Join us at the Bonai Text Study Group (every Tuesday @ 1-2:30 pm MDT via Zoom) This small group pursues weekly facilitated study of traditional Hebrew / Aramaic texts (read in translation) as well as books of current interest for the serious study of historical and contemporary Judaism. Some of our recent past studies have been: 1] Tenach: Amos, Joel, Obadiah from the Minor Prophets 2] Maimonides “Guide for the Perplexed” 3] Pirke Avot 4] “I and Thou” by Martin Buber. 5] “Judas Iscariot and the Myth of Jewish Evil” by Hyam Maccoby. 6] Abraham Joshua Heschel’s “Man’s Quest for God.” 7] Who Wrote the Bible by Richard Elliott Friedman 8] You Shall Be as Gods: A Radical Interpretation of the Old Testament and Its Tradition by Erich Fromm Please contact Dr. Robert Winer if you are interested in participating in our next text study or wish to learn more: robert.winer@bonaishalom.org

JIM EDELMAN (August, 2020) 18 August 2020 25 August 2020 Jim Edelman will facilitate a 2 week-long discussion using Psalm 90 as a pivot and guide from which we hope to engage the topic of the current significant social changes and issues now confronting us in America as both citizens and as a Jewish Community. Jim hopes that you come ready to ponder and respond to the following thoughts: "The paradox of the human being is often in the minds of the writers. Set beside the vastness of the universe and the boundless majesty of God, man is an infinitesimal creature and wholly without significance. Yet he is the crown of the Divine creative work, endowed with the godly spirit, and appointed to rule in the terrestrial sphere." (Introduction, Soncino tr. of Psalms) Similarly, the following is attributed to Rabbi Simcha Bunim: “Everyone must have two pockets, with a note in each pocket, so that he or she can reach into one or the other, depending on the need. When feeling lowly and depressed, discouraged or disconsolate, one should reach into the right pocket, and there find בשבילי נברא העולם "The world was created for me." (BT Sanhedrin 37B). But when feeling high and mighty one should reach into the left pocket, and find the words: אני עפר ואפר "I am but dust and ashes." (Gen. 18:27) Maimonides teaches us not to worry about holding such contradictory thoughts; we can learn from both of them. On Tuesday, we will use this lens to help us sing Psalm 90, the only one directly attributed to Moses. ***