Temple Beth-El

Special Shabbat Weekend with Rabbi Dr. Joshua Garroway

Friday, December 6, 2024 - Saturday, December 7, 2024    
5:30 pm - 2:30 pm

The Miriam & Moses Center for Pluralistic Adult Jewish Learning
presents
Scholar-in-Residence Rabbi Dr. Joshua Garroway

Rabbi Dr. Joshua Garroway joins us for a special Shabbat weekend. Rabbi Garroway is the Interim Dea, Sol and Arlene Bronstein Professor of Judaeo-Christian Studies/Professor of Early Christianity and the Second Commonweath, Hebrew Union College.

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 6

5:30 p.m. Congregational Dinner
Join us for a delicious Shabbat dinner from our own in-house caterer, W Kosher Events. 
Click here to register.

7 p.m. Erev Shabbat Service with Rabbi Dr. Garroway
What’s a Half Jew? Fuzzy Identities, Ancient & Modern and musical guests The Shabbatones
The question of “who is a Jew?” can be complicated in today’s world. Many people even describe themselves with terms like Jew*ish*, half-Jewish, Jewish-adjacent, and more. The fuzzy boundaries around today’s Jewish identity are hardly a new phenomenon, however. Ancient Jews dealt with nearly the same issues and concerns. Come and learn why Jewish identity has been so uniquely complicated for more than two millennia. Featuring drums, clarinet, and bass guitar, along with our cantorial soloist’s powerful voice, Stephanie & The Shabbatones bring energy, joy, and an exciting blend of Jewish and secular music to elevate our prayer experience.

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 7
9:15 a.m. Torah Study with Rabbi Dr. Garroway
The Apostle Paul: A First-Century Reform Jew?
His disparagement of the Torah and his conferral of the Abrahamic covenant on Gentiles have earned Paul the reputation among Jews as a perfidious huckster who abandoned Judaism to create another religion. Is it possible we’ve been too hard on Paul? Might modern Jews come to see him as a loyal Jew—indeed a Jew much like ourselves?

10:30 a.m. Shabbat Morning Service and Bar Mitzvah of Jacob Brown

12:30 p.m Lunch & Learn with Rabbi Dr. Garroway
What’s a Messiah, Anyway?

Anticipating a messiah has been a feature of Judaism for centuries. Worshipping a messiah has become the central feature of Christianity. But where did this idea of a messiah come from? What is a messiah and how have Jewish conceptions changed throughout the years?
Click here to register for lunch.