Home  >  Participate  >  Social Groups  >  Contemporary Jewish Discussion Forum
""

Upcoming Events

more

Contemporary Jewish Discussion Forum

The topic for the next Contemporary Jewish Discussion Forum will be Finding Non-traditional Ways to Express Judaism.   Please join us on Sunday, February 12 at 7pm at Etz Chayim.

The discussion will begin with Mark Tuschman, an award winning people photographer (http://www.tuschmanphoto.com/about.html ), member of Etz and participant in CJDF, sharing his own personal journey, followed by a discussion about a need for non-traditional ways to express Judaism. 
 
Mark has travelled to some of the poorest parts of the world in a quest to expose people to human suffering and to the courage and fortitude that people manifest to overcome it.    Mark’s many years’ quest is his own expression of Judaism, his personal journey for Tikkun Olam.   Mark’s moving photographs from the darkest slums in Kenya, and from women’s shelters in India beg the questions ‘is there justice? is there a God?’. 
 
The Contemporary Jewish Discussion is a vibrant forum for discussing issues of the day, ethical and historical issues and other topics chosen by the participants. The discussions are moderated, open and respectful.  Rabbi Cartun and Hanoch Eiron alternately moderate the discussions.
 
Jewish aspects are explored in the discussions, although Jewish studies is not the focus of this Forum. We invite experts to some meetings to provide relevant views on some topics.  For some meetings, we  provide suggested readings in advance.
 
The Contemporary Jewish Discussion Forum held its first meeting during the afternoon of the Yom Kippur 2011/5772  services and about 25 people attended.  There was a lot of interest to create this new forum at Etz and to invite youth to the meetings.   Topics suggested for future discussions include:
 
Jewish continuity (particular interest in dealing with interfaith marriages)
  • -- Jewish sensibility and what does it mean to be Jewish
  • Big issues of the day (poverty, economic risks, etc); dealing with world changes; dealing with injustice
  • The State of Israel – what does Israel mean to us; How to relate to it
  • Jewish/Christian relationship (possibly using my film to frame the discussion)
  • Religion and Science

You can post ideas for other topics below.

The Contemporary Jewish Forum meets once a month on the second Sunday from 7:00-8:30 p.m. and is included in the calendar