LEARN
COME GROW WITH US! At Shirat HaNefesh, learning is a life-long expression of spiritual engagement and the road to a more meaningful Jewish life. We invite members to play an active role in sharing their interests and knowledge with the community.
Who is wise? The one who learns from everyone.
Learning at Shirat HaNefesh takes a variety of forms: seminar-type study sessions, lectures, speakers, concerts, texts, book discussions, new music and liturgy. Join us for Rabbi’s Tables or After-Kiddush discussions on Shabbat mornings; Sunday morning Book Discussions on compelling works of fiction and non-fiction; and our Spotlight Series tied in to a topic or musical genre or particular time of year.
Book Discussions
If you love to read and talk about books, you’re in good company. Our book discussions take place about every two months on a Sunday, from 10–11:30 a.m. At present, we plan to continue to meet using Zoom; links will be in the weekly e-newsletter close to the date of each event, or contact us at info@shirathanefesh.org for more information. Special thanks to member Heidi Coleman for organizing our book discussions.
Here is the reading list for 2024-2025:
Sunday, September 15
God is Here: Reimagining the Divine, by Toba Spitzer (Non-Fiction, 304 pages)
Toba Spitzer's God Is Here is a transformative exploration of the idea of God, offering new paths to experiencing the realm of the sacred. Rabbi Toba Spitzer understands that traditional ideas of God (too big, too impersonal, too unbelievable) often get in the way. In God Is Here, Spitzer argues that whether we believe in God or fervently disbelieve, what we are actually disagreeing about is not God at all, but a metaphor of a Big Powerful Person that limits our understanding and our spiritual lives. With God Is Here, Toba Spitzer will inspire you to find new and perhaps surprising ways of encountering the divine, right where you are.
Sunday, November 10
The Paris Library: A Novel, by Janet Skeslien Charles (Fiction, 384 pages)
An instant New York Times, Washington Post, and USA TODAY bestseller. Based on the true story of the heroic librarians at the American Library in Paris during World War II, The Paris Library is a moving and unforgettable “ode to the importance of libraries, books, and the human connections we find within both”. The Paris Library shows that extraordinary heroism can sometimes be found in the quietest places.
Sunday, January 12
My Russian Grandmother and Her American Vacuum Cleaner: A Family Memoir, by Meir Shalev (Memoir, 224 pages)
From the author of the acclaimed novel A Pigeon and a Boy comes a charming tale of family ties, over-the-top housekeeping, and the sport of storytelling in Nahalal, the village of Meir Shalev’s birth. Hilarious and touching, we meet Shalev’s amazing Grandma Tonia, who arrived in Palestine by boat from Russia in 1923 and lived in a constant state of battle with what she viewed as the family’s biggest enemy in their new land: dirt. The result, in this cheerful translation by Evan Fallenberg, is pure delight, as Shalev brings to life the obsessive but loving Tonia, the pioneers who gave his childhood its spirit of wonder, and the grit and humor of people building ever-new lives.
Sunday, March 16
The Choice: Embrace the Possible: A Memoir, by Dr. Edith Eva Egar (Memoir, 321 pages)
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * WINNER OF THE NATIONAL JEWISH BOOK AWARD AND CHRISTOPHER AWARD
At the age of sixteen, Edith Eger was sent to Auschwitz. Hours after her parents were killed, Nazi officer Dr. Josef Mengele, forced Edie to dance for his amusement and her survival. Edie was pulled from a pile of corpses when the American troops liberated the camps in 1945. Edie spent decades struggling with flashbacks and survivor’s guilt, determined to stay silent and hide from the past. Thirty-five years after the war ended, she returned to Auschwitz and was finally able to fully heal and forgive the one person she’d been unable to forgive—herself. Edie weaves her remarkable personal journey with the moving stories of those she has helped heal. She explores how we can be imprisoned in our own minds and shows us how to find the key to freedom. The Choice is a life-changing book that will provide hope and comfort to generations of readers.
“I’ll be forever changed by Dr. Eger’s story…The Choice is a reminder of what courage looks like in the worst of times and that we all have the ability to pay attention to what we’ve lost, or to pay attention to what we still have.” (Oprah) “Dr. Eger’s life reveals our capacity to transcend even the greatest of horrors and to use that suffering for the benefit of others. She has found true freedom and forgiveness and shows us how we can as well.” (Desmond Tutu, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate)
Sunday, May 18
A Perfect Peace, by Amos Oz (Fiction, 384 pages)
Israel, just before the Six-Day War. On a kibbutz, the country’s founders and their children struggle to come to terms with their land and with each other. The messianic father exults in accomplishments that had once been only dreams; the son longs to establish an identity apart from his father; the fragile young wife is out of touch with reality; and the gifted and charismatic “outsider” seethes with emotion. Through the interplay of these brilliantly realized characters, Oz evokes a drama that is chillingly, strikingly universal.
Sunday, July 13
Eternal Life: A Novel, by Dara Horn (Fiction, 256 pages)
NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK * BOOKLIST EDITORS’ CHOICE * CHICAGO PUBLIC LIBRARY BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR
What would it really mean to live forever? Rachel is a woman with a problem: she can’t die. Her recent troubles―widowhood, a failing business, an unemployed middle-aged son―are only the latest in a litany spanning dozens of countries, scores of marriages, and hundreds of children. Gripping, hilarious, and profoundly moving, Eternal Life celebrates the bonds between generations, the power of faith, the purpose of death, and the reasons for being alive. (Also by Dara Horn: A Guide for the Perplexed, All Others Nights and People Love Dead Jews)
Here was the reading list for 2023-2024:
Shanda: A Memoir of Shame and Secrecy, by Letty Cottin Pogrebin (432 pages)
Kantika, by Elizabeth Graver (304 pages)
When the Angels Left the Old Country, by Sacha Lamb (408 pages)
The Postcard, by Anne Berest (464 pages)
Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow, by Gabrielle Zevin (416 pages)
Here was the reading list for 2022-23:
Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Harari (587 pages)
House on Endless Waters: A Novel by Emuna Elon (336 pages)
The Liberated Bride: A Novel by AB Yehoshua and Hillel Halkin (578 pages)
People Love Dead Jews by Dara Horn (272 pages)
The Prague Sonata: A Novel by Bradford Morrow (528 pages)
Rabbi's Table & After Kiddush Discussions
Learning at Shirat HaNefesh takes a variety of forms: seminar-type study sessions, lectures, speakers, concerts, texts, book discussions, new music and liturgy. Join us for Rabbi’s Tables or After-Kiddush discussions on Shabbat mornings; Sunday morning Book Discussions on compelling works of fiction and non-fiction; and our Spotlight Series tied in to a topic or musical genre or particular time of year.
Spotlight Series
Some years, Shirat HaNefesh undertakes a year-long exploration of a particular issues. For 2017-18, the topic was Dealing with Death. This included sermon topics, several Rabbi’s Table discussions, a Friday Nights Live program, development of a guidebook for members on When Someone Dies, creation of a bereavement support group, and purchasing plots for a dedicated Shirat HaNefesh section at the Garden of Remembrance.
In 2018-19, our topic was the music, history, and culture of French Jewry. Hazzan Ramón Tasat presented a series of lectures and concerts focusing on the music, culture, and situation of French Jewry, culminating in the annual concert of Kolot HaLev: Les Chansons Juifs – Portraits of Jewish Music in France.
In 2020, Hazzan Ramón Tasat organized a Selichot series on Zoom for the entire month of Elul. Local teachers and rabbis and cantors from around the world joined forces to explore a Selichot prayer each evening at 8 pm. In 2021, a similar series is back by popular demand, focusing each night on a different letter of the Hebrew alphabet.
Wed, December 4 2024
3 Kislev 5785
This week's Torah portion is Parshat Vayetzei
Shabbat, Dec 7 |
Candle Lighting
Friday, Dec 6, 4:28pm |
Havdalah
Motzei Shabbat, Dec 7, 5:36pm |
Erev Chanukah
Wednesday, Dec 25 |
MEMBERS: Find your account details, set up payments, add to, or edit, your yahrzeit list, find your friends in the directory, and more.If you have trouble logging in contact us at info@shirathanefesh.org
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Location
In North Chevy Chase near I-495. Please email info@shirathanefesh.org for location information.
Mailing Address
PO Box 8681 Silver Spring, MD 20907-8681
Phone
(202) 681-1319
Donations
Shirat HaNefesh is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization; our EIN is 51-0673575. Donations are tax-deductible .
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