The Five Greatest Jewish Books and Why They are so Great
WHEN: Various dates listed below; all lectures will be held at 7:30 PM and are presented by the JCC Jewish Women’s Connection.
WHERE: Kaplen JCC on the Palisades. 411 E. Clinton Ave., Tenafly
ADMISSION: Series $60 JCC members/$80 non-members, per session $15/$20.
Call 201.408.1458 to register or for more information.
Jews have been writing books for 3000 years! While many are read by small groups of devotees, some have become undisputed masterpieces. Come hear five dynamic, literary experts explain why their favorite book is one of the fundamental classics in the library of Jewish writings. All lectures will be held at 7:30 pm. and presented
Genesis: The Beginning of the End of the Beginning
Tuesday, Jan. 10: Rabbi Adina Lewittes
Rabbi Adina Lewittes was ordained by the Jewish Theological Seminary of America where she served as the first female Assistant Dean of the Rabbinical School. She has founded and led synagogues, teaches in a variety of adult education programs, and leads Sha’ar —The Tenafly Chavurah.
Philip Roth’s Complaint
Wednesday, Feb 15: Professor Ruth Setton
Ruth Knafo Setton is the author of the critically acclaimed novel, The Road to Fez. Born in Safi, Morocco, she is the recipient of literary fellowships from the National Endowment of the Arts, Pennsylvania Council on the Arts and PEN, and writers’ colonies including Yaddo and MacDowell. Her poetry, fiction and creative nonfiction have appeared in many journals and anthologies, including Unfinalized Moments: Essays in the Development of Contemporary Jewish American Narrative, Women Writing Desire, Becoming Myself: Reflections on Growing Up Female, The Schocken Book of Modern Sephardic Literature, and Best Contemporary Jewish Writing. She is the Director of the Berman Center for Jewish Studies and the Writer-in-Residence at Lehigh University. She often gives lectures, creative writing workshops and readings. She is currently working on a new novel and a collection of poetry.
Pesikta deRav Kahana: Rabbinic Reasons for the Seasons
Wednesday, March 14: Rabbi Andrea Myers
Rabbi Andrea Myers has shared her unique stories around the world. She is the author of The Choosing: A Rabbi’s Journey from Silent Nights to High Holy Days (Rutgers University Press, 2011). After receiving her BA in neuroscience from Brandeis University, she studied for two years in Jerusalem, and was ordained at the Academy for Jewish Religion (AJR), a pluralistic seminary in New York City, where she later joined the faculty and administration and served as the co-president of the Association of Rabbis and Cantors. Rabbi Myers is a member of the New York Board of Rabbis. She currently lives in New York City with her family, and has led congregations from the Rocky Mountains to the Borscht Belt. She writes for The Huffington Post and The Jewish Week.
'And I Am A Stranger:' Becoming Ruth
Wednesday, May 16: Professor Aviva Zornberg
Avivah Gottlieb Zornberg is the author of numerous articles and three books, including The Murmuring Deep: Reflections on the Biblical Unconscious, published 2009. Born in London, Dr. Zornberg grew up in Glasgow, Scotland, where her father was a Rabbi and the head of the Rabbinical Court. She studied with him from childhood; he was her most important teacher of Torah. She holds a BA and PhD in English Literature from Cambridge University. After teaching English literature at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, she turned to teaching Torah. For the past twenty-five years, she has taught Torah in Jerusalem at Matan, Yakar, Pardes and the Jerusalem College for Adults. Dr. Zornberg also holds a Visiting Lectureship at the London School of Jewish Studies. She travels widely, lecturing in Jewish, academic and psychoanalytic settings.
The Fool and the Genius: The True Fiction of Isaac Bashevis Singer
Thursday, June 7: Nadia Kalman
As a child, Nadia Kalman emigrated with her family from the former Soviet Union. Formerly a teacher and assistant principal, she now works as a writer-in-the-schools with Teachers & Writers Collaborative in New York City. Nadia was a two-time fellow of the Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown, and has published stories in Subtropics, the Canadian magazine The Walrus, and elsewhere. Her first novel, The Cosmopolitans, won the Emerging Writer Award from Moment magazine and was a finalist for the Rohr Prize in Jewish Literature. Nadia recently received a 2012 Literature Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts.
