New York Kollel
Launches its Spring 2002 Community Programs

Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion launches its Spring 2002 Community Programs. The programs include museum exhibitions, concerts, lectures, courses, outreach and study sessions, as well as our extensive adult education courses.

Highlights include:

• Thursdays, January 24, February 28 and April 11, 6 pm
  Jewish Communities of the Middle East from the Age of Alexander to the Byzantine Period, Archaeology Lecture Series
  Lecture series with Dr. Jodi Magness, Associate Professor of Classical and Near East Archaeology at Tufts University.
• Wednesday, February 20, 7:30 pm Artistic Expressions of Contemporary Israeli Identity, Panel Discussion
  Poet, Meir Wieseltier and artist, Yaacov Chefetz explore the historical, psychological, and political complexity of contemporary Israeli identity.
  This exhibition, and related catalog and public program, are made possible with public funds from the New York-Israel Cultural Cooperation Commission, a joint venture of the State of New York, George E. Pataki - Governor and the State of Israel, and the Office of Cultural Affairs, Consul General of Israel in New York.
• Thursday, February 28, 7 pm Back to Grombin, Film Premiere
  Holocaust survivors and their families return to pre-war hometown. Minna Packer, producer/director
• Thursday, March 7, 7 pm The Golems of Gotham, Reading, Booksigning and Reception
  Author Thane Rosenbaum will read and discuss his newest novel, part ghost story, part fable inspired by Jewish mysticism and folklore.
• Friday, March 8 and 22, 12-2 pm Legal Ethics in Jewish and American Law, Continuing Legal Education
  Course will compare and contrast secular and Jewish perspectives on the lawyer’s role.
  Co-sponsored by the Stein Institute on Religion, Law, and Lawyer’s Work, Fordham University School of Law
• Wednesday, March 20 Opening the Door: When Text and Art Embrace, Pre-Passover Study Session
  Exhibition and study session of the Reform Movement’s new Haggadah with author, Rabbi Sue Levi Elwell and illustrator, Professor Ruth Weisberg.
• Monday, April 8, 7 pm Master Class in Torah, Samuel and Rose Blumenfield Memorial Lecture
  Torah class taught by Dr. Aviva Gottlieb Zornberg.
  Dr. Samuel Blumenfield, ordained by the Jewish Institute of Religion, was a distinguished educator, author, and Hebraist. Rose Blumenfield was a gifted social worker, rebbetzin, and helpmate.
• Sunday, April 14, 3 pm The Annual Max and Florence Minsky Concert at HUC-JIR, Concert
  School of Sacred Music senior class performs Hebrew, Yiddish and Ladino Music.
  This concert has been made possible through the generous support of The Max and Florence Minsky Music Fund.
• Thursday, April 25, 7pm You Can’t Do Business (Or Most Anything Else) Without Yiddish
  Evening of Jewish Humor
  Lighthearted, instructive look at Yiddish and Jewish humor with Paul Peter Porges, cartoonist and humorist for Playboy, The New Yorker, and MAD magazine and Leon H. Gilden, New York entertainment lawyer and Broadway producer.
• Tuesday, May 7, 7 pm Wizards of Wit: How Jews Revolutionized Comedy in America, Panel Discussion
  Leading humorists explain how and why Jews have been the driving force in rocking the comedy boat.
  Moderator: Arie Kaplan, writer for MAD magazine, Entertainment Weekly, Bop, and Time Out New York.
  Panel:
  Paul Peter Porges, cartoonist, MAD magazine, The New Yorker,
  Lewis Black, stand-up comic, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, and Lewis Black: The White Album,
  Susie Essman, actress/comedian, Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist, and Keeping the Faith
  Hugh Fink, writer/comedian, Saturday Night Live, The Late Show with David Letterman, Comedy Central Presents,
  Judy Gold*, actress/comedian, The Drew Carey Show, The Rosie O'Donnell Show, and The Tonight Show With Jay Leno
  * pending professional availability