Friday 11:30 AM–12:45 PM
Lunch—Bring your lunch ticket!
Friday 12:00 PM–2:00 PM
Dining Room
Friday lunch is available only to participants who arrived on Thursday and to those who paid extra for Friday lunch. Please bring your lunch ticket to the dining room.
An Abridged Version of American Jewish History
Part I
Melissa Klapper
Friday 11:30 AM–12:45 PM
Embassy Room 2
Global History & Culture
Have you ever wanted to know more about American Jewish history? It started long before the late 19th century. In this session, we will review the period from the first Jewish settlement in New York in 1654 through the beginning of mass eastern European Jewish migration to the U.S. in 1880. We will focus on a few key themes, such as religious development, economic opportunity, social integration, anti-Semitism, and patterns of settlement. This is a two part session; while it is better to attend both for continuity, you can attend the second without attending the first.
Being Jewish and Living in a Secular World
Why Do I Need a Life Coach?
Barry Cooper
Friday 11:30 AM–12:45 PM
Sports Bar
How-To,
Identity & Responsibility
Join an interactive session that will delve into personal experiences and difficut life choices that may challenge Jewish values and practice in social and business situations. This session wil be driven by the participants and will involve role play.
Boston's Rabbi Soloveitchik:
A National Rabbi in a Community Context
Seth Farber
Friday 11:30 AM–12:45 PM
Empire Room 3 North
Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik, known as the Rav, is well known as the leader of American Modern Orthodoxy, a position he rose to from his seat as Rosh Yeshiva (the head) of Yeshiva University. But Rabbi Soloveitchik also served as a synagogue rabbi and a founder of a local community day school in Boston where he lived for more than 50 years. This session will focus in on Rabbi Soloveitchik's community activities and explore the challenges he faced on the local scene. Be prepared for some surprises.
Chavruta I: Ahavat Yisrael
What Akiba Called the Greatest Mitzvah
Yaffa Epstein
Friday 11:30 AM–1:00 PM
Empire Room 2
Ritual & Prayer,
Torah & Text
Come each day to discover the power of Torah to transform our lives and yield surprising pathways toward peace in the home and peace in the world. This year "ahavat yisrael" is the theme we are tracking, as in small groups and within chevruta (partner study), you can make new friends while exploring how this mitzvah is arises in Torah, Talmud, midrash, Zohar, imagery and prayer. Chevruta (partner study) is an empowering study form in which, no matter what your level of experience, your connection to the text will soar in small groups and partner study. No experience is required; Hebrew texts are also provided in English translation. **Please note that this session will run for 90 minutes.
From Eternity to Here
How to Make Havdalah... Meaningful
Rachel Brodie
Friday 11:30 AM–12:45 PM
Embassy Room 1
How-To,
Ritual & Prayer
The ancient ritual to ease the transition from Shabbat into the rest of the week is brief, but dramatic and delightfully sensual. Replete with themes of boundary setting, the pull of materialism and the place of spirituality, and even a recipe for anxiety management, havdalah has the potential to become resonant and powerful in the lives of many modern Jews. If you’ve ever been curious about the meaning of the words, the props and the actions, then you won’t want to miss this session.
The Greatest Theft in Civilization
Harry Ettlinger
Friday 11:30 AM–12:45 PM
Sports Bar
Global History & Culture
Harry will lead the audience from Adolf Hitler as a young, frustrated artist through his impact on European culture to the day of his death. With his leadership of Germany in 1933 came the demise of Degenerated Art, that is art generated after the mid 1800’s and the enormous destruction in many, especially in the Eastern, parts of Europe. During the middle of World War II, our country partially realized what was ongoing and established a somewhat unsuccessful policy to counteract the destruction. Out of it came the Monuments Men, who by the end of the War not only attempted to save European culture, but counteract the great theft perpetrated by the Nazis, starting at the top. Harry Ettlinger joined them at that time. He will integrate that broad subject with his personal experiences in the two saltmines and his recovery of his grandfather’s collection of prints.
Harei At (“I Do”)… but in Cyprus or Israel?
Exploring Marriage & Civil Unions in the Holy Land
Seth Farber,
Amy Oppenheimer
Friday 11:30 AM–12:45 PM
Empire Room 3 North
Identity & Responsibility,
Israel
In this session, we will explore the system that governs the marriage process in Israel. We will go behind the scenes with Rabbinate officials, meet the founders of Tzohar & Itim and hear from a range of Israelis who fight both for and against the current system. *Featuring a preview of the “Faces of Israel” documentary.*
**Please note, a DVD player and video projector will be used in this session.
Hugging and Wrestling with Israel @ 60
Yonatan Ariel
Friday 11:30 AM–12:45 PM
Tower VIP Room
Identity & Responsibility,
Israel
Israel, the hope of generations, has been reborn. Yet Israel faces numerous predicaments that grow from both external and internal sources. And thus Israel excites, alienates and compels. How are we as Jews implicated in Israel's achievements, mistakes, and challenges?
Jewish Art and Spirituality (Kavanah)
Does it distract or enhance?
Vivian Mann
Canceled, sorry
Additional schedule
-
Saturday 1:00 PM–2:15 PM
Congressional Room 1
Arts & Performance
In the Middle Ages, rabbis considered the issue of whether art installed in a place of prayer, either at home or in the synagogue, could interfere with the attainment of spirituality or kavanah by a worshiper. Maimonides was one of the first to discuss the problem. This session examines his opinion and those of later rabbis that were written in response to the appearance of new forms of art.
A Jewish Woman’s Prayer Book
A Secret Code
Aliza Lavie
Friday 11:30 AM–12:45 PM
Congressional Room 2
Identity & Responsibility,
Ritual & Prayer
The prayers of generations of Jewish mothers and grandmothers, reflecting their longings and feelings, are being rediscovered. Men and women alike are adopting women’s prayers at moments of joy and in times of grief, in private devotion and in congregational services. We shall explore how and why Jewish women’s prayers are at the center of a cultural reawakening, being set to music, recited, and dramatized.
The Kosher Cut
Jewish Masculinity as Presented in the Works of Philip Roth
Sasha T. Goldberg
Friday 11:30 AM–12:45 PM
Congressional Room 1
Identity & Responsibility
Arguably one of the world's best Jewish authors, Philip Roth has been stirring up strong responses of love and hate on behalf of his male protagonists for decades. Specifically, Roth presents a canon of Jewish Masculinity (and maleness) that manages to both enrage and alienate, endear and allure. This session will begin with a presentation on Jewish Masculinity in the works of Philip Roth, and conclude with participant discussion. Mensches and Maidelahs of all genders welcome and encouraged.
The Lure and Lore of Chocolate
Marla Alt
Friday 11:30 AM–12:45 PM
Embassy Room 1
Social Programming
Traded as currency, consumed in sacred ceremonies favored by royals and revered as an aphrodisiac for 200 years chocolate has captivated the taste and imagination of all who encounter it. Indulge your senses and discover the "chocolate culture concept" while we taste our way through today's varied and many-layered world of chocolate. LIMITED TO TWENTY PEOPLE.
Moshiach ben David v. Moshiach ben Yosef
Are there two Messiahs?
Linda Roth
Friday 11:30 AM–12:45 PM
Congressional Room 1
Torah & Text
Learn about the lineage of both Messiahs and their psychological, spiritual, and Kabbalistic characteristics. Why does one need to come before the other? Which one is more needed? What metaphysical and mystical energies does each one bring to the world?
Putting Tikkun Olam into Practice
Changing the Face of Africa
Sivan Achor Borowich
Friday 11:30 AM–12:45 PM
Festival Room
Identity & Responsibility
What if you could help alleviate the deep poverty throughout the African continent while also improving Israel's and Judaism's image in the developing world?
Come hear about how a revolutionary concept is working to improve the quality of life in Africa through active projects undertaken by Jewish communities around the world. The first project leverages Israeli solar expertise and to install solar technologies in rural African villages as a means of energy for water pumping, lighting, and medicinal refrigeration. By expanding the use of renewable and reliable sources of energy, we are aiding in the fight against climate change, one of the most fundamental global environmental challenges facing humankind in the twenty-first century - and doing it in a Jewish context.
Raise Healthy Children in the Age of Affluenza
Lisa Buksbaum
Friday 11:30 AM–12:45 PM
Tower VIP Room
How-To,
Identity & Responsibility
Tired of popular culture that deifies material acquisition? This workshop focuses on ten core practices & meaningful ways to do something tangible. Excellent b’nai mitzvah activities & hands-on activity guides for kids of all ages. Lisa Buksbaum, Soaringwords’ Founder, helps transform your family dynamic today and overcome peer pressure tomorrow.
Sephardim and Ashkenazim
What We Should be Learning from Each Other
Marc Angel
Canceled, sorry
Additional schedule
-
Saturday 9:00 PM–10:15 PM
Empire Room 3 South
Global History & Culture,
Identity & Responsibility
Jews are a diverse people, with millenia of history in different lands and different civilizations. Two large branches of our people are known as Sephardim and Ashkenazim. Over the centuries, these groups flourished under different historical conditions, developed different customs, traditions and worldviews. With the coming together of Sephardim and Ashkenazim in the modern era, and especially in the State of Israel, things have not always gone smoothly. Yet, we have much to learn from each other. In doing so, we strengthen ourselves and the entire Jewish people. What can we learn from each other?
We Are The Stories We Tell
Jewish Storytelling Workshop for Adults
Renee Brachfeld,
Mark Novak
Friday 11:30 AM–12:45 PM
Congressional Room 2
Arts & Performance,
How-To
How do you bring a written story to life? Come explore the world of Jewish folk tales in a fun, fast-paced, storytelling workshop. Great for teachers, rabbis, parents, and anyone who wants to keep and hold the attention of a crowd (or just have a good time with us for a while).
“What I Really Want to Do Is…”
Brainstorming Your Best 2009
Sissy Block
Friday 11:30 AM–12:45 PM
Cousin Brucie
Back by popular demand from Limmud NY 2008, this session is an interactive brainstorming exercise that will help you tap into what you really want to do for a living (or in your free time if your job pays the bills but leaves you wanting more). We’ll use a set of brainstorming techniques that will help you go after your dreams in 2009. Or if you're already doing what you love and enjoy helping others, come share your ideas with others.
Camp Limmud NY--Alim
Howard Gorin
Friday 11:30 AM–12:45 PM
Tennis Center Corner
Camp Limmud session. Please see the Camp Limmud program for details.
Camp Limmud NY--Anafim
Friday 11:30 AM–12:45 PM
Racquetball Court 2
Camp Limmud session. Please see the Camp Limmud program for details.
Camp Limmud NY--Middle School
Friday 11:30 AM–12:45 PM
Middle School Room
Camp Limmud session. Please see the Camp Limmud program for details.
Camp Limmud NY--Shorashim
Friday 11:30 AM–12:45 PM
Racquetball Court 1
Camp Limmud session. Please see the Camp Limmud program for details.
