MARCH YAD MORDECAI ADULT EDUCATION PROGRAM

Eating Jewishly: a study day about food

Sunday, March 9^th, 10:30 AM to 3:30 PM

10:30 AM: Kashrut in light of the 21st century - Speaker: Rabbi Micah Becker-Klein, director of Jewish Life and Education at the JCC of Springfield, MA, will talk about his work with a Jewish organic farmer and their exploration of the connection between the laws of Kashrut and the issues of spirituality in the 21^st century.

12:15 PM: Luncheon catered by Simply Divine featuring foods from around the world such as sayyadieh (sauteed fish), aloo rajma ka salad (Indian potato salad), couscous with vegetables and harissa and phirni (rice flour pudding). $25 (optional)

1:30 PM: Jewish cooking, a reflection of different cultures - Speaker: Gil Marks, chef, rabbi, writer and historian, a leading expert on Jewish cooking and author of three books on the subject including The World of Jewish Cooking and Olive Trees and Honey.

This extraordinary study day will take a serious yet fun approach to the law and customs surrounding Jewish food. It is free to members. The optional luncheon is $25 for members. For nonmembers there is a charge of $10 for the program and $35 for the luncheon. The luncheon is by reservation only and is payable in advance.

The absolute deadline for luncheon reservations is 5 PM on March 2nd.

Author’s Night

Tuesday, March 11 7:30 PM

Life, Faith and Cancer: Jewish Journeys through Diagnosis, Treatment and Recovery (ed. Douglas Kohn)

From this collection, Rabbi Ridberg will discuss her own experiences as related in her chapter and Douglas Kohn will speak on other authors. Reception and refreshments follow. The book will be available for purchase.

Scholar in Residence: March 14-15th

Rabbi Robert Scheinberg: The Adaptation of Liturgy to Modernity

Friday night, March 14^th 6:30 PM

Liturgy and Politics: Jewish Prayers for the Government

We will examine diverse Jewish Prayers for the Government, from different eras and in different locations, to see how they reflect understandings of the Jewish role in society, and discuss implications for the contemporary Jewish community. Following the service, there will be a catered dinner (reservations only) with additional opportunity to ask questions and discuss this topic with Rabbi Scheinberg. The catered dinner will be $20 a person payable in advance. Reservations and payment are due by 5 PM, March 10^th.

Saturday morning March 15^th, 10 AM

During the service Rabbi Scheinberg and Rabbi Ridberg will engage in a dialogue comparing and contrasting the Conservative and Reconstructionist approaches to liturgical development with reference to specific prayers and liturgical pieces.

Saturday afternoon, 1 - 2:30 PM – Liturgy and Identity:

The Unusual History of Birchot ha‑Shachar (the Morning Blessings)

We will see how different siddurim throughout history have taken different approaches to the Birchot ha‑Shahar (morning blessings) ‑‑ one of the more controversial Jewish liturgical passages – due to different understandings of religious identity, gender roles, and the appropriate balance of fixedness and fluidity in liturgy. Each session of the program will contain opportunities for question and answer. No reservations are necessary except for dinner.

Second Annual WES Film Festival: March 27: 7:30 PM

MR. KLEIN, Dir.: Joseph Losey, France, 1976

As Jews flee Paris, Robert Klein, an unscrupulous art dealer in Nazi-occupied France, exploits them, preying on their desperation by buying their valuables at a fraction of their worth…until he finds his name is shared by a Jewish fugitive who is a member of the anti-Nazi resistance.

Judaism and Islam: Cultural Interactions during the Middle Ages

Arnold Franklin, Assist. Prof., Dep’t. of Classical & Oriental Studies, Hunter College

3 SESSION COURSE: Sunday Mornings – Coffee at 10 AM – Course at 10:30

Session 1 – March 23: Jews and Judaism in 7^th Century Arabia - explores the earliest contacts between Muslims and Jews as they are reflected in the message and actions of Muhammad. We will look back at the presence of Jews in Arabia during the period preceding Muhammad and the religious confrontation between Jews and Moslems.

Session 2 – March 30: Jewish Society in the Aftermath of the Islamic Expansion - The second major moment of contact between Jews and Muslims, ushered in by the military and political conquest of the Near East following Muhammad’s death. We will consider Jewish responses to these developments and the emergence during this period of a more clearly defined view of the Jews as a tolerated religious minority in the Islamic legal tradition.

Session 3 – April 13: Jewish Culture during the Flowering of Abbasid Society - The third major moment of contact between Jews and Muslims, an encounter which took place in and around Baghdad, the political and cultural center of the Islamic world, in the ninth and tenth centuries.