Conservative educators attend conference
Two of Wisconsin’s Conservative Jewish educators attended the annual Jewish Educators Assembly Conference: Jennifer Saber, education director of Congregation Beth Israel Ner Tamid in Glendale and Beth Copelovitch, education director at Beth Israel Center in Madison.
The Jewish Educators Assembly, the professional organization of educators in the Conservative movement, held the conference Jan. 27-30, 2019 in Maryland. The four-day gathering brought together congregational school principals and directors of congregational learning, early childhood directors, bureau and agency personnel and family and informal educators from all across North America and Israel.
The theme of this year’s conference was “Social Action / Civil Discourse” reflecting on the tone in our country.
Local author takes on Trump
Dr. H. Steven Moffic, an occasional contributor to the Chronicle, is one of 10 authors added to a new edition of the book, “The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump.”
The full title of the new edition is “The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump: 37 Psychiatrists and Mental Health Experts Assess a President – Updated and Expanded with New Essays.” A prior edition, published in 2017, had a similar title with essays by 27 mental health professionals instead of the 37 now featured in the new edition.
Released March 19, 2019, the new edition proclaims, according to its marketing materials, that Trump “has only grown more erratic and dangerous as the pressures on him mount. This new edition includes new essays bringing the book up to date―because this is still not normal.”
Moffic attended a book launch event in March, in Washington, D.C. Moffic is a psychiatrist and his profession has struggled with how to ethically and appropriately respond to the president.
State’s cantors to come together in Waukesha
Many of the state’s cantors will bring their voices together on Sunday, April 14, for “A Journey of Jewish Music,” and its influence on popular American music.
The concert is in celebration of Congregation Emanu-El of Waukesha’s 80th anniversary, and Cantor Deborah Martin will be explaining the diverse Jewish music of our heritage throughout the globe in the past through the present.
“We have a rich heritage of different musical styles and languages because of our journeys in the diaspora,” Martin said. “We wish to share the beauty of Jewish music as we celebrate 80 years of bringing progressive Jewish life to Waukesha County and the surrounding areas.”
The concert will be held at 3 p.m. in the Shattuck Music Center at Carroll University.
Performers joining Cantor Martin include Cantor Karen Berman of Congregation Shalom, Hazzan Jeremy Stein of Congregation Beth Israel Ner Tamid, Cantor Richard Newman of Congregation Sinai, Cantor Sharon Brown-Levy of Temple Beth El in Madison and cantorial soloist Marsha Fensin of Congregation Emanu-El of Waukesha.
The Carroll University choir and A Band’n All Hope (a klezmer band) also will perform.
Advance tickets are $20 for adults and $10 for children ages 5 through 15. Tickets at the door (cash only) are $30 and $15.
Go to MusicJourney.EventBrite.com to purchase advance tickets.
Contact Laurie Schwartz at L.Schwartz@WaukeshaTemple.org for further information.
Waukesha mayor congratulates Congregation Emanu-El of Waukesha
Waukesha Mayor Shawn Reilly was joined by other government leaders in recognizing with their various proclamations and congratulations Congregation Emanu-El of Waukesha on the occasion of its 80th anniversary.
On March 12, 1939 eighteen families met at the Knights of Pythias Hall in Waukesha to establish a synagogue. Rabbi Joseph L. Baron of Temple Emanu-El in Milwaukee guided the families, who were mostly from Waukesha and Oconomowoc. The new congregation took the name Emanu-El, which means “God is with us.”
The congregation is part of the Union for Reform Judaism.
Saber is organizing Poland trip
Local Jewish educator Jennifer Saber is organizing an educational Poland experience for adults, set to include a trip to Europe and local study sessions.
Her “Poland Journey for Adults” with the Ramah Israel Institute is slated for July 22-28, 2019. The Ramah Israel Institute helps plan educational trips to Israel and is affiliated with the Conservative movement, though the trip is open to the whole community.
The trip is to trace historic Jewish communities in Warsaw, Lublin, Krakow and more. Participants will enhance their understanding of the enormity of the Shoah, while exploring first-hand the remnants – and in some cases the revival – of the Jewish communities in Poland.
Trip participants may join four monthly study sessions April through July, to enhance the trip experience. A reflective session will follow the trip. Facilitators will be Betsalel Steinhart, director of Ramah Israel Institute; Dr. Shay Pilnik, executive director of The Nathan and Esther Pelz Holocaust Education Resource Center; and Jennifer Saber, Milwaukee Jewish educator.
A question-and-answer meeting has been scheduled with Steinhart for Sunday, April 7, 1:15pm. RSVP to Saber at Jennifer.Saber@att.net or 617-240-4137. The location will be provided. Or contact Saber for more information about the trip and study sessions.
The cost is $2,358 (per person in double occupancy) plus flight, with six nights at first-class hotels, three kosher meals a day, led by a Ramah tour educator and a local Polish guide.
Three years prison for threats
A man who sought to mail threatening letters to the Harry & Rose Samson Family Jewish Community Center in Whitefish Bay was sentenced in February to three years in federal prison, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Chadwick Grubbs, 33, was in an Oshkosh jail when he sent the threats in 2017, but he used the wrong address and they were never delivered, according to the newspaper. The nature of the letters were discovered when they were returned to the jail.
Wisconsin composer Corris’ symphony to be performed
A Wisconsin composer will see her work performed in Brookfield in July.
Penny Corris’ Symphony No. 1 in A will be premiered on July 6, 2019 at 8 p.m. at the Sharon Lynne Wilson Center for the Arts, 19805 W. Capitol Drive, Brookfield.
In the fourth movement there’s a Jewish mode called “ahava rabah,” Corris said, who added that Jewishness permeates her music.
The symphony, to be performed by the Milwaukee Philharmonic after a Mozart piece, is four movements and is approximately 25 minutes in length.
Visit ComposerPennyCorris.com for more information.
Wisconsin teen elected to BBYO International Board
Mia Buchband, a junior at the University School of Milwaukee, was elected international s’ganit, or vice president at BBYO International Convention 2019 in Colorado.
“One of the coolest things about our generation is the power of Jewish teens, and how they act to repair the world when we need it most. This power stems from the values and lessons we teach in BBYO through our programming — something I am honored to spearhead this year” Buchband said. “Nevertheless, the greatest platform for change is the one where we’re all together: International Convention 2020. I am beyond excited to coordinate IC in Dallas next President’s Day weekend and fill it with incredible speakers, meaningful programs, and once-in-a-lifetime experiences.”
Buchband joins a twelve-member international teen board that will help organize BBYO’s vision for the coming year and provide leadership and support to teen leaders in local communities throughout the BBYO system.
With an attendance growth of nearly 300 percent since 2013, BBYO International Convention 2019 in February offered Jewish teens the opportunity to connect with their peers from around the globe, learn from speakers from diverse backgrounds and experiences, and participate in teen-led programming throughout the entire weekend, according to a news release.
Forty-nine Wisconsin teens joined more than 5,500 Jewish teen leaders, educators, thought and business leaders, celebrities, political figures and philanthropists from 43 North American states, districts and provinces, and 36 countries, making it one of the largest Jewish leadership events in North America and the largest gathering of Jewish teen leaders worldwide.
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