Ma’ayanot’s continuing education program is thriving, as is manifest by the large number of continuing education events that are planned for December.
The jam-packed month started on December 2, with the first of three classes planned for Ma’ayanot’s new Healthy Holiday Nutrition series. Just in time for Chanukah, Ma’ayanot nutrition teacher, Rivki Berman, MS RD, offered an interactive, fun and educational session on the proper usage of healthy oils and fats in holiday (and year-round) cooking. The class, which took place in Fair Lawn, NJ, also included a tasting and recipe conversions. Upcoming sessions in this Healthy Holiday series will be offered for Purim and Shavuot.
Ma’ayanot has also started a book club that meets once every other month, in both New York and New Jersey, throughout the school year. For the next meeting, Ma’ayanot English chair Sam Kur, will facilitate a discussion about The Paris Wife by Paula McLain; the club will meet in Riverdale on December 15 and in Teaneck on December 30.
Continuing education shiurim are conducted at Ma’ayanot every Thursday throughout the school year. A new series, offered by Rabbi Jay Goldmintz, Tanakh and Jewish philosophy teacher, began this past Thursday on the topic, The Meaning of Praying and Praying with Meaning: An Exploration of Tefillah and the Siddur. The remaining shiurim in this series will take place from 12:15-1:15 p.m. on the following dates: December 17, 24, 31, January 7.
On December 25, a vacation day for many people, Ma’ayanot is pleased to offer its annual Day of Big Ideas (formerly known as A Day of Study in the Liberal Arts and Sciences). Dr. Jeremy Dauber, former Rhodes Scholar and current Columbia University professor, will deliver the keynote address on the topic, Frightening Jews: What Makes a Jewish Horror Story. Dr. Dauber’s keynote will be followed by additional lectures by Ma’ayanot staff, including Assistant Principal Tamar Appel (The Menorah Society: Illuminating American Jewish Identity), Math Chair Randy Bernstein (The Statistics of Polling), English teacher Enid Goldberg (Sophocles’ Antigone: Lessons for Our Time), Jewish History Chair Julie Goldstein (Chrismahanukwanzakah: Hellenism Yesterday & Today), science teacher Esther Slomnicki (Boys Will be Boys (and Girls Will be Girls): Genes and Gender Determination), and halacha teacher Yael Weil (Michelangelo, the Sistine Chapel and … the Jews?!).
All of the above events are open to the community and both men and women are welcome.
Finally, as has been the case for the past year and a half, Ma’ayanot offers an intermediate-level ulpan that meets on Tuesday evenings throughout the school year. Registration for the spring semester will begin in early January.
For more information on any of these continuing education initiatives, contact Pam Ennis at [email protected].
