Adult Education Offerings at Har Shalom
Har Shalom offers a variety of adult education classes for members and non-members. Each fall and spring, Rabbi Finestone and a large group of enthusiastic teachers offer classes covering a wide range of topics and subjects. Find more information here, in the community calendar, or in your weekly Happenings e-newsletter.
Jewish Holidays 101
Sept 25 | Oct 9 | Dec 11 | Mar 5 | Apr 2 | May 28 7:45 - 8:45pm
Fee: Members & Pathways to Judaism Students: Free / Non-Members: $10 per class
Location: Har Shalom and Zoom
Facilitator: Rabbi Sally Finestone
Jewish Holidays 101 is for anyone who would like to understand each of our holidays in a little more depth, with an emphasis on the history and adult meaning of each holiday. Come join Rabbi Finestone before each holiday for an hour of exploration and great questions! Click on each class to register. Join us for one class or all six.
September 25: Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur
Wise Women Support and Discussion Group
Jan 16, 30 | Feb 13, 27 | Mar 13, 27 | Apr 10, 24 | May 8, 22 | Jun 5, 19 | Jul 3
9:30-11:00am
Attend all sessions or come when you can
Fee: No Charge
Location: Zoom
Facilitator: Ginny Riley
Open to Jewish and Non-Jewish Women with 50 or More Years of Life Experience
Join us for stimulating, structured, and confidential discussions on topics about self-care, personal reflection, relationships, mentoring others, and sharing the wisdom we have gained through our life experiences. Take this opportunity to meet and get to know other women who share the challenges and changes associated with getting older.
The group has been facilitated by Har Shalom member, Ginny Riley, since January 2020. New participants are welcome at any time. For questions or to be on the email list to receive additional information, reminders of session dates, Zoom login information, and advance notice of the topic before each session, please email Ginny.
The Wise Woman program was developed by Dr. Beth Firestein, a licensed psychologist, who offered this program for more than 9 years in Loveland. She has granted us permission to use the materials and topics she has developed.
Walking Tour of Jewish Fort Collins
October 6 2:00 - 4:00pm
Fee: Members & Pathways to Judaism Students: Free / Non-Members: $10
Location: Downtown Fort Collins
Guides: Rita Kissen & Ron Sladek
Jews have been part of Fort Collins since the city’s founding in the 19th century. Although much of our Jewish history survives only in documents and photographs, it is still possible to walk our downtown streets and see where our forebears lived, worked, worshipped, and left their mark. Our walking tour will take us past some of the earliest locations of Jewish life in downtown Fort Collins, from the small stone building where Charlie Reingold ran his junk shop and read his prayer book on Shabbat evenings to Julian’s dress shop, still owned by the Siegel family.
Directions to the start of our tour will be emailed upon registration. Click here to register.
Beginner Conversational Hebrew
Oct 8, 15, 22 | Nov 12, 19 | Dec 3, 10, 17 7:00 - 8:30pm
Fee: Members & Pathways to Judaism Students: Free / Non-Members: $80
Location: Har Shalom
Instructor: Merav Tsubely
Join Merav Tsubely for this 8-session class that will focus on speaking modern, conversational Hebrew. It is especially designed for beginners. This class will meet in person only.
Hebrew Reading Group
Tuesdays, beginning Oct 22 2:00 - 3:00pm
Fee: Free for all participants
Location: Zoom
Instructor: Adele Eastman
This Hebrew reading group is intended for people who would like to practice Hebrew decoding skills and would like to increase their Hebrew vocabulary and comprehension. Familiarity with the aleph-bet and vowels is assumed. We'll read excerpts from the weekly Torah portion and liturgy. Contact Adele Eastman at adeleeastman@gmail.com if interested in joining. This group will meet weekly on Zoom. Adele will provide login information directly to participants.
Angels, Saints and Demons in Jewish Lore
October 29 7:00 - 8:30pm
Fee: Members & Pathways to Judaism Students: Free / Non-Members: $10
Location: Har Shalom and Zoom
Instructor: Rabbi Hillel Katzir
You may think these categories belong to other faith traditions, but we have our own stories of angels as messengers from God, and of evil spirits out to get us. Whether you believe in them or not, they liven up our Scriptures, Midrash, and folk tales, and are so much fun to talk about! Join Rabbi Hillel Katzir for this "spooky" exploration.
This class is offered in person at Har Shalom and online via Zoom. The Zoom login ID will be emailed to participants upon registration.
My Kids Are Laughing At Me, And I Love It
Nov 6, 13 6:15 - 7:15pm
Fee: Members & Pathways to Judaism Students: Free / Non-Members: $20
Location: Har Shalom
Instructor: Dr. Renee Cohn Jones
Parents will learn how to live 'happily ever laughter' by learning to plan ahead to prevent potential problems, define rules, and encourage desirable behavior. Parents will also learn how to help their child express his or her emotions in constructive ways. Parents will leave better prepared to positively influence the behaviors of their children. As a clinic psychologist, Dr. Renee Cohn Jones has worked with hundreds of parents who are exhausted from having to do it all. She helps parents get out of the chaos and overwhelm by teaching easy-to-follow strategies and skills to enable and empower them to enjoy parenting again. Drawing on her experiences as a psychologist, educator, daughter, mother, professional clown, and a former Har Shalom preschool parent, Renee goes that extra 'smile' in creating family environments that are filled with fun.
How to Learn Trope in Six Sessions
Nov 7, 21 | Dec 5, 19 | Jan 16, 23 7:00 - 8:30pm
Fee: Members & Pathways to Judaism Students: Free / Non-Members: $60
Location: Har Shalom
Instructor: Rabbi Sally Finestone
Reading from the Torah scroll requires one to learn the musical symbols (trope marks) that appear below and above the Hebrew words, and the melodies that each symbol represents. Join Rabbi Finestone as she teaches an enjoyable system for mastering these symbols and the music in just six classes. Ability to read music is helpful, but not required. This class will meet in person only.
Pathways to Judaism
Tuesdays 7:00-8:30pm, beginning Nov 12 Fee: Members: $180 / Non-Members: $200
Location: Har Shalom and Zoom
Facilitator: Rabbi Sally Finestone
This program is an intensive 20-session course designed for people considering conversion to Judaism, or for adult Jews who would like a refresher course on the core beliefs, practices, and history of our people. The course is designed to open the world of Jewish tradition and understanding to those who have little or no background.
Registration for the 2024-2025 course has closed. For information about future opportunities, email Rabbi Finestone at rabbisrf@nocoharshalom.org.
A Brief History of Jewish Latin America
Dec 2, 9, 16 7:00 - 8:00pm
Fee: Members & Pathways to Judaism Students: Free / Non-Members: $30
Location: Har Shalom and Zoom
Instructor: Teresa Cribelli
Explore the rich tapestry of the history of Jews in Latin America in this mini course. We'll start by uncovering the experiences of Sephardic Jews and Conversos during the colonial era in South America. From there, we turn to Ashkenazi immigration in the 19th and 20th centuries, setting the stage for understanding the diversity of contemporary Jewish life in Latin America today.
Teresa Cribelli has a PhD in Latin American History from the Johns Hopkins University and was an associate professor of history at the University of Alabama from 2011 to 2022. She has taught courses on Environmental History, Slavery and Abolition, and Jewish Latin America. Teresa also contributed to the Civil Rights Experience, a project that examined Jewish and Black allyship during the Civil Rights Movement for Temple Beth El in Birmingham, Alabama.
This course is offered in person at Har Shalom and online via Zoom. Participants will receive zoom login information in their email after registering.