Stories to Live By
Dr. Arthur Green
Wednesdays
April 30–June 4, 2008
7:00–9:00 p.m.
Hebrew College
$15 per lecture at the door
(no advance registration)
$45 for the series (advance registration available)
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Photo by Kris Snibbe |
The Bible is a living text, engaged with history in the making—both source and stimulus for an ongoing, dynamic interchange between text and the transformative events of modern times. In this six-part lecture series, Art Green will present six biblical tales, viewed through Midrash, Hasidic interpretations, modern poetry and other lenses to explore compelling issues. Among them: How does a contemporary person who believes in evolution understand the Creation story? What are the implications of Cain and Abel’s tragic conflict—the first murder—in the era following the Holocaust? How can we re-examine revelation in this post-critical age, when biblical criticism makes it difficult to believe that the Torah text was given at Sinai, but we still want to think that the “word of God” has some deeper meaning?
Lecture Topics
April 30: Genesis—Looking at “Creation” in a post-Creationist Age
May 7: Cain and Abel—The First Tragic Heroes
May 14: Abraham—The Original Jewish Seeker
May 21: Rebekkah and Her Boys—Our Family Saga
May 28: Moses—The Mind and the Mountain
June 4: Solomon’s Song—How to Be a
Shir ha-Shirim Jew
Dr. Arthur Green, Rector of The Rabbinical School of Hebrew College and Irving Brudnick Professor of Philosophy and Religion, is recognized as one of the world’s preeminent authorities on Jewish thought and spirituality. A prolific author, his most recent books include
Ehyeh: A Kabbalah for Tomorrow (Jewish Lights Publishing, 2002) and
A Guide to the Zohar (Stanford University, 2003).
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Zamir Chorale of Boston
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“Like Wildflowers, Suddenly”
On Creating a Musical Tribute to Israel
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
7:30 p.m.
Hebrew College
Berenson Hall
$15 at the door–check or cash (no credit cards) |
Cantor Charles Osborne
Cantor Aryeh Finklestein
Dr. Joshua Jacobson and the Zamir Chorale of Boston
Let it come
like wildflowers,
suddenly, because the field
must have it: wildpeace
So ends the poem “Wild Peace” by Yehuda Amichai. Those words were the starting point for composer Charles Osborne and librettist Aryeh Finklestein as they set out to create a musical tribute for Israel’s 60th birthday. The result is
Like Wildflowers, Suddenly, an oratorio encompassing three stages of Jewish history—biblical, the diaspora and the modern Jewish state of Israel.
In this special lecture-concert leading up to the composition’s world premiere with the Zamir Chorale of Boston on June 1 at Sanders Theatre in Cambridge, Mass., Osborne and Finklestein will be joined by the Zamir Chorale and founding director Joshua Jacobson to explore the inspiration for their work and the process of musical creation. Says Osborne, “The piece conveys three stages of the Jewish state—existence, non-existence and re-existence. It’s an emotional expression of our relationship to the land.”
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Jewish Identity, Politics and the Multicultural Imperative
Sunday, May 18, 2008
10:00 a.m.–12:30 p.m.
Cosponsored by the Jewish Multiracial Network and the Jewish Organizing Initiative
Due to the popularity of this event, registration is now closed.
To be placed on the waiting list, please email abernstein@hebrewcollege.edu.
Schedule of upcoming salons...
Join a dialogue with activists and researchers April Baskin and Rachel Hall as they examine the experiences of Jews excluded or marginalized by the contemporary Jewish world. How diverse is the Jewish community in America? What features of contemporary Jewish institutions discourage fuller participation, compel conformity or render differences invisible to us?
Rachel Hall and April Baskin have each looked deeply into these questions and will share the results of their field observations and ethnographic research regarding Jews of color and other marginalized communities. Their presentation, drawing on an encounter with a broad spectrum of Jews of color and an intensive case study of an American synagogue, will likely change the way you think about the nature of Jewish community and raise two fateful questions: Can we accommodate our full range of diversity within existing institutions? How might we need to change in order to encourage broader participation in contemporary Jewish life?
April Baskin is a Jewish woman of color from Northern California and a recent graduate of Tufts University. April’s research paper, I'm Different Wherever I Go: Experiences and Identities of Jewish Young Adults of Color in American Judaism, uncovers the surprising history of race and diversity in American Judaism and was gathered from a national survey and interviews with young Jews of color from various backgrounds.
Rachel Hall is a Jewish educator and is currently the Director of Teens for Tzedek at the Jewish Community Center of Greater Boston. She received her Masters Degree in Cultural Gender Studies from Simmons College and has presented her research paper, Race, Class, and Authenticity in a mixed class, multiracial, Jewish Reconstructionist community before many audiences.
The JP Salon Project is funded by a grant from the Posen Foundation.
UPCOMING SALONS
June 8
A Prophetic Movement for Social Justice among American Jews? Prospects and Possibilities
Presenter: Ruth Messinger, President, American Jewish World Service
Cosponsored by the American Jewish World Service and the Jewish Organizing Initiative.
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Directions to
Hebrew College
Parking spaces fill up quickly; ride sharing is encouraged.
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