The Gertrude Lederman Family Continuing Education courses at North Suburban Synagogue Beth El offer a wonderful chance to deepen your understanding of Jewish thought, culture, and identity. This program is made possible through the generous gift of the estate of Gertrude Lederman. The value she placed on Jewish education became the cornerstone of her legacy of lifelong learning in our congregation.
Contact Rachel Kamin, Director of Lifelong Learning, for more information about adult education and Marcie Eskin, Education Coordinator, for registration and other class-related information. Note: Because the cost of tuition should never be a barrier to participation in our NSS Beth El classes, we do offer financial assistance. Please contact Marcie Eskin for scholarship information.
The fee for Continuing Education courses is $60 per quarter for NSS Beth El members and $125 per quarter for guests. Payment for one course includes any additional classes during the same quarter (including Hebrew) at no additional charge.
Register for Spring Quarter 2024 Classes
Talmud: Tractate B’rachot with Rabbi Michael Schwab
Tuesdays, 8:30-9:30 am, April 9 & 16 and May 7-May 28 (no class April 23 & 30)
Rabbi Schwab takes students on a journey through the mainstay of the Jewish oral tradition, its rich history, structure, and famous personalities. Class will meet in person and on Zoom. Quarter Fee: Spring
Breaking Jewish News & Views with Carl Schrag
Wednesdays, 9:45-11:00 am, April 3-June 5, 2024 (no class April 10 & 24)
This weekly discussion-based class zooms in on local, national, and global news through a distinctly Jewish lens. We’ll talk about politics, Israel, anti-Semitism, anti-Zionism, rifts in our Jewish community, local and global Jewish affairs, campus life, and the intersection between these topics and more. Carl Schrag, who was the Editor of The Jerusalem Post, brings a journalist’s probing questions to every topic.
Class will meet on Zoom. Quarter Fee: Spring
Beginner’s Learn to Read Hebrew with Fran Pearlman
Wednesdays, 8:00-9:00 pm, April 3-May 22, 2024 (no class April 24 & May 1)
For students who are able to read Hebrew and are ready to develop both fluency in reading and beginning modern Hebrew. Class will meet in-person. Quarter Fee: Spring
Café Ivrit: Intermediate Conversational Hebrew with Pnina Arsers
Tuesdays, 6:15-7:30 pm, April 2-May 21, 2024 (no class April 23 & 30)
This Intermediate level course will help you improve your conversational and reading skills.
Class will meet in-person. Quarter Fee: Spring
Sicha Ivrit: Advanced Conversational Hebrew with Shlomit Hoch
Thursdays, 6:00-7:30 pm, April 4-May 23, 2024 (no class April 18 & 25)
Join this Advanced level course to study Israeli literature and culture in Hebrew. Class will meet on Zoom. Quarter Fee: Spring
Open Conversational Hebrew
Sundays, 9:30-11:00 am
Practice Hebrew conversation informally with other participants. For information, contact Judy Farby at judyfarby@yahoo.com or 847-372-1700. Class will meet on Zoom. FREE
Join Rachel Kamin, Director of Lifelong Learning, for lively book discussions and author events. New participants are always welcome! Click here for more information including the complete 2023-2024 calendar.
Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin
Saturday, June 1, 2023, 12:30 pm (after Shabbat Kiddush)
Embarking on a legendary collaboration launching them to stardom, two friends since childhood have the world at their feet until they discover that their success, brilliance and money won’t protect them from their own creative ambitions or the betrayals of the heart.
Lunch & Learn: Building Jewish Pluralism with Rabbi Michael Schwab
Thursday, May 9, 2024, 12:00-1:00 pm
Join Rabbi Schwab for study and discussion on pluralism as a value in Jewish life. Class will be held in-person and on Zoom. A complimentary lunch will be served at Beth El!
Understanding Antisemitism in the American University & Beyond: What Can American Jews Do? with Bobbi Kwall
Thursdays 11:15 am-12:15 pm (after Hazak Fitness class), May 16 & 30 and June 6 & 27, 2024
Using her own research and Bari Weiss’s book How to Fight Anti-Semitism as a base, the class will explore the causes and effects of the escalation of antisemitism in our country that has been building over the past ten years but has now reached epic proportions in the wake of October 7th. Class will meet in-person and on Zoom. FREE
Peaceful Grandparent Project with Dr. Jane Shapiro
Mondays, 10:30-11:45 am, May 20, June 3, 10 & 24, 2024
Geared specifically to grandparents with young grandchildren, this program introduces specialized texts and topics that resonate with the unique experience of being a grandparent. Class will meet in-person. FREE for Beth El members; $125/guests
Writer’s Beit Midrash
Wednesdays, 9:30 am, May 8 & 22 and June 5 & 19, 2024
All fiction, non-fiction, poetry, memoir, and essay writers (published or not yet published) are welcome for discussions, exercises, camaraderie, and critique every other Wednesday morning.
Class will meet in person. FREE
What’s Really Happening in Israel
Thursday, May 2, 2024, 11:15 am-12:15 pm
Chicago native Rabbi David Ebstein and his wife, Rena Magun, are American citizens who have been living in Israel with their family for almost 30 years. They will join us in-person to share the perspective of the average Israeli citizen and the impossible dilemmas faced by Israelis daily.
Class will meet in-person and on Zoom. FREE
VERSCHLEPPT: The Carrying Off of Markus and Anna Mattes
Sunday, May 5, 2024, 6:00 pm
Told mostly in the written words of Markus and Anna Mattes, grandparents of Beth El member Stephen Nitekman who were murdered by the Nazis, this special multi-media, musical presentation will include slides of the family’s letters, photographs, and documents as well as music from the Shoah performed by Debbi Nitekman Kohl on piano and Daniel Katz, of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, on cello. Mincha, Ma’ariv, and our Yom Hashoah memorial service will follow at 7:30 pm.
The exhibit, Witness to the Holocaust: The Mattes Family Letters, shares the story of Markus and Anna Mattes and will be on display in our Rissman Kol Ami Museum through June. It was originally on display at the German American Heritage Center & Museum in Davenport, Iowa. A reception will be held in our museum gallery after the Yom Hashoah service.
Catching Up with the Kurtzes
Thursday, May 23, 2024, 2:00 pm
Join us as we welcome Rabbi Vernon and Bryna Kurtz back to Highland Park for an afternoon conversation. In-Person
SAVE THE DATE: Shavuot 5784 Tuesday, June 11 – Thursday, June 13, 2024
Rabbi Shai Held, President and Dean of the Hadar Institute in New York City and one of the most influential Jewish thinkers and leaders in America, will deliver this year’s Rabbi Philip Lipis Memorial Lectures. NSS Beth El will also host a community program with Rabbi Held on Monday evening, June 10. Professor Arnold Eisen, chancellor emeritus of The Jewish Theological Seminary, will join Rabbi Held for a conversation about his upcoming book, Judaism is About Love: Recovering the Heart of Jewish Life. Watch your e-mail for more details.
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