B’nai David-Judea Learning Circles

Welcome to Bnai David-Judea’s Learning Circles. Joining or forming a learning circle gives you an opportunity to gather with friends and study a topic of your choice on your own schedule, in your own homes. It’s a great way to delve into a new topic, and to form close bonds with those in your circle. Here is a simple guide to getting started:

Getting Started:

If your are interested in forming your own group, all you need to do is call your friends and set it up. You can also contact us and we can recommend others for your group. We recommend groups of about 12-15 people, so that everyone can participate and you always have critical mass.

If you want to join a group, contact us and give us your name, age, study background and any other information and we’ll match you up.

Once you have your group set up, compile a contact list with phone numbers and emails to circulate to the group. Please send us the names of the people participating in your learning circle.

We suggest you calendar your whole year at the first meeting, with meetings every four to six weeks, or more often if your group chooses. You can meet on weeknights, weekends, or even on Shabbat or Sundays by hiring a few babysitters or counselors for the kids. Please avoid scheduling meetings during BDJ davening or event times.

Appoint one person to be the group coordinator, who will be responsible for maintaining the contact list and the calendar. The coordinator does not have to lead the group each time (see Guidelines for Facilitating a Group.)

Choosing a Topic
Guidelines for Facilitating
Contacts
Suggested Topics
Links to Other Learning Resources

Choosing a Topic:

Below you will find three suggested topics, with outlines and source material. In addition, there is a list of websites that contain Links to Other Learning Resources. You might also choose a book you want to study together, or a different topic altogether. If you need help choosing a topic, figuring out these outlines or links, or finding source material, please contact us. If you have a great resource that you would like to share with others, please forward it to us so we can post it here.

Guidelines for Facilitating a Group:

Since the idea is that Learning Circles are self-taught, we suggest you choose a different facilitator for each meeting. The facilitator can be responsible for preparing some questions on the material and making sure the discussion runs smoothly. The groups run best when everyone has read the material beforehand, so the facilitator for the upcoming meeting should be sure that everyone in the group knows what source materials to prepare.

The facilitator should make sure that everyone gets a chance to speak, that everyone’s ideas are respected, and that the discussion remains on topic. Please make sure the group is sensitive to the diversity of backgrounds and education.

If you have any questions, feel free to contact any of the Learning Circle Committee:

Elissa Ben-Naim

Rae Drazin
310-837-0404

Julie Fax
310-284-8139

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Nehama Leibowitz's Parshat Hashavua --"Deception and Deliverance, From Jacob to Joseph"

The saga of our forefathers and mothers in Bereishit – their courage, their vision, their flaws -- lays the foundation for our identity as a people. Study the story of Jacob’s troubled relationship with his brother, his deception of his father and his establishment as the father of the Tribes of Israel. His son Joseph continues the themes of deception and ultimately deliverance. Through the inimitable insights and probing questions of Nehama Leibowitz, the renowned Torah educator, delve into these stories. Choose to study this outline in Bereishit, or start at a portion that interests you.

Perek Yomi -- The prophets Hosea and Amos

The Trei Asar, twelve prophets, are often called "minor" - not because their works are unimportant - but because their books are shorter in length than those of their contemporaries Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel, the so-called "literary prophets." Indeed the prophecies of the twelve include many of the most stirring verses in the entire Tanakh. We suggest starting with the books of Hosea and Amos. "The first chapter of Hosea contains some of the most puzzling verses in Scripture. God, Who is said to loathe promiscuity, commands Hosea, a righteous individual and a prophet, to marry an adulteress and to bear illegitimate children by her."

Amos teaches a great and relevant message for our day. He portrays God as intensely interested in the ethical conduct of Israel and passionately concerned about all humanity and its moral standing. Amos is the first prophet to discuss the "smaller sins" of honesty in the marketplace, etc., and views these as being equal to, if not even more important, than the remainder of the commandments.

Martin Buber -- I and Thou

Martin Buber was one of the great religious thinkers of the 20th century. I and Thou is written as a series of long and shorter aphorisms, divided into three sections. The aphorisms within each section are arranged without any linear progression; that is, they are not supposed to be read as subsequent steps in an argument, but as related reflections. The first part of the book examines the human condition by exploring the psychology of individual man. In the second part of the book, Buber examines human life on the societal level. The third part of the book deals with the subject of religion. Building on the conclusions of the first two sections-that man has two ways of engaging the world, and that modern society leaves man alienated by valuing only the first of these-Buber tells us how to go about building a fulfilling, meaningful society (a true community) by making proper use of the neglected second mode of engaging the world, and by using this mode to relate to God.

Links to Other Learning Resources

A short list of other web sites that offer resources that you can use in your Learning Circles.

Nehama Leibowitz -- Deception and Deliverance, From Jacob to Joseph
Study Questions

Session I: Toldot
Session II: Veyetzei
Session III: Vayishlach
Session IV: Vayeshev
Session V: Miketz
Session VI: Vayigash
Session VII: Veyechi

Hebrew and English text of parsha available on this page.
Click on the parsha you want to study, and choose "iyunim" for Nehama's commentary and questions or companion for further commentaries on Nehama.
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The Prophets Hosea and Amos
Study Questions

Suggested Session Topics:
Sessions I- IV Book of Hosea
Session I Intro and Chapt. 1-4
Session II Chapt. 5-7
Session III Chapt. 8-11
Session IV Chapt. 12-14

Session V and VI Book of Amos
Session V Intro and Chapt. 1-4
Session VI Chapt. 5-9

Sessions VII and VIII
Either: If cover less material in the previous sessions, aim is to finish both Hosea and Amos
OR: Book of Yoel (book has only 4 chapters)

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Martin Buber -- I and Thou
Study Guide
Study Questions

Sessions I-II Part One: The Human Condition
Sessions III -V Part Two: Society
Sessions VI-VIII Part Three: Religion

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Other Learning Resources:
Jewish Torah Audio
Tanach Study Center
Torah.Org
Orthodox Union Shabbat Learning Center
CLAL Rabbinic Community On Line
Akhlah: The Jewish Children's Learning Network
Chabad Daily Study
Virtual Beit Midrash

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