Holy Words for Anxious Times: A Study of Psalms, with Rabbi Alice Goldfinger

For millennia, Jews have recited Tehillim (Psalms) in response to joy, stress, ennui—and every other feeling that reflects human experience and emotion. In this class, we will look closely at three Psalms and read comparative literature on three themes: fear, alienation, and hope. We will explore how the Psalms may give us—as they have given others—inspiration, courage, and a sense of God’s presence in our daily lives. Three Tuesdays: November 19, December 3, December 10 Rabbi Alice Goldfinger was the spiritual leader of Congregation Bet Ha’am from 2000 to 2010. Before coming to Maine, she served as the associate director of the URJ Pacific Southwest Council in Los Angeles and was the associate rabbi at Congregation Sherith Israel in San Francisco. Rabbi Goldfinger was ordained by the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion (HUC-JIR) in 1992. She holds a BA in French literature from Boston University and an MA in Hebrew literature from HUC-JIR. She resides in Falmouth, Maine.