(Courtesy of CBY) The CBY Adult Education Committee is excited to present Rabbi Dr. Yakov Nagen, on Shabbat Bereishit, October 1-2. Rabbi Nagen will deliver two lectures:

Friday night Oneg at 9 p.m. in the Social Hall: “Jewish Spirituality Between East and West”

Judaism contains ideas that are identified with Eastern spirituality, along with ideas that underpin Western thinking. Judaism’s grand spiritual message is the synthesis of these disparate elements, an outlook that encompasses the two great questions of life—”What to do?” and “What to be?”

Motza’ei Shabbat at 9:15 p.m. in the Old Main Shul: “The Soul of the Mishna: Making the Mishna Meaningful.”

As the foundational text of the oral Torah, the Mishna is mostly analyzed to understand Jewish law and the workings of the halachic system. However, there is also an inner spirit to the work that often goes unnoticed, a profundity that provides important principles and insights for everyday life such as those relating to God’s presence in the world, relationships between parents and children and between husbands and wives, social justice, the Temple, the Land of Israel and more.

Rabbi Nagen will also be available on Motzei Shabbat to sign copies of his newly published book.

Rabbi Dr. Yakov Nagen (Genack) is a senior rabbi at the Otniel Yeshiva in Israel, where he teaches Talmud, halacha, Jewish thought, and Kabbalah. He also serves as director of Ohr Torah Stone’s Beit Midrash for Judaism and Humanity. Originally from New York City, Rabbi Nagen received his rabbinical ordination from RIETS at Yeshiva University and holds a Ph.D. in Jewish philosophy from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Tablet Magazine deemed Rabbi Nagen one of the 10 “Israeli Rabbis You Should Know.” He and his wife, Rabbanit Michal Nagen, live in Israel and have seven children. His latest book, “The Soul of the Mishna” was recently published by Maggid Books.