Fall Semester is online. Spring Semester TBD

Fall Semester is online. Spring Semester TBD

Fall Semester is online. Spring Semester TBD

Why do you give? How does your Judaism affect your giving habits? This course will explore what Judaism has to say about the need to give charity: Who needs to give? How much should we give, and to whom? We will explore these issues together through traditional sources and modern answers.

The Board of Directors invites comments from congregants at all board meetings. A congregant may share their comment for up to three minutes at the beginning of the meeting. Please indicate the subject of your comment when you submit the RSVP form (https://www.bethshalomaustin.org/form/board-meeting-rsvp), by 4:00 p.m. on the day of the meeting. See meeting agendas on our governance webpage.

What is "Jewish Social Justice"? What does it mean to repair the world as Jews? This 4-session course will explore a range of tensions: What is the relationship between learning and action? Should we preference immediate needs or long-term impact? How can we prioritize among the variety of inequalities? Is our primary responsibility to our own community or the broader world? Does your desire for justice come from your relationship to Judaism or somewhere else? Through traditional and modern sources, we'll seek to understand what Jewish social justice is, and how it can guide our efforts to improve the world.

Food is a powerful force at the center of ritual, community and ethics. This class will explore all of these aspects of food by studying passages on food found across the six Orders of the Talmud. How can the act of eating become a practice of gratitude? Who should receive food as charity, and how much? What rights do field-workers have? Jumping into the lively debate of Talmud will pave the way for rich discussion to affirm, challenge and transform our own approaches to food. REGISTRATION REQUIRED below. If you do not see a registration below, the class is closed.

Led by Cantor Abby Gostein and Rabbi Ellie Steinman A special group for Temple Beth Shalom members to connect. New to the group? Contact our office.

A lecture and conversation by Rabbi Ellenson. How has our community moved from the first liberal demands for equality for women in the 1970s and 1980s to the added quest for transformation, inclusion, and full equality for women and LGBTQ persons in our own day? These developments are ongoing, and the writings of Judith Plaskow, Susannah Heschel, Cynthia Ozick, Rachel Adler, Blu Greenberg, and others will help to inform and frame this lecture and conversation on an issue of primary importance to so many of us in the Jewish and larger worlds today. Go to www.bethshalomaustin.org to register for this event!

We welcome Rabbi David Ellenson to our Erev Shabbat service as part of our Scholar in Residence program, where we will explore An Approach to Jewish Faith and Life: One Reform Rabbi’s Stance! Learn more about our Scholar in Residence offerings at www.bethshalomaustin.org/scholar. Join us online at https://www.bethshalomaustin.org/livestream

We will reflect on and discuss the evolution and state of the Jewish community in present-day America, and together we will speculate on the future.