Learning is not just for kids at Congregation Agudas Achim. We are a community of curious people, and every year we offer different programs to help nourish our continued Jewish learning. Adult education offerings are guided by congregants’ interests. We have hosted guest speakers on topics such as Jewish genealogy, parenting, the Arab/Israeli conflict, and environmental awareness, and taken trips to the Boston Jewish Film Festival and to see Fiddler on the Roof. Members have taught other members to read Hebrew and to leyn Torah.
In the past, we have hosted a monthly parlor cinema gathering at the synagogue to watch a movie together and discuss it afterward. For the past several years, a book group has been meeting monthly to talk about a work of fiction and share a meal together. A separate book group formed in 2020 to educate themselves about racial justice issues.
The Education Committee oversees the programming; members of the congregation are encouraged to add their voices to the discussion and to suggest or organize a class or speaker that they think will interest the community.
Each year our rabbi offers a multi-session educational program on a different topic of interest. Recent topics have included Exploring the Amidah; Exploring God; Makhloket L’shem Shamayim, or Controversy for the Sake of Heaven; and Practice in Place. Sessions typically occur on Sunday afternoons. The group explores different texts about the topic and then engages in a group discussion about how these topics might be relevant in our personal or communal lives.
