Our online registration system has been a bit temperamental. If you experience difficulty buying tickets, please call Kathryn at 303-998-1021 or email her at kathryn@boulderjcc.org.
Marlyn Cheses: My Life and Art
Join us for a conversation with artist Marlyn Cheses, who will discuss the work in her retrospective show on display at the Boulder JCC. Marlyn has been creating art her entire life, but in 1990 went back to art school and began a mid-life professional transformation as a serious sculptor, photographer and artist. One of her sculptures, a life-size bronze, The Last Butterfly, dedicated to the children who perished in the Holocaust is on display at the Jewish Museum of Belgium, in Brussels. Another collection of photographs, Reflections Without a Voice, and a bronze sculpture, Shoah, are in the possession of The Florida Holocaust Museum in Saint Petersburg, Florida. Marlyn's Ground Zero photographs, have been shown by the Mizel Museum in Denver. (The opening reception for her show is Sunday, September 19 at 6 pm at the Boulder JCC.)
09/15/2010
12 PM
$8 for lunch and talk
Israel and Gaza, 2000-2010: Confrontation, Diplomacy, and the Formulation of Policy
With Professor Zach Levey
Over the course of the last decade, the complex relationship between Israel and the Gaza Strip has grown increasingly volatile. In his talk, Professor Levey will review Israels history in Gaza, the rise of Hamas, the missile barrage, the disengagement, the 2008-2009 clash, Gilad Shalit, the Mavi Marmara, and the present re-orientation of Israeli policy.
Zach Levey is the Schusterman Visiting Israeli Professor in the Program for Jewish Studies, the Department of Political Science, and International Affairs at CU Boulder. He completed his studies at the Hebrew University, was visiting assistant professor at the University of Michigan, and since 1997 has been faculty at the University of Haifa. His principal areas of research and teaching are the Cold War, US-Israeli relations, the foreign policy of Israel, and the Arab-Israeli Conflict.
Following the talk, the audience is invited to a wine and cheese reception and art show, and a screening of the 2009 Oscar-nominated Israeli film, “Ajami.” (Price for lecture and film is $15.)
09/19/2010
5 PM
$10 Lecture only
$15 Lecture and Film
 “Ajami” (2009)
Nominated for best foreign film last year, “Ajami” is the third Oscar nominated film from Israel in as many years. It is also the first Israeli film co-directed by an Israeli Arab and an Israeli Jew. This jarring drama set in the Ajami neighborhood of Jaffa gained recognition at Cannes and in Israel; it will sadly never be seen in most of the Arab world. Using locally recruited non-actors and shot on location, with an improvised style and hand-held camera work, the intense and brutally honest film seethes with anger and is charged by jolts of action yet displays uncommon sensitivity to all its complex characters.
“Rarely has the tinderbox nature of the Middle East been so accurately lensed, on such an intimate scale…” Variety
“There is no finger-pointing here, and no group hugging either. Instead there is a sharp sense of just how deep and wide the schisms are, not just between Jews and Arabs but also between Christians and Muslims, rich and poor, farmers and city dwellers, men and women, young and old and so on.” - A.O. Scott, New York Times
09/19/2010
7 PM
$10 Film only per person
Marlyn Cheses: A Retrospective
Art Exhibit and Wine and Cheese Reception
A lifelong artist, sculptor and photographer, Marlyn Cheses has lived in far-flung communities around the world with her husband Martin, a US Ambassador assigned to remote and exotic locales. They now make their home in Nederland, where Marlyn continues to create her unique artwork.
09/19/2010
6 PM
“An Empire of Their Own: How the Jews Invented Hollywood”
The fundamental irony of Hollywood in the early half of the 20th century is that it was producing movies that portrayed core American values and ideas, yet was run by Jews who themselves did not fit the American ideal their films so aptly depicted. Just as Jews dominated Broadway, they held a virtual monopoly on Hollywood, where these immigrants reinvented American culture despite the fact that they felt that they did not fit in to the American mainstream.
Based on Neal Gablers best-selling book about movie moguls such as Paramounts Adolph Zucker, MGMs Louis B. Mayer and Universals Carl Laemmle, this documentary features never-before-seen home movies, extensive clips and interviews with the Jewish studio executives, theater owners, producers, writers, lawyers and talent agents who controlled the American film industry until shortly after WW II.
"The paradox is that the American film industry, which was called the quintessence of what we mean by America, was founded and for more than thirty years operated by Eastern European Jews who themselves seemed to be anything but the quintessence of America.... The much-vaunted studio system was supervised by a second generation of Jews, many of whom also regarded themselves are marginal men trying to punch into the American mainstream." – Neal Gabler
10/03/2010
7 PM
$10 per person
 Adult Theater: A Six-week Scene Study Class
With Emily Norman
Designed for stage veterans and novices alike, this scene study class will allow students to develop characters and learn how to stage a scene. The class will cover basic acting terms but mainly will focus on working 10-minute scenes. On Oct 8th there will be a performance for family and friends.
Emily is a graduate of Wheaton College in Norton, Massachusetts. During college, Emily spent semesters at the Eugene ONeills National Theatre Institute (which won a 2010 Tony for best regional theatre) and The London Academy of Theatre. Over the years Emily has worked on many shows including Cloud Tectonics (Director), Betrayal (Director), Move Over Mrs. Markham (Assistant Director), An O’Henry Christmas (Assistant Director), Antigone (Ismene), Beau Jest (Sarah), The Fall to Earth (SM intern, Steppenwolf Theatre), and Death and Harry Houdini (PM/SM).
10/04/2010 -11/08/2010
7 - 9:30 PM
$175 Tuition for six sessions
Creating Israelis: The History of Ulpan
How a Language Instruction Program Served to Acculturate, Indoctrinate and Forge Israel’s National Identity
In Memory of Sara Batz
The ulpan is designed to teach adult immigrants to Israel the basic language skills of conversation, writing and comprehension. But the ulpan is much more than an intensive and highly effective language instruction program - most ulpanim also provide instruction in the fundamentals of Israeli culture, history, and geography. The concept of the ulpan was initiated soon after the creation of Israel in 1948, when the new country was faced with a massive influx of new immigrants, refugees from war-torn Europe, oppressed and disadvantaged communities from Africa and the Middle East, and others from all parts of the world. Although all were recognized as Jewish, their language and culture varied widely. Attendance at an ulpan and learning the Hebrew language served as a common bond that helped to turn immigrants into Israelis. Come learn how the ulpan experience developed a shared identity and sense of statehood.
10/10/2010
7 PM
$8 per person
 “Kosher Nation: Why More and More of America's Food Answers to a Higher Authority”
With Author Sue Fishkoff
An eye-opening look at the history and current practice of producing and consuming kosher food in America.
Co-sponsored by CU Hillel and Menorah: Arts, Culture and Education at the Boulder JCC
Kosher? That means the rabbi blessed it, right? Not exactly. In her captivating account of a Bible-based practice that has grown into a multibillion-dollar industry, journalist Sue Fishkoff travels throughout America and to Shanghai, China, to find out who eats kosher food, who produces it, who is responsible for its certification, and how this fascinating world continues to evolve. She talks to Reform Jews who are rediscovering the spiritual benefits of kashrut and to Conservative and Orthodox Jews who are demanding that kosher food production adhere to ethical and environmental values.
“Like the eyes of the dedicated mashgichim Fishkoff profiles, Kosher Nation leaves no corner of this once-mysterious world in the dark. Comforting as kugel yet daring as kosher bacon bits, this book should be glued to the back of the Talmud as mandatory reading.”
—David Sax, author of Save the Deli: In Search of Perfect Pastrami, Crusty Rye, and the Heart of Jewish Delicatessen
“A revealing behind-the-scenes exploration of the kosher food industry and the people who work in it. Comprehensive, absorbing, and sometimes disturbing, Kosher Nation explains what ‘kosher supervision’ means and how it affects every American who purchases food.” —Jonathan D. Sarna, Joseph H. & Belle R. Braun Professor of American Jewish History, Brandeis University, and author of American Judaism: A History
“Kosher food has a definite spiritual meaning, but Fishkoff examines all aspects of the industry, from certifying agencies to kosher butchers to the effects of globalization, presenting general trends through anecdotes about individuals involved. This makes the book more relatable. . . Fishkoff accessibly presents information about current trends and their historical precedents. . . . She shows how definitions of kosher change in response to intra-Jewish developments, as well as to trends in America at large, such as industrial farming, the ascendance of big-box stores and ethical concerns like sustainable agriculture, animal welfare, and working conditions. She is careful to define all terms that might be unfamiliar to readers without a Jewish background, and she provides a helpful glossary at the end of the book.Thorough and approachable.” —Kirkus Reviews
 Sue Fishkoff is the author of The Rebbe’s Army. She is a national correspondent for the JTA news agency and lives in Oakland, California
10/11/2010
7 pm
Atlas 100 on the CU Campus
Free admission
“The Assisi Underground”
In anticipation of Menorah’s Celebration of the Jews of Italy, we reveal a little-known story of the rescue of Italian Jews by Catholic priests during the Holocaust. Set in the Italian town of Assisi during World War II, the film tells the true story of a network of Catholic clergy, nuns, and lay persons who secretly provided shelter and aid to Jewish refugees escaping from the ravages of the war, German pursuers, and Fascist loyalists. Ben Cross, James Mason, Irene Papas, and Maximillian Schell star in this thrilling tale of heroism.
More on the Italian Jews and the Holocaust: The Italian Jewish community, one of the oldest in Europe, numbered about 50,000 in 1933. Jews had lived in Italy for over two thousand years. By the 1930s, Italian Jews were fully integrated into Italian culture and society. There was relatively little overt anti-Semitism among Italians. Despite its alliance with Germany, the Fascist regime responded equivocally to German demands first to concentrate and then to deport Jews residing in Italian occupation zones in Yugoslavia, Greece, and France to killing centers in the German-occupied Poland. Italian military authorities generally refused to participate in mass murder of Jews or to permit deportations from Italy or Italian-occupied territory; and the Fascist leadership was both unable and unwilling to force the issue. Italian-occupied areas were therefore relatively safe for Jews. Between 1941 and 1943, thousands of Jews escaped from German-occupied territory to the Italian-occupied zones of France, Greece, and Yugoslavia. The Italian authorities even evacuated some 4,000 Jewish refugees to the Italian mainland. Incarcerated in southern Italy, these Jewish refugees survived the war.
10/14/2010
12 PM
$8 for lunch and film
“The Talmud”: Demystifying the Fundamental Text of Rabbinical Principles and Wisdom
Don’t know your Mishnah from your Gemara? Want to know when the Talmud written, why and by whom? Curious about what exactly is in this record of discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, philosophy, customs and history? Wonder just how it is used today?
Come find the answers as we screen director Pierre-Henry Salfatis incisive 2006 documentary exploring the origins and history of the Talmud, regarded as the most influential text on the everyday conduct of Jewish life. Through expert analysis and in-depth interviews, Salfati goes to great lengths to demystify this vast collection of philosophical commentary and debate, which has been called "the hidden face of the Torah."
Following the one-hour film, a team of Boulder rabbis will continue to demystify the Talmud and answer questions.
Hebrew: ????????? talmud "instruction, learning,” from a root lmd "teach, study.”
10/24/2010
7 PM
$8 per person
Staying in Charge of Your Life When it Matters Most - A Workshop for the Jewish Community
With Kim Mooney, HospiceCare Director of Community Education, and Rabbi Nadya Gross
Investing time now can help you avoid confusion and retain control when the time comes to make critical end-of-life care decisions. Join us for this two-part workshop crafted for the Jewish community to help you understand your choices for care and communicate your end-of-life wishes so they’ll be honored. Topics include:
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Advance Directives
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Choosing a Health Care Agent
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Medical Technologies at the End of Life
This workshop will be facilitated by Kim Mooney, HospiceCare Director of Community Education, and Rabbi Nadya Gross. Medical and legal professionals knowledgeable in end-of-life issues will be there to for general discussion.
Space is limited. No charge, but reservations required.
Please RSVP to Jane Cohen at janecohen@hospicecareonline.org.
10/03/2010 -10/24/2010
1 PM
No charge but RSVP requested
Bargain Junkie: Living the Good Life on the Cheap
With author Annie Korzen
Join us for a ladies nite out at Rags with visiting author, Annie
Korzen! Ms. Korzen will show how living on a budget doesn’t mean
abandoning expensive tastes or a love of culture. She is a
self-described “thriftaholic” who wears designer clothes, has filled her
home with valuable objects and has traveled all over the world…all on
the cheap!
Come out and enjoy a humorous presentation by Ms. Korzen along with wine and dessert and some after hours shopping at Rags!
Registration deadline: Friday, October 29
11/01/2010
7 PM
$12 per person
 Celebrating the Jews of Italy
With Carlos Zarur
Concert of Italian Jewish Music with Faye Nepon
Film, Feast and Discussion with Carlos Zarur
Join us as we explore the complex and rich history of the Jews of Italy through music, food, film and conversation with historians.
Did you know?
- The first attested Jews in Italy were the ambassadors sent to Rome by Judah Maccabee in 161 BCE and large numbers of Jews lived in Rome even during the Roman Republican period.
- About ten thousand Jews were transported to Rome to be used as work hands to help build the Coliseum. This image of history was frozen in time and will be remembered forever thanks to the Arch of Titus, where the Roman victory over the Jews was etched in stone.
- When Jews were exiled en masse from Spain in 1492 a great number of them took refuge in Italy, where they were given protection by King Ferdinand I of Naples.
- In 1516 the first Jewish ghetto was established in Venice and in 1555 a ghetto was established in Rome. Both were overcrowded and dirty, but the study of Torah and Talmud flourished between their closed walls so ironically, rather than destroy Jewish culture, they actually helped it to blossom and grow
- It was not until the arrival of Napoleon that the doors of the ghettos were torn down.
- In 1848, the Italian states were unified as a single Italy and the new government freed the Jews and gave them their civil and political equality.
- The Italian Jewish community, one of the oldest in Europe, numbered about 50,000 in 1933. By the 1930s, Italian Jews were fully integrated into Italian culture and society and there was relatively little overt Antisemitism among Italians.
- Today there are over 40,000 Jews in Rome and Milan alone.
$25 in advance; $30 at the door (email Kathryn@boulderjcc.org to reserve your space if you choose to pay at the door.)
11/07/2010
5 PM
$25 advance tickets
“The Language That God Talks”: Contemplating Herman Wouk’s life, writing and Jewish faith
Join us for a conversation about Herman Wouk and his new book, “The Language that God Talks,” in which the author draws on stories from his life as well as on key events from the 20th century to address the eternal questions of why we are here, what purpose faith serves, and how scientific fact fits into the picture.
At age 94, Wouk embarks on an autobiographical journey through his monumental writings (“The Caine Mutiny,” “The Winds of War,” “War and Remembrance,” “Marjorie Morningstar”), people he has met in his life, world events, and books he has read (including the Talmud) to weave a testament of faith. Throughout the book, he returns to his friendship with Nobel laureate Richard Feynman, whose work as a scientist on the atomic bomb and life as a humanist challenge the author’s Orthodox Jewish beliefs. Along the way the reader meets other scientists and their accomplishments and also some of Wouk’s fictional characters. Ever so faithful to his Jewish heritage, he discusses how research in the scientific and secular world strengthened his faith. This book will interest any person of faith who has followed Wouk’s storied career and read his fiction. - Publisher’s Weekly
11/11/2010
12 PM
$8 for lunch and discussion
100
Years of American Jewish Literature: The Official Launch of the
Lebowitz Collection of 20th Century American Jewish Literature at the
University of Colorado at Boulder
Free and open to the public but RSVP is required as space is limited.
Jews
have been writing literature in America since the 17th century, when
Jews first came to the land that became the United States. But the
Jewish experience in 20th century America profoundly shaped American
literature forever. The Lebowitz Collection of First Edition American
Jewish Literature is one of the largest library holdings in the world,
documenting and preserving this unique moment in American and Jewish
literary and cultural history. Join CU’s Program in Jewish Studies, the
Department of English, the University Library Special Collections
department, and Menorah: Arts, Culture and Education at the Boulder JCC
for a celebration of the collection and American Jewish literature
featuring the following authors whose works are included in the
collection:
Steve Katz, critically acclaimed poet and Professor
Emeritus of English and co-founder of the Creative Writing Program at
CU-Boulder
Sidney Goldfarb, renowned poet, playwright and Professor of English and co-founder of the Creative Writing Program at CU-Boulder
Robert
Alter, one of the world’s foremost translators of the Hebrew Bible and
scholar of modern Jewish literature and Professor of Hebrew and
Comparative Literature at the University of California at Berkeley.
11/11/2010
6 PM
RSVP for Free Admission
 Crazy About Klezmer: Menorah’s Musical Celebration and Fundraiser
With Yale Strom and a concert with the Boulder Klezmer Consort
The worlds leading ethnographer-artist of klezmer music and history, and the author of the recently released book, “Dave Tarras: The King of Klezmer,” Yale Strom is a violinist, composer, filmmaker, writer, photographer, playwright, and a pioneer among klezmer revivalists.
Sheldon Sands and his amazing hot klezmorim will perform before and after Yale Strom’s tribute to the guru of the American klezmer revolution.
An award-winning musician, author, filmmaker and scholar, this maverick does so many things with such great skill and vision that hes in a league of his own."- George Varga - Music Critic of the San Diego Union-Tribune
"Through his art, Strom has brought back his spiritual Klezmer ancestors."
-TIME magazine
"Yale Strom is a klezmer whirlwind." -The Valley Advocate -Northhampton , MA
"Like a Yiddish Indiana Jones, Strom continues to dig up artifacts of Jewish music, introducing audiences to something they might have missed."
- San Diego Jewish Journal
$36 includes concert, author talk, libations and reception with Yale Strom
11/13/2010
7 PM
$36 per person
 ChanuConcert:
A Community Celebration of Lights
With Congregation Har HaShem
Join us for a concert for all ages
and enjoy latkes and donuts.
All ages welcome.
December 15
2 pm
$5 per person at the door |
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