Next weekend will be full of educational opportunities and insightful speakers at Congregation Rinat Yisrael. On December 10, the synagogue will host Rabbi Dr. Meir Sendor, Tal Orot, after mincha on Shabbat afternoon. He will discuss “Shabbat of the Holy Quantum Field,” and will examine sources from the Gemara, Kabbalah, Jewish philosophy and Hassidut, as well as quantum physics and neuroscience. The end result will surely provide a real and meaningful understanding of the experience of Shabbat, the halakhot of Shabbat and the correlation of Torah and science.

On Sunday morning, December 11, at 8:50, the shul will feature Rabbi Alex Israel of Yeshivat Eretz Hatzvi, addressing the topic of “Jewish Violence: Empowerment or Endangerment: A massacre or a justified retribution? In the story of Dinah, does the Torah condemn or laud the violence?” Comparisons will be drawn to events in Israel, including the empowerment of the modern Zionist movement and Prime Minister Rabin’s assassination.

Rabbi Dr. Meir Sendor is director and facilitator of Tal Orot, a Jewish contemplative society dedicated to the refinement of spiritual and ethical awareness through authentic Jewish meditation practices and study. He is also an education consultant for Livnot U’Lehibanot in Tfzat, Israel. For 32 years he served as the Rabbi of the Young Israel of Sharon, MA, where he is now Rabbi Emeritus. A student of the late Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik, ztz”l, he received his ordination from RIETS, as well as a PhD in Medieval Jewish History from Harvard University and a Masters from Yale University. Rabbi Sendor has served as a visiting professor at Brandeis University, and an instructor for the Me’ah Program of Hebrew College in Newton, MA. He teaches Jewish philosophy, Kabbalah, Hasidism, the philosophy of Jewish law, Jewish history, Jewish ethics and medical ethics; has served on Bioethics Advisory Boards; and is a member of the Think Tank of the Elijah Interfaith Institute of Jerusalem.

Rabbi Alex Israel teaches at Yeshivat Eretz Hatzvi and the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies where he serves as Director of Community Education and the Summer Program. In 2013, he published his first book: “I Kings: Torn in Two” a commentary to Sefer Melakhim. He received rabbinical ordination from the Israeli Chief Rabbinate and holds degrees from the London School of Economics; the Institute of Education, London; and Bar Ilan University.