends to their homes as they gather not only for sponge cake and a cup of tea, but also to hear their peers speak on topics ranging from the life and times of Maimonides to “A Jewish Perspective on Proper Alcohol Consumption.”
The event, known as Leil Limud, is the second in a series of three Friday night learning sessions in the homes of members of the Orthodox Ahawas Achim B’nai Jacob and David in West Orange.
“Part of our thinking was, how can we turn people from being consumers of Torah into providers of Judaism and Torah?” said Rabbi Scot Berman, a synagogue member and executive director of the Seryl & Charles Kushner Family Foundation, who organized the event.
The synagogue’s religious leader, Rabbi Eliezer Zwickler, concurred.
Leil Limud “really allows everyone to recognize that you don’t have to be someone with smiha [rabbinic ordination] to learn to teach. It’s something we can all do,” he said. In fact, none of the event’s speakers, who were selected by Berman and Zwickler, is a rabbi.
The first Leil Limud took place in November at 12 venues and drew 240 participants; the January event will have nine venues. The third Leil Limud will be held March 6. Nonmembers are welcome to attend. There is no cost.
The upcoming session will be complemented by a learnathon for teens for four hours after Shabbat on Jan. 12, beginning at 6:30 p.m. Students will be sponsored in their guided study of a chapter of Mishna. Proceeds will benefit the congregation’s youth programs.
“There are many synagogues that get frustrated with adult education. The question is always how to get people to come and learn,” said Zwickler. He said this model enables people to hang out with their friends and hear Torah learning at the same time. Berman said it enhances the quality of Shabbat by having it “filled with a holy endeavor, i.e., the study of Torah.”
Sessions will be held from 8 to 9 p.m.; dessert will follow from 9 to 10. Talk topics, selected by the speakers, include “Eliyahu HaNavi: Another Moshe or His Opposite?” by Ilene Strauss; “The Ultimate Interaction with Man and with Hashem,” Avi Laub; “Tu B’Shevat Higia Hag Lailanot,” Jack Becker; “The Magic of Mussar,” Larry Cohen; “L’Chaim: A Jewish Perspective on Proper Alcohol Consumption,” Alex Usdan; “Bnei Yisrael v. Bnei Yishmael: Conflicting Core Values Underlying Illusive Similarities,” Bruce Schlanger; “Jerusalem Under Siege 60 Years Ago,” Dr. David Lando; “The Life and Times of Rambam,” Dr. Murray Rothman; and “The Importance of #1,” Ed Zughaft.
“It sends a tremendous lesson to our children about our priorities when so many people take advantage of the opportunity to go and learn Torah,” said Zwickler.
For more information, contact Ahawas Achim B’nai Jacob and David at 973-736-1407.