LimmudFest New Orleans 2016

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.

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.

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.

“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.    

 

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.

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.