Shalom All,

One of the things I have always enjoyed most about teaching Judaism is that a good question can be more interesting than a good answer. And there are few questions that give us more to talk about than this one: What do we mean when we say God?

For some, God is the Creator who watches over us and hears our prayers. For others, God may be a source of meaning, morality, or connection. Some of us struggle with the idea of God altogether. And many of us have probably changed our understanding of God over the course of our lives.

That is exactly why I am excited about the class I will be teaching this year: Sci-Fi Theology.

Years ago, when we had a regular Confirmation class, I taught our teenagers about Jewish theology. We’d discuss the big concepts of Creation, Omnipotence, Good and Evil, Prophecy, … and I’d use texts and midrash and science-fiction to illustrate these ideas.

I’ve been thinking a lot about this class lately, and even spent part of the summer revamping it, because I am hopeful that we have enough students for a Confirmation class again. So beginning October 11th, I’ll be meeting twice a month with these young adults to explore some of the questions Judaism asks about God, humanity, free will, and what it means to be alive.

Each session will use a different science-fiction film to help us understand the larger Jewish concept. We’ll look at movies such as Oh, God!, The Adjustment Bureau, Contact, Her, The Life of Chuck, and many more. We’ll watch clips, look at Jewish texts and stories, and then discuss.

Though I’ve typically only taught this course to our Confirmation students, there really aren’t that many of them, so I am opening the class to the entire congregation. Only high schoolers will be working toward Confirmation, but there is still a lot we can all learn. You don’t need to be a science-fiction fan, a theology expert, or even someone who is particularly comfortable talking about God. You just need to be curious.

There is more information about the class, with exact dates for each session in this month’s bulletin. In addition to the Sunday sessions, I’ll be screening each movie at my home some Saturday before for anyone interested, those dates are listed on the flyer. I’ll also let you know where the movie is streaming (if it is) so you can watch on your own if you’d rather. For example, I’ll be showing 2001: A Space Odyssey on Saturday night, October 3rd, at 7pm for anyone who’d like to watch it with me. However, it is also streaming on HBO at the moment.

Shana Tova everyone.
I wish you all a Happy New Year.
May it be filled with sweetness, joy, and God.

Rabbi Todd