Virtual Cultural Arts & Jewish Heritage Classes

Overview

FROM OUR LIVING ROOM TO YOURS

Now you can use your lunchtime to learn something new and stay connected to your community. All classes begin at noon.

2024 Classes:

FILM DISCUSSION GROUP with FILMMAKER MATTHEW L. WEISS

Join us in exploring how great movies use the power of cinema to rewire our consciousness and defy our expectations.

8 Tues. beg. May 14
12-2pm 
$80 member / $96 non-member

Matthew L. Weiss has done everything in the world of film from craft service to editing, acting, producing, and directing. As an editor, his films have played in festivals such as Sundance, South By Southwest and Tribeca, and he is the regular “Film Guy” movie correspondent on Sam Seder’s The Majority Report podcast.

ART HISTORY WITH HARRY WEIL – ART IN OUR TIME

6 Wednesdays beg. June 5
12:00-1:00 p.m.
$160 member / $72 non-member

How do artists respond to what’s happening in the world around them? Can something beautiful also be political? This class explores how modern contemporary art (made after 1860 – today) processes, critiques  and questions what is making news in the headlines, including hot button topics: military conflict, feminism, LGBTQ rights, mass shootings, acts of terrorism, and much more! Our focus won’t be on choosing who is right, or who is wrong, but rather exploring art’s role in helping us to make up our own minds. We will be looking at painting, sculpture, photography, and performance.

Harry Weil is the Director of Public Programs at the Green-Wood Cemetery where he curates tours, concerts, performances, and art installations. His projects have been features in The New York Times and New Yorker, among other publications. Harry has a PhD in art history from Stony Brook University. 

EXPLORING THE BOOK OF PSALMS

Thursdays
12:00-1:00 p.m.
$80 member / $96 non-member

Can the Book of Psalms, written thousands of years ago, be meaningful to the modern reader? Both Edward Feld and Martin S Cohen seek to prove that these poems can speak to us today. For one, we share with the book moments of joy, despair and of hope. For the other, the intent is to enable the readers to “use these poems to deepen their spirituality and religious sensitivity.” Through our exploration of these poems, and with the help of these authors, I hope that we may find intellectual stimulation and spiritual inspiration as Jews and Christians have done for centuries.

Rabbi Irwin Goldenberg is a retired Reform Rabbi who has served congregations in Texas, Pennsylvania, and Puerto Rico and has taught at Gettysburg College and York College of Pennsylvania.

For more information, please contact Sivan Ben-Aderet at sbenaderet@commonpoint.org or 718-423-6111.

Book Discussion Group

Come find out why this book group has such a devoted following! Thoughtful, lively, provocative discussions focus on the best new and classic literature and non-fiction. Moderated discussions dig into the books to get the most from them, yet we also have a lot of fun. New participants are always welcome.

Thursday, December 5, 12 pm – The Odyssey, by Homer

The Odyssey is world literature’s grandest evocation of an everyman’s journey through life. Odysseus’ reliance on his own wits for survival… during his ten-year voyage home to Ithaca after the Trojan War is at once a timeless human story and an individual test of moral endurance. (Amazon) Homer tells a tale of love, adventure, food and drink, sensual pleasure, longing for home, and mortal danger.  Look for a modern translation, such as the ones by Robert Fagles or Emily Wilson.  Click here to register.

Please register through our online system here: