Kaplan Minyans
Kaplan Minyan and Tikkun Olam Themed Shabbatot
KAPLAN MINYANS
The Bnai Keshet Kaplan Minyan is named for Reconstructionist Judaism founder Mordecai Kaplan, who sought to create a Jewish framework for discussions of ethics, culture, history, and current events. They are designed for people who enjoy a communal Shabbat and want to enrich their understanding of Jewish peoplehood in an alternative, less traditional setting.
TIKKUN OLAM SHABBATOT
BK's Tikkun Olam Committee plans and curates a series of Shabbatot about pressing social justice issues. After a spiritual and educational approach to each issue, we take action together as a community following Shabbat. The action could be anything from signing a petition, to calling legislators, to attending a protest (if there happens to be one), or anything in between. Our Shabbatot have included Climate Justice, Reproductive Justice, Disability Awareness & Inclusion, and Refugee Justice. Please contact Jessica Brater to get involved in planning.
Upcoming Sessions
5784 / 2023-2024
Creative Collaboration as a Lifetime Journey
Saturday, April 13th at 10:00am
Longtime Montclair residents and BK members Margaret Sáraco and Alex Polner will share the process of their creative collaboration in the publication of Margaret’ latest book, Even the Dog Was Quiet (Human Error Publishing) They will discuss their artistic practice and read poems from the book.
A writer, spoken word artist, activist, and educator, Margaret R. Sáraco taught middle school for 27 years before publishing her poetry books, If There Is No Wind and Even the Dog Was Quiet (Human Error Publishing). Her poetry received two recognitions in the Allen Ginsberg Poetry Contest and a Pushcart Prize nomination. She is a poetry editor for the Platform Review, an online literary journal.
Alex Polner began his career in the theater, as a set designer. He later worked as a magazine editor and in the display industry, designing toy stores, showrooms and trade show booths in the US and abroad. His drawings and pastel paintings have received recognition in several group shows, including a recent two-person show at the Gaelen Gallery (JCC MetroWest) in West Orange. He currently has a piece in the juried show, "Across the Line” at Studio Montclair. He is a member of the New Jersey Art Association and Art Centre of Riker Hill and Studio Montclair.
June 8th - Tikkun Olam Shabbat
Past Sessions:
Kaplan Minyan with Dr. Khyati Joshi:
Racism and Antisemitism in the Context of Christian Privilege in the U.S
Kaplan Minyan with Michael Strassfeld
Judaism Disrupted: A Spiritual Manifesto for the 21st Century.
Kaplan Minyan with John Wallach:
Misinformation And Free Speech: A Troublesome Liaison
Joy Levitt:
Toward a more permeable Judaism: The case for conversion and radical welcome
Rabbi Dr. David Teutsch:
Reconstructing Judaism and Israel: A Personal Reflection on the Past, Present, and Potential Future
World Jewry Shabbat
Racial Justice Shabbat
Sally Gottesman:
Getting Proximate: Bringing Jewish Leaders to the West Bank and East Jerusalem
Claire Garland:
Indigenous Culture and Land Rights
Michelle Cameron:
The Uneasy Balance - A Fiction Writer's Take on Assimilation vs. Maintaining Jewish Tradition
Jenny Baum:
Just City, Growing up on the Upper West Side when Housing Was a Human Right
Ariel Goldberg:
Just Captions: Ariel Goldberg Shares Research and Writing from book in progress on Trans and Queer Image Cultures
Miriam Herschlag:
A Montclairite in Jerusalem: Fieldnotes from my inspiring, infuriating, flawed, beautiful home.
Siddhu Nadkarni:
Identity: What is your true identity from a Kabbalistic and Vedantic perspective?
Ari Finkelstein:
Separating Christians from Jews in Late Antique Syria: the Christianization of the Roman Empire in the 380s and its Impact on Jews and Judiasm
Roni Yavin:
Did the Baby Cry? Midwifery and Circumcision in the Talmud.
Sat, April 27 2024
19 Nisan 5784