Advertising campaigns, self-improvement programs, and therapies of various kinds urge us to change our lives. The High Holidays of Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur are a call to change as well. But how do people change? This two-session course will compare the processes of teshuvah (repentance) and psychotherapy to see what each can learn from the other and how they apply to our lives.

Has the stress of gas prices got you down? Maybe the fear of the impending hours of prayer services for the High Holidays? Or worse, are thoughts of future family dinners of over-cooked brisket and carrots making your head and stomach ache? Then please join us for a relaxing evening of yoga and mediation with a High Holiday twist. Prepare for the upcoming holidays in a fun and spiritual way, while at the same time learning great techniques to let go of the anxiety that the Jewish New Year often brings, be it family, synagogue, or both. No experience necessary; all levels are welcome. Please dress comfortably and bring a mat or towel.

Again and again during the Yom Kippur service, the congregation confesses in unison to an alphabetical litany of sins: "Ashamnu… Bagadnu…" and so on down the line, with supplicants symbolically beating their breasts with each word. Sometimes, but not always, the English translation echoes the A-to-Z pattern—"We have abused, we have betrayed…" But why? What does this mean? Is the alphabet merely supposed to suggest that we have covered every possible sin, or do the words carry more specific meanings? In this one-session workshop, we will examine the Hebrew words and the possible reasons for their selection, then try our hand at creating contemporary and personal versions of this "alphabet of repentance."

The summer has been a busy one for us, as we're sure it has been for you. Let's reconnect over wine, cheese, and other savory treats as we kick off the new semester. Meet the new Executive Director, Beth Adler, the new JSC President, Paul Bardack, and say hi/goodbye (or just cover both bases with "shalom") to the outgoing Executive Director, Rachel Miller. So please join us for lots of laughter, noshing, and schmoozing to your heart's content. Everything served will be vegetarian and kosher, and all are welcome to join.

You may have heard of the Latke-Hamentash debate, but what of its sibling, the Poppy-Sesame-Raisin Dispute? We all have our preferences when it comes to challah, be it for the chewy insides or the eggy crust, and in this class, we will learn how to create doughy masterpieces of our own. This hands-on class will teach tips and tricks for making challah for Rosh Hashana and for the rest of the year, as well as ways to make recipes sweeter or doughier. This is part of a three-part series called Grandma's Favorites (see page 5) and you may attend for just this night or for any combination of the three. Students will receive tried-and-true recipes and their challah to take home and bake. This class has a limited number of spots, so please register in advance.

Forgiveness takes many forms. During the days of Teshuvah (Repentance) at Yom Kippur, it is written that a man regrets his actions more when he knows them than when he does not. Acknowledgement of wrong-doing may be the first step in forgiveness. But are there some atrocities where the extent of horror does not allow for forgiveness? In this two-session class, we will discuss the book The Sunflower by Simon Wiesenthal and use it to open a discussion about forgiveness. What is our reaction to Wiesenthal walking out of the hospital room of a dying Nazi who has pleaded for forgiveness? We will discuss our views and compare them with the responses published in the book and see which come closest to our own definition. Can we think of examples of forgiveness in our own lives? And for when forgiveness could not be given? We will also discuss the Jewish view on this process, and how Yom Kippur causes us to rethink our relationship with our companions in this world.

Whether it's your first time sitting in High Holiday services or your umpteenth time trying to keep your place in the prayer book, this class will help you orient to the basic concepts, prayers, and spiritual tasks of the High Holidays. Starting from where you are, we'll define the spiritual "destinations" of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur and discuss how the prayer book, language, and customs provide meaningful directions for getting there. This class is designed for beginners as well as those who want to refresh their understanding of the holidays.

Whether you are a Jew, Christian, agnostic or seeker, or anyone else, and want to learn— and experience— the basics and essence of Judaism, this course is for you. It uses basic Jewish texts to explore what Jews study, how they observe Judaism in their homes, and what prayer and community mean to them. You will experience Judaism directly through field trips to local synagogues, by eating at a kosher restaurant, and by sharing together in a Friday night Sabbath dinner with the teacher and his family. At the conclusion of the course, you will know more than most American Jews know about Judaism and be ready to go deeper into what can become a lifetime of Jewish living and study.

Since the inception of the comic book industry, Jews have been involved as writers, artists, and visionaries. In fact, many heroes and villains have been based on the Jewish-American experience. We will look at how the relationship between Jews and comic books began, how it has grown, and what we can expect for the future.

If playing Jewish Geography isn't enough involvement in the Jewish community for you, then check this class out. From Jewish cultural groups to social action organizations, political groups to suit just about every philosophy, as well as a variety of synagogues, Washington, D.C., has a lot to offer to those interested in Jewish life. If you are new to D.C., or interested in getting involved but don't know where to start, this class will help you find all the resources necessary to become an active part of the D.C. Jewish community on your own terms.

The Chanukah season always brings the same questions. What really went down 2,170 years ago? Where can I go to learn more? And will there be food? On the second night of Chanukah, we will answer all your questions when writer/producer Dave Smolar presents the fourth annual "Chanukah Seder," a full-length musical adaptation of the story with food, friends, and fun along the way. If you know everything or nothing about the holiday, if you just want to meet and greet in the city, if you want a Chanukah party where you actually celebrate Chanukah-- then come early, stay late, eat your weight in latkes, and be ready to sing along!

There's an old Yiddish saying: "When the stomach is empty, so is the brain." On that thought, let's learn the classics of Eastern European Jewish cooking and keep our bodies and minds happy and healthy. On October 28, we will focus on kosher chicken, learning a variety of recipes such as honey and apricot-glazed, roasted, schnitzel, and a few others. On December 16, we will learn how to create knishes, starting with the dough shell that can be either fried or baked. Then we will prepare many of the wondrous fillings one can include: roasted veggie, cheese, potato, spinach, and more. So join us for this hands-on cooking class and make your stomachs, mouths, and possibly your grandparents happy. Students are invited to bring along and share their family's favorite recipes. "Grandma's Favorites" is a three-part series, the first of which is mentioned on page 3 of this brochure. This class has a limited number of spots. Please register in advance.

Professors Stephen Walt and John Mearsheimer, authors of "The Israel Lobby and US Foreign Policy," created quite a storm of controversy with the publication of their book in 2007. Is the Israel lobby really working against America's interests? This lecture will take a critical look at the thesis of the provocative book.

Invigorate your cooking with this flavor-intensive workshop. We will taste individual spices and learn how they can be combined as you cook, giving you the freedom and confidence to leave recipes behind. In this class, we will learn a variety of techniques, particularly the general ones used in Chinese cooking. We will learn at least two regional styles (Szechuan and Cantonese) and then we will create our own Chinese-influenced dishes. These techniques can be modified for any palate, and students will be able to choose between making a chicken or tofu-based dish. At the end of the evening, students will enjoy their kosher creations and share their techniques with each other. Space is limited in this class and students must register in advance.

In this class we will discuss the process of creating beer, wine, cider, and spirits. We'll look at how barley is fermented for beer, grapes for wine, and how they can be distilled for spirits. We will taste several different types of beer in order to better understand the differences between ale, stout, lager, and pilsner. Further discussion will delve into the laws of kashrut surrounding beer and wine. This will be an experiential educational process.

It's not all about the Palestinians. The news media's misplaced emphasis on the Palestinians and the Middle East overall causes them to misunderstand and misreport the conflict that happens there. In this one-session class, we will examine why Israel's case is chronically ignored. We will be looking at case studies in the Washington Post and National Public Radio (NPR).

Join us for a 5-part series that looks at Jewish life in communities around the world.

October 29: Chronicles of Integration and Survival: The Argentine-Jewish Community

November 5: The Jews of Cape Verde: Sephardic Jews off the coast of West Africa

November 12: Mountain Jews of Azerbaijan

November 19: Jews of Brazil

December 3: The Jews of Chile

Join us for a compact two-session course to discuss Jihad in Islam. In the first session, we will outline the concept of Jihad in early Islam and its duality: battling to establish the Muslim community and state, and battling against self and its temptations. In the second session, we will discuss the contemporary notion of Jihad in the context of political Islam: the rise of political consciousness among militant Muslims induced by two distinct but related factors: (a) military defeats, humiliation, and occupation at the hands of external forces; and (b) autocratic and corrupt local governments.

Let's pull out our novelistic notes, manuscripts, characters, plots, settings, styles, tones, voices, literary strategies, as well as visions and revisions, and produce serious pages on the way to completed novels. These four sessions are designed to get us jump started for completing fiction novels by June 2009. Class time will be spent discussing our works with the group and teacher, not necessarily writing. This class is limited to five students and topics for the novels are open.

The poetry of the Book of Psalms is strange and inexhaustible. Its 150 poems form the ancient backbone of our prayer book yet at the same time throw off constant reflections and associations with the present day. This class, which meets for one session each in October, November and December, will savor and untangle the poetry of an assortment of psalms with an eye to seasonal themes: nature and metamorphosis, loss and thanksgiving, darkness and light. We will work mostly in English, comparing various translations, with some Hebrew depending on the backgrounds of class members.

After a traditional meal, on Shabbat, or at a Passover Seder, guests frequently recite Grace After Meals, also known as Birkat HaMazon, or benching. If you've wanted to participate but didn't know the words or melodies, this class will give you the background to participate, possibly lead, or even incorporate Birkat HaMazon into your daily life. In addition to learning the standard prayer, we'll also learn its history and laws, associated traditions and rituals, and alternative prayers and melodies. Knowledge of Hebrew is not required, though some familiarity with Jewish prayer is useful. All texts for the class will be supplied by the instructor.

We will discuss stylistically diverse, critically-acclaimed fiction charting twentieth-century Jewish European and Jewish American experience. The authors masterfully portray the social and cultural milieus of memorable ethnic characters. Through their fiction, we will explore alienation from, assimilation to, and acculturation within European and American societies, tension between preservation and loss of religious and ethnic identities, gender and generational issues, as well as responses to Jewish history and religion.
November 5: Mazel, by Rebecca Goldstein
November 19: Elijah Visible: Stories, by Thane Rosenbaum
December 17: Seize the Day, by Saul Bellow

When we read the Bible, slowly, carefully, from the beginning, we start to notice strange things. There are giants, both men over 100 feet tall and animals as large as the ocean itself. There are fallen angels, demons and demigods, and mysterious messengers of Death. Floods and earthquakes, magical foods, the sun standing still in the sky: can it be? In our endless quest to understand the scriptures, sometimes we have to look beyond the norm and into...the supernatural. This night, we speak of the Giants.

The "Clinton Parameters," presented by the former president at the July 2000 Camp David talks, remain the most widely accepted formula for lasting peace between Palestinians and Israelis. Both sides, however, have since grown more isolated from one another, with little occasion to traverse the walls – physical and philosophical – that divide them. This class acknowledges that reality without presuming to deconstruct it. Instead, through images and narratives of everyday Israelis and Palestinians, ours is a communal attempt to trace the new parameters of peace. Who are Israelis and Palestinians in 2008? How do they conceive of borders, language, violence, coexistence? We'll steer clear of the usual typecasts (the overzealous settler, the murderous militant) and encourage participants to present their own first-hand stories. You've heard the pundits and policy wonks tell us what peace should look like. Now's your chance to draw a different picture

One way of categorizing mitzvot are those concerning obligations between a person and other people (bein adam l'haveiro) and those between people and G-d (bein adam lamakom). Sometimes we think of these as ethical vs. ritual mitzvot, though the categories are complex and overlap. This class will consider mitzvot such as observance of Shabbat, keeping kosher, and circumcision. Are we obligated to perform these mitzvot? Are they a matter of choice? Can someone else (a Rabbi, a denomination of Judaism, or our parents) tell us how to perform them? If we fail to do them, do we need forgiveness from G-d or the community? The class will look at traditional and contemporary sources.

Would you like to attend local services, but have not done so, for whatever reason? Join us as we visit four area synagogues of different denominations for Shabbat services on either Friday night or Saturday morning. Following each service, we will have the opportunity to meet as a group with a leader from the synagogue to answer any of your questions and share our experiences. Each location is within reasonable walking distance from the Metro. Our first visit will be to Adas Israel to attend a traditional egalitarian minyan. The other three weeks, we will visit Reform, Chasidic, and Orthodox synagogues. Advance registration is required so we know to wait for you.

Saturday, October 25—Adas Israel. Traditional Egalitarian Conservative Service
Friday, November 7—Temple Sinai— Reform Service
Saturday, November 22— American Friends of Lubavitch (Chabad)— Chasidic Service
Saturday, December 13— Ohev Sholom Talmud Torah— Orthodox Service

What was it like to live and worship as a Jew between 1850 and 1950 in the historic Seventh Street neighborhood now known as Chinatown? We will learn about the Jewish community that formed along the major commercial strip in Washington and visit the sites of four former synagogues, including the newly renovated Sixth & I Historic Synagogue. This course is co-sponsored with the Jewish Historical Society of Greater Washington. Please send in your RSVP early for this course—spaces fill up quickly! Advance registration and payment required by October 30. Members of the Jewish Historical Society of Greater Washington will receive the member discount for this class.

A grandmother's sense of smell and taste can form the memories of generations. In this special one-day class, learn luscious Sephardic recipes from a grandmother or mother who belongs to someone else. The women of the Sisterhood group at Magen David Sephardic Congregation will be coming to Sixth & I to share their culinary knowledge with us in a hands-on cooking class. These women prepare the food for the synagogue's kiddush each week, serving between 120 and 200 people. We'll learn recipes to please smaller crowds, with delicious pareve (vegetarian) dishes from Morocco, Tunisia, and Iran. This class will sell out, so please send in your registrations early!

Introducing young children to Shabbat can be joyous for all involved. Join us for a one-day, kid-friendly workshop where we will create a toy challah and beautiful challah cover, learn the blessing over bread, practice Shabbat songs, and much more. Materials will be provided, along with hand-outs for more activities and art projects you can do at your home. We will conclude the afternoon of fun by eating challah together. This class is designed for families with children ages six and younger, but all are welcome. Children are free for this event.