Calendar

Fast of Esther

Torah: Exodus 32:11-14, 34:1-10

https://hebcal.com/h/taanit-esther-2026?uc=ical-baltimore

Celebration of Jewish deliverance as told by Megilat Esther. It commemorates a time when the Jewish people living in Persia were saved from extermination

Torah: Esther 1:1-10:3

https://hebcal.com/h/purim-2026?uc=ical-baltimore

5:00 pm BYO (Bring your own) Dairy/Parve dinner 
6:00 pm Ma'ariv service and Megillah reading
7:00 pm Beth Am Purim Spiel 

To stream the services and spiel, click here.

Celebration of Jewish deliverance as told by Megilat Esther. It commemorates a time when the Jewish people living in Persia were saved from extermination

Torah: Exodus 17:8-16; Esther 1:1-10:3

https://hebcal.com/h/purim-2026?uc=ical-baltimore

Purim celebrated in Jerusalem and walled cities

https://hebcal.com/h/shushan-purim-2026?uc=ical-baltimore

To stream the services and megillah reading, click here.

Ki-Tisa (“When You Elevate”) opens as God tells Moses to collect a half-shekel donation from all Israelites and to anoint the Mishkan (Tabernacle), its vessels, and the priests. The Israelites worship the golden calf and Moses breaks the tablets. Moses beseeches God to forgive, and returns with a second set of tablets.

Torah: Exodus 30:11-34:35; Numbers 19:1-22
Haftarah: Ezekiel 36:16-38 | Shabbat Parah
Haftarah for Sephardim: Ezekiel 36:16-36

https://hebcal.com/s/5786/21?uc=ical-baltimore

Shabbat of the Red Heifer. Shabbat before Shabbat HaChodesh, in preparation for Passover

Haftarah: Ezekiel 36:16-38
Haftarah for Sephardim: Ezekiel 36:16-36

https://hebcal.com/h/shabbat-parah-2026?uc=ical-baltimore

Through the Fire: Developing Resilience with Susannah Kolstad

       An IYUN Learning Circle

SUNDAY MORNINGS BEGINNING January 4 AT 10:00 A.M. AT BETH AM ADMIN BUILDING

REGISTER HERE

What does it mean to be strong in a time of uncertainty and unraveling? Through the Fire: Developing Resilience is an eight-session IYUN learning circle that invites participants to explore resilience through Jewish text, conversation, reflection, and shared learning. Together, we will wrestle with uncertainty, friendship, leadership, brokenness, and hope—seeking not simple answers, but deeper strength, wisdom, and connection. This learning circle offers space to reflect honestly, learn communally, and cultivate a resilience that can sustain both individuals and communities.

Be sure to mark your calendar for all class meetings: 1/4, 1/11, 1/18, 1/25, 2/1, 2/8, 2/15, and 2/22.  

This class meets in person only. 

Cost: $36 for members (including conversion students), $54 for non-member guests. 

If you have any questions, feel free to contact Susannah Kolstad at skolstad@bethambaltimore.org. 

What We Will Learn

Session 1: Why Learn? Cultivating a Learner’s Mindset
Explore how different ways of learning—text, reflection, conversation, and lived experience—build resilience and help us remain open when one path feels blocked.

Session 2: How Do I Face Uncertainty?
Examine Jewish wisdom on living with unpredictability, vulnerability, and fear, and how staying present can cultivate grit and meaning.

Session 3: Friendships That Carry Us
Reflect on the challenges and necessity of adult friendships and how investing in relationships strengthens resilience during times of loss and change.

Session 4: Revelation From the Ruins
Learn from moments of upheaval in Jewish history to explore what clarity, insight, and holiness can emerge from brokenness—personally and communally.

Session 5: Leading in Hard Times
Study models of imperfect leadership in Torah to better understand how to lead wisely, humbly, and sustainably during times of pressure and crisis.

Session 6: Developing Complex Resilience
Reimagine resilience not just as “bouncing back,” but as transformation—exploring how hardship can fuel creativity, vision, and communal renewal.

Session 7: Through Shards and Into Wholeness
Consider how memory, forgetting, and brokenness shape who we become, and how wisdom can endure even when details fade.

Session 8: Siyum (Closing & Celebration)
Mark the completion of our learning together by celebrating the Torah, insights, and questions uncovered through this shared journey.

Join us for Klei Kodesh, Beth Am's instrumental Kabbalat Shabbat experience led by Rabbi Tyler Dratch and the Uncle Ira's Hebrew Washboard Ensemble in the Beit Midrash! Dinner to follow services.

Schedule:

5:30 pm | Proneg - For members with young families who would like to eat before services. This is instead of joining us for dinner after services.

6:00 pm | Klei Kodesh Shabbat Service

7:00 pm* | Dinner

(* Timing is approximate)

Pricing: 

Members:

$25 - Adults 18+

FREE - Children 0 -17

Non-members: 

$37 - Adults 18+

$18 - Children  2+

FREE - Children 0-2

Menu: TBD

Registration is required for dinner; please register by Monday, February 9th at 10:00 am. 

If you would like to join us for services at 6:00 pm virtually, click here to stream.

Molad Nisan: Wednesday, 4:34pm and 13 chalakim

Vayakhel (“He Assembled”) opens as God commands the Israelites to observe the Sabbath. Moses asks for material donations for the building of the Mishkan (Tabernacle), and the people donate. A group of artisans designated by God begin building the Mishkan and its vessels.
Pekudei (“Accountings Of”) is the final Torah reading in the Book of Exodus. It describes the making of priestly garments worn in the Mishkan (Tabernacle) and the completion of its construction. At God’s command, Moses erects the Mishkan and puts its vessels in place, and God's presence fills the Mishkan.

Torah: Exodus 35:1-40:38, 12:1-20
Haftarah: Ezekiel 45:16-46:18 | Shabbat HaChodesh
Haftarah for Sephardim: Ezekiel 45:18-46:15

https://hebcal.com/s/5786/22d?uc=ical-baltimore

Shabbat before Rosh Chodesh Nissan. Read in preparation for Passover

Haftarah: Ezekiel 45:16-46:18
Haftarah for Sephardim: Ezekiel 45:18-46:15

https://hebcal.com/h/shabbat-hachodesh-2026?uc=ical-baltimore

Start of month of Nisan on the Hebrew calendar. נִיסָן (transliterated Nisan or Nissan) is the 7th month of the civil Hebrew year (8th on leap years) and the 1st month of the biblical Hebrew year. It has 30 days and corresponds to March or April on the Gregorian calendar. רֹאשׁ חוֹדֶשׁ, transliterated Rosh Chodesh or Rosh Hodesh, is a minor holiday that occurs at the beginning of every month in the Hebrew calendar. It is marked by the birth of a new moon

Torah: Numbers 28:1-15

https://hebcal.com/h/rosh-chodesh-nisan-2026?uc=ical-baltimore

In Vayikra (“He Called”), the first Torah portion in the Book of Leviticus, God tells Moses about the sacrifices offered in the Mishkan (Tabernacle). Among these are sacrifices entirely burnt on the altar, meal offerings made of flour and oil, peace offerings, and sacrifices brought for sinning inadvertently.

Torah: Leviticus 1:1-5:26
Haftarah: Isaiah 43:21-44:23

https://hebcal.com/s/5786/24?uc=ical-baltimore

More details to follow.

In Tzav (“Command”), God tells Moses about the sacrifices offered in the Mishkan (Tabernacle), including a meal offering brought by the high priest, guilt offerings, and offerings of thanks. Moses initiates Aaron and Aaron’s sons for priestly service in the Mishkan.

Torah: Leviticus 6:1-8:36
Haftarah: Malachi 3:4-24 | Shabbat HaGadol

https://hebcal.com/s/5786/25?uc=ical-baltimore

Recognizes Aliyah, immigration to the Jewish State of Israel

https://hebcal.com/h/yom-haaliyah-2026?uc=ical-baltimore

Shabbat before Pesach (The Great Shabbat)

Haftarah: Malachi 3:4-24

https://hebcal.com/h/shabbat-hagadol-2026?uc=ical-baltimore