For Immediate Release: March 4, 2004
Rabbi Deborah Waxman, who led the Bet Havarim High Holy Day observances, will be returning to lead a Scholar in Residence weekend, April 16-18. Rabbi Waxman will conduct Friday night services, lead an interactive study session on Saturday morning and Yom HaShoah (Holocaust Rememberance Day) observances on Sunday morning. Friday services and Saturday's discussion will take place at St. David's Episcopal Church, Jamar Drive, Fayetteville. Sunday's Yom HaShoah observance will be held at the Hillel Winnick Center near the Syracuse University campus.
Rabbi Waxman, a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Columbia University, serves as Vice President for Governance at the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College in Wyncote, Pennsylvania. She has served as spiritual leader of Congregation B'nai Vail in Vail, Colorado and is currently enrolled as a doctoral student in American Jewish History at Temple University, specializing in the emergence of the Reconstructionist movement.
We will welcome Shabbat at 7:30 with Kol Haneshamah: Shabbat Vehagim, the Reconstructionist siddur (prayer book) for Shabbat and festivals. "Our service will combine traditional prayers, poetry and English readings, song, interpretations and more," said Mel Shindler, chairperson of the Bet Havarim Shabbat committee. An Oneg Shabbat following the service will give those attending the service an opportunity to visit with Rabbi Waxman.
On Saturday morning at 10:30, in the social hall at St. David's, Rabbi Waxman will conduct an interactive study session entitled, "And You Shall Have Nothing But Joy: Jewish Perspectives on Happiness." Among the many topics under discussion will be how the Hebrew Bible defines happiness, how the ancient rabbis viewed contentment, and what insights into achieving joy did the Jewish poets and scholars of the Middle Ages offer. We will be looking at Jewish perspectives on happiness as it developed throughout the "evolving religious civilization of the Jewish people" and what it means for us today in our "pursuit of happiness." At the conclusion of the session, attendees are invited to join Rabbi Waxman and the other guests for lunch.
At the Yom HaShoah observance, which begins at 10:00 on Sunday morning at the Winnick Center located on the corner of Walnut Place and Harrison Street, we will honor the memory of those who have passed on through study in their memory. The observance will combine ritual and study and through discussion of texts, both classical and contemporary, we will grapple with such themes as suffering, evil, justice, survival, and hope. Bagels and other noshes will be served.
"We are very excited about having Rabbi Waxman returning to Syracuse for this Scholar in Residence weekend," said Jodi Benjaminson, chairperson of the Bet Havarim program committee. "Rabbi Waxman has the ability to create interesting participatory discussion and these study sessions should prove quite informative. Bet Havarim has invited the Syracuse University Jewish community to join us for the Yom HaShoah observance." Serving along with Benjaminson on the program committee are David and Marcia Schotz, Roz Bilford, Mel Shindler, Delia Temes, Toni Meltzer, Marty Morganstein, and Rachel Brown. All sessions are free of charge and are open to the community.
For information on this Scholar in Residence weekend, as well as Bet Havarim, schedule of services, D'vrei Torah, etc, visit Bet Havarim's website at www.BetHavarimSyr.org, email Info@BetHavarimSyr.org, or phone Marty Morganstein at 637-5390.