Learning

Voted "Best Adult Education" program in Seattle by the readers of the magazine Jewish in Seattle in 2016, Temple Beth Am promotes lifelong learning and is committed to being a center of Jewish life for people of all ages. Our classes, discussions, and lectures offer many opportunities for our adult community to learn at a variety of levels. The program listings below are updated frequently with a wide variety of offerings.

For our additional selection of Torah Study classes, including Introduction to Judaism and Adult B'nai Mitzvah, visit our Torah Study page.

Please contact our Director of Community Engagement, Alexis Kort, or call 206-525-0915 x 210 with any questions.

Upcoming Events:

Seattle Jewish Community City Council Candidate Forum
Sunday, September 8, 6:30 - 8:30 PM 
Wallingford Presbyterian Church
The congregations of Kavana Cooperative, Temple Beth Am, and Congregation Beth Shalom are hosting a candidate forum on issues of social-environmental justice that our communities are working to address. Our congregations are located in Districts 4, 6, and 7, and the majority of our members live in these districts. This forum is as an opportunity for us to learn about our future representatives on City Council - and for them to learn about us, and specifically about the Jewish values of justice that motivate our community's engagement in civic life.

This event will be moderated and is open to members of our three congregations and friends. There will be an opportunity for Q &A.  This is not a fundraiser and no admission will be charged. Register here.

The Seattle Rep at Temple Beth Am: “Indecent”
Performed play excerpt and discussion with Seattle Repertory Theatre
Thursday, September 12, 7:00 – 8:30 PM
Beth Am Sanctuary
Temple Beth Am is excited to welcome Seattle Rep for a short excerpt of the play and discussion of their fall production of “Indecent” by Paula Vogel with director Sheila Daniels and cast.
 
The play is a powerful drama from Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Paula Vogel, “Indecent” charts the true story of a controversial 1906 play, Sholem Asch’s “God of Vengeance.” “Indecent” is a love story about the power of art to provide solace and light through the darkness. Following its recent success on Broadway, this critically acclaimed Tony Award-winning play with music comes to Seattle Rep featuring an ensemble of actors and musicians who bring to life one of the most engrossing scandals in theater history.

*The play is running September 20 – October 26 at Seattle Rep’s Bagley Wright Theater. Special Beth Am Group Tickets are 20% off ($30.80) for the Sunday, September 22 at 7:30 PM performance. Purchase directly through the Seattle Rep Group Sales Manager, Veliere Crump [he/him] at veliere.crump@seattlerep.org or 206-443-2224.

Once a month-ish on Tuesdays, September 2019 – May 2020, 6:30 – 8:00 PM
Beth Am K’hilah Rm. 226
To get ready for our next congregational trip to Israel February 15-26, 2020, we are going to read another round of Israeli Authors for our 2019-2020 member-facilitated evening book discussion group. For a new twist, we will be reading fiction, non-fiction, poetry, a memoir, and even a cookbook! If you are interested in leading a book discussion or have suggestions for a topic/books for next year, please be in touch with Sandy Berger. 

September 17: Waking Lions by Ayelet Gundar-Goshen (fiction)
November 12: Jerusalem: The Biography by Simon Sebag Montefiore (non-fiction)
January 14: If All the Seas were Ink by Ilana Kurshan (memoir)
February 11: Poems by Israeli authors (poetry) reading to be available in December
April 14: The Hilltop by Assaf Gavron (fiction)
May 12: Israeli Soul: Easy, Essential, Delicious by Michael Solomonov (cookbook) 

Union for Reform Judaism: Introduction to Judaism
Sundays, October 20, 2019 – April 19, 2020, 9:00 - 10:45 AM
Beth Am K’hilah Rm. 226 
 

$180 for members of URJ Congregations; $250 for non-members
Tuition allows for either one or two people to attend; couples are encouraged to attend together and singles may invite an interested friend. Tuition does not include the price of books. Class size is limited to 25 individuals.

Temple Beth Am is excited to again offer Introduction to Judaism, in regional collaboration with Temple De Hirsch Sinai and Kol Haneshama, with the support of the Union of Reform Judaism (URJ). This course is used across North America for adults interested in exploring Judaism and is recognized universally by Reform synagogues. Taught by Rabbi Jason R. Levine, topics include Jewish rituals, Jewish theology, history, texts and prayer, life cycle, holidays, and comparative Judaism, including a Shabbaton designed specifically for this class.

Contact Rabbi Jason R. Levine for more info or questions. Register here.

Temple Beth Am is committed to bringing the Seattle community important and informative topics that impact the Jewish people both historically and in modern times. Our Scholar-in-Residence and University Lecture Series presents engaging presenters and scholars who speak on their areas of expertise.

Past presenters and scholars include Makom LA hazzan, Danny Maseng; Prof. Sasha Senderovich; URJ Vice President of Audacious Hospitality April Baskin; Prof. Hamza Zafer on "The Judeo-Islamic Experience," Former U.S. Ambassador at Large for International Freedom Rabbi David Saperstein; Rabbi Deborah Waxman; Noam Pianko on "Justifying Judaism in the Modern World"; Devin Naar on "The Sephardic Jewish Experience"; and 2017's University Lecture Series' scholar, Kathie Friedman, on "Immigrants and Refugees: We Were Once Strangers, Too."