Published: 9/23/2019 9:38:11 PM
Modified: 9/23/2019 9:38:08 PM
WORCESTER — On Saturday night, Nov. 16, at Congregation Beth Israel in Worcester, rabbis, cantors, educators, and musicians from across New England will join together in an evening of music and study. Torathon will begin with Havdalah, starting at 5:45, followed by a meaningful and spirited klezmer concert led by Ezekiel’s Wheels Klezmer Band.
The concert will be followed by three 50-minute sessions of almost two dozen offerings of adult Jewish study. Some of the course titles with brief descriptions follow;
■Rabbi Aviva Fellman will teach a course centered around Abraham Heschel’s “Shabbat, a cathedral in time,” delving into how we make the Sabbath holy and meaningful.
■Cantor Rachel Reef-Simpson will lead participants in singing folk-inspired music by Debbie Friedman, one of the most influential singer/song writers of our time.
■Marcia Tannenbaum will enlighten with the poetry of Eliza Greenblatt, who inspired her son-in-law, Woodie Guthrie and his music.
■Karen Treiger, winner of the Nancy Pearl Book Award for Best Memoir will share her poignant and uplifting story inspired by her in-laws, and the Righteous Christians who helped them survive the horrors of the Holocaust.
■Reena and Saul Slovin will teach contemporary and traditional Israeli dances.
■Dale Rosenberg will present a slide lecture on Comic Super Heroes; how Jews created and influenced many of them, inserting themes and sub texts that were very influential.
■Rabbi Yakov Blotner will explore how mysticism and Kabbalah fits in with Jewish practices and values today.
■Mitchell Gordon will provide a soulful experience focused on peace and loving kindness through drumming, chanting and meditation.
Tickets for Torathon are $20 in advance until Thursday, Nov. 14, and $25at the door. For high school and college students, prices are $5 in advance and $10 at the door.
To view the entire evening's program and to purchase tickets in advance go to www.jewishcentralmass.org/torathon. Tickets are also available in Worcester, at the Worcester JCC, Jewish Federation of Central Massachusetts, Congregation Beth Israel, and Temple Emanuel Sinai, and in Westboro at Congregation B’nai Shalom. For more general information, go to www.jewishcentralmass.org/torathon or call 508-756-1543. Torathon is funded by a grant from the Jewish Federation of Central Massachusetts and the Rotman Family Foundation.