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We always welcome help to make this happen, as well as suggestions on additional speakers and topics. Please contact administrator@betalef.org with any questions.
Bet Alef Learning Institute (B.A.L.I)
The Bet Alef Learning Institute (BALI) was created to expand our community’s commitment to education, spirituality and tikkun olam (healing the world).
BALI welcomes Bet Alef members to participate together by presenting guest teachers who speak on meaningful and wide-ranging topics and by offering events that encourage a more inclusive understanding of our world.
During the BALI Speakers Forum & Social Hour individual members of the congregation present a talk about a meaningful life experience and respond to related questions from other members. These programs have been conducted interactively via Zoom and are recorded and made available for subsequent viewing. Each concludes with the “Social” opportunity for the members to visit and shmooze with one another virtually.
Upcoming BALI forums:
Past BALI Events
What Does It Mean to Be White?
with Dr Robin DiAngelo
“What does it mean to be white in a society that proclaims race meaningless yet is deeply divided by race?” Dr. DiAngelo described the way race shapes the lives of White people, explained what makes racism so hard for White people to see, and identify common White racial patterns that prevent us from moving towards greater racial equity. Weaving information, analysis, stories, images, and familiar examples, she provides the framework needed to develop white racial literacy. Although the focus is on white racial identity development, people of color may also find the analysis valuable as it is one that is rarely affirmed or provided in mainstream society.
A Shabbat of Mindfulness
with Rabbi Jeff Roth
Bet Alef welcomed Rabbi Jeff Roth, founder and director of The Awakened Heart Project for Contemporary Judaism. Rabbi Roth will join Bet Alef’s Rabbi BenHaim in leading Kabbalat Shabbat service Friday Dec. 2nd and Shabbat morning services Saturday Dec.3rd. Additionally Rabbi Roth will offer a series of teachings and times for Jewish meditation practice throughout the day. (See Schedule below)
The Shalom Center’s current focus is working to combat, and educate about, climate change: “Addressing the climate crisis of ‘global scorching’ and working to end American addiction to over-use of oil and coal that poses extreme danger to the web of life, including human civilization, on Planet Earth.”
Sacred Sources to Heal the Earth
A Weekend with Rabbi Arthur Waskow and Phyllis Berman.
Rabbi Waskow, author of many books, founded the Shalom Center in 1983. The Shalom Center equips activists and spiritual leaders with awareness and skills needed to lead in shaping a transformed and transformative Judaism that can help create a world of peace, justice, healing for the earth, and respect for the interconnectedness of all life. Learn more about the Shalom Center here.
The Shalom Center’s current focus is working to combat, and educate about, climate change: “Addressing the climate crisis of ‘global scorching’ and working to end American addiction to over-use of oil and coal that poses extreme danger to the web of life, including human civilization, on Planet Earth.”