01/16/2009 - 9:00am to 01/16/2009 - 12:00pm

Location:
Congregation Kesser Israel
Kesser Israel
6698 SW Capitol Hwy
Portland, OR

Class Description:
A discussion of "Is The Afterlife in Tanach?" at an enhanced
Kiddush following Shabbat morning services.

Rabbi Daniel Korobkin, whose wide-ranging expertise spans everything
from medieval Jewish studies to contemporary business ethics, will be a
community scholar-in-residence Jan. 15-17 at Congregation Kesser Israel.

"We are delighted to have Rabbi Korobkin join us for what promises to be
an exciting and stimulating weekend," said Kesser Israel's Rabbi
Kenneth Brodkin. "He is a terrific speaker and scholar, and he has an
uncanny ability to connect with people personally, and to help them find
a number of different ways to connect with Jewish spirituality."

That range is reflected in the Shabbaton, which begins with a discussion
about meaningful prayer and includes presentations about Jews and comic
books, parent-child discussions, the afterlife and Maimonides' political
philosophy.

"It's more than an 'educational' and intellectual weekend," Rabbi Brodkin said. "It's also about Jewish connections and experience."

Rabbi Korobkin currently is the spiritual leader of Yavneh, a modern
Orthodox community and yeshiva day school campus in Los Angeles, where
he also lectures and writes about Jewish philosophy and other Jewish topics
of interest. He is director of community and synagogue services for the
Orthodox Union's West Coast offices, and also founded an exclusive listserv for Orthodox rabbis. He is also a certified mohel, a doctoral candidate in medieval Jewish studies at UCLA's department of Near Eastern Languages and Cultures, and author of a new translation and commentary on the medieval Jewish philosophy classic, "The Kuzari: In Defense of the Despised Faith," by Rabbi Judah HaLevi.

He received his rabbinic ordination from Ner Israel Rabbinical College in Baltimore, where he studied Jewish law, ethics and philosophy. He also holds a Master of Science degree from the Johns Hopkins University School
for Engineering at the Applied Physics Laboratory, and was an adjunct professor at Muhlenberg College.

Most recently, he was among founders of Peulat Sachir ("The Worker's Wage"), a rabbinic initiative to renew Jewish commitment to ethical labor
practices and labor laws in the wake of recent national scandals, including
one involving the nation's largest kosher meat-packing plant.

"We are supposed to be as observant in our offices and our homes as we are in our synagogues," Rabbi Korobkin told Los Angeles' Jewish Journal last March. "For an observant Jew, his observance should be manifest in the way that he runs his business - not just in whether or not he wears a kippah or eats kosher food."

More Info:
Other topics and presentations, all open to the community without
charge, include a discussion of "Is The Afterlife in Tanach?" at an enhanced
Kiddush following Shabbat morning services, a 4:30 p.m. Teen Seudah Shlishit on "Jews and Superheroes;" and an 8 p.m. Saturday "Melava Malka," or post-Shabbat celebration for parents and grandparents of children from infancy through the teen years on "Theological Issues We Need to Discuss with our Children."

A 10:00 a.m. Sunday brunch at the Portland Kollel includes a presentation
on "Maimonides and Democracy: An Analysis of Rambam's Political Philosophy."

For more information about the weekend, contact aviel@kesserisrael.org or call (503) 222-1239. More information about Rabbi Korobkin, including links to some of his presentations, may be found on his website, www.rabbi4u.com.

*This is a free class.