Jewish Study Center
Course Schedule, Passover 2002/5762

Mondays at the DCJCC
16th & Q Streets, NW

Moses, Miriam, and Matzah: Two evenings toward a more meaningful Passover

Co-sponsored with the DCJCC's Department of
Jewish Living and Learning
One evening $18 members/$20 non-members
Two evenings $30 members/$35 non-members

(workstudy, scholarship available -- don't let tuition keep you away)

How to Host a Great Seder

Mondays, March 11 and March 18 (two classes)
7:00 - 9:00 pm
Learn how to lead a meaningful and fun seder for your family and friends, no matter what your level of observance or familiarity with the Haggadah. This course will give you ideas on how to select a Haggadah and involve seder participants, both young and old (including non-Jewish guests). It will also give you a useful roadmap to the multi-media rituals and traditions of this favorite holiday. The first class will outline the seder, explore planning issues, and consider guests/audience in choosing or creating a Haggadah (Please bring your favorites to compare); the second evening will focus on leading and involving guests and integrating music, drama, and other elements into the seder.
Julia Gordon, a member of Adas Israel Congregation and active participant in the Traditional Egalitarian Minyan, loves hosting seders more than almost anything.

Readings in the Haggadah

Monday, March 11 (one class)
7:00 - 8:25 pm
This workshop will select a few elements of the Seder ritual or narrative and puff them up a little bit -- you know, the only kind of leavening that's allowed on Passover! Advance requests for topics are welcome. The goal of the evening, like the goal of every Seder, is to take the familiar, ask lots of questions about it, and discover again why the Seder is among the very most important evenings in our lives as Jews each year.
Joel Alter is coordinator of Jewish Studies for the High School at the Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School. That means he teaches Tanakh there and worries about other things, too.

Melodies for the Seder

Monday, March 11 (one class)
7:00 - 8:25 pm
The Hebrew verb "to sing" appears for the first time in the bible directly after the Israelites cross the Sea of Reeds, out of bondage and into freedom. Singing is a major part of Passover experience. This workshop will cover tunes basic to the seder, such as the festival kiddush as well as traditional and altern ative melodies for songs such as Avadim Hayinu and Baruch HaMakom. Melodies for Hallel, the psalms of praise ending the seder meal and enriching festive services throughout the Jewish year will also be covered. Participants are urged to bring a Haggadah, if possible, for Hebrew and English lyrics.
Rhoda Weiss is a long-time member of Fabrangen Havurah where she shares her love of Jewish music through teaching and davenning. She last taught "Understanding and Leading Hallel" for the Study Center.

Matzah in the Midst of War

Monday, March 11 (one class)
8:35 - 9:30 pm
No Jewish holiday is more widely celebrated than Passover. It was no different nearly 150 years ago in the midst of the U.S. Civil War. This mini-course will take us from the mountains of West Virginia to the South Carolina Low Country as we see the lengths that Jewish soldiers -- Union and Confederate -- went to in an effort to observe Passover. We will also see Passover being observed even as the Confederacy collapsed and learn how Passover brought Jews of the South and North together.
Jeffrey Kaplan, a lawyer with the FTC, serves as archivist of Congregation Mikveh Israel in Philadelphia (founded 1740) and frequently teaches, for the Study Center and beyond, on American Jewish and Sephardic history.

Reconciling the Duties
of Leadership and Compromise:
Lessons for the Seder Table

Monday, March 18 (one class)
7:00 - 9:00 pm
The story of the liberation of the Children of Israel from Egypt and the Passover story present fascinating insights into Jewish concepts of leadership, peace and compromise. This workshop will analyze the very different but highly complementary leadership roles of Moses and Aaron in the Exodus from Egypt, and illustrate how these roles are useful to modern concepts of leadership and conflict resolution.
Ivor Heyman is a private mediator and facilitator (please visit www.mediate-faciliate.com for more information) who works with nonprofit and other organizations in the DC metropolitan area to resolve internal conflict and undergo systemic change.

"Dayenu" is Not Enough:
Take Your Turn in Hebrew

Monday, March 18 (one class)
7:30 - 9:30 pm
For many of us, the Haggadah seems a jumble of texts, half-remembered and never quite mastered, with excepting a few familiar songs such as "Dayenu" and "Avadim Hayinu." Here's your chance to extend your repetoire by brushing up on Hebrew, picking up a litttle Aramaic, and reviewing key passages from the Haggadah. To make the most of this course, you should be able to read Hebrew phonetically. When the Haggadah is passed to you this year, confidently take your turn in Hebrew.
Laurie Eichenbaum is a Hill Staffer who most recently taught the Study Center's Pre-Holiday alef-bet course.