November 15, 2022
Missed an event this month? All virtual events that were recorded will be featured here.
Cooking Magic with Artist and Chef Robin Langer Thursday, December 8
Watch the recording here
Cooking Magic is all about fast, easy, healthy, and delicious meals. Come for recipes, cooking, and comradery. This program is for everyone from kitchen novices to experienced cooks.
Second Texts and Second Opinions: Jewish Bioethics with Dr. Laurie Zoloth Tuesday, December 6
This class will explore how Jewish thought considers cases in clinical ethics, drawn from Dr. Zoloth’s latest book, Second Texts and Second Opinions: Essays Towards a Jewish Bioethics. We will learn about the source, methods, and texts that make Jewish clinical ethics distinctive, and consider how and whether arguments that are drawn from particular religions should play a role in public discourse.
LAURIE ZOLOTH is chair of the ethics area at the Divinity School of the University of Chicago. Her research in Jewish thought and bioethics has focused on the application of rabbinic arguments and the philosophy of Levinas, Arendt, and Susman to contemporary dilemmas in health care and emerging medical technology. She is the author or editor of nine books and has served on national ethics boards for the American Heart Association; NASA; the NIH; and the CDC. She is the former dean at the Divinity School and the former president of both the American Society for Bioethics and Humanities and the American Academy of Religion.
Supporting Peace for Israel with Noah Finkelstein, Midwest Associate Regional Director of J Street Wednesday, November 30
Noah Finkelstein, J Street’s Associate Regional Director for the Midwest, will explain how J Street’s pro-Israel, pro-peace advocacy work, the results of the elections in the United States and Israel, and events in Israel and the West Bank, impact the pursuit of a just and lasting peace between Israelis and Palestinians.
This program is sponsored by the Israel Committee.
Women’s Struggle for Equality in Israel with Professor Yifat Bitton Wednesday, November 16
Please join us for a conversation with Professor Yifat Bitton, one of the leading socio-legal feminists in Israel today. Professor Bitton will discuss the civil laws and Israeli Supreme Court cases that have aspired to reduce gender discrimination in Israeli society and offer some reflections on the challenges that lay ahead, in the wake of the election of a far-right-wing government likely to exert its power over the legal system by weakening protections against gender discrimination to appease the orthodox community.
PROFESSOR YIFAT BITON, a legal academic and social activist for equality, was shortlisted twice for Israel’s Supreme Court, making history as the youngest woman and the first woman of Mizrahi descent ever to appear on the list. She is the founder of Tmura – the Israeli Anti-discrimination Center, which advocates for the rights of women who have suffered abuse – and president of Achva Academic College. She holds a Ph.D. from the Hebrew University and a LLM from Yale University Law School. Professor Bitton is a visiting Adjunct Professor at the University of Chicago this fall.
Current Politics with Dr. David Zarefsky Wednesday, November 9
A continuing lecture-discussion class on contemporary public issues of interest to Jews as citizens. Special attention will be given to the policy and political issues facing the Biden administration. Two additional classes will be offered in the Spring term. Participation in prior sessions not required.
DAVID ZAREFSKY is the Owen L. Coon Professor Emeritus of Communication Studies at Northwestern University, specializing in argumentation and the analysis and criticism of American political discourse. He is a former president of the National Communication Association, the Rhetoric Society of America, and the Central States Communication Association. In 2012 he received the Lifetime Teaching Excellence Award from the National Communication Association. David is a past president of Beth Emet.
Kabbalat Shabbat Services with Guest D’var Torah by Rabbi Dr. Wendy Zierler and Soup Kitchen Blessing
Friday, November 4
Watch the recording of Rabbi Dr. Wendy Zierler’s D’var Torah
Watch the recording of the Soup Kitchen Blessing and Presentation
Rabbi Dr. Wendy Zierler will be the scholar-in-residence on this Shabbat. Rabbi Zierler has been a friend of Rabbi London’s since they were graduate students at Hebrew University in Jerusalem 30 years ago. She’s an amazing scholar and an outstanding teacher. When she was scholar-in-residence at Beth Emet a number of years ago, everyone loved her teaching. Don’t miss out on this opportunity to learn with her. She is the Sigmund Falk Professor of Modern Jewish Literature and Feminist Studies at HUC-JIR in New York. Tonight, Rabbi Dr. Wendy Zierler will speak on ” The Connection Between Faith and Truth.”
In celebration of the 20th Anniversary of the Beth Emet Soup Kitchen, there will be a special blessing at tonight’s Kabbalat Shabbat service.
From Zero to Jewish Hero: The Music of Fiddler on the Roof with Amanda Stein Thursday, November 3
Since its 1964 Broadway debut, Fiddler on the Roof has captivated audiences with its engaging story, instant classic tunes, and identifiable characters. Dr. Stein will examine this timeless musical’s well-known songs, addressing how particularly Jewish themes and melodies have had such a universal appeal for both Jewish and non-Jewish audiences. Her presentation will look at the legacy of Tevye through the performances of Zero Mostel on the stage and Topol in the 1971 film, and she will share some of songwriting duo Sheldon Harnick and Jerry Bock’s development of the music through draft lyrics and cut songs. You don’t need to have attended the Lyric Opera’s recent production to enjoy this class!
Musicologist AMANDA RUPPENTHAL STEIN, Ph.D. is a lecturer in music at Carroll University in Waukesha, Wisconsin and at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. She is a 2021 graduate of the Bienen School of Music at Northwestern University, where she was also the Crown Graduate Fellow for the Crown Center for Jewish and Israel Studies. Amanda’s dissertation, Sounding Judentum: Assimilation, Art Music, and Being Jewish Musically in 19th Century German-Speaking Europe focused on how art musicians approached Jewish identity, assimilation, and acculturation through sonic expression, relationships, and writing. Additional teaching and research interests include Jewish voice in the music of Leonard Bernstein, the comedy albums of Allan Sherman, and cross-cultural conversations on religious and racial identities.
