The Roberta and Jerome Shevin Speaker Series, lovingly established by their son Adam R. Shevin, represents the areas of education Roberta and Jerome committed their lives and work to: Holocaust Education, Jewish-Christian relations and Adult Jewish Learning. They believed deeply in the power of education as a unifying force and the topics of this series speak to that legacy.

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Wednesday, May 5th, 7 PM

Dr. Robert Watson and Award Winning Film Director Josh Aronson present: "Orchestra of Exiles". They will share the story of Bronislaw Huberman, the Polish violinist who founded the orchestra that became the Israel Philharmonic, as told through Aronson’s film “Orchestra of Exiles”. Before the Nazis came to power Huberman was focused only on building his own monumental career but witnessing Hitler’s agenda was a call to action that Huberman could not ignore. Together they will explore Huberman’s personal transformation and subsequent heroic struggle to get Jewish musicians out of Europe during World War II.

Wednesday, May 12th, 7 PM

*Dr. Sandra Lilienthal presents: "Living Life in Radical Amazement - Inspired by the Teachings of Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel". Whether it is because we are too busy running around, or because we are staying indoors while there is a pandemic, most of us have very little time or energy to "stop and smell the flowers." Built on Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel's teachings, we will explore both the theological and practical implications of living a life in which we direct ourselves to experience amazement and awe in the world that surrounds us, the people we meet and in our deepest selves. “As civilization advances, the sense of wonder declines. Such decline is an alarming symptom of our state of mind. Mankind will not perish for want of information, but only for want of appreciation. The beginning of our happiness lies in the understanding that life without wonder is not worth living. What we lack is not a will to believe but a will to wonder. (Heschel).”

Wednesday, May 19th, 7 PM

Dr. Samuel Edelman presents: "Jules Isaac: The French Jewish Historian Who Changed Christianity". Jules Isaac's name is unknown to most in the Jewish world. More than 73 years ago Isaac, a famous French Jewish historian, wrote a critically important book titled "Jesus and Israel" during the height of the Holocaust while in hiding. The impact of his writing began a Jewish Catholic dialogue which would inspire and change Christian Jewish relations and alter the Catholic Church's attitude toward Jews in a dramatic and substantial way. Dr. Edelman will share Isaac's personal story and explain the importance of his writings in helping Pope John the 23rd in bringing about the Church's change of attitude toward Jews and Judaism as expressed in Vatican II and the document "Nostra Aetate".