The annual Levy Summer Series of the Jewish Social Services of Madison provides lunch-and-learn events, some of them featuring speakers from Milwaukee.
The overall theme this year is “Paths and Intersections in Jewish Life: Journeys in Identity and Culture.”
On Tuesday, June 10, Hannah Rosenthal, president and CEO of the Milwaukee Jewish Federation, will speak on “The Jewish World According to Pew.”
She will examine what the Pew Research Center’s report “Portrait of Jewish Americans” tells us about the choices Jewish young adults are making.
Rosenthal, a former Madison resident, has been Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism at the U.S. State Department, executive director of the Chicago Foundation for Women, Midwest regional director of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and executive director of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs.
On Wednesday, June 25, Jody Hirsh, director of Judaic education at the Harry & Rose Samson Family Jewish Community Center in Milwaukee, will speak on “Artists: the Prophets of our Times.”
He will explore the potential of the arts in the Jewish community, and show examples of art created by the Jewish Artists Laboratories, a project supported by the Covenant Foundation.
Hirsh received the 2014 Morton L. Mandel Jewish Educational Leadership Award for his lifelong commitment to Jewish education, the 2005 Covenant Award for Excellence in Jewish Education and an OBIE award (1989) for his play, “Seeing Double.” He is the creator of the Jewish Artists Laboratory.
On Wednesday, July 9, comedian Rabbi Bob Alper will present “The Spirituality of Laughter.” He will explore why Jews are so funny, why humor has been such an integral aspect of the Jewish community through the centuries and humor as a coping mechanism in times of transition, celebration and stress.
A graduate of Lehigh University and the Princeton Theological Seminary, Alper is a Reform rabbi who has been a successful stand-up comic for 27 years. He can be heard daily on Sirius/XM Satellite Radio and is known for his clean shtick and his “Laughter and Peace” tour with Muslim comedians.
On Wednesday, July 23, Jodi Eichler-Levine will speak on “Greening Judaism: Approaches to Sustainability from the Israelites to Brooklyn.” She will talk about some of the key figures in Jewish environmental activism and theology.
Eichler-Levine is associate professor of Religious Studies and Women’s and Gender Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh. Her research and teaching interests include Jewish studies, religion and gender, religion and literature and sustainability.
On Wednesday, Aug. 6, Philip Hollander will speak about “Levi Aryeh Arieli’s ‘Allah Karim!’ and the Forging of Israeli Identity.” This talk will explore debates that took place over how best to transform the Jewish people and improve their lives.
Hollander is assistant professor of Israeli Literature and Culture at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. His research and teaching interests include Israeli cinema, Holocaust literature, and modern Jewish, Yiddish and American Hebrew literature.
The series concludes Wednesday, Aug. 20, with Rabbi Tiferet Gordon speaking on “You don’t look Jewish! Neither do you! Re-creating a Culturally Representative and Inclusive Judaism.”
She will explore such questions as: When did the misconception of a homogeneous Judaism appear? How is this misconception perpetuated?
Gordon is the rabbi at Congregation Shir Hadash, Milwaukee’s Reconstructionist congregation. She completed her rabbinical and education training at Hebrew College in Newton, Mass. She is a board member of the Jewish Multiracial Network and formerly taught at Jewish day schools in Massachusetts and Wisconsin.
All events take place at the Nakoma Golf Club, 4145 Country Club Rd., Madison. Registration begins at 11 a.m., the program takes place 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m., followed by lunch.
All meals are $13. For more information, including about the lunch menus, contact JSS, 608-278-1808 or louise@jssmadison.org. Registration can be done online at jssmadison.org.
Loading ...