Kabbalat Torah (Confirmation)
Kabbalat Torah 5782: Overview
"The whole world stands on three things: Torah (learning), Avodah (spirituality), and G'milut Chasadim (justice and compassion)” - Pirkei Avot 1:2
The phrase “Kabbalat Torah” means “receiving/accepting Torah," and we use this phrase to refer to the rite of Confirmation. Kabbalat Torah in Reform Judaism is connected to Shavuot, the Festival that celebrates the Jewish people receiving Torah at Sinai. This moment in your life is an opportunity to affirm your connection to Judaism. If you are currently a 10th grader (or 11th grader who missed out last year) this wonderful and enriching experience is for you.
What does that really mean? Insofar as Judaism is a tradition obsessed with purposeful and compassionate living, this is an invitation into learning about your own purpose, passions, and sacred values-- and doing so in conversation with thousands of generations past, most of whom are no longer here but cared enough about this ultimate enterprise to pass it on. Now it’s time to make it yours, individually and collectively, as the Kabbalat Torah Class of 5782.
We’ve planned a program filled with big ideas, meaningful Jewish conversations, and opportunities to connect to each other and the world through the lens of our tradition. To reiterate, we believe that Judaism is a tradition about life, and not the other way around. Every one of our gatherings will provide space for you to explore real-life questions.
We will ground our learning in the Talmudic teaching that "the whole world stands on three things”: Torah (learning/discovery), Avodah (spirituality), and G'milut Chasadim (righteous impact). We’ll treat these three areas of Jewish engagement not as lofty ideals but as real-life, applicable, and accessible “tools” in the Jewish toolbox for making sense of the reality, the human condition, and ultimate questions. Our learning together will be interactive and conversational, and at the end of the year, we will celebrate your ideas, on Shavuot. On Sunday Morning, June 5 our whole community will learn from what your class discovers and teaches about the meaning of Judaism, and with it, life itself.
SCHEDULE & SESSIONS (7 Sessions + 1 Rehearsal)
Note: Sessions (and order) may change to meet the students’ Jewish yearnings and curiosity, in accordance with the Talmudic adage, “Ein adam lomed Torah ella mimakom she’libo chafetz—A person only learns Torah from from a place where one’s heart is yearning.” (From Avoda Zara 19a)
Sunday, January 23, 12-1:30pm
Session 1 (Intro): Standing at Sinai: Beginning to Listen
Sunday, January 30, 12-1:30pm
Session 2: Start with the “Why” - Our Core Values
Sunday, February 6, 12-1:30pm
Session 3: Abraham v. God: Truth to Power
Sunday, February 27, 12-1:30
Session 4: Story as Powertool: Me, Us, Now
Sunday, March 6, 12-1:30pm
Session 5: How We Read Torah: Myth, Metaphor, and Me
Sunday, March 20, 12-1:30pm
Session 6: “God” Is Not a Hebrew Word: Relating to the Ultimate . . .
Sunday, April 24, 12-1:30pm
Session 7: The Prayground of Jewish Spirituality
Sunday, May 15, 12-1:30pm REHEARSAL
Friday, June 3, 6pm-7:30pm
Shabbat Service & Dinner with families
Sunday June 5, 11am Confirmation Service & Shavuot
Questions, please contact Jodi Lampley at jlampley@judeareform.org.
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Mazel Tov to the 5780/ 2020 Kabbalat Torah Class
October 9, 2020 / 22 Tishrei 5781
Elena Brosnan
Alexa Chambers
Michaela Foster
Max Gray
Lars Kahn
Amelia Posner-Hess
Sara Rogerson
Izaac Wohl
