2021BagelU

American Jews Encounter the Buddah

We explored some of the ways some Jews search for spirituality, the meditative traditions within Judaism itself, and how Jewish traditions differ from the Buddhist traditions Jews turn to. You may be surprised. We shared an overview, watched some videos and had a discussion led by Abraham Leibson.

Cycles Within Cyles
Justin Goldman illuminated the wisdom and beauty of the Jewish calendar and entered into an exploration of how the cycles which make up the Jewish year offer us containers in which to build meaning in our lives as individuals and communities.

Sourdough Bread Making
Miriam Gitterman gave a wonderful class on sourdough bread making. We watched as she showed us sourdough loaves at various stages of the process. We learned how to mix, fold, proof, shape, score and bake the dough. Afterward, we enjoyed tasting the hot delicious loaf of sourdough bread. Our thanks to Miriam for her tips and tricks of bread baking. Now it is our turn to make our own loaves.

Converso and Crypto Jews of New Mexico
After a September break for the Holidays, Rabbi Min Kantrowitz joined us on Zoom to give a presentation on New Mexico’s Conversos  and Crypto-Jews . The Crypto-Jews practiced their Judaism in secret in Spain during the Inquisition and brought their traditions to America, settling in New Mexico where they blended their traditions with those of the people of the southwest. This program was sponsored by Larry Fieber and JP Cronin.

**VIDEO NOT AVAILABLE**

Tzedakah - A Jewish Value -  We learned about Tzedakah. Tzedakah is a Jewish value, but what do our sources teach us about how, when, and why we give?  We explored texts from the Torah, Talmud, and law codes and saw how our sages debated these issues. Presented by Rebecca Kaufman, daughter of Andrew Kaufman, a fourth year rabbinical student at Hebrew Union College.

Short Story Series
We listened, with subtitles to excerpts from Ruth Reichl's Tender at the Bone and a translation of Marcel Proust's famous madeleine scene in Swan's Way as Emma Popkin facilitated a discussion of family, memory and identity through food and culinary experiences.

FilmShul: From the Catskills With Love

We welcomed FilmShul presenters Irv Slifkin and Laurence Lerman, who came via Zoom to tell and show the story of how the Catskills became known as the Borsht Belt influenced Woody Allen, Jerry Lewis, Milton Berle, and countless other Jewish comedians.

Dura Europas

Abraham Leibson presented the story of Dura Europas synagogue using photographs and videos prepared by scholars. It reveals the varied influences on that Jewish community, much like the American experience on today’s Jews. Dura Europas was at the crossroads of battling empires in the Mideast. Founded in 300 BCE, it was overrun by different empires a number of times, and finally destroyed and abandoned in 256 CE. A quirk of defensive military maneuvers resulted in the entombment of the synagogue, making possible this remarkable discovery.

Torah in the Tarot

Author Stav Appel shared his provocative thesis that the original Tarot cards were a tool for Jewish education during the centuries when it was forbidden to be openly Jewish in France.His findings seem to reveal hidden images that may have been used to hold onto Judaic symbols and a lost heritage.

Rabbi In the Political Trenches
Our former rabbinical intern Michael Pollack, now Rabbi Michael Pollack, who chose activism over a pulpit to engage dark forces of corruption in Pennsylvania government, returned to speak. He started an organization called March on Harrisburg, leading marches reminiscent of Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel. We welcomed Rabbi Michael home! How can the KHN community learn to effectively bring about justice and Tikkun?

Short Story Series
Emma Popkin led a discussion of the short story Bontshe The Silent by I. L. Peretz. The story's audio, which is cut off in the video of the event, can be viewed HERE.

Nazi Looted Art 

KHN member Abraham Leibson led a discussion about Nazi Looted Art. We have seen movies about art recovery (Woman in Gold, The Monument Men, and others) and have heard accounts of thousands of other artworks, some still being withheld by museums and private collectors.  YouTube videos helped us understand what happened inspired a discussion about that history and its meaning.

Humanistic Judaism

We learned about Humanistic Judaism from Society of Humanistic Judaism Executive Director Paul Golin.  They have removed reference to God and the supernatural from their liturgy and instead overlaid a Humanistic philosophy of life onto Jewish holiday celebrations and lifecycle events.

Mendelsohn's Synagogues in America

Photographer Craig Palmer presented his book Eric Mendelsohn's Synagogues in America.  Between 1946 and 1953, German-Jewish architect Mendelsohn conceived and brought to magnificent fruition four synagogues that became the benchmark of modern American synagogue architecture. Palmer told the story of the architect, his designs, and the relationships in the architect’s career with spectacular photographs from his book.

Jews & the Art School of Paris (Pre-WWII)

KHN member Andre Salz, who is a painter and art historian, took us on a journey into the past and taught us about Jewish artists in Paris pre-World War II. In the quarter of Montparnasse in Paris, a group of Jewish painters (Soutine, Chagall, Modigliani etc.) were changing the direction of modern art. Here is their story. Salz regales us with fascinating stories of artists, many of whom were clients of Andre’s art dealer father in Paris. This is an excellent companion to the current show at the Barnes Foundation in Philly.

The Reluctant Rabbi

We had a large Zoom turnout for Rabbi Laurie Katz Braun sharing a sneak preview of her new one-woman show "The Reluctant Rabbi" exploring life-changing questions we ask ourselves and to help us read the signposts along the way. (VIDEO NOT AVAILABLE)

Cairo Geniza
KHN member Abraham Leibson led a discussion about the Cairo Geniza. The Genzia, considered the second most important Judaic find after the Dead Sea Scrolls, was discovered at the Ben Ezra synagogue, It provided a unique window into the past, starting in the twelfth century, when Maimonides was the personal physician to the Sultan. Attendees viewed two YouTube videos, one by the book authors and the other from Cambridge University, which organized the  find that was brought to them by Rabbi Solomon Schechter in 1896.

ShareGiving

An informative session on ShareGiving. David Stoller, in collaboration with his brother and other professionals, has created a novel approach to caregiving called Sharegiving, which he believes can make an enormous difference in the effectiveness and well-being of the caregiver to those with Alzheimer's, dementia, and other diseases. The presentation used an interview format between David and his brother Rob, unpacking the core elements of the SharegiverSolutions.com program.