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LimmudFest Nola 2023 has ended
LimmudFest is back in person for a weekend of celebrating, learning, and doing Jewish.

LimmudFest New Orleans is a weekend festival of Jewish learning, arts, culture and spirituality featuring 70+ sessions from local, regional and national presenters. It is part of a global movement inspired by the idea that when Jews from diverse backgrounds come together to celebrate and learn about everything and anything Jewish, the entire community is enriched.


To register, please paste this link into your browser to go to our Eventbrite registration page: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/limmudfest-new-orleans-2023-tickets-501264374237
Friday, March 17
 

5:30pm CDT

Registration
Friday March 17, 2023 5:30pm - 6:30pm CDT
Congregation Gates of Prayer Lobby

6:30pm CDT

Candlelighting
Friday March 17, 2023 6:30pm - 7:00pm CDT
Congregation Gates of Prayer Board Room

6:30pm CDT

Babysitting
Friday March 17, 2023 6:30pm - 8:45pm CDT
Congregation Gates of Prayer Room 13

7:00pm CDT

Conservative Shabbat Kabbalat Service
Friday March 17, 2023 7:00pm - 7:45pm CDT
Congregation Gates of Prayer Bart Room

7:00pm CDT

Alternative Shabbat Kabbalat Service
Join us in welcoming Shabbat with song. This alternative service will include new melodies, chanting, and lots of ruach (spirit)! Please note that we will be using musical instruments as a key component of this experience. We look forward to entering into Shabbat together!
Speakers
avatar for Carla Friend

Carla Friend

Carla Friend is the founder & executive director of Tkiya, a nonprofit organization that uses participatory music experiences to help thousands of families find their unique connection with Jewish culture and community through Carla’s educational approach. She is a 2018 recipient... Read More →
avatar for Rena Branson

Rena Branson

Rena Branson (they/them) is a Jewish composer, ritual leader, and educator who uplifts personal and collective healing through song. They founded A Queer Nigun Project, which organizes singing events for LGBTQIA+ folks and sends audio content to people in the Jewish community who... Read More →

Friday March 17, 2023 7:00pm - 8:00pm CDT
Congregation Gates of Prayer Outdoor Sukkah

7:00pm CDT

Orthodox Shabbat Kabbalat Service
Friday March 17, 2023 7:00pm - 8:00pm CDT
Congregation Gates of Prayer Lake Library

7:00pm CDT

Reform Shabbat Kabbalat Service
Musical instruments will be played during the service.
Friday March 17, 2023 7:00pm - 8:00pm CDT
Congregation Gates of Prayer Sanctuary

8:00pm CDT

Oneg Shabbat
This Oneg Shabbat is for service-goers who are not registered for LimmudFest.
Friday March 17, 2023 8:00pm - 8:30pm CDT
Congregation Gates of Prayer Lobby

8:00pm CDT

Shabbat Dinner
Friday March 17, 2023 8:00pm - 9:00pm CDT
Congregation Gates of Prayer Social Hall

9:00pm CDT

Shabbat Tisch
End the Shabbat meal with a tisch, the Yiddish word for table; we will gather together, telling jokes, sharing stories, and even singing.

Friday March 17, 2023 9:00pm - 9:30pm CDT
Congregation Gates of Prayer Sanctuary
 
Saturday, March 18
 

9:00am CDT

Conservative Shabbat Morning Service
Saturday March 18, 2023 9:00am - 11:30am CDT
Congregation Gates of Prayer Sanctuary

9:00am CDT

Orthodox Shabbat Morning Service
Saturday March 18, 2023 9:00am - 11:30am CDT
Congregation Gates of Prayer Lake Library

9:00am CDT

Babysitting
Saturday March 18, 2023 9:00am - 7:00pm CDT
Congregation Gates of Prayer Room 13

10:00am CDT

Tot Shabbat
Join Carla Friend for a participatory, musical Shabbat experience filled with singing, movement, stories, puppets, parachute, and more.

Recommended for children ages 0-5 and their families--all are welcome!
Speakers
avatar for Carla Friend

Carla Friend

Carla Friend is the founder & executive director of Tkiya, a nonprofit organization that uses participatory music experiences to help thousands of families find their unique connection with Jewish culture and community through Carla’s educational approach. She is a 2018 recipient... Read More →

Saturday March 18, 2023 10:00am - 10:45am CDT
Congregation Gates of Prayer, Room 12
  Young Limmud

10:00am CDT

Metivta-Style Meditative Shabbat Service
This week's Torah double portion, Vayakel-Pekudi, describes the generosity and creativity of the Israelites as they built the Mishkan as the place for YHVH to dwell. In this service, we build our inner Mishkan, as we  use short chants derived from the morning service to structure moments of silent meditation as we deepen our intimacy with the prayers and Torah of Shabbat.
Speakers
avatar for Anne Brener

Anne Brener

Rabbi Anne Brener, a native New Orleanian, is a psychotherapist, spiritual director, and author of Mourning & Mitzvah: Walking the Mourner’s Path (Jewish Lights, 1993 & 2001). Ordained as a Reform rabbi, she is professor of Ritual and Human Development at the Academy for Jewish... Read More →

Saturday March 18, 2023 10:00am - 11:30am CDT
Congregation Gates of Prayer Outdoor Sukkah

10:00am CDT

Reform Shabbat Morning Service
Musical instruments will be played during the service.
Saturday March 18, 2023 10:00am - 11:30am CDT
Congregation Gates of Prayer Bart Room

10:45am CDT

Let's Dress Up and Act Out the Passover Story!
Dig into the costume chest and become the Moses, Miriam, and Pharaoh of the Passover story.  We will act it out and sing lots of songs.  There may also be time to read or listen to some Passover-themed books.  

Recommended for ages 4-8
Speakers
DW

Debbie Wells

Debbie Wells grew up in the New Orleans area and graduated from Tulane. While converting to Judaism, she taught JCC preschool and the traditions and rituals she planned to teach her future children. Debbie took seminars from the Melton Institute and did graduate studies in philosophy... Read More →

Saturday March 18, 2023 10:45am - 11:45am CDT
Congregation Gates of Prayer, Room 12
  Young Limmud

11:45am CDT

Shabbat Lunch for Everyone
Saturday March 18, 2023 11:45am - 12:45pm CDT
Congregation Gates of Prayer Social Hall

12:15pm CDT

Tempos & Tunes for the Tatteles
Kids, sing your heart out, get moving and have tons of fun in this music and movement class . Learn some camp favorites, get silly, and make some music together!

Recommended for all ages
Speakers
avatar for Jordan Lawrence

Jordan Lawrence

Jordan Lawrence is the Cantorial Soloist and Director of Family Engagement at Congregation Gates of Prayer. She finds deep connections with people of all ages through meaningful conversation, Jewish practice, and music. Jordan has a rich background in musical theater and Israeli dancing... Read More →

Saturday March 18, 2023 12:15pm - 12:45pm CDT
Congregation Gates of Prayer, Room 12
  Young Limmud

1:00pm CDT

From Dream to Reality: The Louisiana Community Mikvaah
The Louisiana Community Mikvah will be opening in the next few months. Learn how the Louisiana Community Mikvah developed and ask all your questions about how it will operate.

Speakers
RL
RA

Saturday March 18, 2023 1:00pm - 2:00pm CDT
Congregation Gates of Prayer Board Room

1:00pm CDT

From Biblical Apocalypse to US Foreign Policy In Jerusalem
This session will explore biblical texts that discuss the apocalypse, proposing that Evangelical Christian interpretations of these texts have a significant influence on US foreign policy. Careful readings of the biblical books of Job, Second Zechariah, and other often-overlooked texts will help explain current policy towards Israel, the Palestinians, and other regional powers.
Speakers
avatar for Jason Gaines

Jason Gaines

Jason Gaines, PhD, is a professor of Hebrew Bible at Tulane University, where he is also Undergraduate Director of Jewish Studies. He is co-chair of Jewish Pride New Orleans, an LGBTQ social action organization.

Saturday March 18, 2023 1:00pm - 2:00pm CDT
Congregation Gates of Prayer Lake Library
  Israel, Text and Thought

1:00pm CDT

Join the Brand-New LimmudFest Choir, the Lyrical Limmudniks
Do you just love to sing? Do you catch yourself harmonizing during Shabbat services? Come join the LimmudFest Choir and show off those vocal cords! Learn contemporary and traditional Jewish pieces to perform for the community on the final day of Limmud. No singing experience necessary, just a love for singing and an open-mindedness to collaborate.
Speakers
avatar for Jordan Lawrence

Jordan Lawrence

Jordan Lawrence is the Cantorial Soloist and Director of Family Engagement at Congregation Gates of Prayer. She finds deep connections with people of all ages through meaningful conversation, Jewish practice, and music. Jordan has a rich background in musical theater and Israeli dancing... Read More →

Saturday March 18, 2023 1:00pm - 2:00pm CDT
Congregation Gates of Prayer Room 1
  Music, Hands-On Workshops

1:00pm CDT

Adam and Adamah, Dust and Home
What does our creation story tell us about what it means to be a human and the "children of Adam"? What does it mean that we are made of the dust of the earth?  We will explore a verse from Genesis, medieval commentary, and modern writings on the idea of home using paired study and whole class discussion. All are welcome.
Speakers
avatar for Shamu Sadeh

Shamu Sadeh

Shamu teaches about Judaism and ecology; cares for chickens, goats, and orchards; and schlepps a lot of compost. He is the co-founder of the Adamah Farm and Fellowship at the Isabella Freedman Jewish Retreat Center and lives there with his wife and three kids.

Saturday March 18, 2023 1:00pm - 2:00pm CDT
Congregation Gates of Prayer Adult Lounge
  Text and Thought, Contemporary Jewish Life and Identity

1:00pm CDT

Study the Torah Portion with Your Peers
The lay-led Touro Torah Study group was started about 30 years ago and since then, has been meeting continuously, except once during Katrina and once during the pandemic. Over the years it expanded from a monthly session for about 30 minutes to what it is today: a weekly 90-minute session complete with bagels, coffee, challah and all the fixings. During the pandemic, it offered a Zoom option. Join this session and see how transformative lay-led Torah study can be and experience why Touro's group has met without interruption for three decades.




Speakers
avatar for Lonnie Zarum

Lonnie Zarum

Lonnie brings her love of ‘being Jewish’ back to Limmud NOLA in her innovative Torah teaching style. Born and raised in London by a Yemenite father and Welsh mother, Lonnie earned a BA (Hons) from Middlesex University in Performance Arts and then studied at the London School of... Read More →
avatar for Bill Norman

Bill Norman

Bill Norman is special counsel to Sessions, Fishman, & Nathan, specializing in mineral law and estate planning. He is one of Touro Torah Study's founders and, in addition to his many philanthropic and volunteer activities, spends many hours studying Jewish text.

Saturday March 18, 2023 1:00pm - 2:00pm CDT
Congregation Gates of Prayer Bart Room
  Text and Thought

2:00pm CDT

Shabbos Mincha
Saturday March 18, 2023 2:00pm - 2:30pm CDT
Congregation Beth Israel

2:15pm CDT

What is Going on in Israeli Electoral Politics?
This presentation will explore the social, political and cultural contexts of recent Israeli elections, her new government, as well as the roots of the domestic political chaos that has catalyzed five national elections in three years. Further, we will explore the basics of the Israeli political system and how it works.
Speakers
avatar for Eli Sperling

Eli Sperling

From 2012–2020, Eli served as the Senior Academic Research Coordinator at Emory University’s Institute for the Study of Modern Israel and taught as a guest professor in Emory’s Tam Institute for Jewish Studies from 2019–2020. From June 2020-July 2022, Eli served as a Postdoctoral... Read More →

Saturday March 18, 2023 2:15pm - 3:15pm CDT
Congregation Gates of Prayer Bart Room
  Israel

2:15pm CDT

Reproductive Freedoms: How Jewish Women in the US and Abroad Are Fighting Back Against Dobbs and Other Restrictions
Roe v Wade has been overturned, and the right and access to an abortion has been lost in many states. While some countries, like Rwanda and Ethiopia, are liberalizing family planning and abortion, basic rights for women in the United States are being taken away. Join Tamara Kreinin to discuss the well-being of women and girls globally and in the United States -- from the 214 million women around the world who want contraception and can't get it to the 37,000 girls who are married each day and taken from their childhoods. Kreinin will then take us back to Louisiana and discuss how we can each make a difference for individual women, as well as improve the systems that do not protect them. Core to Tamara's own activism are values grounded in tikkun olam and fundamental Jewish views of the world.
Speakers
avatar for Tamara Kreinin

Tamara Kreinin

Tamara Kreinin joined the Packard Foundation in 2012 as director of the Population and Reproductive Health program after serving as the executive director of women and population at the United Nations Foundation; there she designed and implemented initiatives to improve life for women... Read More →

Saturday March 18, 2023 2:15pm - 3:15pm CDT
Congregation Gates of Prayer Lake Library
  Social Justice

2:15pm CDT

From the Seder Table to Cafe Du Monde
The seder table is filled with reminders of the slavery of Egypt.  Interestingly, Cafe Du Monde (CDM), founded in 1862, also got its start in 19th-century slave days. Is there a link between the institution of CDM and the seder table?  Come learn not only what that link is but also how certain ways of survival adopted by our ancestors actually allowed us to mitigate some of the aftereffects of slavery in ways that 19th-century African Americans could only dream of.
Speakers
avatar for Scott Hoffman

Scott Hoffman

Rabbi Scott Hoffman is rabbi of Shir Chadash in Metairie. A rabbi for more than thirty years, he has served congregations in the New York, Philadelphia, and the Washington, DC, area. Rabbi Hoffman has served as a nursing home chaplain, hospice chaplain and adjunct professor of Talmud... Read More →

Saturday March 18, 2023 2:15pm - 3:15pm CDT
Congregation Gates of Prayer Board Room
  Southern Jewish Life, Jewish Holidays

2:15pm CDT

Moses and Monotheism: What Did Freud Think about Judaism
This session will look at Sigmund Freud's most remarkable book--one that reads like a brilliant suspense novel! Freud's last book was written at least two times, first as an old man in Austria weary of the rise of Nazism in Europe and then as a refugee in London. It is a book by an adamant secularist, who in that dire time for the Jewish people looked unflinchingly and often transgressively at its origins, with wisdom and almost love. We will learn about the history of this great work and seek to understand Freud's final analysis of Judaism.

Speakers
avatar for Ari Ofengeden

Ari Ofengeden

Ari Ofengenden heads the Hebrew program at Tulane University. He earned his MA in cognitive psychology from Tel-Aviv University and his PhD in Hebrew and Comparative Literature from Haifa University. He did his postdoctoral work in Tübingen University in Sweden, as well as in Monash... Read More →

Saturday March 18, 2023 2:15pm - 3:15pm CDT
Congregation Gates of Prayer Room 1
  Text and Thought

3:30pm CDT

Strange Bedfellows? The Growing Relationship Between Jews and Pro-Israel Evangelical Christians
For decades, the evangelical world was associated with the Moral Majority, missionizing, and right-wing politics — the opposite side of the aisle from the Jewish community. But a pro-Israel awakening, a newfound appreciation for the Jewish people, and a commitment to fighting antisemitism have taken hold among evangelicals while more mainstream churches have adopted the Palestinian narrative, leaving many in the Jewish community to wonder who our true partners are. Larry Brook has been covering the phenomenon of Christian Zionists in the South since the 1990s and will provide insights, details of major changes in the Christian world that few in the Jewish community are aware of, amusing anecdotes, and thoughts on where this relationship is headed.
Speakers
avatar for Larry Brook

Larry Brook

Larry Brook is the founding publisher and editor of Southern Jewish Life, which began as The Southern Shofar in 1990 and now serves the Jewish communities of four states. He has also developed Israel InSight, a publication for Christian supporters of Israel. A Birmingham Jewish... Read More →

Saturday March 18, 2023 3:30pm - 4:30pm CDT
Congregation Gates of Prayer Room 1
  Contemporary Jewish Life and Identity

3:30pm CDT

Understanding Trends in Contempory Jewish Life: A Guide for the Perplexed and the Curious
The following trends in contemporary American Jewish life are mostly driven by the younger generations: a rise in racial and ethnic diversity and in gender fluidity, increasing socioeconomic diversity, decreasing rates of affiliation with Jewish institutions and increasing rates of do-it-yourself (DIY) Judaism, increasing reliance on social media alongside decreasing reliance on institutional authority (such as clergy or subject matter experts), and increasing anti-Semitism and political tensions (over Israel) on college campuses. How can we redesign organizations and programs to account for these trends? For example, as younger generations come to embrace gender fluidity, how do spaces that are organized around the gender binary (e.g., boys’ and girls’ cabins at summer camp) need to change?
Speakers
avatar for Ilana Horwitz

Ilana Horwitz

Dr. Ilana Horwitz is an Assistant Professor of Jewish Studies and Sociology, and the Fields-Rayant Chair of Contemporary Jewish Life at the Grant Center for the American Jewish Experience at Tulane University. Dr. Horwitz’s research has appeared in leading academic and public outlets... Read More →

Saturday March 18, 2023 3:30pm - 4:30pm CDT
Congregation Gates of Prayer Lake Library
  Contemporary Jewish Life and Identity

3:30pm CDT

Leon Godchaux: A New Orleans Legend, His Creole Slave and His Jewish Roots
Peter Wolf will share the fascinating life story of his great-great grandfather, Leon Godchaux who emigrated alone from Alsace-Lorraine to New Orleans in 1837 as a penniless, illiterate, Jewish thirteen-year-old. By the end of his intrigue-filled career, Leon Godchaux was the owner of fourteen plantations, the most productive and scientifically advanced sugar producer, and the largest taxpayer in the state –  the acknowledged  “Sugar King of Louisiana.” He refused to enter the sugar business until slavery ended, and his economic rise was enabled by two Black men. Unsympathetic to the Lost Cause, caught up in the Civil War, and negotiating through Reconstruction and Jim Crow, he was also able to build a retail, wholesale. and manufacturing clothing empire and gained a new nickname, the "Duke of Clothing.”
Speakers
avatar for Peter M. Wolf

Peter M. Wolf

Peter Wolf, a fifth-generation New Orleans native, is the Sugar King, Leon Godchaux's great-great grandson. He is an award-winning author whose memoir, My New Orleans Gone Away, reached the New York Times e-book Best Seller list. Previous books such as Land in America, Hot Towns... Read More →

Saturday March 18, 2023 3:30pm - 4:30pm CDT
Congregation Gates of Prayer Board Room
  Southern Jewish Life

3:30pm CDT

Jewish Meditation: Building the Temple Within
How is Jewish Meditation different from all other meditation?  We will explore the vocabulary of Jewish spirituality and engage in meditation techniques based on ancient and modern wisdom. The practices, designed to open our inner world, further our self-knowledge and allow us to become channels to bring compassion, lovingkindness, and peace into the world. In addition, we develop our capacity to root ourselves in the Divine Presence as we walk through our days.
Speakers
avatar for Anne Brener

Anne Brener

Rabbi Anne Brener, a native New Orleanian, is a psychotherapist, spiritual director, and author of Mourning & Mitzvah: Walking the Mourner’s Path (Jewish Lights, 1993 & 2001). Ordained as a Reform rabbi, she is professor of Ritual and Human Development at the Academy for Jewish... Read More →

Saturday March 18, 2023 3:30pm - 4:30pm CDT
Congregation Gates of Prayer Sanctuary
  Spirituality

3:30pm CDT

Reish Lakish and Masculinity
Using talmudic sources about the sage Reish Lakish, a bandit turned renowned Torah scholar, we will explore what we can learn about Judaism's perspective on masculinity. We will then ask how this can help us create a contemporary paradigm of what a healthy masculinity can look like.
Speakers
avatar for Phil Kaplan

Phil Kaplan

Rabbi Phil Kaplan grew up in New York, graduated from CUNY-Queens College with a BA in Jewish Studies, and received semicha from Yeshivat Chovevei Torah in 2019. Rabbi Phil currently serves as rabbi of Congregation Beth Israel in Metairie. He and his wife, Abra Kaplan, have two sons... Read More →

Saturday March 18, 2023 3:30pm - 4:30pm CDT
Congregation Gates of Prayer Adult Lounge
  Text and Thought

4:45pm CDT

Reporting Live from Yiddishland
This is a dispatch from 21st-century Yiddishland, a borderless country where the language lives and thrives and attracts new talents, new learners — and even new words — all the time. What is the place of Yiddish today, and how are its contemporary speakers playing with the language? We will look into new Yiddish plays, music videos, books, even memes. Mikhi, a Yiddish cultural activist and artist in New York, will present on some of his own new works, as well as those of others in this international language community. Ober genug geredt, but enough said! Come and experience it for yourself — and maybe be ready to fashion a Yiddish neologism of your own.
Speakers
avatar for Mikhl Yashinsky

Mikhl Yashinsky

Actor-singer, director, playwright, and Yiddishist, Mikhl Yashinsky (he/him) was born in Detroit, educated at Harvard, and now lives in Manhattan. With the National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene, he performed in the Yiddish-language Fiddler on the Roof (dir. Joel Grey) and in The Sorceress... Read More →

Saturday March 18, 2023 4:45pm - 5:45pm CDT
Congregation Gates of Prayer Lake Library
  Contemporary Jewish Life and Identity

4:45pm CDT

A ‘Warm Peace’ in the Middle East? Cultural Diplomacy and the Abraham Accords
The US-brokered (2020) Abraham Accords helped deliver unprecedented partnerships and bilateral agreements between Israel, Morocco, Sudan, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates, which include novel cultural, strategic, tech, and economic exchanges. The new, yet rapidly growing Jewish community in Dubai, with more than 3,000 members, as well as synagogues and kosher restaurants, is just one unique marker of what is being termed the “new Middle East.” In this presentation, we will explore ways in which Israel and her regional allies are engaging in cultural diplomacy—like a series of extraordinary musical engagements and exchanges between Israel, the UAE, and Morocco—as they seek to unroot deeply entrenched mistrust between Israelis and Arab populations and encourage people-to-people relations.
Speakers
avatar for Eli Sperling

Eli Sperling

From 2012–2020, Eli served as the Senior Academic Research Coordinator at Emory University’s Institute for the Study of Modern Israel and taught as a guest professor in Emory’s Tam Institute for Jewish Studies from 2019–2020. From June 2020-July 2022, Eli served as a Postdoctoral... Read More →

Saturday March 18, 2023 4:45pm - 5:45pm CDT
Congregation Gates of Prayer Bart Room
  Israel

4:45pm CDT

Cancel Culture in the Torah?
Canceling is not just a modern cultural phenomenon. In fact, the Jews basically invented cancel culture. Remember when God canceled humanity with the flood? But like all great gifts the Jewish people have given the world, canceling is not as simple as we make it. There are nuances and sacred obligations to what we call "cancel culture." Join us for this session...otherwise you will definitely be canceled...oh, never mind.
Speakers
avatar for David Gerber

David Gerber

Rabbi David Gerber is the senior rabbi at Congregation Gates of Prayer in Metairie. Before studying to become a rabbi, he was a stockbroker and financial planner. He and his wife Lauren have two daughters, three cats, and one dog: they are a big, happy family.

Saturday March 18, 2023 4:45pm - 5:45pm CDT
Congregation Gates of Prayer Sanctuary
  Text and Thought, Contemporary Jewish Life and Identity

6:00pm CDT

Antisemitism in the Region
Speakers
avatar for Lindsay Baach Friedmann

Lindsay Baach Friedmann

Lindsay Friedmann is the Regional Director for ADL's South Central Region serving Louisiana, Mississippi, and Arkansas. Since joining ADL in 2013 Lindsay has brought great innovation and energy to the region – expanding No Place for Hate®, establishing an A World of Difference... Read More →

Saturday March 18, 2023 6:00pm - 7:00pm CDT
Congregation Gates of Prayer Lake Library

6:00pm CDT

The Power of the Niggun, a Wordless Melody
A Hasidic tradition, niggunim are meant as mystical prayers, sacred practices, and a path to deepen the soul, expand the spirit, and embrace the divine. In this session, we will explore emotional and spiritual differences between categories of niggunim---fast and slow; those with and without words; those with origins in Jewish traditions and those from a non-Jewish source. We will also learn some new niggunim and even compose some of our own!
Speakers
avatar for Raina Siroty

Raina Siroty

Rabbi Raina Siroty was ordained as a rabbi and cantor from the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in New York and Los Angeles. Since 2017, Rabbi Siroty has served Congregation Gemiluth Chassodim in Alexandria, LA, and every summer has been a faculty member at Henry... Read More →

Saturday March 18, 2023 6:00pm - 7:00pm CDT
Congregation Gates of Prayer Sanctuary
  Spirituality, Music

6:00pm CDT

On God, Changing the World, and True Dedication: Three Empowering Statements of Maimonides
In this session we will study three empowering statements by Maimonides in his magnum opus, Mishne Torah, as enlightened by the teachings of the Lubavitcher Rebbe.
Speakers
avatar for Yossie Nemes

Yossie Nemes

In 1990 Rabbi Yossie and Chanie Nemes were sent by the Lubavitcher Rebbe to Metairie to join the staff of Chabad of Louisiana and to open the Chabad Jewish Center. Our favorite pastimes are teaching adults and children farbrengens (Chasidic soul parties). We love being part of the... Read More →

Saturday March 18, 2023 6:00pm - 7:00pm CDT
Congregation Gates of Prayer Board Room
  Text and Thought

6:00pm CDT

The Mystery of Good and Evil
In this session we will problem of understanding good and evil human behavior in the context of crisis situations like the Holocaust and the civil war in the former Yugoslavia and Biafra, using a short play I wrote, 2051,  as a point of departure.
Speakers
avatar for Barry Ivker

Barry Ivker

Born and raised in Philadelphia, Barry Ivker has a BA in English from the University of Pennsylvania; an MA and PhD in Comparative Literature, with a minor in Jewish studies, from Indiana University; and an MSW from Tulane. He has taught at Indiana, Butler, Dillard, and Xavier Universities... Read More →

Saturday March 18, 2023 6:00pm - 7:00pm CDT
Congregation Gates of Prayer Adult Lounge
  Text and Thought

7:00pm CDT

Seudah Shlishit: The Third Shabbat Meal
Saturday March 18, 2023 7:00pm - 7:45pm CDT
Congregation Gates of Prayer Social Hall

7:45pm CDT

Havdalah and Melavah Malkah
The beauty and the richness of Shabbat can be so sweet that it is difficult to see it come to an end. The symbols of the Havdallah ritual engage our senses and help us acknowledge the transitional time between Shabbat and the rest of the week. This will be followed by music and songs of the Melavah Malkah, capturing the spirit of joy and optimism for the future and its possibilities. Soulful songs will be offered by
Saturday March 18, 2023 7:45pm - 8:30pm CDT
Congregation Gates of Prayer Sanctuary
 
Sunday, March 19
 

8:30am CDT

Registration
Sunday March 19, 2023 8:30am - 10:00am CDT
JCC Lobby

9:00am CDT

Israel Zangwill's *The Melting-Pot* (1908): The Play that Tried to Change History
The term "the melting pot" has been a controversial description of America's immigrant culture for more than a century, often associated with a supposed ideal of assimilation that has been both praised and criticized since it first appeared in a play by the Jewish writer Israel Zangwill. Jewish commentators in particular saw in *The Melting-Pot* (1908) both an unfortunate advocacy of intermarriage and the surprising elevation of an American ideal in a work by a leading Jewish nationalist.  This illustrated talk examines the play itself, its historical context, and the controversies it evoked to get a greater understanding of Zangwill’s goals in promoting America as a welcoming home for the Jews of Europe.  It also considers why, although communal leaders balked at the play’s content, Jewish immigrant audiences flocked to see the play and appreciated its depiction of their lives and their new home.
Speakers
avatar for Meri-Jane Rochelson

Meri-Jane Rochelson

Meri-Jane Rochelson is Professor Emerita of English at Florida International University, affiliated with FIU’s programs in Jewish Studies and Women's and Gender Studies. She is the author of A Jew in the Public Arena: The Career of Israel Zangwill (2008), and has published editions... Read More →

Sunday March 19, 2023 9:00am - 10:00am CDT
JCC 208/209
  Arts and Culture, History

9:00am CDT

Sew...Who Knew Jews Quilted? A History Lesson and a Hands-on Workshop
Quilts are often held up as a way women who lacked education or leisure time stitched stories to pass along to the next generation. While some scholars have argued that the paucity of quilts among Eastern European Jewish immigrants in the 1880-1920s indicates Jews didn’t quilt, quilts were important to Jewish American life in the 1840s-1880s. Throughout this era, American Jewish women used the album and crazy quilts to repair relationships torn by war, travel, and distance. Moreover, the rise of Jewish sewing circles meant sewing was often a community-building rite. In this hands-on workshop we will look at how one particular Jewish album quilt from the 1850s can help us understand the lives and aesthetic experiences of early Jewish women who didn’t leave written records.
Speakers
avatar for Laura Arnold Leibman

Laura Arnold Leibman

Laura Arnold Leibman is Professor of English and Humanities at Reed College, VP of Program (Association of Jewish Studies), and the author of The Art of the Jewish Family: A History of Women in Early New York in Five Objects (Bard Graduate Center, 2020) which won three National Jewish... Read More →

Sunday March 19, 2023 9:00am - 10:00am CDT
JCC Older Adult Lounge
  Arts and Culture, Hands-On Workshops

9:00am CDT

The Ethics of Organ Retrieval....Jewish Views
Newer approaches to organ donation raise significant questions about our definitions of death. This session will discuss whether or not brain death is really death and the newer DCD (donation after cardiac death). In this scenario death is not declared until organ harvest is just about to begin. There are serious ethical questions about DCD. We will address Jewish approaches to when live begins and when it ends.
Speakers
avatar for Carol Gerson

Carol Gerson

Dr. Gerson is a retired pediatric otolaryngologist and an active mohelet with a doctorate in bioethics. She is a faculty member of the medical schools of Northwestern and Tulane universities.

Sunday March 19, 2023 9:00am - 10:00am CDT
JCC Grant Board Room
  Contemporary Jewish Life and Identity

9:00am CDT

The Ancient Synagogue: Origin, Form, and Function
In this session, I will give an archaeological overview of the ancient synagogue building. When and where was the first synagogue built? Why was it needed? What did the first synagogues look like and what did people do in them? How were they furnished and decorated? Backed by archaeological evidence, this session will give an overview of the ancient synagogue building in Israel and the Diaspora from the 2nd century BCE to the 7th century CE.
Speakers
avatar for Tine Rassalle

Tine Rassalle

Dr. Tine Rassalle (she/her) is the curator at the Museum of the Southern Jewish Experience in New Orleans and a biblical archaeologist. She has a BA and MA in Archaeology of the Ancient Near East from Ghent University (Belgium), a BA in Hebrew and Aramaic Cultures from Leiden University... Read More →

Sunday March 19, 2023 9:00am - 10:00am CDT
JCC Library
  History

9:00am CDT

It's All about the Plagues
In this session, we will color Shrinky Dink images of the plagues while we  sing and discuss what it must have been like to suffer the plagues. Once they are colored, we will bake them in an oven and watch them shrink. We will begin with a welcome circle to get to know one another and a closing circle where the children can give feedback.

Recommended for ages 4-8
Speakers
DW

Debbie Wells

Debbie Wells grew up in the New Orleans area and graduated from Tulane. While converting to Judaism, she taught JCC preschool and the traditions and rituals she planned to teach her future children. Debbie took seminars from the Melton Institute and did graduate studies in philosophy... Read More →

Sunday March 19, 2023 9:00am - 10:00am CDT
JCC Teachers Lounge
  Young Limmud

9:30am CDT

Giant Bubble Making: For Kids & Families
This outdoors, interactive giant bubble-making program is for kids of all ages, teens, and parents. Participants will learn the science and secrets of giant bubble making and will explore making bubbles of all sizes using bubble toys & tools made from reclaimed and repurposed materials.

Recommended for kids of all ages and their families
Speakers
avatar for Jennette Ginsburg (she/ her)

Jennette Ginsburg (she/ her)

Jennette Ginsburg is an artist, teacher, horticulturist, and founder, owner, and lead facilitator at Hey Now Productions, a New Orleans-based small business that offers unique event programming focusing on joy making, creativity, inspiration, and movement. She was born and raised... Read More →

Sunday March 19, 2023 9:30am - 10:00am CDT
JCC Nursery School Playground
  Young Limmud

10:15am CDT

Passover Jam
Learn all about Passover with this fun and interactive concert. There will be singing, movement, stories, puppets, bubbles, and more!

Recommended for ages 0-5 and their families
Speakers
avatar for Carla Friend

Carla Friend

Carla Friend is the founder & executive director of Tkiya, a nonprofit organization that uses participatory music experiences to help thousands of families find their unique connection with Jewish culture and community through Carla’s educational approach. She is a 2018 recipient... Read More →

Sunday March 19, 2023 10:15am - 11:00am CDT
JCC Auditorium
  Young Limmud, Jewish Holidays

10:15am CDT

Portals and Personal Symbols
Across religious traditions, enclosure denotes holiness. in Judaism, we might think about the ark holding the Torahs, or the Chuppah that encloses the couple about to be married. In this workshop, we'll look at various portals, enclosures, and symbols in the Jewish tradition - including some images of Jewish sites from my recent trip to Morocco - and think about what these symbols mean in both the personal and the broader cultural sense. Finally, each person will make a collage featuring a cut-out enclosure/portal and a symbol of their choice, whether religious or personal. (Or take the collage home and add your own special memento later).
Speakers
avatar for Emma Fick

Emma Fick

Emma Fick was born in Covington, Louisiana in 1991. She has published three illustrated books: Snippets of Serbia, in 2015; Snippets of New Orleans, in 2017; and Border Crossings: A Journey on the Trans-Siberian Railway, in 2022. Her current work, all watercolor and ink on paper... Read More →

Sunday March 19, 2023 10:15am - 11:15am CDT
JCC Art Room
  Arts and Culture

10:15am CDT

Giant Bubble Making: Finding the Spiritual and Sublime -- For Adults Only
This outdoors, interactive giant bubble-making program is for GROWN UPS ONLY. Participants will learn the artistry of bubble making and how to use it as a beneficial movement and meditation practice.

Speakers
avatar for Jennette Ginsburg (she/ her)

Jennette Ginsburg (she/ her)

Jennette Ginsburg is an artist, teacher, horticulturist, and founder, owner, and lead facilitator at Hey Now Productions, a New Orleans-based small business that offers unique event programming focusing on joy making, creativity, inspiration, and movement. She was born and raised... Read More →

Sunday March 19, 2023 10:15am - 11:15am CDT
JCC Nursery School Playground
  Hands-On Workshops, Spirituality

10:15am CDT

The Beatles Magical Mystery Tour and Yellow Submarine
This audio/visual presentation covers the Beatles phenomenal post-Pepper phase. During the ten-month period following the completion of Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, the group wrote and recorded a song for live satellite broadcast throughout the world, “All You Need Is Love;” wrote and recorded the songs for a television movie that they produced, directed, wrote and starred in, Magical Mystery Tour; wrote the songs for and inspired the innovative, psychedelic mod-odyssey feature length cartoon, Yellow Submarine; and recorded a trio of totally diverse songs, the group’s return to rock ’n’ roll with Paul’s Fats Domino-styled, pianodriven hit single “Lady Madonna,” George’s lovely “The Inner Light,” whose musical backing was recorded in India with Indian instruments and musicians; and John’s majestic “Across the Universe.” The presentation features audio and video clips of the Beatles that will take you on a Magical Mystery Tour of the swinging sixties.
Speakers
avatar for Bruce Spizer

Bruce Spizer

Bruce Spizer is a lifelong native of New Orleans and a first-generation Beatles fan. He is considered one of the world’s leading experts on the Beatles. A “taxman” by day, Bruce is a board-certified tax attorney. A “paperback writer” by night, Bruce is the author of 14 critically... Read More →

Sunday March 19, 2023 10:15am - 11:15am CDT
JCC Grant Board Room
  Music

10:15am CDT

The Sixteen Jewish Cemeteries of New Orleans, 1828-2023
There are sixteen Jewish Cemeteries in New Orleans, administered by seven local cemetery associations. All the cemeteries have been re-mapped in the last five years. Come learn more about each cemetery's story, its headstones, and its secrets from the community members who work to administer, maintain, and preserve them. Come discuss the future of our community's cemeteries, their challenges, and their improvements.
Speakers
avatar for Jakob Rosenzweig

Jakob Rosenzweig

Jakob Rosenzweig is a cartographer based in New Orleans. From 2017 to 2022, he worked with seven local Jewish cemetery associations to re-map their cemeteries through a process of field visits, historic document research, and Microsoft Excel.
avatar for Clifford Kern

Clifford Kern

Cliff is the Executive Director of Hebrew Rest Cemetery Association, Inc., having taken over from Herbert Barton upon his retirement in 2018. Cliff is a Bio-Medical consultant and has worked as a professor and researcher throughout his career. He is a past president of Congregation... Read More →

Sunday March 19, 2023 10:15am - 11:15am CDT
JCC Older Adult Lounge
  Southern Jewish Life

10:15am CDT

Grief and Joy (and Bringing Cake): A 2023 Mourner's Guide
When author, Merissa Nathan Gerson moved to New Orleans, it was to take a giant leap into a new thrilling life. And within a week her father was mysteriously in the hospital. Within two months, he had died of a rare brain disease. She navigated loss in the throes of New Orleans - Second Lines, Mardi Gras, and all. This session uses elements from her book, Forget Prayers, Bring Cake: A Single Woman's Guide to Grieving, to discuss the brutal mix of grief in the modern, mixed with compounded grief related to inherited trauma. We will explore ideas of ancient grieving rituals meant to alchemize misery into exultation, from New Orleans to Hasidism, and back.
Speakers
avatar for Merissa Gerson

Merissa Gerson

Merissa Nathan Gerson is the author of Forget Prayers, Bring Cake: A Single Woman’s Guide to Grieving (Mandala Publishing / Simon & Schuster, August 2021). She was the intergenerational trauma consultant to Amazon's hit show Transparent and has writing featured in the New York... Read More →

Sunday March 19, 2023 10:15am - 11:15am CDT
JCC 208/209
  Spirituality

10:15am CDT

Both/And: What's Our Southern and Jewish?
Teens will explore their complex both/and identities through the both/and identity of southern and Jewish through the resources of the Museum of the Southern Jewish Experience.
Speakers
avatar for Lizzi Meister

Lizzi Meister

Lizzi Meister is the Public Programs Manager at the Museum of the Southern Jewish Experience. She is originally from Milwaukee, Wisconsin where she went to Jewish summer camp in the north wood, and got a taste for creating engaging programming. Her love for the South came during her... Read More →

Sunday March 19, 2023 10:15am - 11:15am CDT
JCC Teachers Lounge
  Teen Limmud

10:15am CDT

Wish You Were Okay
Feeling stressed and in need of tools to calm down? Struggling to support a friend who is experiencing depression, anxiety, dating violence, suicidal thoughts, addiction, or another mental health issue? Want to empower a friend through exploration of a new gender identity or sexual orientation? Leah Krandel, LCSW will lead teens through self-care techniques and audience-provided scenarios to promote wellness and safety for all. This program is designed for those under 18; if you are young at heart but significantly over 18, please enjoy a different session :)  

Speakers
avatar for Leah Krandel

Leah Krandel

Leah Krandel is a social worker, educator, and social justice activist who has called New Orleans home for the past 10 years. She is a proud mama, an avid reader, and a big fan of the podcast "Dolly Parton's America." 

Sunday March 19, 2023 10:15am - 11:15am CDT
JCC Dance Room
  Teen Limmud

10:15am CDT

It’s Rocket Science: Torah Teachings from Space Travel
The Baal Shem Tov taught that there is Torah in everything we observe in the world. Rocket Science – one of the great achievements of the 20th century – is full of inspiring lessons that can guide us through our lives. In this class, we will examine two basic principles of rocket science and learn what their spiritual parallels are, based on the insights of the Chasidic masters.
Speakers
avatar for Yochanan Rivkin

Yochanan Rivkin

Rabbi Yochanan Rivkin is the director of Chabad at Tulane and the spiritual leader of Congregation Anshe Sfard. He is a lifelong resident of New Orleans and loves learning about science, Torah and their connection.

Sunday March 19, 2023 10:15am - 11:15am CDT
JCC Library
  Text and Thought

10:15am CDT

Living Legacy Torah Workshop
The workshop discusses Torah scrolls using visual aids such as animal hides, parchments, feather quills, ink, Atzei Chayim (Torah poles) and posters. It provides an overview of the tools, materials, and methods used in the writing of a Torah scroll, as well as the actual writing process and its laws. The highlight of the program is the actual hands-on writing of letters on a parchment. Each child will have the opportunity to write their name in Torah script on a piece of real parchment, which is in turn fastened to a pin to create a name tag.

Recommended ages 4-12.
Speakers
avatar for Mendel Rivkin

Mendel Rivkin

Rabbi Mendel Rivkin considers himself privileged to be part of this wonderful New Orleans Jewish community where he serves a Chabad Rabbi. As an emissary of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, he places high value on meaningful Jewish learning. He, his wife Malkie, and their children love hosting... Read More →

Sunday March 19, 2023 10:15am - 11:15am CDT
JCC Teen Lounge
  Young Limmud

11:15am CDT

Hands-On Passover
Get ready for Passover with this fun and interactive experience. We will sing, learn the Passover story, and engage with different pieces of the Seder by making our own charoset, matzah, and more!

Recommended for kids ages 5 and up
Speakers
avatar for Carla Friend

Carla Friend

Carla Friend is the founder & executive director of Tkiya, a nonprofit organization that uses participatory music experiences to help thousands of families find their unique connection with Jewish culture and community through Carla’s educational approach. She is a 2018 recipient... Read More →

Sunday March 19, 2023 11:15am - 11:30am CDT
JCC Auditorium
  Young Limmud, Jewish Holidays

11:15am CDT

Storytime Yoga
Join us for family yoga with Jewish stories as our guide for movement!

Recommended for kids of all ages and their families
Speakers
avatar for Chelsea Hylton

Chelsea Hylton

Chelsea Hylton is the Director of the Sherry and Alan Leventhal Center for Interfaith Families of the Jewish Federation of Greater New Orleans. As a partner in an interfaith marriage and as a new parent raising a child in the Jewish community, she feels deeply connected to the initiative... Read More →

Sunday March 19, 2023 11:15am - 11:45am CDT
JCC Babysitting Room
  Young Limmud, Family

11:30am CDT

3D Judaica: Laser Cut Your Own Passover Art
Try your hand at creating your own three-dimensional laser-cut Judaica. In this hands-on session, you will have the opportunity to pick out a digital template, add a bit of flair, and watch in real time as your artwork is laser cut from wood. Paint on some finishing touches and marvel at your creation. This session is being led by Peter Seltzer of Petes Papercrafts who will be bringing a laser cutter on site. This session is aimed at older kids 8+ to adults. Due to time constraints, attendance is limited to 12 participants. Line up early to ensure a spot! 
Speakers
avatar for Peter Seltzer

Peter Seltzer

Peter Seltzer is an entrepreneur and artist based in New Orleans. His varied background includes stints as a park ranger in Nevada and as a paramedic for the City of New Orleans. Peter founded and is the executive director of Gateway EMS Training. His organization provides EMT training... Read More →

Sunday March 19, 2023 11:30am - 12:30pm CDT
JCC Art Room
  Arts and Culture, Teen Limmud

11:30am CDT

The Missing Jew: Reading and Discussion with Rodger Kamenetz

A truly Jewish poetry begins in silence, as the psalmist says, 'To You silence is praise." And then so many words follow. The poetic impulse, the impulse to name the silence, is at the secret core of Jewish life, for the Torah is one long poem full of names of God. The Missing Jew represents nearly fifty years of my work in poetry, it is the book that brought me to Louisiana to teach at LSU. Themes of exile, immigration, silence, mysticism, community, sorrow, and joy will lead us to a dialogue from heart to heart.
Speakers
avatar for Rodger Kamenetz

Rodger Kamenetz

Rodger Kamenetz is a proud New Orleans resident, founder of the Jewish Studies minor at LSU, Professor Emeritus of English and Religious Studies, winner of the National Jewish Book Award, author of 15 books of poetry and prose including The Jew in the Lotus, The History of Last Night's... Read More →

Sunday March 19, 2023 11:30am - 12:30pm CDT
JCC Teachers Lounge
  Arts and Culture

11:30am CDT

Adam and Adamah: People and Planet

Come hear about how Jewish individuals and organizations are responding to the planetary crisis and changing the nature of what it means to be Jewish in the 21st century. We will talk about work of Hazon, the largest faith-based environmental organization in the U.S: Jewish farming and food connections; teen organizers; and how the largest Jewish organizations are reducing their carbon emissions.
Speakers
avatar for Shamu Sadeh

Shamu Sadeh

Shamu teaches about Judaism and ecology; cares for chickens, goats, and orchards; and schlepps a lot of compost. He is the co-founder of the Adamah Farm and Fellowship at the Isabella Freedman Jewish Retreat Center and lives there with his wife and three kids.

Sunday March 19, 2023 11:30am - 12:30pm CDT
JCC Older Adult Lounge
  Contemporary Jewish Life and Identity

11:30am CDT

Pandemics and Other Plagues: A Jewish Bioethical Response
Many bioethical issues that once seemed hypothetical were very real during the height of the pandemic. How do we distribute limited resources? When we run out of vital supplies, space, staff, or equipment, what criteria may we ethically use to distribute scarce resources? Do we assign a higher value to some lives? When we don’t have enough, do we use an algorithm based on medical criteria alone or a simple lottery ir consider social value? Add to this a variety of vaccine bioethical questions. How do we distribute vaccines when they are scarce?  How do we deal with the vaccine-resistant when they put the rest of us at risk? What do our sacred texts tell us about such decisions? We will look at how Jewish sources--biblical, rabbinic, and modern--would have us address ethically difficult decisions.
Speakers
avatar for Gary Gerson

Gary Gerson

Rabbi Gary S. Gerson served as Senior Rabbi of Oak Park Temple B’nai Abraham Zion in the Chicago suburbs from 1979 to 2009. As Rabbi Emeritus, he teaches courses in Jewish text, Kabbalah, Jewish thought, and comparative religion. A Fulbright scholar and Adjunct Faculty at Loyola... Read More →

Sunday March 19, 2023 11:30am - 12:30pm CDT
JCC Library
  Contemporary Jewish Life and Identity

11:30am CDT

Black-Jewish Relations Across the Iron Curtain: Paul Robeson and the Jewish Anti-Fascist Committee
Before Rabbis Heschel and Dresner were marching with Martin Luther King Jr. in the civil rights movement, Jews and African Americans were forming bonds over shared struggles for liberation with the Soviet Union as their guiding light. Using the example of Paul Robeson and the Jewish anti-Fascist Committee, this presentation looks at the complicated friendship between the famed African American singer and actor Paul Robeson and the doomed Yiddish writers of the Jewish anti-Fascist Committee to explore points of commonality and divergence in global experiences of marginalization.
Speakers
avatar for Ilana McQuinn

Ilana McQuinn

Dr. Ilana McQuinn has a PhD from the University of Chicago in Jewish History. Her research and interests focus on Jewish experiences in the communist bloc, the creation and development of Holocaust memory, and the creation of cultural and social sympathies across community lines... Read More →

Sunday March 19, 2023 11:30am - 12:30pm CDT
JCC 208/209
  History, Contemporary Jewish Life and Identity

11:30am CDT

"You’ve Got to be Carefully Taught": Tikkun Olam and the American Musical Theater
Through images, words and music, this session will explore the relationship between Tikkun Olam (repair of the world) and American musical theater: musicals for the Broadway stage written by Jewish composers from the 1920s to the present day. Broadway musicals have for many years instructed, taught, and made audiences think in a way that can lead to a better and more compassionate understanding of the world around us. This program will begin with the ground-breaking work of Jerome Kern, George Gershwin, Rodgers and Hammerstein, Leonard Bernstein, Lerner and Loewe, and Harold Rome.  More contemporary musicals such as Falsettos and Dear Evan Hansen will also be covered.
Speakers
avatar for George Dansker

George Dansker

George Dansker, a long-time New Orleans resident, is a retired reference librarian and noted Broadway historian. George has presented the popular Jewish Composer Lecture Series at Touro Synagogue since 2009. He has also lectured for BroadwayCon, NOCCA, Tulane University, the New Orleans... Read More →

Sunday March 19, 2023 11:30am - 12:30pm CDT
JCC Grant Board Room
  Music

11:30am CDT

The Map to Menschhood: How Taking Care of Kids at Camp Gets You Ready for Your Future
Why is it that when you are surrounded by little kids you somehow wiser and more mature than when surrounded by your peers? Something happens when we're put in charge of others; it changes how we view ourselves in a way that affects not just our actions but also our way of viewing the world. This session will look at some research behind that phenomenon and how this experience can open up leadership and professional opportunities in the future.  
Speakers
avatar for Bradley Phillipson

Bradley Phillipson

Dr. Brad Philipson is the Oscar J. Tolmas Head of School at Jewish Community Day School of Greater New Orleans. He has worked in education since 2001 and in outdoor education and summer camps from the time he was in high school and college in the mid-1990s through 2011. In addition... Read More →

Sunday March 19, 2023 11:30am - 12:30pm CDT
JCC Teen Lounge
  Teen Limmud

11:30am CDT

Beyond the Music: Chanting the Torah
In this session we’ll explore stories of preserving and interpreting our most sacred texts, ultimately leading to the invention of ta’amei hamikra — the cantillation marks in the Bible. From their origin as a creation of the Masoretes more than one thousand years ago, this complex system has served as a powerful tool for understanding these sacred texts and communicating them in a way that reflects the meaning of each phrase.
Speakers
avatar for Kevin Margolius

Kevin Margolius

Kevin Margolius is the Cantor at Touro Synagogue. Originally from Cleveland, Ohio, he graduated with a BS in Quantitative Economics from Tufts University and received an MA in Jewish Studies and cantorial ordination from Hebrew College, where he serves on faculty as a cantorial coach... Read More →

Sunday March 19, 2023 11:30am - 12:30pm CDT
JCC Dance Room
  Text and Thought

12:30pm CDT

Lunch for Everyone!
Sunday March 19, 2023 12:30pm - 1:30pm CDT
JCC Auditorium

1:00pm CDT

Book Signing with our Presenter Authors
Sunday March 19, 2023 1:00pm - 1:30pm CDT
JCC Lobby

1:30pm CDT

Where Does Jewish Culture and Ancestry Live In Our Bodies? A Movement Exploration
How are our bodies influenced and impacted by our Jewish culture, family traditions, and  inherited trauma? What do we carry in our bodies as we move through our communities, from our daily lives to the dance floor? In this session, we will explore the ways that we embody Jewishness and finds areas of celebration and healing. Laura will teach several dance practices that allow deeper mind-body connection and encourage physical release. The workshop will include movement, journaling, and group discussion. Set up a space where you can move without obstruction and wear comfortable exercise clothes.
Speakers
avatar for Laura Stein

Laura Stein

Laura Stein is the co-founder and Executive Director of Dancing Grounds (DG), a nonprofit organization that brings inclusive and accessible dance programs to people of all ages in New Orleans. Originally from Philadelphia, she has lived in New Orleans since 2012. From 2003-2011, Laura... Read More →

Sunday March 19, 2023 1:30pm - 2:30pm CDT
JCC Dance Room
  Arts and Culture, Dance

1:30pm CDT

Spring Holy Days: Passover & Easter – What Do They Share in Common and What Makes Them Holy?
Join Rabbi Sherman in a timely dialogue on the upcoming holidays. What features do Passover and Easter share and what makes them holy?
Speakers
avatar for Daniel Sherman

Daniel Sherman

Rabbi Daniel Sherman, the rabbi of Temple Sinai, was raised in Tulsa, Oklahoma and is a lifelong product of the Reform Movement, having grown up in a Reform congregation, attending URJ summer camps, and being involved in NFTY. He was ordained at the Hebrew Union College–Jewish Institute... Read More →

Sunday March 19, 2023 1:30pm - 2:30pm CDT
JCC Teachers Lounge
  Contemporary Jewish Life and Identity, Family

1:30pm CDT

Keeping It Holey
What kind of bagel can fly?
A plain bagel!
How do you hold a bagel back?
With lox!
In our session we’ll talk a bit about why bagels mean so much to the Jewish culture as well as the world. We will also make a few bagels of our own, nosh, kibbitz, and all that other Yiddish!
Speakers
avatar for Noam Yaillen

Noam Yaillen

Noam Yaillen grew up in Baltimore and attended Oberlin College. His passions have long been in in food, sweet and savory, as well as youth education and leadership. He has worked at restaurants and Jewish summer camps from Baltimore to California. He also loves dogs and volunteers... Read More →

Sunday March 19, 2023 1:30pm - 2:30pm CDT
JCC Kitchen
  Food

1:30pm CDT

To Bigotry No Sanction: Exploring the Historical Context of American Jewish Identity
American Jewish identity has been shaped by a truly unique American Jewish experience. Never in our history have Jews known freedom, security, and access to power as we have in the United States. Because half the world’s Jewish population lives in North America, how American Jewish identity has taken shape is extremely consequential for the future of the world’s Jews and for the Judaism they express. In this session, we will explore the context in which that identity has been formed and some of the unique challenges and opportunities that emerge as it continues to evolve.  Through a discussion of key historical moments and contemporary dynamics, we will unpack elements of that identity we share and how it can be instrumentalized for the sake of building the kind of community and world we wish to see, including when it comes to addressing anti-Semitism, racism, and building solidarity among Jews around the world.

Speakers
avatar for Michael Cohen

Michael Cohen

Michael Cohen is a professor and chair of Jewish Studies at Tulane University, where he holds a Sizeler Professorship. He is the author of Cotton Capitalists: American Jewish Entrepreneurship in the Reconstruction Era (2017) and The Birth of Conservative Judaism: Solomon Schechter's... Read More →
avatar for Katie Bauman

Katie Bauman

Born in New Orleans, Rabbi Bauman is overjoyed to have the opportunity to serve the synagogue that has been so important in her family story. After being ordained at the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, she spent the first ten years of her rabbinate at Temple Israel... Read More →

Sunday March 19, 2023 1:30pm - 2:30pm CDT
JCC 208/209
  History

1:30pm CDT

Ben Jaffe: My Life in Music
Ben Jaffe, the son of the founders of Preservation Hall, has carried on in his parents' spirit as Creative Director and bass player at Preservation Hall.  He has spent his life traversing the world, performing in front of audiences worldwide and collaborating with artists from all walks of life.  Born and raised in the cradle of New Orleans Music, Ben has seen, heard, and lived it all. According to Ben, "What I’ve learned through our collaborations and travels is, in the words of Charlie Gabriel,  'musical conversation really does cancel out complications.'”
Speakers
avatar for Ben Jaffe

Ben Jaffe

As a son of Preservation Hall co-founders Allan and Sandra Jaffe, Ben has lived his whole life with the rhythm of the French Quarter pulsing through his veins. Raised in the company of New Orleans’ greatest musicians, Ben returned from his collegiate education at Oberlin College... Read More →

Sunday March 19, 2023 1:30pm - 2:30pm CDT
JCC Grant Board Room
  Music, Southern Jewish Life and Identity

1:30pm CDT

Join the Brand-New LimmudFest Choir, the Lyrical Limmudniks, Part II
Do you just love to sing? Do you catch yourself harmonizing during Shabbat services? Come join the LimmudFest Choir and show off those vocal cords! Learn contemporary and traditional Jewish pieces to perform for the community on the final day of Limmud. No singing experience necessary, just a love for singing and an open-mindedness to collaborate.
Speakers
avatar for Jordan Lawrence

Jordan Lawrence

Jordan Lawrence is the Cantorial Soloist and Director of Family Engagement at Congregation Gates of Prayer. She finds deep connections with people of all ages through meaningful conversation, Jewish practice, and music. Jordan has a rich background in musical theater and Israeli dancing... Read More →

Sunday March 19, 2023 1:30pm - 2:30pm CDT
JCC Teen Lounge
  Music

1:30pm CDT

Animating Jewish Community: Four Rabbis' Trip to Paradise
f you ran into God, how would you react? The Talmud tells us a fantastical tale that provides deep insight into the hopes and fears of the rabbis, while offering a window into prognoses for the Jewish future as well. In this session, join Limmud North America CEO Rabbi David Singer to mine ancient and modern texts as we explore opportunities for building a brighter Jewish future, based on belief, cynicism, and the potent power of holy rebellion.

Speakers
avatar for David Singer

David Singer

Named by The Jewish Daily Forward as one of America’s Most Inspiring Rabbis, David Singer is CEO of Limmud North America. He previously served as Executive Director of UC San Diego Hillel and, before that, Associate Rabbi of Congregation Shearith Israel in Dallas, where he was the... Read More →

Sunday March 19, 2023 1:30pm - 2:30pm CDT
JCC Older Adult Lounge
  Text and Thought

1:30pm CDT

The Pikuach Nefesh Principle: Saving One Life at Another’s Expense?
We will dig into one of Judaism’s foremost principles, preservation of life, to see how this grand ideal operates in challenging, real-world scenarios. We will explore how Halachic thinkers draw on Talmudic cases (of collapsed buildings on Shabbat, water scarcity in desert travel, and others) to navigate the horrific choices Jews faced in the Holocaust, and a dramatic case of conjoined twins in 1977.
Speakers
avatar for Mendel Rivkin

Mendel Rivkin

Rabbi Mendel Rivkin considers himself privileged to be part of this wonderful New Orleans Jewish community where he serves a Chabad Rabbi. As an emissary of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, he places high value on meaningful Jewish learning. He, his wife Malkie, and their children love hosting... Read More →

Sunday March 19, 2023 1:30pm - 2:30pm CDT
JCC Library
  Text and Thought

1:30pm CDT

Passover Fun with PJ Library
Join PJ Library for an engaging hour of Passover stories, crafts, puzzles and games. Best suited for children 6-12.
Speakers
avatar for Bonnie Lustig

Bonnie Lustig

Sometimes called "the PJ Library lady" by the children of this community, Bonnie Lustig, LCSW, runs the Special Needs Program of JCRS, where she also administers PJ Library-Louisiana, bringing beloved Jewish stories to children since 2008. A lifelong Jewish educator, Miss Bonnie has... Read More →

Sunday March 19, 2023 1:30pm - 2:30pm CDT
JCC Covered Outdoor Space
  Young Limmud

2:45pm CDT

Holy Ink and Climate Change
In this hands-on art session, you will discover what an oak gall is, how to find one, and how to create iron oak gall ink—the ink used by scribes to write the Torah and other Jewish holy books—which is harvested from galls growing on Louisiana oak trees. Learn about the history of this medieval ink and how it relates to my search as an artist for a more sustainable art practice as I create artwork about living in a time of global warming, and specifically what this means to those of us living in Southern Louisiana. You will also create you own pen from bamboo and leave with a small bottle of your own handmade ink.

Speakers
avatar for Hannah Chalew

Hannah Chalew

Hannah Chalew is an artist, educator. and environmental activist from New Orleans. She received her BA from Brandeis University in 2009 and her MFA from the Cranbrook Academy of Art in 2016. Chalew has exhibited widely around New Orleans and across the United States. Her work is held... Read More →

Sunday March 19, 2023 2:45pm - 3:45pm CDT
JCC Art Room
  Arts and Culture, Hands-On Workshops

2:45pm CDT

Laughter, Tears, Curtain: A Yiddish Theatre Workshop

This is Adar, the month of purim-shpiln, the biblical-themed, ragtag, tragicomic performances that gave rise to the Yiddish theatre — so let's put on a little Yiddish play! We will examine some of the history of Yiddish theatre as an art form and then put the art into practice by studying and workshopping a scene from an actual historic Yiddish play on the theme of akeydes-yitskhok (the binding of Isaac). We will "brekhn di tseyn" (break our teeth) on the language together, learning to sound it out and understand it, and then work on staging parts of the drama in groups. No Yiddish or theatrical background necessary — we will simply shpil (play) together, as the best purim-shpilers do!


Speakers
avatar for Mikhl Yashinsky

Mikhl Yashinsky

Actor-singer, director, playwright, and Yiddishist, Mikhl Yashinsky (he/him) was born in Detroit, educated at Harvard, and now lives in Manhattan. With the National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene, he performed in the Yiddish-language Fiddler on the Roof (dir. Joel Grey) and in The Sorceress... Read More →

Sunday March 19, 2023 2:45pm - 3:45pm CDT
JCC Auditorium
  Arts and Culture

2:45pm CDT

Antisemitism and Racism in Sports: Can Jewish and African American Athletes and Leaders Effectively Combat It?
This timely and important session will involve dialogue with two local community leaders, David Hammer and Arnie Fielkow, both with sports backgrounds, who will discuss recent events involving prominent celebrities and athletes who have made disturbing antisemitic and bigoted remarks. David and Arnie will also be featuring a national guest who can weigh in on this topic. Please join us for what undoubtedly will be a very lively discussion.


Speakers
OT

Oliver Thomas

The Honorable Oliver M. Thomas, Jr. was elected in 2021 to serve as Councilmember of District E in Orleans Parish. A native of the Lower Ninth Ward, he established early on a proven track record of effective and efficient leadership. He served on the New Orleans City Council from... Read More →
avatar for Arnie Fielkow

Arnie Fielkow

Arnie Fielkow was CEO and president of the Jewish Federation of Greater New Orleans for five years, stepping down earlier this year. Under his tenure, the Goldring Family Foundation for Jewish-Multicultural Affairs and the Sherry and Alan Leventhal Center for Interfaith Families were... Read More →
avatar for David Hammer

David Hammer

A seventh-generation New Orleanian and five-time Emmy winner, David Hammer has more than two decades of investigative reporting experience. He joined the WWL-TV Eyewitness News team in New Orleans in 2012 after a 15-year career as a print and wire reporter, including almost six years... Read More →
TD

Tim Duncan

Tim Duncan is the Vice President of Athletics and Recreation at the University of New Orleans, after serving as the first African American full-time Director of Athletics in New Orleans history. A forward-thinking leader, Mr. Tim, as the student-athletes say, has an open-door policy... Read More →

Sunday March 19, 2023 2:45pm - 3:45pm CDT
JCC Older Adult Lounge
  Contemporary Jewish Life and Identity

2:45pm CDT

Infertility: Ancient Curse, Modern Blessings
The Torah and Jewish textual sources are replete with references to human fertility, conception, childbirth, and pointedly, the lack thereof. During this session, participants have an opportunity to read and discuss the topic as presented in selected ancient narratives and recent commentary and compare those with contemporary human experiences of infertility. The impact of modern medical technologies will also be discussed. In many ways, the knowledge of modern science seems to highlight the brilliance of and integrate well with the references in the Torah of fertility/infertility. The human experiences seem surprisingly familiar through the millennia.
Speakers
avatar for Barry Ripps

Barry Ripps

Barry A. Ripps, MD graduated from Vanderbilt University, School of Engineering with honors and received a medical degree from the University of Alabama School of Medicine in Birmingham. His residency training in Obstetrics and Gynecology, and fellowship in Reproductive Endocrinology... Read More →

Sunday March 19, 2023 2:45pm - 3:45pm CDT
JCC Library
  Contemporary Jewish Life and Identity

2:45pm CDT

The Kids Are All Kids
In this session, public educator Leah Krandel explores what it means to treat kids like kids, even when it's hard. From her one year-old's propensity for biting to her teenage students who engage in violent crime, Leah will discuss what's challenging about supporting children through tough moments and how she uses the science of brain development, trauma research, and tenets of Judaism to inform a compassionate response.


Speakers
avatar for Leah Krandel

Leah Krandel

Leah Krandel is a social worker, educator, and social justice activist who has called New Orleans home for the past 10 years. She is a proud mama, an avid reader, and a big fan of the podcast "Dolly Parton's America." 

Sunday March 19, 2023 2:45pm - 3:45pm CDT
JCC Dance Room
  Family, Parenting

2:45pm CDT

How Do We Relate to Israel Now? A Mediated Discussion
Israel's November 2022 elections yielded what is argued to be her most politically and religiously conservative government to date. And as the new government begins to pursue its political agenda, many Jews in the diaspora, as well as those in Israel's Left, watch with great anxiety. On the other hand, in Israel, such shifts in national politics are celebrated by many and reflect decades-old evolutions in Israeli demography, society, and culture. In this session, we will explore ways in which we in the diaspora can relate to and understand Israel as a democratic and Jewish state in the early days of its 37th government.
Speakers
avatar for Eli Sperling

Eli Sperling

From 2012–2020, Eli served as the Senior Academic Research Coordinator at Emory University’s Institute for the Study of Modern Israel and taught as a guest professor in Emory’s Tam Institute for Jewish Studies from 2019–2020. From June 2020-July 2022, Eli served as a Postdoctoral... Read More →
avatar for Alison McCrary

Alison McCrary

Alison McCrary is a social justice movement lawyer, strategist, community mediator, transformative justice practitioner, Catholic activist, and an internationally sought-after speaker on social justice, spirituality, and liberation. She has served as a Spiritual Advisor on Louisiana’s... Read More →

Sunday March 19, 2023 2:45pm - 3:45pm CDT
JCC Teachers Lounge
  Israel

2:45pm CDT

The Music and Culture of Middle Eastern & North African Jews (Mizrachi) in Israel
Not many in in the American Jewish community are familiar with the rich culture of the Middle Eastern Jewish diaspora and its effect on Israeli culture. By exploring the music of this culture we can learn about the story of this diaspora, its descendants, and its influences on modern Israeli and Jewish culture. This session will combine a live music performance (of me playing guitar and singing), a brief presentation, and my personal story as a Middle Eastern Israeli Jewish musician. I hope to teach you something new or at the very least offer a new perspective.
Speakers
avatar for Or Shovaly

Or Shovaly

Or Shovaly was born and raised in the suburbs of Tel Aviv to a Jewish family descended from Yemen. He started playing guitar at the age of 10 and ended up moving to New Orleans in 2014 to study at UNO’s jazz program and pursue a musical career. These days Or gives private guitar... Read More →

Sunday March 19, 2023 2:45pm - 3:45pm CDT
JCC Grant Board Room
  Music, Israel

2:45pm CDT

Navigating the Wilderness of Grief
Grief is not an illness. It is a spiritual journey through a wilderness, in which we learn, usually against our will, both what it means to be human and the nature of mature faith. Holy Hebrew words will reframe the psychotherapeutic description of grief’s stages as a spiritual path, as we traverse the landscape of loss, searching, not only for what has been lost, but also for an understanding of YHVH that can nurture the poles of human experience. Using text study, meditation and expressive techniques, we will reframe our understanding of grief, as we explore the Sukkot in which mourners are commanded to dwell temporarily, as they do the holy work prescribed by Psalms: to turn mourning into dancing.
Speakers
avatar for Anne Brener

Anne Brener

Rabbi Anne Brener, a native New Orleanian, is a psychotherapist, spiritual director, and author of Mourning & Mitzvah: Walking the Mourner’s Path (Jewish Lights, 1993 & 2001). Ordained as a Reform rabbi, she is professor of Ritual and Human Development at the Academy for Jewish... Read More →

Sunday March 19, 2023 2:45pm - 3:45pm CDT
JCC 208/209
  Spirituality

4:00pm CDT

Get Up and Dance like an Israeli!
Ready to shake your tuchus? Israeli folk dance has been around since the First Aliyah and continues to develop and remain popular today. Come learn dances new and old, embrace traditional and modern Israeli music, and get ready to schvitz! All dance levels and ages are welcome!
Speakers
avatar for Jordan Lawrence

Jordan Lawrence

Jordan Lawrence is the Cantorial Soloist and Director of Family Engagement at Congregation Gates of Prayer. She finds deep connections with people of all ages through meaningful conversation, Jewish practice, and music. Jordan has a rich background in musical theater and Israeli dancing... Read More →

Sunday March 19, 2023 4:00pm - 5:00pm CDT
JCC Dance Room
  Arts and Culture, Dance

4:00pm CDT

The Israeli "Second-Generation" in Literature and Film
In this session, we will explore how children of Holocaust survivors in Israel relate in different ways to Holocaust memory. We will view some clips from the film Aviya's Summer (1988), a short prose piece by the second-generation Israeli writer Leah Aini and will discuss a short story called "Shoes" by the second-generation Israeli writer Etgar Keret.
Speakers
avatar for Golan Moskowitz

Golan Moskowitz

Golan Moskowitz is an assistant professor of Jewish Studies at Tulane University.

Sunday March 19, 2023 4:00pm - 5:00pm CDT
JCC Grant Board Room
  Arts and Culture

4:00pm CDT

How Do We Relate to Israel Now? A Mediated Discussion (for Limmudniks who did not attend the previous session)
Israel's November 2022 elections yielded what is argued to be her most politically and religiously conservative government to date. And as the new government begins to pursue its political agenda, many Jews in the diaspora, as well as those in Israel's Left, watch with great anxiety. On the other hand, in Israel, such shifts in national politics are celebrated by many and reflect decades-old evolutions in Israeli demography, society, and culture. In this session, we will explore ways in which we in the diaspora can relate to and understand Israel as a democratic and Jewish state in the early days of its 37th government.
Speakers
avatar for Eli Sperling

Eli Sperling

From 2012–2020, Eli served as the Senior Academic Research Coordinator at Emory University’s Institute for the Study of Modern Israel and taught as a guest professor in Emory’s Tam Institute for Jewish Studies from 2019–2020. From June 2020-July 2022, Eli served as a Postdoctoral... Read More →
avatar for Alison McCrary

Alison McCrary

Alison McCrary is a social justice movement lawyer, strategist, community mediator, transformative justice practitioner, Catholic activist, and an internationally sought-after speaker on social justice, spirituality, and liberation. She has served as a Spiritual Advisor on Louisiana’s... Read More →

Sunday March 19, 2023 4:00pm - 5:00pm CDT
JCC Teachers Lounge
  Israel

4:00pm CDT

Queer Nigun Circle (Queer-Centered, Open to All)
Many queer and trans folks find that our experiences don't fit the standard container of language—and yet, it's true for most humans that our inner lives are more complex than words can express. The intention for this session is to provide a healing space for queer and trans people to cocoon ourselves in Jewish melodies that transcend language: nigunim. Straight and cis-gender co-conspirators are welcome too. Maybe you’re looking to heal your relationship with Judaism, singing, yourself, or existence more broadly. This circle won’t do all that, but it may nurture some brave baby-steps forward! In the midst of singing, we will explore meditations to invite in all the parts of ourselves, practicing self-compassion as a foundation for showing up with love in our lives and the broader world. Off-key voices are maximally invited, even if you're convinced that singing is not your thing. You’re welcome as you are!
Speakers
avatar for Rena Branson

Rena Branson

Rena Branson (they/them) is a Jewish composer, ritual leader, and educator who uplifts personal and collective healing through song. They founded A Queer Nigun Project, which organizes singing events for LGBTQIA+ folks and sends audio content to people in the Jewish community who... Read More →

Sunday March 19, 2023 4:00pm - 5:00pm CDT
JCC Teen Lounge
  Music

4:00pm CDT

New Voices for Civil Rights: Treating Drug Addiction as a Disability and Empowering the Formerly Incarcerated
Judaism is a religion of love. “You shall love the L-rd your G‑d; you shall love your neighbor as yourself; you shall love the stranger.” Judaism is also, according to the late Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks, a religion of justice, for without justice, love corrupts as one bends the rules to favor those they love. And Judaism is also a religion of compassion, for without compassion law can generate inequity. As Rabbi Sacks explains, “Justice plus compassion equals tzedek, the first precondition of a decent society.” Guided by these tenets, Simone and David will discuss recent efforts in New Orleans to break the cycle of recidivism that traps so many in the criminal system and to foster a more compassionate justice system.
Speakers
avatar for David Sinkman

David Sinkman

David Howard Sinkman is a Visiting Scholar at the NYU School of Global Public Health and a Senior Fellow at Northeastern University Law School where he focuses on expanding opioid addiction treatment in the criminal justice and health systems. He is working with the NAACP in Louisiana... Read More →
avatar for Simone Levine

Simone Levine

Simone Levine has dedicated her career to ensuring public accountability in the criminal justice system and in the civic arena. She is currently an assistant district attorney for the Orleans Parish District Attorney's Office and is currently running for Orleans Parish Criminal Court... Read More →

Sunday March 19, 2023 4:00pm - 5:00pm CDT
JCC 208/209
  Social Justice

4:00pm CDT

"Enigma of the Torah": A Play
Enigma of the Torah is a play about a group of Jews who study Torah every Shabbat morning. Through their study of the Torah, the characters express their Jewishness, contemporary issues, and personal conflicts. The play, written by two Jewish Torah Study participants after years of observation, is at times funny, at times sad, at times contentious, and always on target. Through Torah study, the characters discover their own personal enigmas, The presentation at Limmud consists of a selected portion of the play, which is dedicated to the late members of the playwrights' Torah Study group. The full play is scheduled to be presented on Wednesday, April 26, 2023, at the Marigny Opera House .
Speakers
avatar for Penny Bright

Penny Bright

Penny Bright is a retired professor of virology. She has many interests including music, writing, and fighting the climate crisis. She has been an active participant in Torah Study for decades.
avatar for Helen Stone

Helen Stone

Helen Stone is a retired social worker with a bachelor's degree in music and bachelor's and master's degrees in sociology. She is a past co-president of Hadassah and currently is in charge of its book group, the Readers Circle. She has 46 years of training in Shotokan Japanese ka... Read More →


Sunday March 19, 2023 4:00pm - 5:00pm CDT
JCC Auditorium
  Text and Thought

4:00pm CDT

The Book of Esther; Chance, Providence, Prudence?
Behind its fairy tale tone, the Book of Esther wrestles with fundamental questions of political, philosophical, and theological import. Perhaps its most striking feature is the absence of any reference to God. The tightly constructed plot involves an amazing reversal in which the plan of destruction is turned on the villain himself along with the enemies of the Jews. Is this turnaround, which appears to be a matter of chance, in fact the product of a hidden divine providence? Or is it simply the work of human agents? Can we admire the prudence both Mordecai and Esther display, when it involves concealment of their Jewish identity, deception, and finally ruthless treatment of the adversaries of their people? Are there conclusions to be drawn about the predicament of Jewish life in the diaspora and in the absence of divine guidance?
Speakers
avatar for Ronna Burger

Ronna Burger

Professor, Tulane
Ronna Burger is Professor of Philosophy, Catherine & Henry J. Gaisman Chair, and Affiliate Professor of Jewish Studies at Tulane. Her scholarly work in the field of Greek philosophy has provided a basis for extending her current studies to Maimonides and the Hebrew Bible. Her courses... Read More →

Sunday March 19, 2023 4:00pm - 5:00pm CDT
JCC Library
  Text and Thought, Jewish Holidays

5:00pm CDT

Closing Session
Bid adieu to LimmudFest 2023 and enjoy the stylings of the LimmudFest Choir and some of our musicians and performers.
Sunday March 19, 2023 5:00pm - 5:30pm CDT
JCC Auditorium
  Arts and Culture
 
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