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Friday October 9, 1998

Classes to explore Kabbalah, cookery

RONNIE CAPLANE
Bulletin Correspondent

Marin County's adult Jews pour into their JCC every day for dozens of reasons. They work out, drop their kids off for day care, hear authors speak. But they rarely come to study Judaism.

A coalition of groups is hoping to change that through the new Adult Community Learning Institute.

"Two thousand people walk through our doors every day. The question is can we take those people and make more of them want to study Judaism?" says Matt Biers-Ariel, education director at the Marin Jewish Community Center.

"We want them to become Jewishly knowledgeable. That will make them stronger Jews and will make our Jewish community stronger."

The Adult Community Learning Institute is sponsored by the Adult Education Consortium, which is made up of Congregations Rodef Sholom and Kol Shofar, Lehrhaus Judaica and the MJCC.

The institute's first round of six courses, which will be offered simultaneously at the MJCC starting this month, include text study, mystical exploration and creative arts.

One of the courses, "Rebel to Rabbi: Jewish Perspectives on Jesus," was chosen because of the large percentage of Marin County Jews who intermarry.

"We want to reach out to the non-Jewish community," Biers-Ariel says. "Christians are interested in the Jewish perspective on Jesus."

The course will explore the spectrum of Jewish views on Jesus, from wily rabbinical disciple who went astray to genuine prophet of morality and ethics. Several Christian clergy have already signed up, and Biers-Ariel expects some interesting debates.

A class on Jewish foods, as well as an art class, will be offered. A class on King Saul will focus on biblical text. Another course will explore family issues through stories found in the Torah. Yet another will focus on Jewish meditation and Kabbalah.

Biers-Ariel hopes the Adult Community Learning Institute will stimulate Marin's Jews to focus more on their Jewishness and through that grow into a more cohesive Jewish community.

"There's a small core of people in Marin county who take Jewish studies seriously," says Biers-Ariel, who estimates that Jews make up 10 percent of Marin County's population.

"Compared to other Bay Area counties we have a lot of growth to do. But I believe that if people learn this stuff is happening, they will come."

To attract students, the institute is trying to be user-friendly. Halfway through each class, there will be a break for noshing and shmoozing.

The institute is planning to offer new rounds of classes in the future.

What will the measure of success be?

"If we can bring in 100 adults every time the courses are offered," he says, "it will make the Marin Jewish community stronger."

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