Workshops and classes

IT’S A WRAP

Beyond the Bible course explores history not often studied

Sierra Lautman

In Sunday School, it is typical to learn the highlights of the sacred memories of the Jewish people of the Biblical period. Then, it gets a bit fuzzy.

After the Bible, what was there? Some rabbis, perhaps? It gets clear again with the modern era, the past quarter millennium of Judaism’s long history.

The Jewish learning experienced as young students often skips over the most formative period in Jewish history after the Bible—the millennium in which the traditional Judaism that still influences Jewish lives first took shape.

A collaboration between Dr. Bill Feldman, president of the Tidewater Chavurah, Rabbi Michael Panitz of Temple Israel, and Sierra Lautman,

Beyond the Bible class at The Sandler Family Center. director of Jewish Innovation at United Jewish Federation of Tidewater, resulted in a four-session course to explore this history. Over the four weeks, 25 students met at the Sandler Family Campus to explore the history of the Jewish people in the centuries beyond the conclusion of the Biblical era. They explored how today’s Judaism and Jewish community arose out of the specific historical challenges that were faced in the millennium-plus bracketing the beginning of the Common Era.

The Holocaust as reflected in diaries and memoirs, offers a collaborative learning experience

Sierra Lautman

A10-session intensive course on the Holocaust, The Holocaust as Reflected in Diaries and Memoirs, invited students to dig into the first-person accounts of living through the Holocaust. Diaries and memoirs served as a looking glass into these individuals’ daily experiences, lending a remarkable insight into this devastating time in history.

Taught by Wendy Juren Auerbach, the Melton course was offered by the Konikoff Center for Learning of United Jewish Federation of Tidewater in partnership with UJFT’s Holocaust Commission and the Virginia Holocaust Museum.

As a part of course, the students took a trip to Richmond to visit the Virginia

Class participants at the Virginia Holocaust Museum. Holocaust Museum. The museum tour added depth and complexity to the learning experience. To learn more about future Melton courses or other learning experiences, visit JewishVA. org/KCL or contact Sierra Lautman, senior director of Jewish Innovation at SLautman@ UJFT.org or 757-965-6107.

A workshop through the Journey of Your Name

Sierra Lautman

In a hands-on workshop offered by the Konikoff Center for Learning of the United Jewish Federation of Tidewater, community members explored the meaning of their name through a mystical interpretation of the aleph bet.

Josh Baum, illustrator of Malka’s Notebook: A Journey into the Mystical Aleph Bet, streamed his way into the room from Israel to share his experience creating the art featured in the book. Filled with inspiration, workshop participants utilized a curriculum developed by the book’s author, Mira Z. Amiras, to take a deep dive into the kabbalistic interpretation of their name, then worked with local artist, Sharon Serbin, to illustrate their name in a meaningful way.

Beatriz Aberman, Melanie Kordis, Sharon Serbin, and George Aberman. Boglarka Edouard. Alene Kaufman.