Our Jewish World

Cantor Perry Fine, of Temple Beth Shalom in Livingston, will present a three-part series, called “Jewish Music in America.” The topics will be “Jewish Music in America: In the Movies” on Thursday, Nov. 16; “Yiddish favorites,” on Thursday, Dec. 7; and “Klezmer,” on Thursday, Dec. 14. All three programs will be held at 1 p.m. via Zoom. The Zoom link will be sent early in the week of the program.

Rabbi Steven Bayar will kick off our 2023-2024 Clergy Series, coordinated by Ilene Dorf Manahan and Melanie Levitan. His three-part series, on “Jewish Cultures in the United States: In Common and Divided,” is set for 2 p.m. on Thursdays, Sept. 28, Oct. 5 and Oct. 12. (PLEASE NOTE THE CHANGE FROM OUR USUAL TIME.)

What is the purpose of our life? And how can we best fulfill that purpose? Those were among the ruminations that a Jewish sage and mystic from a century ago—Rav Abraham Isaac Kook (1865–1935)—would ponder in the wee hours of the morning. He wrote down those thoughts in private diaries, never intended for publication, but they were eventually published.

Emil Fackenheim was considered the leading Jewish philosopher, theologian and thinker of the 20th century. In a three-part series, titled “The Life, Times, Philosophy and Theology of Emil Fackenheim, Rabbi David Nesson, spiritual leader of Morristown Jewish Center–Beit Yisrael, will delve into Fackenheim’s approach to life and faith. The series, which is free and open to the public, will be held at 1 p.m. on Thursdays, May 4, 11 and 18, via Zoom.

Watch this fascinating talk by Rabbi Moshe Rudin, spiritual leader of Adath Shalom synagogue, offered through NCJW, West Morris Section’s Our Jewish World program.

Here is a link to Rabbi Mark Biller’s second Our Jewish World session about Rav Abraham Isaac Kook, the Chief Rabbi of Palestine before there was a state of Israel, a Jewish legal authority, and a mystic.