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NOVEMBER 2021 PROGRAMS
CHANUKAH
Menorah Lighting and “Brighter Revealed” Art Installation
Sunday, November 29, 6:00 pm EST
(in person at Chelsea Square, presented by Chelsea Prospers, Jewish Arts Collaborative, Tobin Bridge Chabad, Temple Emmanuel and the Walnut Street Synagogue)
COMMUNITY PROJECTS
2022 March of the Living for High School Juniors and Seniors
The New England Friends of March of the Living is promising a $2,000 Scholarship to every qualified Massachusetts high school junior or senior who wishes to participate in the 2022 Jewish Heritage Trip to Poland and Israel (April 24 to May 8, 2022). March of the Living teaches about roots of prejudice — and growing hatred and anti-Semitism needs to be fought. Space is limited. Registration is now underway.
2022 March of the Living flyer
More information and registration
Yad Chessed
Sponsor meals for those in our community who are struggling with economic hardship and isolation and help to support other needs through Yad Chessed. Yad Chessed serves as a safety net for Jewish individuals and families and is rooted in the Jewish values of kindness (chessed) and charity (tzedakah). They are committed to helping those in need navigate a path toward financial stability while preserving their privacy and dignity. Questions can be directed to info@yadchessed.org.
Support Yad Chessed
CSP
The Walnut Street Synagogue is pleased to be a partner congregation of the Orange County Jewish Community Scholar Program!
Who Really Won at Chanukah? The Greeks of the Jews
Monday, November 29, 1:00 pm EST
(online in partnership with the Orange County Community Scholar Program)
Here’s the Chanukah story we all know…‘The Jews were being occupied and oppressed by the Greeks who wanted them to take up Greek practices and give up Judaism. In heroic battles, the Jews, against insuperable odds, defeated their Greek enemies, threw them out of Israel and declared independence. They miraculously relit the Temple lamp with oil that lasted eight days – thus our eight day festival of Chanukah – and ever since, to celebrate this, we’ve lit our eight-branched Chanukiot in the window of our homes, one extra candle a night till all are lit.’ But not so fast… Clive will explore how nearly every phrase in this account is at least challengeable and in many cases simply downright wrong. Right at the core of the session, Clive will ask, was there a victory at all, and if so, who won what? Honored by the Queen in 2016 for services to ‘Education and the Jewish community’, voted no 18 in the UK’s Jewish ‘Power 100’ list and awarded the Max Fisher International Prize for Jewish Education by the Jewish Agency in Jerusalem, and CSP’s 11th Annual One Month Scholar in January 2012, Clive Lawton is CEO of the Commonwealth Jewish Council and scholar-in-residence at JW3, London’s flagship JCC (of which he was a founding trustee) and an internationally active management and education consultant. He was co-founder of Limmud, the internationally renowned Jewish adult education movement and worked for it in senior roles from 1999 till 2016. He is currently a magistrate on the Bristol Bench, an independent Tribunal Chair for the National Health Service in the UK and lectures on the faculties of the European Centre for Leadership Training and the London School of Jewish Studies. Clive grew up in West London and after a BA in English and a Postgraduate Certificate in Education from York University, he became an Associate of the Drama Board in Education. He has an MA in Theatre and Film Studies, an MEd in Religious Studies (specializing in Hinduism and Islam), and an MSc in Educational Management. He has published over a dozen books and broadcasts widely in the fields of religion, moral education and religious education.
Program video
Lingering Memories of War and a Hope for Peace
Sunday, November 28, 3:00 pm EST
(online in partnership with the Orange County Community Scholar Program)
Our virtual tiyul will take us to the neighborhood of Katamon. Established just before World War I by Arab Christians who had built large mansions here, Katamon was the site of some of the fiercest battles in 1948. Our tour will start with a short introduction accompanied by a Yehuda Amichai poetry reading at Gan Hashoshanim (The Rose’s Garden); While walking towards Palmach street, we will start exploring street names along our way; Kovshey Katamon, Ha’shayarot, Ha’Portzim, Ha’Matzor, Ha’Maapilim. As we uncover the meaning of these names the story of the 1948 war will start unfolding. Winding our way to the San Simon Park… The garden, the secluded monastery and the stories they harbor, will be the backdrop for our literature session of excerpts from “A Pigeon and a Boy” by Meir Shalev and “1948” by Yoram Kanyuk. These readings will open a window to the layers of lingering memories of the Battle of San Simon; a battle that may now be forgotten by most, yet continues to surface, as Israel learns to deal with the impact and lessons of its wars. We will conclude our tour by walking just a few steps to the alley between the Monastery and the Patriarch’s home to remember one of Israel’s greatest poets, Shaul Tchernichovsky, who lived and died in this house. His poem “Creed” will offer hope and consolation as we get ready to celebrate Chanukah. Rachel Korazim is a freelance Jewish education consultant in curriculum development for Israel and Holocaust education. She engages audiences worldwide through innovative presentations built around the stories, poems and songs of Israel’s best writers. Her thought-provoking online and in-person presentations open a window onto Israeli society, inviting listeners to engage with the country and its history in new ways. A graduate of Haifa University with a PhD in Jewish education, Rachel teaches at Israel’s well known learning centers such as Pardes and the Shalom Hartman Institutes as well as in numerous Jewish communities worldwide. Rachel is also a very active grandmother of eight grandchildren who all live in Israel.
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Paradigm Shifts: Israel, History, Education
Part 1 – Israel: Navigating Five Conceptual Landscapes – Tuesday, November 16, 3:30 pm EST
Part 2 – What are We Crying about? – A Contextualized Look at Tisha B’Av – Tuesday, November 23, 3:30 pm EST
Part 3 – Jewish Education in the 21st Century: Assets and Challenges – Tuesday, November 30, 3:30 pm EST
(online in partnership with the Orange County Community Scholar Program)
Part 1 – Israel: Navigating Five Conceptual Landscapes – The word “Israel” is a complicated term, evoking multiple and, at times, disparate meanings which often add confusion rather than consistency to our understanding. This session explores this foundational Jewish term by unpacking five different conceptual roles that “Israel” has been playing in our historical, philosophical and ideological narratives – from antiquity to our time.
Part 2 – What are We Crying about? – A Contextualized Look at Tisha B’Av – In popular discourse and practice, Tisha B’Av is associated with the destruction of the two temples in Jerusalem. This narrative, however, is a very myopic understanding of the events that the foundational date of Tisha B’Av truly sets forth to commemorate. This session explores the broader sociopolitical, religious, spiritual and institutional shifts associated with Tisha B’Av — shifts that forcefully called upon Judaism to either reinvent itself or face destruction.
Part 3 – Jewish Education in the 21st Century: Assets and Challenges – The first two decades of the 21st century have witnessed great shifts in our social discourse, the information industry, ideological fervor and political positioning. These shifts have also had notable influence on educational infrastructures, including Jewish educational settings. This session outlines some of the chief educational assets and challenges we face today, and continues to suggest a conceptual language and approach to address them effectively.Dr. Zohar Raviv is a recognized Jewish thought-leader and educator who currently serves as the International Vice President of Educational Strategy for Taglit-Birthright Israel. Raviv’s professional experience spans Israel, North America, South America, Europe, South Africa and Australia. He holds a B.A in Land of Israel Studies from Bar-Ilan University, a Joint M.A in Judaic Studies and Jewish Education from Brandeis University, as well as an M.A in Near Eastern Studies and a Ph.D. in Jewish Thought — both from the University of Michigan (Ann Arbor). Raviv plays a central role in shaping Birthright Israel’s educational philosophy, language and pedagogy, and is a leading voice in some of the global paradigm shifts concerning contemporary Jewish identity, Israel-world Jewry relations and the overall mandate of Jewish education in the 21st century. Raviv was the recipient of the 2015 Bernard Reisman Award for Professional Excellence from the Hornstein Jewish Professional Leadership Program at Brandeis University, where he was recognized as “One of the most influential Jewish educators in the world”.
Program video – Part 1
Program video – Part 2
Program video – Part 3
‘The Times They Were a Changin’: Jewish Protest Singers of the 1960s
Sunday, November 21, 7:00 pm EST
(online in partnership with the Orange County Community Scholar Program)
Seth Rogovoy will explore how while they may have shed the Yiddish language, Jewish singers and songwriters perpetuated the tradition of Yiddish songs of social justice in the countercultural ferment of the 1960s. Musicians ranging from Bob Dylan to Phil Ochs to Janis Ian to Country Joe and the Fish (plus Tom Lehrer, Si Kahn, Paul Simon, Jefferson Airplane) wrote and sang songs that became anthems of the civil rights, antiwar, and women’s movements, among other expressions of political protest. Through spoken word, music, images, and video, we examine how these Jewish artists addressed many of the same issues their Yiddish forebears tackled just a few decades earlier and how Jewish values (e.g., Tikkun olam) seem to have informed their work. The talk also includes how non-Jews including Pete Seeger and Joan Baez wound up being the caretakers of the tradition and transitional figures in bringing Yiddish protest music alive as part of the folk revival. We see a video clip of Seeger singing a Yiddish labor song — in Yiddish! Seth Rogovoy is a writer, radio commentator, lecturer, and concert and record producer. Termed “American Jewry’s greatest Dylan scholar” by Religion News Service, Seth is the author of Bob Dylan: Prophet Mystic Poet (Scribner, 2009) a full-length analysis of Bob Dylan’s life and work, and The Essential Klezmer: A Music Lover’s Guide to Jewish Roots and Soul Music (Algonquin Books, 2000), the all-time bestselling guide to klezmer music. Seth is editor and publisher of The Rogovoy Report – an online magazine of cultural and critical news and observations, also available in the form of a weekly e-newsletter. Seth also does cultural, editorial, and marketing consulting. He is the programming consultant for the Yiddish Book Center in Amherst, Mass., where he curates the center’s annual YIDSTOCK: Festival of New Yiddish Music, which debuted in summer 2012, and which continues under his artistic direction.
Jewish Magic and Amulets
Part 1 – Intro to Magic and the Place of Magic in the Jewish Tradition and World – Thursday, November 4, 1:00 pm EDT
Part 2 – Jewish Childbirth Amulets from Europe (Germany and Poland) – Thursday, November 11, 1:00 pm EST
Part 3 – Jewish Magic and Amulets in the Lands of Isalm – the Khamsa, etc. (Morocco, Iran, Kurdistan, Palestine, etc.) – Thursday, November 18, 1:00 pm EST
(online in partnership with the Orange County Community Scholar Program)
Contrary to popular belief, magic played an important role in the daily life of Jews in the premodern world. This was especially true in the home—and chief among the domestic events that called for magical intervention was childbirth, both dramatic and dangerous before modern advances in medicine and hygiene. Carefully prepared amulets were hung on the walls of the birthing room, the baby’s crib, the mother, and even the baby, making use of centuries-old rituals and texts. In order to understand why and how amulets were produced, we will first examine the approach to and place of magic in Judaism. Drawing on the disciplines of art history, folklore, and anthropology, we will learn to analyze the textual and artistic background and meaning of the amulets, the secrets of “practical Kabbalah” behind their making, who made them and for which sectors in Jewish society, and the beliefs and traditions associated with their usage. This series will concentrate on items produced in the early modern to modern period in Europe and the lands of Islam, from Germany and Poland to Morocco and Kurdistan.
Part 1 – Intro to Magic and the Place of Magic in the Jewish Tradition and World In the first lecture we will examine what is magic and how it relates to religion and science from the ancient past to modern times. Emphasis will be placed on magic and magical phenomena in the Bible and how they were interpreted in the Jewish tradition and transformed in works of art, printed materials and objects.
Part 2 – Jewish Childbirth Amulets from Europe (Germany and Poland) We will look together at visual evidence of historical childbirth methods and rituals and the fundamental Jewish concept of fertility vis-à-vis the high danger through most of our history of pregnancy and childbirth for both baby and mother. In this lecture we will examine the magical methods and amulets used by Ashkenazi Jews in Germany and Eastern Europe to cope with this problem and protect the mother and baby.
Part 3 – Jewish Magic and Amulets in the Lands of Islam – the Khamsa, etc. (Morocco, Iran, Kurdistan, Palestine, etc.) This lecture will focus on examples of precious Jewish amulets created among the communities of Iran, Kurdistan, Iraq, and North Africa. Jewelry has been a highly esteemed craft in Islamic societies, attracting attention to its beauty, elaborate designs, and intricate artistry, while often serving amuletic purposes, believed to protect their wearers. We will also examine how central magical motifs in the lands of Islam, the fish and the khamsa in particular, were totally “Judaized” in this process.
Professor Shalom Sabar lectures widely across Europe and the United States on Jewish and folk material culture, objects associated with the cycles of life and of the year, and ritual and custom in the Jewish communities in Europe and in Islamic lands. He is interested in the culture of Italian Jews and the Sephardic diaspora in Europe, the cultural and artistic interrelationships between the Jewish communities and their Christian and Muslim neighbors, and the image of the Jew and Hebrew writing in art. Professor Sabar has published over 200 books and articles. He is an avid collector of Jewish art objects and Israeli ephemera and presents lectures and guides tours to Jewish sites in Europe, North Africa, India, and Central Asia.
That Sounds Familiar
Part 1 – The Stories of Creation – Wednesday, November 3, 3:30 pm EDT
Part 2 – The Garden of Eden – Wednesday, November 10, 3:30 pm EST
Part 3 – Noah in Context – Wednesday, November 17, 3:30 pm EST
(online in partnership with the Orange County Community Scholar Program)
The stories in the first few chapters of Genesis are familiar to us all; we know what we see in our mind’s eye when we hear the phrase “forbidden fruit,” or what we envision when we think of the ark that Noah built. But how were these stories heard in a world where Zeus, Marduk, or Amon-Ra reigned supreme? The stories of the nascent world had elements that would have been easily recognizable and understandable to the ancient audiences, but they also are strong polemics that interweave what at the time was likely to be revolutionary thoughts and ideas. Join us for a 3-part master class as we probe layers of the biblical text in relation to other ancient stories and to contemporaneous contexts. Session one will look at the first story of Creation in Genesis (chapter 1-2:4a), Session two will look at the second creation account and the Garden of Eden narrative (Gen. 2:4b -3), and Session three will look at the story of The Flood (Gen. 6-9). Prof. Sharon Keller served as CSP’s 15th Annual One Month Scholar in January 2016. She earned her doctorate at NYU in the Department of Hebrew and Judaic Studies in the area of Bible and the Ancient Near East, and is a member of the Classics faculty at Hofstra University. She has been an Assistant Professor of Bible and Ancient Semitic Languages at The Jewish Theological Seminary and at Hebrew Union College; she has also held appointments at NYU, and New York City’s Hunter College—teaching biblical text courses as well as more general courses in biblical literature and history, as well as the courses in the art and archaeology of the lands of the Bible and the ancient Mediterranean world.
Jewish Life in São Paulo: Latin America’s Cosmopolitan Melting Pot
Sunday, November 14, 3:00 pm EST
(online in partnership with the Orange County Community Scholar Program)
São Paulo, Portuguese for ‘Saint Paul’, is a cosmopolitan, melting pot city that is home to the largest Arab, Italian, Japanese, and Portuguese diasporas. São Paulo is also home to the largest Jewish population in Brazil, with about 50,000 Jews (about half of Brazil’s Jewish population and 1.1% of the overall population of the city). Jews arrived in Brazil during the period of Dutch rule, setting up in Recife the first synagogue in the Americas, the Kahal Zur Israel Synagogue, as early as 1636. Most of those Jews were Sephardic Jews who had fled the Inquisition in Spain and Portugal to the religious freedom of the Netherlands. The ancestors of the present Jewish population came to Sao Paulo in successive waves of immigration. Before WWI, after WWI, during and after WWII, during the 1950s and finally in the 70s and 80s. These waves of immigration brought Jews from all around the world. Join us for a conversation
between Rabbi Elie Spitz and Rabbi Adrian Gottfried about the joys and challenges of living a Jewish life in the most populous city in the Southern Hemisphere. Rabbi Adrian Gottfried has served since 1997 as Senior Rabbi at Comunidade Shalom in São Paulo, one of the most dynamic congregations in Brazil. From 2006 to 2010, Rabbi Adrian served as President of the Latin American Rabbinical Assembly and was the director of the Abarbanel Institute Sao Paulo. Rabbi Adrian received his rabbinic ordination in 1990 from the Seminario Rabínico Latinoamericano, MA in Jewish Education from the Jewish Theological Seminary in 1993, and BA and MA in Sociology from the University of Buenos Aires. Rabbi Adrian’s vocation is directly linked to the figure of his mentor, Rabbi Marshall T. Meyer z’l, the rabbi who faced the military dictatorship in Argentina. It was Rabbi Marshall who taught Rabbi Adrian that it was possible, in his own words: “to have one hand in the Torah and another in the newspaper of the day.” Rabbi Elie Kaplan Spitz approaches the familiar in unfamiliar ways. A spiritual leader and scholar specializing in topics of spirituality and Judaism, he teaches, writes and speaks to a wide range of audiences. He served as the rabbi of Congregation B’nai Israel in Tustin, California, for over three decades and served as member of the Rabbinical Assembly Committee on Law and Standards for twenty years. Rabbi Spitz is author of Healing from Despair: Choosing Wholeness in a Broken World; Does the Soul Survive? A Jewish Journey to Belief in Afterlife, Past Lives & Living with Purpose and Increasing Wholeness: Jewish Wisdom and Guided Meditations to Strengthen and Calm Body, Heart, Mind and Spirit (all Jewish Lights) and many articles dealing with spirituality and Jewish law.
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A Culture Clash
Tuesday, November 9, 3:30 pm EST
(online in partnership with the Orange County Community Scholar Program)
Chanukah is about the first time in Jewish History where our survival was threatened by a culture. From a closer look, the challenge of Chanukah arose because of the similarities between Athens and Jerusalem, and not the differences. There is no question that Greek culture has left its mark on Judaism. “A Culture Clash” examines some key aspects in which Hellenism and Judaism overlap, and the subtle differences which make all the difference in the world. Nachliel Selavan, originally from Jerusalem’s Old City, is back in Israel after seven years of teaching full-time in the United States, developing his unique and engaging method of learning Torah through tour, travel and archaeology. During his undergraduate degree studies in Tanach and Mass-Communications at Lifshitz Teachers College, Nachliel hosted a local weekly radio show on 101.6 FM. Nachliel completed his first MA through the Melton Blended Masters in Jewish Education at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem and is studying for his second MA in Ancient Jewish History at Bernard Revel Graduate School, Yeshiva University.
Elisha Wiesel – The Human Rights Legacy of Elie Wiesel
Monday, November 8, 7:00 pm EST
(in person at Boston University Hillel and online)
Elisha Wiesel will speak on “The Human Rights Legacy of Elie Wiesel” at Boston University Hillel as part of the 2021 Elie Wiesel Memorial Lecture Series. There is no charge to attend in person or watch the lecture online, but advance registration is required.
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In the Green Room: Behind the Scenes with Three Legends of Israeli Music (Part 3)
Featuring NOA (Achinoam Nini) and Gil Dor, live from Israel in conversation with Yair Nitzani
Sunday, November 7, 3:00 pm EST
(online in partnership with the Orange County Community Scholar Program – this program is partially funded by a grant from the Albert and Rhoda Weissman Arts Endowment Fund, a joint program of Jewish Community Foundation Orange County and Jewish Federation)
Join us for a conversation between Yair Nitzani and Achinoam Nini. With roots and upbringing spanning Yemen, Israel and the United States, Achinoam Nini (aka Noa), is a singer, songwriter, poet, composer, percussionist, speaker, activist and mother of three children. Together with her longstanding musical collaborator Gil Dor, accomplished musician and co-founder of the Rimon School of music, Noa has released 15 international albums and graced many of the world’s most important and prestigious stages like Carnegie Hall and the White House. She has been mentored by Pat Metheny and Quincy Jones and shared the stage with legends such as Stevie Wonder, Andrea Bocelli and Sting. In addition to her prolific musical activity, Noa is considered Israel’s most prominent cultural advocate of dialogue and co-existence. Noa is Israel’s first ambassador to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and is active as board-member and public advocate of a score of Human Rights and Peace organizations in Israel and abroad. Known as the Israeli Jon Stewart, Yair Nitzani is a musician, writer, comic, and TV personality. Nitzani uses satire and comedy to present his distinctive take on life: Fusing cynicism with endless optimism, moving forward while yearning for the good old times, and balancing his career in music production with the tribulations of being an 80s rock star. In recent years, Yair Nitzani has entertained audiences all over Israel with his intimate and intelligent comedy. He is the writer of a popular satirical column, “Raising an Eyebrow,” in the daily Hebrew-language newspaper, Israel Hayom, and which led to the publication of a successful book by the same name. Nitzani also supports a program for lone Israeli soldiers that was founded by his wife Drorit Nitzani. Noa’s guitarist, producer/arranger, and artistic advisor, Gil Dor, has recorded and played with leading artists including: Shalom Chanoch (white wedding), Gidi Gov (40:06), Chava Alberstein (“Voices” & “Stardust”), and Arik Einstein (“Made in Israel”). In 1985 Gil co-founded the “Rimon School of Jazz and Contemporary Music” in Ramat Hasharon and was its academic director. In 1990 Gil started an artistic collaboration, accompanying, arranging, producing and co-writing with Achinoam Nini AKA Noa. For the last three decades their partnership has been performing, creating and touring internationally.
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Ethiopia: The Land of Origins
Tuesday, November 2, 3:30 pm EDT
(online in partnership with the Orange County Community Scholar Program)
Ethiopia, in the Horn of Africa, is a rugged, landlocked country split by the Great Rift Valley. With archaeological finds dating back more than 3 million years, it’s a place of ancient culture and great modern challenges. Within its borders, you’ll find the world’s fourth-holiest Islamic city, along with the oldest continuously-occupied town south of the Sahara. Compelling antiquities include the medieval rock-hewn churches of Lalibela and Gheralta, palaces and temples dating back 3,000 years, the magnificent 17th century castles of Gondar, and the oldest human fossils unearthed anywhere on the planet. Ethiopia’s rich religious history includes Judaism, Christianity and Islam. According to Ethiopian tradition, one-half of the population was Jewish before Christianity was proclaimed the official religion in the 4th century. The Jews maintained their independence for over 1000 years in spite of religious persecution, enslavement, and forced conversions. Join us on the eve of the Ethiopian Jewish holiday of Sigd, as we travel with our guide Dr. Benny Furst to the “Land of Origins”. Dr. Benny Furst earned his B.A., M.A., and a doctoral degree from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in political sciences, geography, and urban planning, respectively. A geographer, he worked for many years at the planning division of the Israeli Ministry of Environmental Protection, and today he is a teaching fellow at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and in the Technion. He is a leading guide in Egypt, teaching about its many-layered history.
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