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*All sessions are temporarily scheduled for Friday at 5:00 p.m. Check back in mid-February for the real schedule.
Friday, March 18
 

4:30pm CDT

Registration
Friday March 18, 2016 4:30pm - 6:45pm CDT
Gates of Prayer -- main lobby 4000 West Esplanade Avenue South, Metairie, LA 70002

6:30pm CDT

Shabbat Candlelighting
Friday March 18, 2016 6:30pm - 6:45pm CDT
Gates of Prayer -- Board Room 4000 West Esplanade Avenue South, Metairie, LA 70002

7:00pm CDT

Conservative Shabbat Kabbalat Service
Friday March 18, 2016 7:00pm - 8:15pm CDT
Gates of Prayer -- Bart Room 4000 West Esplanade Avenue South, Metairie, LA 70002

7:00pm CDT

Orthodox Shabbat Kabbalat Service
Friday March 18, 2016 7:00pm - 8:15pm CDT
Gates of Prayer -- Library 4000 West Esplanade Avenue South, Metairie, LA 70002

7:00pm CDT

Reform Kabbalat Shabbat Services
Musical instruments will be played during this service.

Friday March 18, 2016 7:00pm - 8:15pm CDT
Gates of Prayer -- Sanctuary 4000 West Esplanade Avenue South, Metairie, LA 70002

8:15pm CDT

Shabbat Dinner
Friday March 18, 2016 8:15pm - 9:15pm CDT
Gates of Prayer -- Social Hall 4000 West Esplanade Avenue South, Metairie, LA 70002

9:30pm CDT

Shabbat Tisch

Tisch means “table” in Yiddish and refers to informal gatherings at the Shabbat table after dinner and dessert have been served. At a tisch, people sit around and drink wine and sing songs and tell stories and share teachings in a fun, lively, and laid-back setting.

Come join us and keep the Shabbat camaraderie going!


Moderators
avatar for Laine Kaplan-Levinson

Laine Kaplan-Levinson

Laine Kaplan-Levenson is a multimedia producer living in New Orleans. She was the first Coastal Producer for WWNO's Coastal Desk, and is now the host and producer of TriPod: New Orleans at 300, WWNO's Tricentennial series. She also runs her own live storytelling event, Bring Your... Read More →

Friday March 18, 2016 9:30pm - 10:15pm CDT
Gates of Prayer -- Social Hall 4000 West Esplanade Avenue South, Metairie, LA 70002
 
Saturday, March 19
 

9:00am CDT

Conservative Shabbat Morning Service
Saturday March 19, 2016 9:00am - 11:30am CDT
Gates of Prayer -- Sanctuary 4000 West Esplanade Avenue South, Metairie, LA 70002

9:00am CDT

Orthodox Shabbat Morning Service
Saturday March 19, 2016 9:00am - 11:30am CDT
Gates of Prayer -- Library 4000 West Esplanade Avenue South, Metairie, LA 70002

9:00am CDT

Shabbat Contemplative Prayer Service
Rabbi Glick will lead a contemplative service that combines meditation, contemplation, chanting and song with the central elements of the traditional prayers.

Speakers
avatar for Yoel Glick

Yoel Glick

Rabbi Yoel Glick is a teacher of Jewish mysticism, one of the pioneers of modern Jewish meditation, and a spiritual mentor who has been guiding seekers on the path for more than 30 years. Yoel received a classical rabbinic education from Yeshiva University and was an intimate student... Read More →


Saturday March 19, 2016 9:00am - 11:30am CDT
Gates of Prayer -- Room 13 4000 West Esplanade Avenue South, Metairie, LA 70002

10:00am CDT

MagneticShul: A Shabbat Experience for Young People
MagneticShul is a self-contained synagogue experience, where children use backgrounds and magnets of people and props to create a visual narrative of shul. MagneticShul is multi-denominational and Shabbat friendly as it provides developmentally appropriate play for children as they sit with their parents in "adult spaces."
          On Shabbat, join Justin to play with MagneticShul to create our own mini-service. The engaging storytelling will continue as we visually create the parasha in a Shabbat-friendly way. (Yes, this is possible!)

Speakers
avatar for Justin Sakofs

Justin Sakofs

Justin Sakofs is an entrepreneurial Jewish educator. After spending years in various community education roles, he decided to use his experience and address issues of quality educational toys. His first product was MagneticShul ,which creates opportunities for children to engage... Read More →


Saturday March 19, 2016 10:00am - 10:30am CDT
Gates of Prayer -- Room 12 4000 West Esplanade Avenue South, Metairie, LA 70002

10:00am CDT

Reform Shabbat Morning Service
Musical instruments will be played during this service.

Saturday March 19, 2016 10:00am - 11:30am CDT
Gates of Prayer -- Bart Room 4000 West Esplanade Avenue South, Metairie, LA 70002

10:45am CDT

Shabbat Sing-Along with Rabbi Judy Caplan Ginsburgh
Multi-award winning singer/songwriter, Judy Caplan Ginsburgh will share interactive music for Shabbat with our youngest Limmud attendees.  Parents are welcome to come and participate too.

Speakers
avatar for Judy Caplan Ginsburgh

Judy Caplan Ginsburgh

Judy Caplan Ginsburgh is a multi-award winning singer/songwriter/educator specializing in early childhood music. Her many recordings for Jewish families sell all over the world and are available in the LimmudFest bookstore. Judy received rabbinic ordination in 2014.


Saturday March 19, 2016 10:45am - 11:15am CDT
Gates of Prayer -- Room 12 4000 West Esplanade Avenue South, Metairie, LA 70002

11:45am CDT

Shabbat Lunch
Saturday March 19, 2016 11:45am - 12:45pm CDT
Gates of Prayer -- Social Hall 4000 West Esplanade Avenue South, Metairie, LA 70002

1:00pm CDT

From Shalom Aleichem to Birkat Hamazon and Everything In Between: Enhancing your Home Practice Through Song

Our Shabbat and holiday home rituals serve as opportunities to join in celebration with family and friends, and can be greatly enhanced through communal singing and music making. In this session, we will learn zmirot (shabbat table songs), niggunim (worldess melodies), and more.  We'll also unpack the poetry of these songs and blessings, thinking creatively about the intersection of text and melody. All ages are welcome.



Speakers
avatar for Deborah Sacks Mintz

Deborah Sacks Mintz

Deborah Mintz is the Director of Education and Family Programming at Shir Chadash Congregation in New Orleans.  She has taught at Jewish institutions around the country, including Mechon Hadar in New York City, the Brandeis Collegiate Institute in Los Anegles, and Congregation... Read More →


Saturday March 19, 2016 1:00pm - 2:15pm CDT
Gates of Prayer -- Room 13 4000 West Esplanade Avenue South, Metairie, LA 70002

1:00pm CDT

Soil and Soul in New Orleans: The Importance of Soil in Urban Farming and in Jewish Thought
Becca Margolis started farming on some empty plots in the Lower Ninth Ward following her graduation from Tulane. While she had hoped to be up and running within months, she was stymied by the difficulties of creating just the right soil conditions for her plants. Farmer Becca will discuss the critical importance of healthy soil in farming and the story of her own urban farm, Okra Urban Gardens. Rabbi Gabe Greenberg has struggled to find healthy soil in Metairie, especially during the process of lead testing his lawn to ensure the health of his backyard chickens. Rabbi Gabe will introduce Jewish text that further underlines the centrality of soil in our lives.

Speakers
avatar for Gabe Greenberg

Gabe Greenberg

Gabe Greenberg is a Bostonian by birth, a Jew by heritage, a New Orleanian by choice, yet is trans-geographic in his soul.  Gabe studied at Yeshivat HaMivtar and the Pardes Institute in Israel, before returning to the states to study for his rabbinic ordination at Yeshivat Chovevei... Read More →
BM

Becca Margolis

Becca Margolis is a graduate of Tulane who stayed in New Orleans to become an urban farmer. As the founder of Okra Farms, she has transformed nine abandoned lots into beautiful vegetable gardens in the Lower Ninth Ward that will supply organic produce to restaurants and farmers markets... Read More →


Saturday March 19, 2016 1:00pm - 2:15pm CDT
Gates of Prayer -- Board Room 4000 West Esplanade Avenue South, Metairie, LA 70002

1:00pm CDT

Passover Cooking for All Ages: Shabbat Friendly
One of my favorite times of the year to cook is Passover because it usually involves my mother, children, and grandchildren all around the kitchen counter cooking together.  Kids and parents and grandparents: all are welcome Come join the fun, including recipes, tastings, and lots of take-aways!

Speakers
avatar for Betty Lazarus

Betty Lazarus

Betty Lazarus is a fourth-generation Jewish New Orleanian, who loves to cook for and with many generations. She is also a librarian, tech coordinator, adjunct professor at Tulane University, ADL educator, and a member of Gates of Prayer Synagogue.


Saturday March 19, 2016 1:00pm - 2:15pm CDT
Gates of Prayer -- Room 12 4000 West Esplanade Avenue South, Metairie, LA 70002

1:00pm CDT

Scotch, Schnapps, Shul and a Vort

A schmooze accompanied by a booze tasting of (mostly) Scotch and Slivovitz

 It is traditional to make a Kiddush (sanctification) on Shabbat morning. Unlike Friday night, the Kiddush can be made on any liquid other than water, including wine, liquor, beer, and even milk. In recent years, Kiddush clubs have sprouted in Orthodox synagogues in which a small group of aficionado rebels hop, skip and sneak out of services during the rabbi’s sermon for a private Kiddush get-together over liquor and herring. We will have our own LimmudFest Kiddush Club and sample some of those liquors and learn particularly about Single Malt Scotch Whiskey and terms like  “mash,” nosing,” and “peaty” Scotches. And to give it some sense of holiness (after all it is Shabbat) we will talk a lttle about some of the non-Jews who are “sanctified” in the Torah, especially Bilaam and Jethro.


Speakers
avatar for Michael Weil

Michael Weil

The executive director of the Jewish Federation of Greater New Orleans, Michael Weil has led the Jewish community’s strategic planning process and spearheaded its program to recruit and engage young Jews. Before coming to New Orleans, he was a research fellow at the Jewish People... Read More →


Saturday March 19, 2016 1:00pm - 2:15pm CDT
Gates of Prayer -- Adult Lounge 4000 West Esplanade Avenue South, Metairie, LA 70002

1:00pm CDT

Changing the World with the "Social Action Wheel"
Many of us are concerned about issues of social justice, but are not sure how to take action that will effect true change. In this workshop, we will use the "social action wheel" (originally designed by the Minnesota Campus Compact) to think about the ways -- as individuals and as a community -- we might move from charitable philanthropy (donating money) and direct service (feeding homeless people, for example) to a variety of community-engaged actions, such as advocacy, education, organizing, and social entrepreneurship, to create a more just world.

Speakers
avatar for Naomi Yavneh

Naomi Yavneh

Naomi Yavneh Klos, Ph.D. is the director of the University Honors Program at Loyola University New Orleans. A professor of Languages and Cultures, she is the author of numerous articles on gender and spirituality in Renaissance Italy, as well as three award-winning essay collections... Read More →


Saturday March 19, 2016 1:00pm - 2:15pm CDT
Gates of Prayer -- Sanctuary 4000 West Esplanade Avenue South, Metairie, LA 70002

1:00pm CDT

Dreaming in Jewish: Imagination and the "World of Formation"
What role does creative imagination have in our inner lives, in our spiritual lives? We'll talk about dreams, yours and others, and how our dreams open us to the realm of creative imagination, to the consciousness the kabbalists call "the world of formation."

Speakers
avatar for Rodger Kamenetz

Rodger Kamenetz

Rodger Kamenetz is the author of many books of poetry and prose including The History of Last Night's Dream, To Die Next To You, and The Jew in the Lotus. He received the National Jewish Book Award for Jewish Thought for Stalking Elijah. He was the founding director of the Jewish... Read More →


Saturday March 19, 2016 1:00pm - 2:15pm CDT
Gates of Prayer -- Bart Room 4000 West Esplanade Avenue South, Metairie, LA 70002

1:00pm CDT

Addressing Fear: The Hidden Hope in "Adon Olam"
Nearly every day we hear news detailing frightening events. Can a Jewish poem provide us a vocabulary for a faith posture in the face of a personal crisis or a terrible event? Join us for a brief study of "Adon Olam." This little  poem does not merely end a prayer service. Discover a few little-known secrets concerning its author and a Sephardic alternative that may enhance your understanding of the "Adon Olam" as a new byword for daily life. An uplifting mantra of confidence and hope is hidden within its rhyme, and a new appreciation of this poem may come with discovery of its various uses that have developed over the centuries. Add your voice and perspective to our discussion.

Speakers
avatar for Steven Silberman

Steven Silberman

Rabbi Steven Silberman, having lived with his wife and their four children in Mobile, Alabama, for the past 25 years, values family time and the opportunity of learning and spiritual growth and appreciates the significance of sharing special life moments and ordinary time with his... Read More →


Saturday March 19, 2016 1:00pm - 2:15pm CDT
Gates of Prayer -- Room 3 4000 West Esplanade Avenue South, Metairie, LA 70002

1:00pm CDT

So You Fell Asleep During Services - Do You Still Count For a Minyan (And Other Neglected Texts That Are Loaded With Jewish Values!)
Maybe because of my ADD and my free-associating mind, I have had little patience to plow through long sections of books, texts, etc.  I skip around, which is how I often discover things off the beaten track.  They appeal to me very much, and I spend a lot of time thinking about them and studying them with others. We will examine some of those texts our teachers never or rarely taught us because they are simply loaded with Jewish values, which are also often not touched on in our Jewish education.

This session is made possible by funds from The Covenant Foundation.


Speakers
avatar for Danny Siegel

Danny Siegel

Danny Siegel has been called the “Mitzvah Maniac” and “The Pied Piper of Tzedakah” and, through his 30 books and more than 500 talks to Jewish groups, is no doubt more responsible than any single individual for the contemporary Jewish community’s focus on tikkun olam and... Read More →


Saturday March 19, 2016 1:00pm - 2:15pm CDT
Gates of Prayer -- Library 4000 West Esplanade Avenue South, Metairie, LA 70002

2:30pm CDT

“But I Don’t Want to Go to Sunday School!” – Cultivating Jewish Identity Outside the Walls of the Synagogue
If you’re a parent, you’ve most likely heard that sentence from the mouths of your children. This interactive session will explore the alternate pathways to building a Jewish identity in children and teens. Join us to explore your personal Jewish journey and how we can cultivate a bright, Jewishly engaged future generation through Jewish camping, informal education, and youth engagement.

Speakers
avatar for Becci Jacobs

Becci Jacobs

Becci Jacobs works year-round in Jewish youth engagement as the Assistant Director at the URJ Henry S. Jacobs Camp and the Regional Advisor to the Southern Region of NFTY, the North American Federation of Temple Youth. Growing up in Jackson, MS, Becci is no stranger to our unique... Read More →


Saturday March 19, 2016 2:30pm - 3:45pm CDT
Gates of Prayer -- Room 13 4000 West Esplanade Avenue South, Metairie, LA 70002

2:30pm CDT

Not Your Bubby's Bubby: Grandparenting in the Age of Facebook and Pokemon
What's Jewish about being a grandparent? What did we get from our relationships with our grandparents, and what do we wish to pass down to our own grandchildren?  What are the joys and what are the challenges, whether we live next door or are long-distance grandparents? Share our celebrations and conundrums. Explore how we can deal with changing family structures: being grandparents with interfaith families, facing religious differences, divorce, stepfamilies, or having grandchildren with challenges. Learn about possibilities for creating meaningful, memorable experiences, such as the Grandparent/Grandchild Tzedakah Club, Intergenerational Tikkun Olam, and Family Heritage trips.  What were our dreams and memories, and what will our legacy be?

Speakers
avatar for Nechama Liss-Levinson

Nechama Liss-Levinson

Nechama Liss-Levinson, Ph.D. loved watching people and their families as a child, so it’s not surprising she grew up to be a psychologist and an author. Nechama’s clinical practice and writing have focused on developmental milestones in the Jewish family and she has taught... Read More →


Saturday March 19, 2016 2:30pm - 3:45pm CDT
Gates of Prayer -- Adult Lounge 4000 West Esplanade Avenue South, Metairie, LA 70002

2:30pm CDT

A Pinch of This and a Dash of That: Exploring Jewish Cookbooks and Family Recipes
Cookbooks have become a central element of today's food culture. They influence how people cook and eat today but are also coffee-table books that allow us to dream of ideal meals. Yet, this wasn't always the case, and people once learned how to cook by being in their kitchen with their mother or grandmother. Learn about the evolution of Jewish cookbooks and bring in your own family recipes that you need help re-creating or deciphering.

Speakers
avatar for Katherine Romanow

Katherine Romanow

Katherine Romanow is a scholar of Jewish food, who wrote her master’s thesis on the Mimouna and its food traditions in Montreal. She is a food writer who has written for various publications and she loves to read about food nearly as much as she likes to eat it. Her favorite Jewish... Read More →


Saturday March 19, 2016 2:30pm - 3:45pm CDT
Gates of Prayer -- Board Room 4000 West Esplanade Avenue South, Metairie, LA 70002

2:30pm CDT

An Improbable Hope: Can Two Women’s Friendship Offer Clues to Solving the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict?
My recent book, An Improbable Friendship, is a dual biography of Ruth Dayan, the widow of Israeli General Moshe Dayan, and of Ruth’s best friend Raymonda Tawil, the mother-in-law of Yasser Arafat.  Their friendship is an example of hopeful transformation in a part of the world synonymous with intractable ethnic war.  By fitting people into national or religious blocks determined by historical forces and opposing civilizations, politicians, historians, political scientists, and journalists all too often miss something essential in their approach to the Middle East--individuals and their hopes, desires, and dreams.   Ruth (aged 99) and Raymonda (aged 74), with their shared sense of empathy, are a case study in the dynamic cultural currents that will eventually push aside politicians (with their Big Ideas) and bring the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to an end.

Speakers
avatar for Tony David

Tony David

Since getting his Ph.D. at the University of Chicago in 2000, Anthony David has been working as a scholar, translator, and biographer, mostly in Israel.  His first biography was The Patron, the story of the entrepreneur and publisher, Salman Schocken. For Harvard University Press... Read More →


Saturday March 19, 2016 2:30pm - 3:45pm CDT
Gates of Prayer -- Room 12 4000 West Esplanade Avenue South, Metairie, LA 70002

2:30pm CDT

Fall and Rise of the Jewish South: Did You Save Your Dixie Kiddish Cups?

Over the last several decades, the Jewish South has been transformed. While much national attention has been focused on the decline of small town Jewish communities in the South, more Jews live in the former Confederacy today than ever before – this is true even if you exclude that southern-most borough of New York: south Florida.This interactive presentation will examine the economic and demographic changes that have reshaped southern Jewish life and its future prospects. It will also explore the provocative question, “If Jewish life in the South is flourishing, can the same be said for southern Jewish identity?”

 


Speakers
avatar for Stuart Rockoff

Stuart Rockoff

Stuart Rockoff is the executive director of the Mississippi Humanities Council, where he works to develop and support public humanities programs around the state. He earlier served as the director of the History Department at the Goldring/Woldenberg Institute of Southern Jewish Life... Read More →


Saturday March 19, 2016 2:30pm - 3:45pm CDT
Gates of Prayer -- Bart Room 4000 West Esplanade Avenue South, Metairie, LA 70002

2:30pm CDT

Walking the Path of the Jewish Mystic: How to Expand your Awareness and Transform your Life
In this session, Rabbi Yoel will explore how we use the seminal teachings of the Kabbalistic tradition to deepen our self-knowledge and live our lives with greater meaning and awareness.

Speakers
avatar for Yoel Glick

Yoel Glick

Rabbi Yoel Glick is a teacher of Jewish mysticism, one of the pioneers of modern Jewish meditation, and a spiritual mentor who has been guiding seekers on the path for more than 30 years. Yoel received a classical rabbinic education from Yeshiva University and was an intimate student... Read More →


Saturday March 19, 2016 2:30pm - 3:45pm CDT
Gates of Prayer -- Sanctuary 4000 West Esplanade Avenue South, Metairie, LA 70002

2:30pm CDT

It’s All Relative: King David’s Relationships with Michal, Jonathan, and Batsheva

This session will explore the life and actions of King David as presented by the books of 1 Samuel, 2 Samuel, and 1 Kings, which often stand in stark contrast to the more classically received understanding of David presented by the books of Chronicles.  It will focus on three of his relationships -- with Michal, Jonathan, and Batsheva --that help define King David ethically and politically The implications of each story arc will give us a fuller understanding of who David truly was.


Speakers
avatar for Todd Silverman

Todd Silverman

Rabbi Todd Silverman joined the Touro Synagogue team in July 2015 as the Rabbinic Director of Lifelong Learning. Originally from Clifton Park, NY, he comes most recently from Los Angeles, where he spent the better part of ten years teaching elementary school, attending seminary at... Read More →


Saturday March 19, 2016 2:30pm - 3:45pm CDT
Gates of Prayer -- Library 4000 West Esplanade Avenue South, Metairie, LA 70002

4:00pm CDT

Rabbi, Rabba, Maharat, Morateinu : Orthodox Women Breaking New Ground in Jewish Religious Leadership
Hear Rabbi Lila Kagedan, the first Orthodox woman in North American to assume the title rabbi, share her journey as a woman to the Orthodox rabbinate. In this session, we will discuss women in leadership roles in Orthodox Judaism as well as explore text that will highlight Rabbi Kagedan's journey.

Speakers
avatar for Lila Kagedan

Lila Kagedan

Rabbi Lila Kagedan, a recent graduate of Yeshivat Maharat, is the first person ordained at the Orthodox women’s seminary to adopt the title of rabbi and to be hired as such by an Orthodox synagogue--the Mount Freedom Jewish Center in Randolph, New Jersey. Lila is also a clinical... Read More →


Saturday March 19, 2016 4:00pm - 5:00pm CDT
Gates of Prayer -- Bart Room 4000 West Esplanade Avenue South, Metairie, LA 70002

4:00pm CDT

Creating a Sustainable and Joyous Passover

During Passover we are commanded to eat differently as a constant reminder of the hardships of our ancestors. In this session, we’ll look at how some of our choices for celebration affect others. We’ll harken back to the agricultural origins of the holiday and discuss ways to recognize and support the freedom for all in our own celebrations and homes. Integrating both the ritual and menu of the Passover seder, we’ll touch on sustainable living, farmworkers, modern-day plagues and slavery, and issues of equal rights.

 

Speakers
avatar for Leora Mallach

Leora Mallach

Leora Mallach is the co-founder and director of Ganei Beantown (Beantown Jewish Gardens), a Boston area nonprofit organization building community through experiential food system education rooted in Jewish text, tradition, and culture. Reminding our community of the connections within... Read More →


Saturday March 19, 2016 4:00pm - 5:00pm CDT
Gates of Prayer -- Board Room 4000 West Esplanade Avenue South, Metairie, LA 70002

4:00pm CDT

From ISIS to BDS: How Financial and Energy Markets Shape Political Movements

Recent global political developments do not live in a vacuum. Financial and energy markets shape the ways political movements develop, expand, and restructure themselves. How do  trends in global trade in goods and services change the effectiveness of the BDS movement? Will ISIS strategy change once energy prices rise again? These and other timely and important questions will be discussed against the backdrop of dramatic headlines.


Speakers
avatar for Efraim Chalamish

Efraim Chalamish

Dr. Efraim (Efi) Chalamish travels across the globe to lecture, provide high-level government counsel, educate and inspire. He is a professor of  international economic law at New York University and has an international legal practice in New York, Paris, and Israel on such issues... Read More →


Saturday March 19, 2016 4:00pm - 5:00pm CDT
Gates of Prayer -- Room 13 4000 West Esplanade Avenue South, Metairie, LA 70002

4:00pm CDT

Defend the Poor and Fatherless, Do Justice to the Afflicted and Needy: Jews and Criminal Justice in New Orleans and the South
We are instructed as Jews in many of our teachings to pursue justice. This panel will discuss why Jews have so often been attracted to justice-oriented fields and the impact of the Jewish presence in the Justice arena in the South. It will also address over-criminalization, poverty, Jewish norms, and the effects of all of these factors on the criminal courts.

Speakers
avatar for Simone Levine

Simone Levine

In August 2015, Simone Levine became the Executive Director of Court Watch NOLA, a volunteer-based nonprofit organization that monitors New Orleans criminal courts. Simone served as both a prosecutor and a public defender before coming to Court Watch NOLA. Simone has also served as... Read More →
avatar for Mercedes Montagnes

Mercedes Montagnes

Mercedes received a JD degree from Harvard Law School. While at Harvard, she worked as a student attorney for the Criminal Justice Institute and held summer internships with a civil rights attorney and the Public Defender’s Office in New Orleans. She then served as a law clerk in... Read More →
avatar for Josh Perry

Josh Perry

Josh Perry is executive director of the Louisiana Center for Children's Rights, a nonprofit law center that defends children in Louisiana's juvenile justice system. LCCR is the juvenile public defender in New Orleans, and it uses policy advocacy and impact litigation to build a fairer... Read More →


Saturday March 19, 2016 4:00pm - 5:00pm CDT
Gates of Prayer -- Sanctuary 4000 West Esplanade Avenue South, Metairie, LA 70002

4:00pm CDT

Into the Wilderness: Bentonville, Arkansas, and the "Walmart Jews"

At a time when synagogues in small Southern towns are closing, a new synagogue in Bentonville, Arkansas, is thriving. Dedicated in 2005, it now has a rabbi, religious school, weekly Shabbat services, a sisterhood, and a brotherhood. Learn about the remarkable growth of its synagogue from two of its movers and shakers, Betsy Rosen and David Hoodis, as well as from Stan and Ellen Kessler, who go to Bentonville frequently on business with Walmart and who lived there for a time post-Katrina.


Speakers
avatar for David Hoodis

David Hoodis

David Hoodis, a well-recognized expert in retail innovation, has more than 22 years of broad leadership and experience. He is currently the president of IRI Retail, a market research company. Today, David, his wife Wynnie and daughters Sophia (16) and Valerie (12) live in Short Hills... Read More →
SK

Stan Kessler

Ellen and Stan Kessler both attended Miami Senior High School in Miami, Florida, but did not meet until their 25th reunion in July 1984.  They were married in December of that year, waiting until Ellen’s three daughters and Stan’s two sons had their Christmas vacations! Stan... Read More →
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Ellen Kessler

Ellen and Stan Kessler both attended Miami Senior High School in Miami, Florida, but did not meet until their 25th reunion in July 1984.  They were married in December of that year, waiting until Ellen’s three daughters and Stan’s two sons had their Christmas vacations! Ellen... Read More →
avatar for Betsy Rosen

Betsy Rosen

Raised in Minneapolis, Betsy Rosen and her husband Marc and children Josh (now 16) and daughter Alana (now 11) called Bentonville, Arkansas, home from 2000-2010. The Rosens were part of the 12 founding families of Congregation Etz Chaim (CEC) in 2004. Betsy served as CEC's first... Read More →


Saturday March 19, 2016 4:00pm - 5:00pm CDT
Gates of Prayer -- Room 12 4000 West Esplanade Avenue South, Metairie, LA 70002

4:00pm CDT

Yoga for the Jewish Soul
All are welcome in this restorative yoga class to inspire introspection and relaxation. Restorative yoga poses use props to support the body, healing and nourishing the body and soul. We will practice breathing techniques for relaxation and rejuvenation, and allow our minds and bodies to rest. This class is suitable for anyone, regardless of experience or physical ability.

Please bring a mat if possible, and wear loose or stretchable clothing.

Speakers
avatar for Laura Kulick

Laura Kulick

Laura Kulick is a clinical social worker, 200-hour certified yoga teacher, wife, and mother to a one-year-old daughter. In her career, Laura specializes in incorporating mindfulness practices, yoga, and meditation into psychotherapy. Laura is originally from Buffalo, NY, and after... Read More →


Saturday March 19, 2016 4:00pm - 5:00pm CDT
Gates of Prayer -- Adult Lounge 4000 West Esplanade Avenue South, Metairie, LA 70002

4:00pm CDT

Three Patriarchs Walk into a Bar: A Humorous Look At the Ill Effects of Testosterone in the Book of Genesis
Come hear this irreverent stand-up comedy routine, analyzing the major male characters in the Book of Genesis and the ways in which they stumble and fall short of their potential in pursuit of their male-focused goals.  All are fair game, including God.

Speakers
avatar for Bill Liss-Levinson

Bill Liss-Levinson

William Liss-Levinson, PhD, is a health care publishing executive in New York. He was the founding director of one of the first Hospice programs under Jewish auspices in the United States. The author of In Search of Theological Modesty: Biblical Lessons (Resource Publications, 2015... Read More →


Saturday March 19, 2016 4:00pm - 5:00pm CDT
Gates of Prayer -- Library 4000 West Esplanade Avenue South, Metairie, LA 70002

5:15pm CDT

Modern Yiddish Poetry: A Bridge to the World
We often think of Yiddish as "mamaloshn"-- the language of the home -- but for the poets of American Yiddish modernism like Yankev Glatshteyn and Moyshe-Leyb Halpern, Yiddish was also a bridge to an international artistic avant-garde. In this session, we will learn about how Yiddish modernist poets understood their work, and we will read and discuss some excellent examples of their poetry. All texts will be in translation—no Yiddish knowledge required!

Speakers
avatar for Danny Mintz

Danny Mintz

Daniel Mintz teaches English at Loyola University New Orleans, and received his Ph.D. in English and Judaic Studies from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.


Saturday March 19, 2016 5:15pm - 6:15pm CDT
Gates of Prayer -- Room 12 4000 West Esplanade Avenue South, Metairie, LA 70002

5:15pm CDT

"An Old Jewish Man Goes to Gan Eden and Gehinnom": A Play
I have a PhD in chemistry. A few years ago I realized I wouldn’t get a Nobel prize in Chemistry because my high school and college had seven Noble prize winners already. So, I wrote a few plays. A  friend called me and said that he is putting an evening together of several short plays on the topic “Heaven and Hell.” He said all the contributions involved Christian themes. He asked if I could submit one with a Jewish theme. That’s how I came to write “"An Old Jewish Man Goes to Gan Eden and Gehinnom."

Speakers
avatar for Elliott Raisen

Elliott Raisen

Elliott Raisen is a retired research chemist with a PhD in chemistry. When he realized he would not get a Nobel Prize in Chemistry because his high school and college already had graduated seven Nobel Prize winners, he wrote a few plays and danced.


Saturday March 19, 2016 5:15pm - 6:15pm CDT
Gates of Prayer -- Sanctuary 4000 West Esplanade Avenue South, Metairie, LA 70002

5:15pm CDT

What's Black and White and Jewish All Over? The Journalistic Ethics, the Pitfalls, and the Fun of Covering the Southern Jewish Tribe for a Quarter-Century
For 25 years, Larry Brook has covered the Jewish communities of the South, writing about everything from Jewish community events to Christian Zionism to church-state issues to Southern Jewish history. There has never been a shortage of stories, from the compelling to the unusual, to fill the pages of Southern Jewish Life, which formerly was the Southern Shofar and Deep South Jewish Voice. This session will include many anecdotes, as well as a discussion of how to properly and fairly cover a community where one is an active participant, the ethics of printing certain controversial stories, and the role of an independent media within the Jewish community.

Speakers
avatar for Larry Brook

Larry Brook

Larry Brook is one of the first graduates of Birmingham’s N.E. Miles Jewish Day School. After working on a student paper at Virginia, in 1990 he began Southern Shofar in Alabama, now the regional Southern Jewish Life. He is past vice president... Read More →


Saturday March 19, 2016 5:15pm - 6:15pm CDT
Gates of Prayer -- Room 13 4000 West Esplanade Avenue South, Metairie, LA 70002

5:15pm CDT

Infertility: Ancient Curses, Modern Blessings
The Torah and Jewish textual sources are replete with references to human fertility, conception, childbirth, and, pointedly, the lack thereof. During this session, participants have an opportunity to read and discuss the topic as presented in selected ancient narratives and recent commentary and compare those with contemporary human experiences of infertility.  The impact of modern medical technologies will  also be discussed. In many ways, the knowledge of modern science seems to highlight the brilliance of and integrate well with the references in the Torah of fertility/infertility.  The human experiences seem surprisingly familiar through the millennia.

Speakers
avatar for Barry Ripps

Barry Ripps

Barry A. Ripps, MD, graduated from Vanderbilt University, School of Engineering with honors and received his medical degree from the University of Alabama School of Medicine in Birmingham. He completed residency training in Obstetrics and Gynecology and a fellowship in Reproductive... Read More →


Saturday March 19, 2016 5:15pm - 6:15pm CDT
Gates of Prayer -- Adult Lounge 4000 West Esplanade Avenue South, Metairie, LA 70002

5:15pm CDT

Chocolate and the Jews – A Mostly Sweet Story

Chocolate is America’s, and arguably the world’s, favorite flavor and treat. In this session, participants will come to appreciate the history of chocolate, learn about its long and complicated path from bean to bar, understand some of the challenges in the world of chocolate, and “get a taste” of the relationship of this popular confection to the Jewish people. A highlight of this fun and interactive session will be the opportunity to experience a kosher chocolate tasting. Taste chocolate like a pro!

Limited to 50 people.


Speakers
avatar for Ann Streiffer

Ann Streiffer

Ann Zerlin Streiffer is a native New Orleanian who attended Kennedy High, Touro Nursing School, and UNO, and completed Gerontological Nurse Practitioner training at the University of Colorado. Over the years, her nursing practice included surgical nursing, human resources, nursing... Read More →
avatar for Rick Streiffer

Rick Streiffer

Rick Streiffer, a native New Orleanian, has practiced and taught in medical school and residency settings for 30 years in Mississippi, Colorado, and Louisiana,. He is currently d ean of the College of Community Health Sciences at the University of Alabama. Rick and wife Ann grew up... Read More →


Saturday March 19, 2016 5:15pm - 6:15pm CDT
Gates of Prayer -- Bart Room 4000 West Esplanade Avenue South, Metairie, LA 70002

5:15pm CDT

Blacks, Jews, and Civil Rights in New Orleans: A Complicated History

Jewish New Orleanians are widely recognized as champions of African American civil rights.  But how deserving are they of that reputation, and what did Jewish support for black advancement really look like during the Crescent City’s long civil rights movement?  In this session, participants will learn about key players and moments relating to Jewish engagement in the African American freedom struggle, with particular attention paid to education and housing.  Participants will also develop their own ideas about the topic through the exploration of primary sources.  In addition to illuminating critical aspects of New Orleans’ past, this session will provide participants with an opportunity to reflect on the lessons that history offers for understanding – and contributing to – the ongoing quest for racial justice.


Speakers
avatar for Walter Stern

Walter Stern

Walter C. Stern, Ph.D., is a historian who focuses on race and education in the urban United States. His current book manuscript examining schools, race, and urban development in nineteenth- and twentieth-century New Orleans is under contract with Louisiana State University Press... Read More →


Saturday March 19, 2016 5:15pm - 6:15pm CDT
Gates of Prayer -- Library 4000 West Esplanade Avenue South, Metairie, LA 70002

5:15pm CDT

Esther's Story: Two Versions of Purim
Each year, we observe the festival of Purim, as has been practiced for over 2,300 years. We read the Megillah, the "Scroll of Esther"; we send gifts of food to our friends; we increase in charity to the poor; and we partake of a festive meal, replete with food, drink, and unbridled joy. Originally, Mordechai and Esther, the two heroes of the Purim story, advanced   different ideas of how Purim should be commemorated. Learn what each proposed and how it is connected to their individual roles in the Purim story.  We will discuss why the Rabbis of the  Geat Assembly sided with Esther. This discussion will be stimulating and practical for our day-to-day lives.

Speakers
avatar for Yossie Nemes

Yossie Nemes

Rabbi Yossie Nemes grew up in Brooklyn and graduated in 1987 from Yeshiva Gedolah College in Johannesburg, South Africa. He had the privilege of studying under the Lubavitcher Rebbe for many years. He and his wife Chanie have served the NOLA Jewish community for more than 25 years... Read More →


Saturday March 19, 2016 5:15pm - 6:15pm CDT
Gates of Prayer -- Board Room 4000 West Esplanade Avenue South, Metairie, LA 70002

6:30pm CDT

Shabbat Mincha Service
Saturday March 19, 2016 6:30pm - 7:00pm CDT
Gates of Prayer -- Bart Room 4000 West Esplanade Avenue South, Metairie, LA 70002

7:00pm CDT

Seudah Shlishit: The Third Shabbat Meal
Saturday March 19, 2016 7:00pm - 7:45pm CDT
Gates of Prayer -- Social Hall 4000 West Esplanade Avenue South, Metairie, LA 70002

8:00pm CDT

Orthodox/Traditional Havdalah
Saturday March 19, 2016 8:00pm - 8:15pm CDT
Gates of Prayer -- Bart Room 4000 West Esplanade Avenue South, Metairie, LA 70002

8:15pm CDT

Communal Havdalah
Saturday March 19, 2016 8:15pm - 8:30pm CDT
Gates of Prayer -- Sanctuary 4000 West Esplanade Avenue South, Metairie, LA 70002

8:30pm CDT

"I Am Jewish": A Spoken Word Performance
Andrew Lustig's spoken word explorations of his Jewish identity and the contemporary have gone viral on YouTube and have been performed all over the world to receptive audiences. Come hear why Andrew Lustig's work is creating such a global buzz.

Speakers
avatar for Andrew Lustig

Andrew Lustig

Andrew Lustig is a Jewish spoken word artist whose poetry has reached millions in viral videos and in live performances. Andrew has delivered spoken word keynote addresses at the conferences of many national Jewish organizations. A 2013-14 Dorot Fellow in Israel, Andrew is also a... Read More →


Saturday March 19, 2016 8:30pm - 10:00pm CDT
Gates of Prayer -- Sanctuary 4000 West Esplanade Avenue South, Metairie, LA 70002

8:30pm CDT

ABOVE AND BEYOND: The Untold True Story (Documentary)
In 1948, just three years after the liberation of Nazi death camps, a group of Jewish American pilots answered a call for help. In secret and at great personal risk, they smuggled planes out of the U.S., trained behind the Iron Curtain in Czechoslovakia, and flew for Israel in its War of Independence. The first major feature-length documentary about the foreign airmen in the ’48 War, ABOVE AND BEYOND brings together new interviews with the pilots, as well as stunning aerial footage, to present a fascinating, little-known tale filled with heart, heroism, and high-flying chutzpah. Filmed in the U.S., Israel, and the United Kingdom, ABOVE AND BEYOND is produced by Nancy Spielberg.

Saturday March 19, 2016 8:30pm - 10:00pm CDT
Gates of Prayer -- Bart Room 4000 West Esplanade Avenue South, Metairie, LA 70002
 
Sunday, March 20
 

8:30am CDT

Registration
Sunday March 20, 2016 8:30am - 9:30am CDT
Lavin-Bernick Center -- Hallway Tulane University, 201 Boggs, New Orleans, LA 70118

9:00am CDT

The Birth of Jazz and the Jews of Rampart Street
Author of the Gorilla Man and the Empress of Steak: A New Orleans Family Memoir, Fertel will reflect on his family’s taking root on Rampart Street just as jazz was being born. He will explore the role of Rampart St. Jews in the birth of jazz, from Louis Armstrong saying he learned how to sing from the heart by listening to Tilly Karnofsky’s Russian lullabies, to the principle of bricolage — making value out of the valueless — that, while an African vestige, Armstrong could also have learned on the Karnofsky rag and bone cart. The principle of bricolage offers a window into what jazz is all about.

Speakers
avatar for Randy Fertel

Randy Fertel

Randy Fertel holds a Ph.D. in English and American literature and has taught at Harvard University, Tulane University, LeMoyne College, and the New School for Social Research. He has been featured in People, Bloomberg, and Esquire and has contributed to The New York Times, NPR, Smithsonian... Read More →


Sunday March 20, 2016 9:00am - 10:00am CDT
Lavin-Bernick Center -- Room 203 Tulane University, 201 Boggs, New Orleans, LA 70118

9:00am CDT

Creating a Passover Seder You’ll Never Forget

It’s never too early to begin preparing for Pesach! Join artist and curator, Saul Robbins to view and discuss his curatorial project “Projecting Freedom: Cinematic Interpretations of the Haggadah.” This unique project, directed by Rabbi Leon Morris, Founding Director of Skirball Center for Adult Jewish Learning, engaged 11 noteworthy Jewish film and video artists throughout a year of study and discussion, entrusting them to interpret the Haggadah with their own creative style and intent. The resulting short videos correspond to the 15 segments of the Haggadah, interpreting the liturgy, prayers, songs, and rituals that are the narrative basis for the Passover Seder, the traditional ceremonial dinner of the holiday. An online Study Guide will be available, offering interpretations and provocative questions to engage audiences of all ages.



Speakers
avatar for Saul Robbins

Saul Robbins

Saul Robbins is interested in the ways people interact within their surroundings and in the psychological dynamics of intimacy. His photographs are motivated by observations of human behavior and personal experience, especially those related to loss, unity, and failure. Robbins teaches... Read More →


Sunday March 20, 2016 9:00am - 10:00am CDT
Lavin-Bernick Center -- Room 208 Tulane University, 201 Boggs, New Orleans, LA 70118

9:00am CDT

Whatcha Done for Yourself Lately? Creating New Rituals
It's been years since you celebrated your Bar/Bat Mitzvah, right? Was that party at age 13 your last personal Jewish rite of passage?What goes into making a new milestone ritual? Now that you're an adult, take a look at other Jewish ways we can mark moments in our lives. Explore texts that address the topic, and share ideas of how to re-engage and re-ignite how you approach Jewish living at whatever age/stage of life you're in.


Speakers
avatar for Anita Silvert

Anita Silvert

Anita Silvert is the Director of Community Outreach for Chai Mitzvah, a unique adult learning initiative that blends study, spirituality, and social action. She received a Masters in Jewish Education from Spertus College (Chicago), has taught for Melton, and is a certified Bibliodramatist... Read More →


Sunday March 20, 2016 9:00am - 10:00am CDT
Lavin-Bernick Center -- Room 202 Tulane University, 201 Boggs, New Orleans, LA 70118

9:00am CDT

Passover Cooking for All Ages
One of my favorite times of the year to cook is Passover because it usually involves my mother, children, and grandchildren all around the kitchen counter cooking together.  Kids and parents and grandparents: all are welcome Come join the fun, including recipes, tastings, and lots of take-aways!

Speakers
avatar for Betty Lazarus

Betty Lazarus

Betty Lazarus is a fourth-generation Jewish New Orleanian, who loves to cook for and with many generations. She is also a librarian, tech coordinator, adjunct professor at Tulane University, ADL educator, and a member of Gates of Prayer Synagogue.


Sunday March 20, 2016 9:00am - 10:00am CDT
Lavin-Bernick Center -- Room 209 Tulane University, 201 Boggs, New Orleans, LA 70118

9:00am CDT

Exploring Jewish History through the Archives of The Historic New Orleans Collection

The Historic New Orleans Collection is a museum, research center, and publisher dedicated to preserving the history and culture of New Orleans and the Gulf South. THNOC’s archives, which are publicly accessible, contain many rich sources on New Orleans Jewish history. Participants will learn about genealogical resources, military records, and many other types of historical sources, as well as how to access THNOC’s archives in person and online.


Speakers
avatar for Jenny Schwartzberg

Jenny Schwartzberg

Jenny Schwartzberg is the education coordinator at The Historic New Orleans Collection. Her work focuses on curriculum development, assisting students and teachers with archival research and writing, and partnering with educators through professional development opportunities at THNOC... Read More →


Sunday March 20, 2016 9:00am - 10:00am CDT
Lavin-Bernick Center -- Room 204 Tulane University, 201 Boggs, New Orleans, LA 70118

9:00am CDT

If Not a Two-State Solution, Then What? If Not Now, Then When?

Since the breakdown of the Kerry Initiative and the recent increase in terrorist activity, some Israelis to the right of the political spectrum have become more vocal about supporting a one-state solution.  At the same time some Palestinians, especially the younger generation, have also expressed greater support for a one-state solution. This session will discuss each group's understanding of a one-state solution and whether such proposals will allow Israel to exist as a Jewish and democratic state.  Discussion will then turn to a detailed assessment of the risks and benefits of a two-state solution, just how close we have come to such an agreement, and why negotiations have failed repeatedly in the past.



Speakers
avatar for STANLEY WULF

STANLEY WULF

Speaker, SpeakingAboutIsrael.com
Stanley Wulf speaks internationally about the conflict in the Middle East and the difficulties we experience as Diaspora Jews in hearing and sharing differing views. The model he presents centers on "The 3 No's", the 3 areas that most often lead to conflict, and how to avoid them... Read More →


Sunday March 20, 2016 9:00am - 10:00am CDT
Lavin-Bernick Center -- Room 210 Tulane University, 201 Boggs, New Orleans, LA 70118

9:00am CDT

The Kabbalistic Endeavor: Building a Bridge to God

The Jewish mystic, particularly in the Zohar and later Kabbalistic teachings, seeks to understand how an utterly transcendent, infinite, and unknowable eternal God can enter into an intimate relationship with Creation and its creatures. This session will present how the Jewish mystic bridges this seemingly irreconcilable distance.

 


Speakers
avatar for Gary Gerson

Gary Gerson

Gary Gerson is Rabbi Emeritus of Chicago’s Oak Park Temple, and now serves the congregation via a chair created and endowed in his honor on his retirement. Holding a bachelor’s degree magna cum laude, master’s degrees in religion and psychology, rabbinic ordination, a doctorate... Read More →



Sunday March 20, 2016 9:00am - 10:00am CDT
Lavin-Bernick Center -- Room 201 Tulane University, 201 Boggs, New Orleans, LA 70118

9:00am CDT

Theological Modesty: Text Based Lessons in Support of Tolerance and Pluralism in the Jewish Community.
Drawing on many of the concepts I have developed in my new book, In Search of Theological Modesty: Biblical Lessons (2015) this presentation will address some of the dangers facing the Jewish community  when it closes itself off to the richness of its diversity of views and perspectives.  Utilizing examples from the Torah – both classic stories and commandments - I weave a picture of potentials for people to be more open  and in the process learn from the wisdom and perspectives of others.

Speakers
avatar for Bill Liss-Levinson

Bill Liss-Levinson

William Liss-Levinson, PhD, is a health care publishing executive in New York. He was the founding director of one of the first Hospice programs under Jewish auspices in the United States. The author of In Search of Theological Modesty: Biblical Lessons (Resource Publications, 2015... Read More →


Sunday March 20, 2016 9:00am - 10:00am CDT
Lavin-Bernick Center -- Room 213, Kendall Cram Lecture Hall [back] Tulane University, 201 Boggs, New Orleans, LA 70118

9:00am CDT

What is "Reform" Judaism? Dissecting an Obscure (But Fascinating) Document

This session will examine a fascinating document written in the 19th century by Rabbi Leopold Stein in Germany, who was trying to answer the question, "What is Reform Judaism?" While this document is barely known, it is actually more readable and probably more relevant than the more famous platforms that many people are aware of, such as the Pittsburgh Platform of 1885. We will read through what Rabbi Stein has written and have a lively discussion about his ideas--and our ideas.

Speakers
avatar for Dana Evan Kaplan

Dana Evan Kaplan

Dana Evan Kaplan is a rabbi, scholar, writer, speaker and organizational consultant. He is currently the interim rabbi of the Springhill Avenue Temple in Mobile, Alabama. From 2011 to 2015, he was the rabbi of the United Congregation of Israelites in Kingston, Jamaica, and from... Read More →


Sunday March 20, 2016 9:00am - 10:00am CDT
Lavin-Bernick Center -- Room 206 Tulane University, 201 Boggs, New Orleans, LA 70118

9:00am CDT

Community Make & Take: A Limmud Mural

Inspired by an art project done at 2013 LimmudBoston, this mural project is one that everyone at LimmudFest, regardless of artistic talents, can collectively create. A display of 100 blank mini-canvases and a work station filled with art supplies and Jewish magazines will be in the LBC hallway area all day Sunday. Participants will use these materials to make a work of art expressing their Limmud experience. We will watch the community mural grow throughout the day and at the close of LimmudFest artists can take a canvas home as a memento of Limmud.

 


Speakers
avatar for Mimi Levine

Mimi Levine

Mimi Levine is from Brooklyn, New York, and is a long-time New Orleans transplant. She is a professional artist and muralist, working for theater, film, and clients of her business Mondo Murals & Design for the past 25 years. She has exhibited in many one-woman shows and traditional... Read More →


Sunday March 20, 2016 9:00am - 5:00pm CDT
Lavin-Bernick Center -- Hallway Tulane University, 201 Boggs, New Orleans, LA 70118

10:15am CDT

Jews on Broadway

Jews have been critically influential in the development of the Great White Way and modern musical theater. Coming from Yiddish theater and vaudeville, Jews have succeeded on Broadway in disproportionate numbers, including theater producers like the Shuberts and Joseph Papp and musical innovators such as Jerome Kern, Rodgers and Hart, George and Ira Gershwin, Harold Arlen, Frank Loesser, Harnick and Bock, Kander and Ebb, Marvin Hamlisch, Stephen Schwartz, and Stephen Sondheim. Join theater critic Alan Smason as he surveys the amazing success of Jews in helping shape Broadway, playing famous recordings gleaned from the past several decades.


Speakers
avatar for Alan Smason

Alan Smason

Alan Smason is the editor of the Crescent City Jewish News, http://ccjn.net, an online news portal launched five years ago for the benefit of the Greater New Orleans Jewish community. The former manager of the fabled Smith’s Record Center, he is the theater critic for WYES-TV, appearing... Read More →


Sunday March 20, 2016 10:15am - 11:15am CDT
Lavin-Bernick Center -- Room 201 Tulane University, 201 Boggs, New Orleans, LA 70118

10:15am CDT

This MUST Be a Sign: What Signage in Israel Tells Us About Politics, Nationalism, and the Future

Typography is written language presented in aesthetic form to communicate a message to a public audience. Within the state of Israel, the typography of public spaces reflects the political systems of language preferences. Hebrew and Arabic are the two official languages of Israel, and English is used as the semi-official language. Currently, trilingual signage is a commonality of Israel’s urban environment, where letterforms of Hebrew, Arabic, and English are presented to supply a translation of the same information. This session examines the use of Hebrew, Arabic, and English typography within Israeli public spaces and explores language preferences in relation to social and cultural nationalism.

 


Speakers
avatar for Shayna Blum

Shayna Blum

Shayna T. Blum is an Assistant Professor of Graphic Design at Xavier University of Louisiana and the Principal of Blum Visual Communication Laboratory. She has received a Mellon Grant in 2015, the Paul and Eleanor Harper Fellowship in 2007, and the Breckenridge Artist in Residence... Read More →


Sunday March 20, 2016 10:15am - 11:15am CDT
Lavin-Bernick Center -- Room 204 Tulane University, 201 Boggs, New Orleans, LA 70118

10:15am CDT

Mindful Parenting Is Jewish Parenting
How many times have you heard the phrase "It goes by so fast"? We often find ourselves attempting to balance careers, personal pursuits, and family, wishing we had more time. We want the time we spend with our children to be meaningful, uninterrupted by the stress of our to-do lists. Mindful parenting allows us to be present moment to moment, open-hearted, nonjudgmental, and to experience ourselves and our children as we really are. By practicing mindfulness, we are empowered to teach our children how to be emotionally present for others and to chose how they respond to they world around them. Mindful parenting reminds us to notice the joy in small moments, the holy in the mundane; it enhances our connection with our children, with the divine within them, and within ourselves. In this session we will discuss mindful parenting from a Jewish perspective and learn simple daily practices to bring mindfulness into your life.

Speakers
avatar for Laura Kulick

Laura Kulick

Laura Kulick is a clinical social worker, 200-hour certified yoga teacher, wife, and mother to a one-year-old daughter. In her career, Laura specializes in incorporating mindfulness practices, yoga, and meditation into psychotherapy. Laura is originally from Buffalo, NY, and after... Read More →


Sunday March 20, 2016 10:15am - 11:15am CDT
Lavin-Bernick Center -- Room 205 Tulane University, 201 Boggs, New Orleans, LA 70118

10:15am CDT

The History Behind the Mystery: Jewish Immigration, Southern Anti-Semitism, Racism, and the Award-Winning Novel, The Cottoncrest Curse.

The award-winning thriller, The Cottoncrest Curse, revolves around the apparent suicide of an elderly Confederate colonel who, two decades after the end of the Civil War, viciously slit the throat of his beautiful young wife and then fatally shot himself. Sheriff Raifer Jackson, however, believes that this may be a double homicide, and suspicion falls on Jake Gold, an itinerant peddler who trades razor-sharp knives for fur and who has many deep secrets to conceal, not the least of which is that he is a Russian-Jewish immigrant in prejudiced, anti-Semitic post-Reconstruction Louisiana. Author Michael H. Rubin will discuss the historical underpinnings of The Cottoncrest Curse in a fast-paced multimedia presentation that not only illustrates the interrelationship of racism, religion, and anti-Semitism but also includes a discussion of the Jewish immigrant experience and cultural identity.


Speakers
avatar for Michael Rubin

Michael Rubin

Michael H. Rubin’s unique blend of scholarship and humor has made him a sought-after nationally known speaker who has given more than 400 presentations throughout the United States, Canada, and England to a variety of audiences, ranging from Fortune 500 companies to professional... Read More →


Sunday March 20, 2016 10:15am - 11:15am CDT
Lavin-Bernick Center -- Room 202 Tulane University, 201 Boggs, New Orleans, LA 70118

10:15am CDT

From Schmaltz to Svelte: Experienced Chefs Showcase Eat Fit NOLA Approved Classics

Professional chefs, London and Sara from Johnson & Wales University, have collaborated with Molly Kimball’s Eat Fit NOLA team to provide an exciting cooking demonstration featuring simple ingredient swaps for traditional recipes. London and Sara will focus on new and exciting ways to put an Eat Fit NOLA spin on traditional Jewish cuisine. They will share tips to lighten up your favorite dishes without sacrificing authenticity or flavor, with practical advice for slashing sugar, salt, and calories.


Speakers
avatar for London Baker

London Baker

London Baker, raised in Long Island, New York, recently moved to New Orleans after being accepted into Tulane University’s Dietetic Internship Program. Early on in life, he acquired a passion for nutrition and was fascinated in learning that by making a few simple adjustments to... Read More →
avatar for Sara Luberto

Sara Luberto

Sara Luberto, raised in a suburb of Ann Arbor, Michigan, is a graduate of Johnson & Wales University with a degree in Culinary Nutrition. She moved to New Orleans after being accepted to Tulane’s Dietetic Internship program and will become a Registered Dietitian on completion of... Read More →


Sunday March 20, 2016 10:15am - 11:15am CDT
Lavin-Bernick Center -- Room 208 Tulane University, 201 Boggs, New Orleans, LA 70118

10:15am CDT

What's in a Name? An Exercise in Collage
Through hands-on creative artmaking, participants in this workshop will explore the interaction between Hebrew and English names. This workshop will be led by Barry Ivker, who has been working in collage since 1971.

Limited to 10 people.

Speakers
avatar for Barry Ivker

Barry Ivker

Barry Ivker, the artist, has been working in collage since 1971. He published a Haggadah with 111 collage illustrations in 2000, 13 of which were exhibited at the New Orleans Museum of Art in 2002 and 24 of which appeared in a show "The Art of the Haggadah" in Washington, DC, in 2004... Read More →


Sunday March 20, 2016 10:15am - 11:15am CDT
Lavin-Bernick Center -- Room 207 Tulane University, 201 Boggs, New Orleans, LA 70118

10:15am CDT

Especially for Teens: There’s No Such Thing As a Small Mitzvah: More than 36 (2 X Chai) Easy Ways You Can Use Your Mitzvah Power to Make a BIG Difference with Just a Little Tzedakah Money and/or a Minimum of Time, Effort, Stamina, and Talents
In this session, you will receive a list of easy-to-do Tikkun Olam projects; different ones might appeal to different people.  Some are near-cosmic and can change other people's lives profoundly, others will solve an immediate problem, and others will just plain make some people happy.  AND - most important - because of your age (as opposed to me at 71) you are often able to have much more success than I would.

This session is made possible by funds from The Covenant Foundation.


Speakers
avatar for Danny Siegel

Danny Siegel

Danny Siegel has been called the “Mitzvah Maniac” and “The Pied Piper of Tzedakah” and, through his 30 books and more than 500 talks to Jewish groups, is no doubt more responsible than any single individual for the contemporary Jewish community’s focus on tikkun olam and... Read More →


Sunday March 20, 2016 10:15am - 11:15am CDT
Lavin-Bernick Center -- Room 203 Tulane University, 201 Boggs, New Orleans, LA 70118

10:15am CDT

Meditation Workshop: Building a Jewish Meditation Practice
In this workshop, Rabbi Glick will demonstrate how we use the meditation techniques of visualization, concentration, and chanting to build a powerful Jewish contemplative practice that will open our heart and expand our consciousness.

Speakers
avatar for Yoel Glick

Yoel Glick

Rabbi Yoel Glick is a teacher of Jewish mysticism, one of the pioneers of modern Jewish meditation, and a spiritual mentor who has been guiding seekers on the path for more than 30 years. Yoel received a classical rabbinic education from Yeshiva University and was an intimate student... Read More →


Sunday March 20, 2016 10:15am - 11:15am CDT
Lavin-Bernick Center -- Room 210 Tulane University, 201 Boggs, New Orleans, LA 70118

10:15am CDT

Will the Real Bible Please Stand Up?
What does the Bible really say about violence? About keeping kosher? About marriage?  About men and women?  The Bible has been reinterpreted and misinterpreted almost from the day it was written, so most people reading the Bible now have very little sense of the original text.  We'll peel back 2,000 years of revisionism and take a look at the Bible as it originally was.

Speakers
avatar for Joel Hoffman

Joel Hoffman

Dr. Joel M. Hoffman focuses on bringing the Bible to life through his writings and his engaging presentations to churches, synagogues, community groups, and university audiences across the world. He holds a Ph.D. in linguistics and has served on the faculties of Brandeis University... Read More →


Sunday March 20, 2016 10:15am - 11:15am CDT
Lavin-Bernick Center -- Room 213, Kendall Cram Lecture Hall [front] Tulane University, 201 Boggs, New Orleans, LA 70118

10:15am CDT

Calypso a la Yiddish
We will learn a wonderfully catchy song “Calypso a la Yiddish” by Michael Fox (from a recording by Zalman Mlotek, Artistic Director of the National Yiddish Theater-Folkbiene) that teaches counting to ten in Yiddish accompanied by wacky English verses. Simple musical instruments will be available for the kids to join the irresistible beat, and two songs that some Shir Chadash kids know (the Yiddish stomachache song and head, shoulders, knee and feet song) will be retaught.

Designed for  3 ½- to 10- year-old children, but parents are welcome to listen and learn.

Speakers
avatar for Melanie Ehrlich

Melanie Ehrlich

Melanie Ehrlich from Shir Chadash and Tulane Medical School (Professor of Human Genetics) is a devotee of Yiddish although a novice. At the 2014 LimmudFest, she taught a class on the history and linguistics of Yiddish. Her other performance experience, besides science teaching and... Read More →


Sunday March 20, 2016 10:15am - 11:15am CDT
Lavin-Bernick Center -- Room 209 Tulane University, 201 Boggs, New Orleans, LA 70118

10:15am CDT

Wise Ones, Smarty Pants and Fools: Jewish Folktales for Hearing and Telling (for 7 to 12 year olds)
There is a huge wealth of folktales from every corner of the Jewish world and they run the gamut from heartfelt to hilarious. There are stories to tickle your fancy and others to move your soul. This session will provide an opportunity for older kids to hear some folktales and also begin the process of becoming storytellers themselves.

Speakers
avatar for Toby David

Toby David

Toby David is a storyteller, master of ceremonies, and educator in New Orleans. For eight years he has produced and hosted "The Weekly Revue," a variety show that presents the finest assortment of entertainment and information available to the public. Toby is also an unaccredited... Read More →


Sunday March 20, 2016 10:15am - 11:15am CDT
Lavin-Bernick Center -- Room 206 Tulane University, 201 Boggs, New Orleans, LA 70118

11:30am CDT

Jewish Identity Spoken Word Writing Workshop
The writing workshop will allow the participants, in only 45 minutes, to create their own poems on Jewish identity. The poems will be communal pieces, in which we all contribute a line. We will write on the relevant themes of our relationships with Judaism and Israel. The workshop will require writing but will not be writing intensive. Participants will be expected to push their comfort zone... but in a very accessible and meaningful way! There will be time for discussion and reflection.

Speakers
avatar for Andrew Lustig

Andrew Lustig

Andrew Lustig is a Jewish spoken word artist whose poetry has reached millions in viral videos and in live performances. Andrew has delivered spoken word keynote addresses at the conferences of many national Jewish organizations. A 2013-14 Dorot Fellow in Israel, Andrew is also a... Read More →


Sunday March 20, 2016 11:30am - 12:30pm CDT
Lavin-Bernick Center -- Room 205 Tulane University, 201 Boggs, New Orleans, LA 70118

11:30am CDT

THE OLD RENEWED AND THE NEW SANCTIFIED: Personal Reflections on a 20th- to 21st-Century Crescent City Reform Rabbinate.
In a free-flowing interview, Rabbi Ed Cohn will share his reflections and thoughts on his 30 years of service to the families of Temple Sinai as its Senior Rabbi and to the New Orleans Jewish and general community. Sandy Levy, a past president of Temple Sinai and a member since 1970, as well as the executive director of the Jewish Endowment Foundation, will interview Rabbi Cohn.

Speakers
avatar for Edward Paul Cohn

Edward Paul Cohn

Rabbi Edward Paul Cohn has served the families of Temple Sinai for thirty years. Under his leadership, Temple Sinai has become the Jewish address for interfaith married families, GLBTQ Jews, Alcoholics Anonymous, and Overeaters Anonymous.  Rabbi Cohn has chaired the New Orleans Holocaust... Read More →
avatar for Sandy Levy

Sandy Levy

Saundra K. Levy, a native New Orleanian, is currently director of the Jewish Endowment Foundation of Louisiana and has served in that capacity for 24 years. Previously, Sandy was the director of both the New Orleans and Central Business District Historic District Landmarks Commissions... Read More →


Sunday March 20, 2016 11:30am - 12:30pm CDT
Lavin-Bernick Center -- Room 203 Tulane University, 201 Boggs, New Orleans, LA 70118

11:30am CDT

Engaging Children in Adult Spaces
“Daddy, I’m bored!” is the resounding cry of children in adult spaces, often dampened by the sounds of little fingers on digital devices. Synagogue services are becoming more family friendly but what happens when that is not the case. How can children participate in adult environments on a developmentally appropriate way? Together, we’ll talk about lessons we can learn from stores and other experiences to give children a meaningful Jewish experience.

Speakers
avatar for Justin Sakofs

Justin Sakofs

Justin Sakofs is an entrepreneurial Jewish educator. After spending years in various community education roles, he decided to use his experience and address issues of quality educational toys. His first product was MagneticShul ,which creates opportunities for children to engage... Read More →


Sunday March 20, 2016 11:30am - 12:30pm CDT
Lavin-Bernick Center -- Room 204 Tulane University, 201 Boggs, New Orleans, LA 70118

11:30am CDT

Especially for Teens: Me and Katrina: Talking with Teens Ten Years Later
Where were YOU when Hurricane Katrina slammed into New Orleans in late August 2005?   Were you one of the thousands of individuals who had to leave their homes, their friends, and all their "stuff" behind as they as they left town to avoid the storm's aftermath?   This session will create a safe place for teens, those of you who were just kids at the time of this immense upheaval, to gather together to share experiences and memories.  What did you lose and what did you learn?  I will present the character Gertie, the feisty 9-year-old Jewish heroine of the novel When the Hurricane Cameto discuss some Jewish and psychological truths about developing resilience in the face of difficult times.   For those of you who were here in New Orleans, and for those of you who moved here afterward, this will be a chance to look back and look ahead.

Speakers
avatar for Nechama Liss-Levinson

Nechama Liss-Levinson

Nechama Liss-Levinson, Ph.D. loved watching people and their families as a child, so it’s not surprising she grew up to be a psychologist and an author. Nechama’s clinical practice and writing have focused on developmental milestones in the Jewish family and she has taught... Read More →


Sunday March 20, 2016 11:30am - 12:30pm CDT
Lavin-Bernick Center -- Room 206 Tulane University, 201 Boggs, New Orleans, LA 70118

11:30am CDT

Trail of the Southern Matzoh Ball: Exploring Southern Jewish Food in New Orleans
On a culinary research trip, Kat Romanow had a chance to visit NOLA and explore Jewish food in the city. She got to meet members of the Jewish community who shared their favorite recipes, food stories, and tales of what it’s like to be Jewish in the South. She was hooked from the moment she tasted her first beignet and knew that she wanted to delve deeper into this unique food culture. She began working with SOFAB to curate an exhibit on this often overlooked aspect of the New Orleans food scene. Come learn about what she's discovered and about the upcoming exhibit.

Speakers
avatar for Katherine Romanow

Katherine Romanow

Katherine Romanow is a scholar of Jewish food, who wrote her master’s thesis on the Mimouna and its food traditions in Montreal. She is a food writer who has written for various publications and she loves to read about food nearly as much as she likes to eat it. Her favorite Jewish... Read More →


Sunday March 20, 2016 11:30am - 12:30pm CDT
Lavin-Bernick Center -- Room 202 Tulane University, 201 Boggs, New Orleans, LA 70118

11:30am CDT

Colors of the Soul
Painting facilitates interactive learning and enables people to process ideas in a intuitive way. The workshop, based on the teachings of Jewish mysticism, provides a profound experience in creativity. Participants will explore their inner soul journey by painting a canvas that they can take home. No painting experience is necessary.

Limited to 10 people.

Speakers
avatar for Anna Gil

Anna Gil

Anna Gil came to New Orleans from Southern California, where she began an exploration of the 22 letters of the Hebrew alef bet. She is a painter, using imagery based in the sacred texts of the Bible and music. She considers her art a visual prayer, an imagery-filled journey influenced... Read More →


Sunday March 20, 2016 11:30am - 12:30pm CDT
Lavin-Bernick Center -- Room 207 Tulane University, 201 Boggs, New Orleans, LA 70118

11:30am CDT

Stolen Words: The Nazi Plunder of Jewish Books
This session will present highlights from the epic story of the largest collection of Jewish books in the world – tens of millions of books that the Nazis looted from European Jewish families and institutions. Rabbi Mark Glickman, author of the recently released book, Stolen Words: The Nazi Plunder of Jewish Books, will describe the Nazis’ decision to loot the books of Jewish Europe, how they went about their plunder, and what happened to the books after the end of World War II. The story is also one of Jews’ love affair with books, with the way a modern nation-state relates to the treasures of its enemies, and how the Jewish people redefined itself in a world torn asunder by war and mass murder. This session promises to be a fascinating exploration of a largely unknown chapter in the history of the Holocaust and World War II.

Speakers
avatar for Mark Glickman

Mark Glickman

Rabbi Mark Glickman currently serves as rabbi of Beth Shalom Synagogue in Baton Rouge,. He is the author of two books: Sacred Treasure: The Cairo Genizah (Jewish Lights Publishing, 2011), and Stolen Words: The Nazi Plunder of Jewish Books (Jewish Publication Society, 2016). Prior... Read More →


Sunday March 20, 2016 11:30am - 12:30pm CDT
Lavin-Bernick Center -- Room 201 Tulane University, 201 Boggs, New Orleans, LA 70118

11:30am CDT

Managing Conflict When Talking About Israel: How to Have Constructive Conversations, Part One: Concepts and Guidelines

In Israel, debate and dissent are seen as legitimate expressions of care and engagement in Israel’s vibrant political conversation.  However, such discussions in the American Jewish community often result in hurtful judgment and high emotions. Shutting down conversation should not be an option on an issue so central to our identity. How can we have constructive conversations about Israel and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict that don’t end in shouting matches? In these sessions participants will learn a proven approach to navigating such sensitive conversations, including “The 3 No’s” (the 3 areas that most often lead to conflict), how to sidestep pitfalls, and how to facilitate a more constructive discussion.

Part One attendance recommended but not required for Part Two participation.

 


Speakers
avatar for STANLEY WULF

STANLEY WULF

Speaker, SpeakingAboutIsrael.com
Stanley Wulf speaks internationally about the conflict in the Middle East and the difficulties we experience as Diaspora Jews in hearing and sharing differing views. The model he presents centers on "The 3 No's", the 3 areas that most often lead to conflict, and how to avoid them... Read More →


Sunday March 20, 2016 11:30am - 12:30pm CDT
Lavin-Bernick Center -- Room 208 Tulane University, 201 Boggs, New Orleans, LA 70118

11:30am CDT

Southern Jews in the Crucible of Civil Rights
The struggle for civil rights in the South is one of the most compelling chapters in American history. Yet this heroic story becomes complicated once you look at the role of southern Jews.  This session will explore how Jews in the South navigated this tumultuous time, examining the historical relationship between Jews and African Americans in the South and how southern Jews responded to the moral challenge of the civil rights movement.

Speakers
avatar for Stuart Rockoff

Stuart Rockoff

Stuart Rockoff is the executive director of the Mississippi Humanities Council, where he works to develop and support public humanities programs around the state. He earlier served as the director of the History Department at the Goldring/Woldenberg Institute of Southern Jewish Life... Read More →


Sunday March 20, 2016 11:30am - 12:30pm CDT
Lavin-Bernick Center -- Room 210 Tulane University, 201 Boggs, New Orleans, LA 70118

11:30am CDT

Israeli Dancing for Kids
Learn some Israeli dances from Elliott, who has been sharing the joy of dancing for people of all ages for many years.

Speakers
avatar for Elliott Raisen

Elliott Raisen

Elliott Raisen is a retired research chemist with a PhD in chemistry. When he realized he would not get a Nobel Prize in Chemistry because his high school and college already had graduated seven Nobel Prize winners, he wrote a few plays and danced.


Sunday March 20, 2016 11:30am - 12:30pm CDT
Lavin-Bernick Center -- Room 200, Mezzanine Tulane University, 201 Boggs, New Orleans, LA 70118

11:30am CDT

Mask Making

In this session we will decorate a fun mask for Purim. Kids (their parents may join them) will show their creativity using decorative materials, such as tissue paper, beads, feathers, sequins, and fabrics to create a colorful and unique mask.


Speakers
avatar for Irit Sirkes

Irit Sirkes

Irit Sirkes is an Israeli artist and designer, born and educated in Israel. She specializes in jewelry making and Judaica. Her artwork has been displayed in various galleries in Israel and the United States. She currently teaches art history and art making to students, using various... Read More →


Sunday March 20, 2016 11:30am - 12:30pm CDT
Lavin-Bernick Center -- Room 209 Tulane University, 201 Boggs, New Orleans, LA 70118

12:30pm CDT

Lunch
Sunday March 20, 2016 12:30pm - 1:30pm CDT
Lavin-Bernick Center -- Room 212, Qatar Ballroom Tulane University, 201 Boggs, New Orleans, LA 70118

1:30pm CDT

Picturing the Faces of the Promised Land: Exploring Kehinde Wiley’s World Stage: Israel

One of the most renowned contemporary artists of his generation, Kehinde Wiley made his initial mark on the art world with bold portraits of African American men posed against vibrant backgrounds and striking confident poses familiar to viewers from canonical works of Western art. In recent years Wiley’s work has gone global, with the artist’s “World Stage” series transporting his signature aesthetic to locales as diverse as China, Brazil, India, and Nigeria.  In 2011 Wiley took this project to Israel, recruiting subjects in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, and Lod.  The remarkable portraits that resulted feature sitters of Ethiopian, Mizrahi, and Askenazi Jewish descent, as well as Arab Israelis, all enveloped by intricate backdrops and displayed in custom frames inspired by Jewish papercuts and Near Eastern decorative traditions. Wiley’s World Stage: Israel, exhibited at the Jewish Museum in New York in 2012, captures the often overlooked religious and ethnic diversity and interconnectedness of contemporary Israeli society.  In this seminar-style session, we will explore these arresting portraits and the issues they engage.


Speakers
avatar for Mia L. Bagneris

Mia L. Bagneris

Mia L. Bagneris teaches art history at Tulane University. Her scholarship concentrates on the construction of race in the visual culture of the eighteenth- and nineteenth-century Anglo-American world, and she is particularly interested in the place of images in the history of slavery... Read More →


Sunday March 20, 2016 1:30pm - 2:30pm CDT
Lavin-Bernick Center -- Room 204 Tulane University, 201 Boggs, New Orleans, LA 70118

1:30pm CDT

How Can I Help? An Artful Dialogue (A Conversation About Art, Mental Health, and Judaism)
Can art make change, and if so, will that change endure? Join New York-based fine art photographer Saul Robbins and Cameron Shaw, executive director of New Orleans-based Pelican Bomb, for a lively and participatory discussion about Robbins’ interactive project, “How Can I Help? - An Artful Dialogue,” and their intentions to expand the conversation about access to mental health services in New Orleans.

Speakers
avatar for Saul Robbins

Saul Robbins

Saul Robbins is interested in the ways people interact within their surroundings and in the psychological dynamics of intimacy. His photographs are motivated by observations of human behavior and personal experience, especially those related to loss, unity, and failure. Robbins teaches... Read More →
CS

Cameron Shaw

Cameron Shaw is a writer, editor, and executivedirector of Pelican Bomb, a nonprofit contemporary arts organization in New Orleans. Shaw received her B.A. in Art History from Yale University and has more than 12 years of professional experience in the contemporary visual arts. As... Read More →


Sunday March 20, 2016 1:30pm - 2:30pm CDT
Lavin-Bernick Center -- Room 210 Tulane University, 201 Boggs, New Orleans, LA 70118

1:30pm CDT

"You Don't Look Jewish": Racial Diversity in American Jewish Communities

“You don’t look Jewish…”  What does this phrase mean?  Why do we still use it?  How does the idea of “looking” Jewish create invisible, unspoken boundaries for the Jewish community?  There have always been Jewish people of color, and there have always been tensions, joys and opportunities in the confrontation with that reality.  This interactive panel discussion will give space for an honest and open conversation about racial diversity in our community.    

 

Moderators
avatar for Ethan Linden

Ethan Linden

Ethan Linden has been the rabbi at Shir Chadash Congregation since the summer of 2009. He was ordained at the Jewish Theological Seminary in 2007 and spent two years as the Assistant Director of Camp Ramah in New England. Ethan graduated from Cornell University in 1999 with a degree... Read More →

Speakers
avatar for Marian Moore

Marian Moore

Marian D. Moore is employed by Leidos, Inc. at Entergy Services as a computer analyst. She has been a member of Congregation Temple Sinai for approximately thirty years where she recently served as sisterhood president for two years and on the board for four years. Her poetry has... Read More →
avatar for Cheryl Timmins

Cheryl Timmins

As a single parent, Cheryl Timmins adopted her now 14-year-old daughter, Nola, from China when she was 15 months old. Nola is from a tiny village in central China, where she was abandoned on the steps of a government building when she was 2 weeks old.  She was taken to an orphanage... Read More →
avatar for Anamaria Villamarin-Lupin

Anamaria Villamarin-Lupin

Professionally, Anamaria Villamarin-Lupin is a licensed clinical social worker.who has been the coordinator of social and mental health services for the Broadmoor Improvement Association’s Education Corridor since 2010 and is now the Wellness Director and Clinical Supervisor... Read More →


Sunday March 20, 2016 1:30pm - 2:30pm CDT
Lavin-Bernick Center -- Room 203 Tulane University, 201 Boggs, New Orleans, LA 70118

1:30pm CDT

Tell Me Mother, Can You Hear Me Sing?: Exploring Theology Through Women’s Eyes

Theology and the way we conceptualize the divine influence all aspects of Jewish life: from our worship to the way our organizations and institutions appear and operate. Classically, the field of theology has been governed by male voices, and therefore the way that people thought about and talked about God was in terms of male attributes. Rather than creating new ways of looking at God, through language and imagery, feminist theologians look within Jewish tradition to reclaim pre-existing ideas and use tradition as a basis for revolutionary ways of thinking. Come explore how feminist theology is not only theology conceptualized by women and for women, but instead is theology for everyone.

 

Speakers
avatar for Alexis Pinsky

Alexis Pinsky

Rabbi Pinsky serves as the Assistant Rabbi at Congregation Gates of Prayer. She grew up in Atlanta and attended Tulane University  where she double majored in Jewish Studies and Psychology. Rabbi Pinsky was ordained from the New York campus of Hebrew Union College – Jewish... Read More →


Sunday March 20, 2016 1:30pm - 2:30pm CDT
Lavin-Bernick Center -- Room 205 Tulane University, 201 Boggs, New Orleans, LA 70118

1:30pm CDT

Honor Your Father and Your Mother: Caring For Our Parents
A Rabbi, Doctor and a Social Worker walk into a room to discuss the multifaceted opportunities and challenges of dealing with parents as they age. Sorry, no joke. They really will discuss the spiritual, medical and emotional components of this now common reality for families.

Moderators
avatar for David Gerber

David Gerber

David Gerber serves as the Senior Rabbi at Congregation Gates of Prayer in Metairie. David was born and raised in St. Louisand attended college at Indiana University in Bloomington. After a five-year career in finance, David enrolled in Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion... Read More →
avatar for Esther Hendler

Esther Hendler

Esther Dayan Hendler, who has lived in New Orleans since 1990, is an Occupational Therapist with specialty certifications in Stroke Rehab and Parkinson’s disease. She works primarily with the elderly, specializing in neurological diseases and injuries. Helping patients... Read More →

Speakers
avatar for Evan Dvorin

Evan Dvorin

Evan Dvorin graduated from Dartmouth Medical School in 2005 and completed an internal medicine residency training program at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston in 2008. Evan practiced for four years at a community health center in Boston and then moved in New Orleans in 2012... Read More →
avatar for Jennifer Schneider

Jennifer Schneider

Jennifer currently works at Jewish Family Service as a Geriatric Specialist. Originally from Massachusetts, Jennifer received her undergraduate degree insociology from Ithaca College in Ithaca, NY, and then went on to receive her Master's in Social Work from the University of Pittsburgh... Read More →


Sunday March 20, 2016 1:30pm - 2:30pm CDT
Lavin-Bernick Center -- Room 201 Tulane University, 201 Boggs, New Orleans, LA 70118

1:30pm CDT

My Parents Say They Want Me To Be Happy, Healthy,a Mensch, and a Jew, But All They Really Want From Me Is For Me to Get Good Grades: 24 Questions Parents May Wish to Ask
I have been on the road as a speaker for more than 50 years and have been Tikkun Olam Resource Person for USY Pilgrimage for four full decades, with a great deal of give-and- take with my audiences and students.  I have asked literally hundreds of parents what they want their kids to be when they grow up - not their professions, but what about their lives.  The four most common answers are in the title.  I have asked thousands of teen-agers, "What could you do now, at this age, to please your parents the most?" The near-universal answer is "Get good grades."  The gap troubled (and troubles) me greatly.  So, by working with handouts of 24 crucial questions for parents, we will try to get to the bottom of this, so we can get a better message across to our children.

This session is made possible by funds from The Covenant Foundation.


Speakers
avatar for Danny Siegel

Danny Siegel

Danny Siegel has been called the “Mitzvah Maniac” and “The Pied Piper of Tzedakah” and, through his 30 books and more than 500 talks to Jewish groups, is no doubt more responsible than any single individual for the contemporary Jewish community’s focus on tikkun olam and... Read More →


Sunday March 20, 2016 1:30pm - 2:30pm CDT
Lavin-Bernick Center -- Room 213, Kendall Cram Lecture Hall [back] Tulane University, 201 Boggs, New Orleans, LA 70118

1:30pm CDT

Music with Meryl

Join Meryl for a fun-filled time of singing, dancing, and silliness! Music is a wonderful tool for creating rituals, learning Hebrew vocabulary, and enhancing Shabbat and holidays. Parents will learn new Jewish songs (or perhaps enjoy singing along to old favorites!) that they can bring home to their families. Knowledge of Hebrew and possession of a beautiful singing voice are NOT required! This session is geared toward children 5 years old and under with an adult. 


Speakers
avatar for Meryl Zimmerman

Meryl Zimmerman

Meryl Zimmerman was born and raised on Long Island, New York. She earned a Maste'rs degree in Jazz Voice from the Manhattan School of Music in 2009. She has been a NOLA resident since 2012 and regularly performs jazz, funk, rock, and other styles of music around town. She is the... Read More →


Sunday March 20, 2016 1:30pm - 2:30pm CDT
Lavin-Bernick Center -- Room 209 Tulane University, 201 Boggs, New Orleans, LA 70118

1:30pm CDT

Managing Conflict When Talking About Israel – How to Have Constructive Conversations, Part Two: Workshop

In Israel, debate and dissent are seen as legitimate expressions of care and engagement in Israel’s vibrant political conversation.  However, such discussions in the American Jewish community often result in hurtful judgment and high emotions. Shutting down conversation should not be an option on an issue so central to our identity. How can we have constructive conversations about Israel and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict that don’t end in shouting matches? In these sessions participants will learn a proven approach to navigating such sensitive conversations, including “The 3 No’s” (the 3 areas that most often lead to conflict), how to sidestep pitfalls, and how to facilitate a more constructive discussion.


Speakers
avatar for STANLEY WULF

STANLEY WULF

Speaker, SpeakingAboutIsrael.com
Stanley Wulf speaks internationally about the conflict in the Middle East and the difficulties we experience as Diaspora Jews in hearing and sharing differing views. The model he presents centers on "The 3 No's", the 3 areas that most often lead to conflict, and how to avoid them... Read More →


Sunday March 20, 2016 1:30pm - 2:30pm CDT
Lavin-Bernick Center -- Room 208 Tulane University, 201 Boggs, New Orleans, LA 70118

1:30pm CDT

"Haters Gonna Hate" : What to Do When Prejudice Becomes Crime

Hate crimes are very different from other types of criminal activity: crimes based on one’s identity (both real and perceived) are intentionally very personal. By design, they are committed to send messages to entire communities, making them reverberate beyond the individual victim, and they can (and often do) erupt if t not addressed properly. There is now a nationwide push for comprehensive hate crimes statutes in every state. Come learn about the state-to-state differences in hate crimes and what more we can all do moving forward.


Speakers
avatar for Allison Padilla-Goodman

Allison Padilla-Goodman

Dr. Allison Padilla-Goodman is the director of the South-Central Region of the Anti-Defamation League, covering Louisiana, Mississippi, and Arkansas. The Anti-Defamation League is a 102-year-old civil rights and human relations agency that fights anti-Semitism and discrimination against... Read More →


Sunday March 20, 2016 1:30pm - 2:30pm CDT
Lavin-Bernick Center -- Room 202 Tulane University, 201 Boggs, New Orleans, LA 70118

1:30pm CDT

Mask Making (for Older Kids)
In this session we will decorate a fun mask for Purim. Older kids will show their creativity using decorative materials, such as tissue paper, beads, feathers, sequins, and fabrics to create a colorful and unique mask.

Speakers
avatar for Irit Sirkes

Irit Sirkes

Irit Sirkes is an Israeli artist and designer, born and educated in Israel. She specializes in jewelry making and Judaica. Her artwork has been displayed in various galleries in Israel and the United States. She currently teaches art history and art making to students, using various... Read More →


Sunday March 20, 2016 1:30pm - 2:30pm CDT
Lavin-Bernick Center -- Room 207 Tulane University, 201 Boggs, New Orleans, LA 70118

2:45pm CDT

Jewish Dancing

In the 1930s and 40’s Jewish dancing was in vogue. After the formation of the state of Israel a new kind of dancing became very popular, and Eastern European Jewish dancing almost disappeared. "Hava Nagila" is one dance that spans both eras. In this session, we will learn and do both kinds of dances and in that way help revive Jewish dancing. 


Speakers
avatar for Elliott Raisen

Elliott Raisen

Elliott Raisen is a retired research chemist with a PhD in chemistry. When he realized he would not get a Nobel Prize in Chemistry because his high school and college already had graduated seven Nobel Prize winners, he wrote a few plays and danced.


Sunday March 20, 2016 2:45pm - 3:45pm CDT
Lavin-Bernick Center -- Room 200, Mezzanine Tulane University, 201 Boggs, New Orleans, LA 70118

2:45pm CDT

Altering the Genome: Jewish Thoughts

Prevention and treatment of inherited diseases have advanced exponentially as we learn more about their genetic bases.  However in many cases prevention relies on discarding embryos or terminating pregnancies.  If we can alter the genetics that cause the disease so that the defective gene is no longer present in family members, then the disease disappears from that family forever.  Why would we not want to do this and what does Judaism have to do with these decisions?  What are the risks and what else might we want to do with these technologies once we know how to use them?  Where should we fear to tread?


Speakers
avatar for Carol Gerson

Carol Gerson

Adjunct Faculty, Tulane U
Dr. Carol Gerson practiced pediatric otolaryngology for 26 years. She left clinical medicine in 2008 and became a mohelet practicing in Chicago and New Orleans. Also in 2008, she began her formal studies in bioethics. She received a master's degree and subsequently, in 2014, completed... Read More →


Sunday March 20, 2016 2:45pm - 3:45pm CDT
Lavin-Bernick Center -- Room 208 Tulane University, 201 Boggs, New Orleans, LA 70118

2:45pm CDT

I Am Filling Out My Driver's License Forms and Have a Question: The Jewish Position on Organ Donation
This session will explore the Jewish position on organ donation. Educate yourself about the issues surrounding Halachic organ donation so that you can make informed decisions.

Speakers
avatar for Lila Kagedan

Lila Kagedan

Rabbi Lila Kagedan, a recent graduate of Yeshivat Maharat, is the first person ordained at the Orthodox women’s seminary to adopt the title of rabbi and to be hired as such by an Orthodox synagogue--the Mount Freedom Jewish Center in Randolph, New Jersey. Lila is also a clinical... Read More →


Sunday March 20, 2016 2:45pm - 3:45pm CDT
Lavin-Bernick Center -- Room 213, Kendall Cram Lecture Hall [back] Tulane University, 201 Boggs, New Orleans, LA 70118

2:45pm CDT

Mah Jongg Workshop: Fun for all Ages
Whether you’re a seasoned player or have always wanted to learn, join us for this informal mah jongg session where adults and kids alike will come together to get their game on. Instructors will be multi-generational, ranging in age from 11 to 75! Also, discover fun facts about the Jewish connection to this entertaining pastime.

Speakers
avatar for Julie Koppman

Julie Koppman

A digital marketing professional, wife, mom and active Jewish community volunteer, Julie doesn’t have as much time as she’d like to play mah jongg regularly, but enjoys it every chance she gets. Having learned the game more than 10 years ago from the late mah jongg queen Harriet... Read More →
avatar for Theone Perloff

Theone Perloff

Pastry chef, baby-whisperer, master gardener, and voracious reader, Theone Perloff also has a love of and talent for mah jongg. Having learned more than 10 years ago in a class taught by the beloved, late Harriet Kugler, she keeps up with a regular game and is happy to fill in whenever... Read More →


Sunday March 20, 2016 2:45pm - 3:45pm CDT
Lavin-Bernick Center -- Room 212, Qatar Ballroom Tulane University, 201 Boggs, New Orleans, LA 70118

2:45pm CDT

Tzedek Tzedek Tirdof: Considering Our Consumer Choices
This phrase, often translated as "Justice, Justice You Shall Pursue," will guide our exploration of  how our consumer choices promote (or not) economic equality for all. In a global marketplace, knowledge and action are power. Come learn about fair trade and the Jewish values that support responsible consumption. 

Speakers
avatar for Leora Mallach

Leora Mallach

Leora Mallach is the co-founder and director of Ganei Beantown (Beantown Jewish Gardens), a Boston area nonprofit organization building community through experiential food system education rooted in Jewish text, tradition, and culture. Reminding our community of the connections within... Read More →


Sunday March 20, 2016 2:45pm - 3:45pm CDT
Lavin-Bernick Center -- Room 206 Tulane University, 201 Boggs, New Orleans, LA 70118

2:45pm CDT

Creating with Clay: Mezuzah Project
Participants will get their hands dirty and learn some basic hand- building skills to create, decorate, and glaze their own ceramic mezuzot.

Limited to 10 people.

Speakers
avatar for Suzy Lazarus

Suzy Lazarus

Suzy Lazarus has been playing with clay since she was a kid at camp. She enjoys spending time in her pottery studio creating, learning, and teaching. When she is not covered in clay, she works as a social worker at the Broadmoor Arts and Wellness Center. Most importantly, she is the... Read More →


Sunday March 20, 2016 2:45pm - 3:45pm CDT
Lavin-Bernick Center -- Room 207 Tulane University, 201 Boggs, New Orleans, LA 70118

2:45pm CDT

Lawfare: Law, Ethics, and the Israeli-Palestinian Conflicts in International Courts

As peace negotiations are frozen, international courts and multilateral procedures are becoming the new war. Security Council Resolutions at the United Nations, accusations in the international criminal court, potential cases in the International Court of Justice, and arrest warrants in national courts in Europe are some of the new tools. How do both parties use these institutions offensively and defensively? What is the future of lawfare and how will it change politics and military operations?


Speakers
avatar for Efraim Chalamish

Efraim Chalamish

Dr. Efraim (Efi) Chalamish travels across the globe to lecture, provide high-level government counsel, educate and inspire. He is a professor of  international economic law at New York University and has an international legal practice in New York, Paris, and Israel on such issues... Read More →


Sunday March 20, 2016 2:45pm - 3:45pm CDT
Lavin-Bernick Center -- Room 210 Tulane University, 201 Boggs, New Orleans, LA 70118

2:45pm CDT

You KNOW What Needs Changing: Learn How to Make It Happen

In this discussion panel about Jewish social justice, we will hear from representatives of three Jewish social justice advocacy organizations in the New Orleans community: AVODAH: The Jewish Service Corps: New OrleansBend the Arc: New Orleans; and the National Council of Jewish Women (NCJW) New Orleans. The panel of activists will be discussing the issues that their respective organizations are engaged in. Learn how Jewish values inform their work, and why.

Panelists: Dani Levine (AVODAH), Jakob Rosenzweig (Bend the Arc), and Michelle Erenberg (National Council of Jewish Women)

Moderator: Alison McCrary (New Orleans Independent Police Monitor)


Moderators
avatar for Alison McCrary

Alison McCrary

Sister Alison McCrary is the Community-Police Mediation Program Director at the New Orleans Office of the Independent Police Monitor, a social justice lawyer, a Spiritual Advisor on Louisiana's death row, president of the Louisiana Chapter of the National Lawyers Guild, and a Catholic... Read More →

Speakers
avatar for Michelle Erenberg

Michelle Erenberg

Michelle Erenberg is the National Council of Jewish Women’s Louisiana Policy Advocacy Chair, representing NCJW in a diverse array of coalitions and coordinating critical statewide advocacy work. She has been an active NCJW board member since 2009, and a grassroots organizer for... Read More →
avatar for Dani Levine

Dani Levine

Dani Levine is the New Orleans Director of AVODAH: The Jewish Service Corps, where she works to strengthen the Jewish community's fight against the causes and effects of poverty in the United States. Dani and her wife Vanessa are the proud parents of two little boys, Louis and Abraham... Read More →
avatar for Jakob Rosenzweig

Jakob Rosenzweig

Jakob Rosenzweig was born and raised in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, but has lived in New Orleans for more than 15 years. His connection to Judaism was reignited when he befriended AVODAH corps members in 2009. He was active in Jews Pursuing Justice (JPJ) in 2013 and 2014. Then, in Spring... Read More →


Sunday March 20, 2016 2:45pm - 3:45pm CDT
Lavin-Bernick Center -- Room 201 Tulane University, 201 Boggs, New Orleans, LA 70118

2:45pm CDT

Human Generosity as Proof of God
Why are we wired to feel so good when we are generous? What is it about interdependent acts of lovingkindess that generates such a swell of the heart? Have you ever considered that we were created this way by a brilliant Architect and Artist? Come explore the possibilities for proof of God -- and a way of thinking about this that may change your relationship to humanity and the Divine.

Speakers
avatar for Alexis Berk

Alexis Berk

Rabbi Alexis Berk is the spiritual leader of Touro Synagogue, a place that embraces both its historical grandeur and innovative spirit. This synagogue community allows and encourages tremendous creative expression, intellectual challenge, and spiritual uplift. Ordained in 2000 from... Read More →


Sunday March 20, 2016 2:45pm - 3:45pm CDT
Lavin-Bernick Center -- Room 203 Tulane University, 201 Boggs, New Orleans, LA 70118

2:45pm CDT

A Purim Murder Mystery
Two Talmudic sages drink together on Purim with seemingly fatal results. They imbibe a mysterious concoction of L'chaim that includes death, resurrection, incense, transcendence, wine, and secrets. Drink deeply from the beaker of mystical wine and enjoy! The class will take us from scripture to the Talmud via the teachings of Kabbala and Chassidism while spiced with stories from all ages. You will never look at Purim refreshments in the same way again.

Speakers
avatar for Mendel Rivkin

Mendel Rivkin

Mendel Rivkin is a second-generation Chabad Shliach to the NOLA community. He has a passion for teaching Torah, especially the inner aspect of Torah, and engaging fellow Jews in spiritual growth through Mitzvah observance. He and his wife Malkie are program directors for Chabad of... Read More →


Sunday March 20, 2016 2:45pm - 3:45pm CDT
Lavin-Bernick Center -- Room 202 Tulane University, 201 Boggs, New Orleans, LA 70118

2:45pm CDT

PJ LIBRARY® PURIM STATION
Want to do a PJ LIBRARY StoryWalk®?  Join in a hidden picture hunt?  Would you like to create a colorful Megillah, a Purim crown, or a Mishloach Manot  basket?  Do you like PJ LIBRARY puzzles?  The PJ LIBRARY PURIM station is the place for parents and kids to stop by and enjoy favorite PJ LIBRARY Purim stories or an activity of your choice.   Bring your outgrown PJ LIBRARY books for a PJ LIBRARY BOOK SWAP. 

Sunday March 20, 2016 2:45pm - 5:00pm CDT
Lavin-Bernick Center -- Room 209 Tulane University, 201 Boggs, New Orleans, LA 70118

4:00pm CDT

Voices of Spiritual Resistance in Terezín
Between 1941 and 1945, approximately 140,000 Jews passed through the gates of Terezín, including some of Eastern Europe’s most prominent Jewish musicians. Under their leadership, life in the ghetto began to erupt with musical activity. First, inmates met in basements to sing Czech folk songs, and eventually, they created a cultural life full of choirs, cabaret, orchestras, operas, and even a jazz band called the Ghetto Swingers. Together we will explore the impact that music had on the Jews of Terezín and the ways that music served as a mechanism for survival through satire, comfort, connection, and defiance. This session will include study of music and text, in addition to viewing an excerpt from the documentary, Defiant Requiem.

Speakers
avatar for David Mintz

David Mintz

Cantor David Mintz has been serving as the cantor of Touro Synagogue in New Orleans since his ordination from Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in 2014. As a student at HUC-JIR, he was the recipient of a cantorial fellowship in the Tisch Leadership program, a fellowship... Read More →


Sunday March 20, 2016 4:00pm - 5:00pm CDT
Lavin-Bernick Center -- Room 210 Tulane University, 201 Boggs, New Orleans, LA 70118

4:00pm CDT

Imagining the Other Through Art

Photographer, video artist, printmaker, and former dancer, Leona Strassberg Steiner has lived half her life in Israel and half in the United States. In this session we will explore different ways that we may open our hearts and minds to imagine the other (Palestinians, refugees from Syria, Iraq, and Afghanistan). We will begin our journey by examining some art pieces Leona has created to help us see and accept the other as ourselves. We will then explore the other using different techniques; meditating on openness, and seeing how we ourselves can be seen as the other. If time allows, we will create collages of our experience. No art knowledge is required for this session; the only thing you need to bring is an open heart and mind.


Speakers
avatar for Leona Strassberg Steiner

Leona Strassberg Steiner

Photographer, video artist, printmaker and former dancer Leona Strassberg Steiner has lived half her life in Israel and half in the United States. Her work centers on issues of memories, war, transitions, nature, and land. She has participated in group and solo exhibitions in Spain... Read More →


Sunday March 20, 2016 4:00pm - 5:00pm CDT
Lavin-Bernick Center -- Room 205 Tulane University, 201 Boggs, New Orleans, LA 70118

4:00pm CDT

The Age of iJewish: The infiltration of the Digital Age into Jewish Life

Come learn about how technological innovations are enhancing modern Jewish life and let's explore how they are hindering modern Jewish life as well. We will examine Facebook, Twitter, JDate, viral videos, Times of Israel, and more to find out how the advancement of technology is changing the Jewish world.


Speakers
avatar for Liba Kornfeld

Liba Kornfeld

Liba Kornfeld is the Director of Jewish Family Life at the Jewish Community Center of New Orleans.  She has taught elementary school at day schools in New York, Boston, and New Orleans; taught Hebrew School; was the Education Director at Shir Chadash; and has spent much time thinking... Read More →


Sunday March 20, 2016 4:00pm - 5:00pm CDT
Lavin-Bernick Center -- Room 202 Tulane University, 201 Boggs, New Orleans, LA 70118

4:00pm CDT

"When Wine Goes in, Secrets Go Out”: Wine and Drunkenness in Talmudic Thought

From the Passover Seder to the Shabbat table, wine plays a significant role in Jewish practice. In addition to its ritual purposes, wine and other alcoholic beverages can bring people together but also tear them apart. Together, we will explore and engage with the multiple voices in talmudic thought on the consumption of wine. We’ll gain some new insight into wine while seeing how rabbinic perspectives on wine can be just as diverse as those in contemporary society.

Kosher wine will be served during the session.

 


Speakers
avatar for David Polsky

David Polsky

Rabbi David Polsky is the rabbi of Anshe Sfard, located in the Central City neighborhood of New Orleans. He grew up on the Upper West Side of Manhattan and received his ordination from Yeshiva University in New York City. Prior to becoming the rabbi of Anshe Sfard, he worked on the... Read More →


Sunday March 20, 2016 4:00pm - 5:00pm CDT
Lavin-Bernick Center -- Room 207 Tulane University, 201 Boggs, New Orleans, LA 70118

4:00pm CDT

The Israeli War of Independence: Victory of a Sort

            The 1948 War of Independence was fought from the Galilee to the Negev against native and invading Arab armies. The Israelis built, organized, and somehow equipped the first Jewish Army in two thousand years, with its nucleus being members of Britain's Jewish Brigade. Colorful leaders such as Ben-Gurion and Moshe Dayan, the Mufti of Jerusalem and King Abdullah, determined the course of the war. This session will analyze the role of these leaders and the battles during the war. Israeli courage and skill produced victory, of a sort.


Speakers
avatar for Rick Jacobs

Rick Jacobs

Captain Rick Jacobs, USNR (ret) served afloat and ashore in the U.S. Navy for 26 years on active duty and in the U.S. Naval Reserve. He is a distinguished graduate of the Naval War College and has given numerous well-received talks at the World War II Museum. Captain Jacobs works... Read More →


Sunday March 20, 2016 4:00pm - 5:00pm CDT
Lavin-Bernick Center -- Room 208 Tulane University, 201 Boggs, New Orleans, LA 70118

4:00pm CDT

Becoming Americans: The Holocaust Survivors of New Orleans
This multimedia session will explore the challenges that Holocaust survivors faced in making their new lives in New Orleans, focusing on the thermes of transition, obstacles, achievements, patriotism, and Zionism.  An audio clip of a deceased survivor and a short video will provide an introduction to the session. Then John Menszner will interview survivors Jeannine Berk and Anne Levy and the sons of two survivors, Henry Rosenblat and Leopold Sher. 

Moderators
avatar for John Menszer

John Menszer

John Menszer is an attorney who is in love with living in New Orleans.  In 1993, he began photographing and interviewing Holocaust survivors. It became an encompassing project involving exhibits in multiple locations, seminars featuring the survivors talking to the public and... Read More →

Speakers
JB

Jeannine Burk

Jeannine Burk is a child survivor from Brussels, Belgium. She is the mother of six, grandmother of 14 and just became a new great-grandmother. She came to New Orleans in 1971 to marry Moshe Burk. She was the wife of the kindest man in the world. She feels lucky to be a survivor... Read More →
avatar for Leopold Sher

Leopold Sher

A native New Orleanian, Leopold Sher is a child of Holocaust survivors, Rachel and Joseph Sher. Unlike many Holocaust survivors who emigrated to the United States through Ellis Island in New York, Leopold’s parents and his older brother, Martin (who was born in a displaced persons... Read More →


Sunday March 20, 2016 4:00pm - 5:00pm CDT
Lavin-Bernick Center -- Room 201 Tulane University, 201 Boggs, New Orleans, LA 70118

4:00pm CDT

Decoding the Squiggles: How Trope Shows Meaning
What are the functions of those extra squiggles we see in biblical texts? How do they show us punctuation and accents, in addition to chanted motifs? Come learn how the graphic symbols of trope are used to show meaning in our ancient biblical texts and how that meaning is expressed through trope. We will study some basic Hebrew grammar that helps decode the consonantal  Hebrew in a Torah scroll. We will also encounter the music motifs of Ta'amei HaMikra for  Ashkenazic chant of Torah, Haftarah, Esther, Eichah, High Holy Days Torah,  and the Festival Megillot. There will be lots of handouts.

Please bring a thumb drive.

Speakers
avatar for Neil Schwartz

Neil Schwartz

Hazzan Neil Schwartz is a 1980 graduate of the Jewish Theological Seminary,and he earned an M.A. in Religion and Culture in Canada. He teaches trope and nusach online for Hebrew College (Boston), and he serves as the Kol Bo sole clergy for Agudath Achim in Shreveport, Louisiana... Read More →


Sunday March 20, 2016 4:00pm - 5:00pm CDT
Lavin-Bernick Center -- Room 205 Tulane University, 201 Boggs, New Orleans, LA 70118

4:00pm CDT

The Bible's Cutting Room Floor
What happened to Adam and Eve after they left the Garden of Eden? What was Abraham like as a child?  Who are the Watchers? And why aren't any of these stories in your Bible?  The Bible as we know it is an abridged collection, constrained by the limitations of early
book-making technology, political considerations, and even historical accident.  Learn about the fascinating ancient texts that were cut from the Bible, and discover what they can teach us about the Bible and about our lives today.

Speakers
avatar for Joel Hoffman

Joel Hoffman

Dr. Joel M. Hoffman focuses on bringing the Bible to life through his writings and his engaging presentations to churches, synagogues, community groups, and university audiences across the world. He holds a Ph.D. in linguistics and has served on the faculties of Brandeis University... Read More →


Sunday March 20, 2016 4:00pm - 5:00pm CDT
Lavin-Bernick Center -- Room 203 Tulane University, 201 Boggs, New Orleans, LA 70118

5:15pm CDT

Closing Concert: Bringing It All Together
Join together with your fellow Limmudniks and hear a spoken word poen created at LimmudFest, sing along with Deborah Mintz and Cantor David Mintz, and more.

Sunday March 20, 2016 5:15pm - 6:00pm CDT
Lavin-Bernick Center -- Room 213, Kendall Cram Lecture Hall [back] Tulane University, 201 Boggs, New Orleans, LA 70118
 
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