Join us as Professor Oren Kosansky reveals what the genizah of the old synagogue in Rabat, Morocco tells us about the Jewish relationship to the written word as well as the earlier generations of Moroccan Jews.
Oren Kosansky is Associate Professor of Anthropology and Chair of the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at Lewis & Clark College, where he researches and teaches on topics related to Jewish culture and society in North Africa and the Middle East. As a Fulbright scholar in Morocco, which once was home to many Jews but now has a population of about 100, Dr. Kosansky discovered a genizah, which has become an important focus of his work since. As director of the Rabat Genizah Project, Dr. Kosansky brings together an international team of community representatives, scholars, archivists, and information technologists to develop a digital archive of Moroccan Jewish documents.
Prior to arriving in Portland, Dr. Kosansky was a fellow at the Herbert D. Katz Center for Advance Jewish Studies at the University of Pennsylvania. Recent publications include the book Jewish Studies at the Crossroads of Anthropology and History (co-editor) and the article The “Jewish Questions” in Postcolonial Moroccan Cinema, which appeared in the International Journal of Middle East Studies.
Book talk about how Debra Zaslow, storyteller and rabbetzin, brings her 103-year-old grandmother home to die with her family. Free. At the MJCC, 6651 SW Capitol Hwy. Portland. 503-244-0111.
Join a group of interested individuals to learn Talmud.
P’nai Or invites you to join Rabbi David Zaslow and Storyteller Debra Gordon Zaslow for “An evening of Interfaith Stories”
The Zaslows will weave stories from Jewish, Christian, Muslim and Buddhist traditions, with true tales of interfaith adventures. People from all walks of life are invited to laugh, cry and be inspired! Ra…bbi Zaslow says, “Through music, poetry, and stories our goal is to celebrate both the unique differences and commonalties between many faith traditions.”
Rabbi David Zaslow’s book, Jesus: First-Century Rabbi, was awarded the 2015 Book of the Year by the Church-Synagogue Library Association. He is the spiritual leader of the Havurah Synagogue in Ashland, Oregon.
Debra Zaslow is an acclaimed storyteller and author who travels nationwide as a performer and workshop leader. She is known for her unique blend of traditional stories with personal narrative. She is the author of Bringing Bubbe Home, A Memoir of Letting Go Through Love and Death.
Join us as the Men’s Club show their talent in cooking! Let’s appreciate our families with art, poems and good food
Learn to Write Poetry with Rabbi David
Rabbi David Zaslow will be teaching a poetry writing class in seven sessions beginning Tuesday, April 21. Rabbi Zaslow says, “The power of the metaphor is a portal to a higher reality.” Rabbi Zaslow is the recipient of the 1988 American Book Award for educational materials. He travelled the nation and taught teachers how to teach poetry in their elementary and high school classrooms. Today, as a rabbi he combines his understanding of the rhythm and imagery with a tilt toward the sacred. The course is geared toward those who already write poetry and with to take their writing to a deeper level, as well as the novice. In each class participants will write and have the option of sharing in an intimate space and safe space that Rabbi David creates. Seven Sessions on Tuesdays: April 21, 28, May 5, 12, 19, 26, June 2, 7-8:30 PM. Cost for the class is $155 , with $15 discount before April 7. Call 541-488-7716 to pre-register or for more information or visit www.havurahshirhadash.org. The Havurah is located at 185 N. Mountain Ave. in Ashland.
No class on April 8th, due to Passover.
Wednesday Night School at Shaarie Torah for Middle and High School students
Every Wednesday (except for major holidays) from 6:00 to 8:15
For more information email Dorice at education@shaarietorah.org
Please join Shaarie Torah in celebrating our Gabbi Manny Taiblum who wrote a stunning book, With G-D at my Side: A Child’s Story of Survival, about his life experiences of escaping the Nazis and surviving the Holocaust.
“I wrote this book so you would remember. I will not be here to speak to you this story forever. Don’t let the lessons from this evil fade away. Remember, Remember, Remember!”
Author Kimberly Marlowe Hartnett will be speaking about her book, Carolina Israelite: How Harry Golden Made Us Care about Jews, the South, and Civil Rights (UNC Press) at Beth Israel on May 13, 2015. Copies will be for sale and signing following the program.
This first comprehensive biography of Jewish American writer and humorist Harry Golden (1903-1981)–author of the 1958 national best-seller Only in America–illuminates a remarkable life intertwined with the rise of the civil rights movement, Jewish popular culture, and the sometimes precarious position of Jews in the South and across America during the 1950s. Hartnett’s spirited chronicle captures Golden’s message of social inclusion for a new audience today.
This program is free and open to the community.
Michael Bloom has been doing business in China for decades. Does he have stories! Free Place: TBA Sponsored by MJCC & JFGP