Esther, the #MeToo Movement, and the Rise of Anti-Semitism
The Haberman Institute for Jewish Studies
Release Date: 03/05/2020
Esther, the #MeToo Movement, and the Rise of Anti-Semitism
The Haberman Institute for Jewish Studies
Speaker: Dr. Erica Brown Series: Haberman Distinguished Scholar Series Date: February 26, 2020 Location: Kemp Mill Synagogue, Silver Spring, MD Unstable governance. Material affluence. Royal intrigue. This text-based, interactive presentation will examine key moments of transformation in the Book of Esther, and parallel biblical stories, of courtier identity struggles that build lasting leadership (and may even have relevance today!). Local scholar of national prominence, Dr. Erica Brown, will guide us through this intriguing investigation.
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Bar Kochba to Bibi: How Do the Jews Survive?
The Haberman Institute for Jewish Studies
Speaker: Dr. Ori Soltes, Goldman Professorial Lecturer in Theology and Fine Arts at Georgetown University Series: Haberman Distinguished Scholar Series Date: January 15, 2020 Location: Temple Beth Ami, Rockville, MD As Judaism has evolved through the centuries, it has encountered diverse challenges to its survival, from internal to external. In part, these challenges reflect the question of what Judaism is — a religion, a nationality, an ethnicity, a culture, or a civilization? How do the dynamic tensions among these various identities, and between the will to conserve or to evolve,...
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Strangers in Strange Places: Jewish Refugees from Central Europe in the Late 1930's
The Haberman Institute for Jewish Studies
Speaker: Dr. Marcia Rozenblit, Harvey M. Meyerhoff Professor Jewish History, University of Maryland Series: Haberman Distinguished Scholar Series Date: December 11, 2019 Location: Kehilat Pardes, Rockville, MD Noted historian Dr. Marsha Rozenblit will share her insights into the plight of Jews fleeing Nazi Germany and Austria in the late 1930's who sought visas to any country that would accept them. While most hoped to go to the United States, Great Britain, or Palestine, many ended up in places that were indeed strange for people who had lived in Central Europe. In such havens as...
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Seasons & Reasons: Hanukkah
The Haberman Institute for Jewish Studies
Speaker: Rabbi Jack Luxemburg, Rabbi Emeritus, Temple Beth Ami, Rockville MD Series: Jewish Enrichment Date: December 18, 2019 Location: Bender JCC, Rockville, MD Hanukkah is a powerful expression of Jewish values at times of difficulty and darkness. This is true whether in terms of the season, critical moments in Jewish history, or during trying times in our personal lives. It is also a popular holiday linked to a complicated narrative rife with unforeseen consequences. Who were the Maccabees and what did they stand for? What did they accomplish? How do Jewish sources respond to them? Why...
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The Jew in the Lotus: A 25th Anniversary Retrospective
The Haberman Institute for Jewish Studies
Speaker: Rodger Kamenetz Series: Jewish Enrichment Date: December 8, 2019 Location: Bender JCC, Rockville Professor Rodger Kamenetz shares what he learned about Judaism from the Dalai Lama. His book, The Jew in the Lotus describes the historic dialogue between rabbis and the XIV Dalai Lama as a lively, funny and profound exchange. The Jews came to help a people in exile with wisdom about survival, in exchange they saw their own tradition as illuminated in the eyes of an acknowledged Buddhist master. What endures for Kamenetz after all these years are certain moments of sacred encounter, of...
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Justice for All? Ethics from Our Bible
The Haberman Institute for Jewish Studies
Speaker: Jeremiah Unterman, Resident Scholar, Herzl Institute, Jerusalem Series: Haberman Distinguished Scholar Series November 5, 2019 at Etz Hayim Congregation, Arlington, VA November 6, 2019 at Congregation Har Shalom, Potomac, MD The Hebrew Bible radically changed the course of ethical thought and came to exercise enormous influence on Jewish thought and law while also providing the basis for Christian ethics and the broader development of ethical thought in modern Western civilization. Jeremiah Unterman discusses how the ethics of the Hebrew Bible represent a significant...
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Seasons & Reasons: Fall Holidays
The Haberman Institute for Jewish Studies
Speaker: Avi West Series: Jewish Enrichment Date: September 17, 2019 Location: The Jewish Federation of Greater Washington, Rockville, MD In this fall session, we explore the universal themes of creation/stewardship, redemption and forgiveness, gratitude, and what's really important in life. We will then see how the particular rituals and texts associated with the Jewish fall holidays, (Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Sukkot and Shemini Atzeret), provide perspectives - some 3,500 years in the making - for wrestling with these themes. This is not a “how to celebrate” class; rather, it...
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Jews and Genetics: Looking at Our History Through Our Heredity
The Haberman Institute for Jewish Studies
Speaker: Nadine Epstein Series: Jewish Enrichment Date: September 11, 2019 Location: Washington Hebrew Congregation, Washington, DC Nadine Epstein shares her efforts to discover her family that had vanished over many generations. She utilized genealogical sleuthing, DNA and genetic testing, as well as “cousin-fishing” to reassemble her family tree. Her adventures took her to shtetls and cities in Eastern Europe and introduced her to an online universe of fellow travelers and close relatives, finally curing what she calls her chronic “familial loneliness syndrome.” Epstein has been...
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Jewish Communities and the Aftermath of Crises
The Haberman Institute for Jewish Studies
Speaker: Rabbi Seth Bernstein Series: Jewish Enrichment Location: Leisure World, Silver Spring, MD Date: September 10, 2019 More and more often, Jewish communities are experiencing crises that were unthinkable twenty years ago (e.g. Chabad of Poway, Tree of Life in Pittsburgh). While most of these tragedies make the news, what happens to these communities once the crisis has abated is often left uncovered. Seth Bernstein, a venerated rabbi and an experienced chaplain, is often called upon to help communities and families after such tragic events. His experiences from the World Trade Center...
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Judaism's Ten Best Ideas: A Brief Guide for Seekers
The Haberman Institute for Jewish Studies
Speaker: Rabbi Arthur Green Series: Haberman Distinguished Scholar Series Date: Sunday, May 26, 2019 Location: Temple Rodef Shalom, Falls Church, VA In an age of fluid identity, many people are honestly asking the question “Why be Jewish?” What in this religious and ethnic legacy is worth preserving? Does Judaism have something unique to offer a contemporary seeker free to choose a way of life and a system of values? Rabbi Arthur Green shares his answers with warmth, humor, personal and rabbinic stories and down-to-earth explanations. Like his 2014 book of the same title, this lecture...
info_outlineSpeaker: Dr. Erica Brown
Series: Haberman Distinguished Scholar Series
Date: February 26, 2020
Location: Kemp Mill Synagogue, Silver Spring, MD
Unstable governance. Material affluence. Royal intrigue. This text-based, interactive presentation will examine key moments of transformation in the Book of Esther, and parallel biblical stories, of courtier identity struggles that build lasting leadership (and may even have relevance today!). Local scholar of national prominence, Dr. Erica Brown, will guide us through this intriguing investigation.