The Schwarz-Kurz-Zeller Adult Education Institute Archives
Did you miss a program? No worries.
We have them recorded for you.
Anything underlined is a link to a video. Enjoy!
Teshuva and Criminal Justice
The Fours of the Pesah Seder
Guest Speaker: Lavi Kreisman Donate
Click HERE for recording of Lavi Kreisman,
A reservist's unique perspective on
life in Israel post October 7.
Click HERE to make a donation to the Memorial Fund for the Families of the Fallen of Battalion 8208.
On the afternoon of January 22, 2024, during a battle in Gaza, a fateful explosion killed 21 soldiers from the 261st Brigade, which included 14 soldiers from Battalion 8208 (pictured above), decimating most of their platoon.
Purpose of the Fund:
To facilitate long term support for the families, widows and orphans of the heroes of Battalion 8208 who gave their lives in defense of the State of Israel.
Our Goal:
* An official Memorial site
*Psychological support for the children and parents
*Annual commemorations of the memorial day and get-together of all the families of 8208
*Birthday celebration and gifts for the widows and orphans
*Gifts and support for Holidays, perhaps the most painful time without their fallen loved one.
Memorial Fund for the families of the fallen -
Battalion 8208
Israel Defence Forces
Donations are Tax deductable
Jewish Lifecycle Series - Jewish Approach to End of Life
Listen to Rabbi Cantor's discussion about Jewish Approach to End of Life (February 28, 2024)
Click HERE for recording.
Jews & Politics in Europe, US, and Israel - Harriet Freidenreich
Classes will no longer be recorded.
Click HERE for recordings.
Medicare 101 with Eric Fishbein
Jewish Political Traditions
For more than two millennia, both within and outside the Promised Land, the Jewish people were a self-governing civilization. Join Rabbi Cantor for a survey of the evolution of the Jewish Political Tradition from the Wilderness to Emancipation, as kings, priests, prophets, rabbis, and sages vie for authority over the Jewish community.
• Covenant: God’s Law and The People’s Consent
• Revelation: Torah and Reason
• Kings
• Priests
• Prophets
• Rabbis and Sages
• Controversy and Dissent
• The Good Men of the Town
• The Gentile State
Click HERE for Jewish Political Traditions classes.
Classes meet Wednesdays at 10:00am; click HERE for calendar dates or visit www.bethelyardley.org.
Beth El Field Trip: Walking Tour of Princeton’s Campus Sculpture Collection
Beth El sculpture fans in front of Louise Nevelson’s “Atmosphere and Environment X”.
Walking Tour of Princeton's Campus Sculpture Collection
Beth El’s art mavens gathered in Princeton on July 30 for a tour of the sculpture on the University’s Main Campus. Even the weather cooperated for a delightful summer day trip.
Princeton’s outdoor art collection is extensive. On this particular Sunday, Princeton Art Museum’s docent, Jeanne Mazzetti, led a public tour of works by Henry Moore, Louise Nevelson, Jacques Lipchitz, George Segal, and Scott Burton. The Beth El group then privately toured additional works by Pablo Picasso, Ai Weiwei, and Maya Lin. We finished up with a light dinner at the Dinkey Bar and Kitchen, before heading home.
Lunch & Legal
Lunch & Legal
Discussion Leader: Alex Geiger
Review and discuss the latest decisions from the US Supreme Court, with a Jewish slant.
Spring 2023
Yizhar Hess Watch Party & Discussion, March 15, 2023
Jewish Experience in America
Jewish Experience in America
Instructor: Harriet Freidenreich
Wednesdays, 10:00am - 11:00am
This course will provide an overview of American Jewish history in the late 19th and 20th centuries. Topics to be discussed include: Eastern European immigration; Jews and the Labor Movement; World War I and antisemitism; Jewish women, suffrage and birth control; Jewish religious denominationalism; American Jews, the Holocaust and the State of Israel; suburbanization; Jewish activism and feminism; Jewish identity and intermarriage.
Walking with...God Series
One of the core principles of Jewish faith is that God is...
· essentially ineffable,
· unknowable,
· indescribable,
which has not prevented Jews from trying these past three millennia. Join Rabbi Cantor for a survey of Jewish understandings of the Divine from the Biblical, Talmudic, Midrashic, Halakhic, Philosophical, Kabbalistic, Hassidic, and Modern points of view.
Click here for Rabbi Cantor's classes and Walking With Series American Jewish University.
Rethinking Jewish Women's History
Rethinking Jewish Women's History
Part 1: Ancient Near East to Mid-19th Century
Wednesdays, 10:00am
Instructor: Harriet Freidenreich
A new look at Jewish Women's History in historical perspective from Biblical times to the modern era, focusing on the impact of social, economic, cultural, and religious changes on Jewish women's lives in different regions over the years.
Rabbinic Stories
Rabbinic Stories
Wednesdays: Weekly, 11:00am
Instructor: Rabbi David Cantor
The Human experience can best be understood through a narrative lens. The stories we tell - about our past, our present, our future - help to define who we are, both individually and collectively. The Rabbis of the Talmud were master storytellers, and the stories they told helped shape our understanding of what it means to be Jewish. Join Rabbi David Cantor for a weekly telling of some of his favorite rabbinic tales.
Dying with Dignity: A Jewish View on Hospice Care
What is the Jewish View of end-of-life care? How can the hospice approach meet the medical, social, and spiritual needs of Jewish families facing chronic and advanced illness?
Rabbi David Cantor
Congregation Beth El
Rabbi Dr. Renae Lee Toben
Hospice Chaplain, Humanitas Health Services
Allen Naygauzen, MD, MS
Medical Director & Co-Founder, Humanitas Health
Services
2021-2022
Tzitzit Tying
Tzitzit Tying with Abigail Greenberg
Instructions on how to tie tzitzit based on Abigail Greenberg's tallis workshops for her Girl Scout Silver Award. These were run for Sisterhood and the Fierverker Jewish Learning Community (FJLC).
Guest Author - Jo Ivester
Guest Author, Jo Ivester is an author and speaker, focusing on LGBTQ & civil rights advocacy. Her books include the award-winning memoir The Outskirts of Hope (2015) and the upcoming family memoir Once A Girl, Always a Boy (2020). She addresses a wide range of audiences, from small book clubs to entire schools, using her personal stories as a means to make people more comfortable with those who are different from them with regard to race, religion, sexual orientation, and gender identification.
Exploring Jewish Views of the Afterlife: Contemporary Implications
On Tuesday, March 29, Congregations Beth El & Brothers of Israel presented guest speaker, Reb Simcha Raphael, Ph.D.
Does Judaism believe in the afterlife? Unequivocally, the answer is yes! Unfortunately, in contemporary Jewish life we have lost touch with traditional Jewish wisdom on the afterlife. In this program, we shall explore Judaism’s teachings on life after death particularly in Kabbalah – Jewish mysticism.
Click here for recording. Access Passcode: 7TZi&YSd
Crowdsourcing Pesach - presented by Adult Education and Sisterhood
On Sunday, March 27, The Adult Education Committee and The Sisterhood teamed up to present a virtual, informative, and participatory program about Pesach. Click here for recording. Charcuterie board inspired by Susie Fishbein's recipe book, Passover by Design.
On the "menu"... click here for recording
Insider Passover Shopping Information - click on links for grocery information:
Seder Traditions
What special foods do people make for their seder?
Passover Charcuterie:
Thank you to Phyllis Schachter for the beautiful charcuterie.
Passover Fun Facts:
Click here for recording to find out the answers.
The Spiritual Dimensions of Wellness & Brain Health
Ruth Schapira
In recent times, brain research has discovered that there's a
connection between the health of your brain and your
engagement with spiritual activities and thoughts.
Jews & Food
Rabbi Morris Allen
Rabbi Morris Allen joined Rabbi Weiss' February 23, 2022 class to discuss the history of Kashrut in America, and bringing current Kashrut certification rules into alignment with ethical concerns.
Escape from Shanghai
Jean Hoffman Lewanda
Witness to history, from Vienna to Shanghai a memoir of escape, survival and resilience. Use link below to view our guest speaker as she describes her father, Paul Hoffman's escape from Nazi invasion,
Hebrew Calligraphy Artist
Rachel Jackson
Artist Rachael Jackson lead us in this hands-on workshop. We learned how to use Hebrew calligraphy tools, and put them to use in the workshop to create a Hebrew calligraphy piece to hang in your home.
Author Visit
Esther Amini
"Concealed: Memoir of a Jewish-Iranian Daughter Caught Between the Chador and America."
September 30, 2021
Scholar-in-Residence
Tzafrir Barzilay
"Plague, Libel & Suspicion"
May 23, 2021
12 Sivan 5781
Sadly, we are once again living through a plague year. Previous plagues have brought devastation, but it is the aftermath of plagues that may be even more dangerous. Historically, plagues have unleashed social unrest, wars, famines – and, of course, waves of violent antisemitism.
Join us to listen to the lessons of history, from a scholar whose research is focused on plagues and their aftermath. Tzafrir Barzilay is a Kreitman Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Ben Gurion University of the Negev. His forthcoming book, “Poisoned Wells: Accusation, Persecution and Minorities in Medieval Europe 1321-1422” is about to be
published by University of Pennsylvania Press.
Recording no longer available
Wandering Jews Series
The Wandering Jews series connects us to the contemporary Jewish experience around the world. We are opening conversations with far-flung Jewish congregations, to learn about one another in the context of common issues we all face
as Jews.
Uganda, Africa
May 1, 2022
30 Nisan 5782
Join us as we travel far across the globe to Uganda, Africa and learn about contemporary Jewish issues and compare notes on "doing Jewish" in Uganda.
Click here for recording.
The Great Synagogue of
Stockholm, Sweden
May 9, 2021
27 Iyar 5781
Join us for a transatlantic conversation with Rabbi Ute Steyer about being Jewish publicly.
Emanuel Synagogue
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
April 18, 2021
6 Iyar 5781
A conversation with Rabbi Abby Jacobson from the Emanuel Synagogue in Oklahoma City. "Game of Thrones: Democracy, Messiah, and The State of Israel."
Emanuel Synagogue, the Conservative synagogue for the Oklahoma City area, is home to some 200 member families and individuals. Our congregation is close-knit and friendly, like a big family. Most of us have known each other for years (often for generations), but we're thrilled when newcomers ask to join us, and we do everything we can to make them feel welcome and integrate them into our community.
Exterior View (2012), 15” x 11” Watercolor, Jay A. Waronker
Congregation Tikvat Yisrael
Abuja, Nigeria
April 25, 2021
13 Iyar 5781
"Being Jewish in Public" What is Jewish life like Abuja, Nigeria? What are the unique challenges of being openly Jewish in that part of the world? How do those challenges compare with our own public displays of Judaism in Yardley, PA?
Yom Ha'aztmaut Celebration
Ariel Wyner & Kol Kahol, Jewish American Bluegrass Band
April 15, 2021
13 Iyar 5781
At the crossroads of American Roots and Jewish customs, Kol Kaḥol's music has a joyous, modern spin that is deeply seated in tradition.
Yom HaShoah Holocaust Remembrance Day
April 7, 2021
25 Nisan 5781
Yom HaShoah Holocaust Remembrance Day was commemorated with guest speakers which included Congregation Beth El member and author of "Dearest Ones," Stephen Weiner. Stephen and his father embarked on a journey to discover his mother's experiences as she lived as a Hidden Child.
Share Your Passion Workshop
Share Your Passion Workshop Series brings exciting virtual workshops to Congregation Beth El through our members sharing their own hobbies, talents and interests. Do you have a hidden talent, hobby, skill or professional expertise that you would be willing to *virtually showcase? Nutritionists, gardeners, chefs, seamstresses/tailors, bakers, artists, musicians, actors, yoga, Zumba, sports enthusiasts, wine enthusiasts, finance, event planning, dental health and more! Please contact the office today! Call 215-493-1707 or email Helene Geiger, Adulted@bethelyardley.org.
Share Your Passion Workshop Video Links
1. Penny Bardfeld, Portion Distortion
2. Rich Gorelick and Rusty Gorelick, An American Guide to Soccer
3. Jack Wellerstein, Starting a Backyard Garden
5. Henry Cohen, The Environment: Taking Responsibility
6. Ashara Shapiro, Jewelry Making
7. Larry Kanner, Election Judge, Mitch Marder, Election Judge, Ben Wachspress, “Reclaim the Vote” Project: VOTE FAQ
8. Phil Freidenreich and Liz Ravitch - Genealogy
9. Marc Ostro, COVID -19 Vaccine Developments
11. Cantor Flo Friedman, The Hidden Gems of Patient and Staff Care: Chaplains Video not available. Click here for audio file.
12. Loren Hurwitz, Retirement Fun
13. Ruth Laks & Congregation Beth El Members, Day Tripping in 48 hours or less - (click here for Day Tripping links from other member's trips)
Special Events & Programs
Rachael Cerrotti - "We Share the Same Sky"
Rachael Cerrotti is an award-winning documentary photographer, writer, educator and producer.
Click here for program.
Beth Elevate Your Elul - High Holidays 2020/5781
Seth Fishman: 30 Meaningful Minutes
Click here for program.
Cheesecake Chats Tikkun Leyl Shavuot - May 2020/Sivan 5781
We hope you were able to join us during the week leading up to Shavuot for these great learning opportunities.
If you missed any of the talks or just want to see them again, please click on the video links below.
Cheesecake Chat Video Links
1. Seth Fishman - “Revelation and a Torah for Our Times”
Wellness Day May 2020/Sivan 5781
Congregation Beth El and The Bucks County Kehillah came together for a day of Virtual restoration, discovery and growth. Thank you to our presenters: Ruth Schapira, Rabbi Jeff Schnitzer, Joan Rubin-Kritz, Caryn Boiselle, Rabbi Diana Miller, Galit Green, Laurie Pepe and Rabbi Weiss, for closing remarks
Wellness Day Video Links
2. Galit Green: Turn your Pain Into Purpose