Ner Tamid women complete a
15-year study of the entire Bible

by Johanna Ginsberg
NJJN Staff Writer

When Martha Fritz of Bloomfield retired more than 17 years ago, she began “looking for things to keep my mind busy.” She tried the Temple Ner Tamid Sisterhood study group and has never left. “Nobody can believe I’ve stayed with it this long,” she said.

For the last 15 of those 17 years, a group of women, mostly of a certain age, have met every Tuesday at 10 a.m. at the Bloomfield synagogue, making their way page-by-page through the Tanach, or Hebrew Bible — all 1,624 pages of their edition. On Wednesday, May 4, they completed their study with the last passage of Second Chronicles and had a siyyum, or celebration, at the Church Street Cafe in Montclair.

“It took us a little longer than a page a day. But the sense of satisfaction and accomplishment is profound. Especially for me,” wrote Rabbi Stephen Kushner in the synagogue’s bulletin. Kushner leads the Reform synagogue as well as the class.

Kushner is what keeps them coming, according to Rose Kron of Bloomfield. “It’s thrilling to listen to him.” Kushner also holds a master’s degree in history, something many in the class said greatly enhanced their study.

Among the highlights of the class, said Fritz, was the historical overview he offered, from the shifting monarchies to the wars between the north and south of Israel that lasted “hundreds of years — not just three days…There was a whole life cycle of war, and peace, Israel leaving and returning, always surviving.”

Of course, others have their own favorite moments, but many agreed on the worst part of the class: reading lists of unpronounceable names. “I would also say, ‘Please don’t let me be the one to ‘have to read that passage,’” said Esther Ketter of West Orange, with a smile.

There is another ingredient to the class’s success: the camaraderie among the women. “This group has become like a family,” said Berna Berger of Bloomfield. Added Kushner, “The truth is, it’s about hevruta — everyone getting together.”

The class began at the urging of Bloomfield resident Helene Spitz, then chair of the adult education committee. “Rabbi Kushner allowed me to force him into it,” she joked. “I had to convince him that a Bible study would be great.”

Back then, neither she nor Kushner had envisioned studying the entire Tanach, which includes the Five Books of Moses, the Prophets, and the Writings. In fact, they started looking at women in the Hebrew Bible. “A year or two later, we started Genesis; then we moved on to Exodus….We got into a flow and before you knew it, we were on a track,” said Kushner, who acknowledged that he’s isn’t sure that even he would have read every word of the Bible on his own if not for this class.

“It’s been better than any graduate seminar I’ve had,” said Spitz, who nonetheless had mixed feelings about finishing what she started all those years ago.

Asked how she feels, Spitz said only, “Terrible.”

But just because they have finished reading the Tanach does not mean the group will come to an end.

Although they haven’t decided exactly what to study next, they know they will continue; some have suggested Pirkei Avot, or Ethics of the Fathers. In the meantime, the women chipped in to give Rabbi Kushner a gift certificate to Barnes and Noble, and many of the women, if not Spitz, were basking in their accomplishment. Among them was Martha Fritz. “I feel like we’ve conquered something,” she said.

Johanna Ginsberg can be reached at jginsberg@njjewishnews.com.