The following adult educations programs are planned for the coming months at the Hebrew Academy. Feel free to take advantage of these opportunities, as well as the socializing with fellow congregants over bagels and coffee.
IS THE TORAH RELEVANT TO HUMANISTIC JEWS?
FEBRUARY 5, 2012
Author and educator Bennett Muraskin will make the case that much of Jewish folklore, from the Talmud to Hasidic sources and beyond, reflects our values as secular Humanistic Jews and demonstrates that our roots run deeper into the literature of our people than generally understood. Most religious Jews cite the Torah and perhaps the rest of the Jewish Bible as their foundational literature. Others cite the laws and rabbinic interpretations of the Talmud. But what about secular Humanistic Jews? Do we have a claim on these sources, or are they too theistic, authoritarian and ethnocentric? Muraskin’s talk will be based on his book, Humanist Readings in Jewish Folklore, published in 2001 by the International Institute for Secular Humanistic Judaism. He also wrote Let Justice Well Up Like Water: Progressive Jews from Hillel to Hillen Suzman (2004) and co-authored Celebrating Jewish Holidays: An Introduction for Secular Jewish Families and Their Communities (2002). Muraskin is an author, columnist and adult education director at the Jewish Cultural School and Society in West Orange, NJ. He has been a speaker at CHJMC over the past several years.
THE DREYFUS AFFAIR
MARCH 4, 2012
In 1894, a French military court convicted Alfred Dreyfus, a young Jewish artillery officer, of treason. Although an investigation proved his innocence, he remained in captivity on Devil’s Island until he was pardoned by the French president in 1899. His exoneration and reinstatement in the army did come until 1906. This case, one of the greatest political scandals in history, divided France into warring camps, with the military, the Church and other anti-Semites pitted against the defenders of democracy and civil rights. What does this “affair” tell us about modern anti-Semitism and the search for “national identity” today? Join Abbie Gorin, former Jewish Cultural School and Society teacher, for a stimulating presentation. Gorin is an attorney for Essex Newark Legal Services, where he advocates for tenant and homeowner rights.
ERNESTINE ROSE
APRIL 29, 2012
Dr. Paula Doress-Worters, the founder and director of The Ernestine Rose Society, will speak about the atheist feminist. Doress-Worters also is a scholar in the Women’s Studies Research Center at Brandeis University. Additionally, she is a co-author of Our Bodies, Ourselves.
YIDDISH FILMS AND MUSICALS
MAY 6, 2012
The 1930s and early 40s were the golden age of Yiddish theater and motion pictures. (Did you know that many of the Yiddish movies set in Poland were filmed around Newton, NJ?) Many of the songs from those productions even found their way into American popular culture. The names associated with Yiddish theater and motion pictures are legendary, including Jacob and Stella Adler, Luther Adler, Molly Picon, Herschel Bernardi, Boris Tomashevsky, Moyshe Oysher, Zero Mostel and many younger ones who went on to careers in the Broadway theater. These musical theater pieces and motion pictures will be presented with film clips and songs. Dr. David Eddleman, a well-known composer of choral and other music, will speak about these Yiddish works of art. Come for a real simcha of Yiddish culture!
Dr. Eddleman’s own 600+ works have been performed on every continent except Antarctica. He is currently on the faculty of the Chautauqua Institution, Chautauqua, NY, and lectures at the Education Center in Longboat Key, FL. More information on Eddleman can be found at www.
