"The Ten Commandments and the Declaration of Independence" with Zohar Raviv

As part of the Israel Scholar program, Zohar Raviv spoke on "The Ten Commandments and the American Declaration of Independence."

Separation of church and state is a definitive idea in American life. However, as is the case with most definitive ideas, its meaning is lacking clarity and allows for multiple interpretations. Are the Ten Commandments in a public park a violation of this idea? Is the decree a religious or a theological issue, and if so, how are they different? Are we to distinguish between ideas or between institutions? Are there ideas whose inner law transcends institutional dichotomies? Is God such an idea? This session explored the fundamentals that gave voice to the American Declaration of Independence and pointed out the striking conceptual and structural similarities between this document and another definitive constitution: the Ten Commandments!

An Israeli scholar and educator of Judaism, Zohar Raviv is concluding his Ph.D. in Jewish Thought and Mysticism at the University of Michigan. He has served as a Senior Educator of Judaism in the Ramah Summer Camps and Academic Programs for Foreign Students in Israel, in additional to creating and facilitating large-scale educational projects and lecturing at numerous universities and institutions internationally.

Adult Retreat: "Do Religion and Science Finally Meet?"

Congregants joined Rabbi Cohen at Olin-Sang-Ruby Union Institute for a weekend of exploration and lively discussion as they looked at Jewish texts describing the many responses to the question of how the world came to be. We talked about how we each understand God’s role, if any, in the unfolding of creation and what, if anything, Darwin does to help or hinder our understanding of the world as we experience it today. We also examined whether or not one can be a person of faith and accept Darwin’s theory of evolution.

Jewish United Fund Speaker, Brunch & Book Signing with
Joseph Epstein

Sunday, February 12, 2006

Editor, scholar, social critic and novelist, Joseph Epstein has authored twelve books, along with approximately 600 articles, essays and stories in such journals as The New Yorker, Harper's, The New Republic, The New York Times Magazine and The New York Review of Books. He has received numerous awards, including the Chicago Tribune Heartland Prize and the National Medal for the Humanities.

Maimonides: A Guide for Today's Perplexed

This three-part series was led by Dr. Kenneth Seeskin, Chair of the Philosophy Department, Director of the Jewish Studies Program and the Center for the Writing Arts at Northwestern University.

The February 19 session looked at "Is Judaism Really Monotheistic? A Maimonidean Perspective." The February 26 session dealt with "From Genesis I to the Big Bang: Maimonides on Creation." The topic of the March 5 talk was "When God Speaks - Maimonides on Commandment and Revelation."

Dr. Seeskin is the author of Maimonides: A Guide for Today’s Perplexed, Maimonides on the Origin of the World, The Cambridge Companion to Maimonides as well as five other books and over 30 scholarly articles. Seeskin teaches courses on the history of philosophy, metaphysics, and philosophy of religion. He has won several awards for outstanding teaching and has lectured throughout the United States, Canada, and Europe.

The Rabbi's Reading Table

Rabbi Cohen discussed three important pieces of literature in this book discussion series.

Dawn Schuman: "Great Chicago Buildings by Great Jewish Architects"

This exciting field trip featured a visit to the home of architect John Schlossman whose firm designed Temple Sholom, Loop Synagogue, Water Tower Place and other landmark structures. Mr. Schlossman discussed his firm’s accomplishments over two generations. The group then visited Temple Jeremiah’s award-winning Golder Chapel and met its architect, Gary Frank.

The Way We War: Notes from Jerusalem

Dr. Inon Schenker, a leading Israeli public health researcher and educator, spoke about the ongoing war in the Middle East from the perspective of an internationally renowned public health official and father.

Dr. Inon Schenker specializes in the fields of HIV/AIDS prevention, youth risk-taking and international health. He is also the father of an 18 year old son. He has worked at the World Health Organization headquarters in Geneva and served as a senior consultant and conductor of training workshops in public health in Africa, Latin America, the Caribbean and Asia. From 1995 to 1999 he initiated a team consisting of Egyptians, Israelis, Palestinians and Jordanians to develop a regional approach to HIV/AIDS prevention, care and support.

Hebrew Refresher Class

Ariel Sharon: A Life in Times of Turmoil

Freddy Eytan discussed his newly released biography, Sharon: A Life in Times of Turmoil. For more than 50 years, Ariel Sharon was a significant player on the stage of Israeli politics. A chronicle of recent Israeli-Palestinian politics with more than 100 pages of little-known documents, the book talks about this man of legend, a figure of high controversy now lying at the edge of death but whose strength as Prime Minister of the Jewish state placed him at the crossroads of his people's destiny.

This former General, a hero of the Six Day and October Wars, pulled off spectacular military victories but also suffered humiliating failures such as occurred in Lebanon.

Freddy Eytan is author of eleven books, correspondent for Israeli State radio and television in Paris and professor at the Bar Ilan campus of the University of Jerusalem. Mr. Eytan has also been a distinguished career diplomat, first as Press Secretary to the Tsahal headquarters, then at the Israeli Embassies in Brussels and Paris, as spokesperson for the Israeli side during the 1986-88 peace negotiations and most recently as Ambassador of Israel to Mauritania.

"Israel After the Lebanon War: Lessons and Dangers"

Informational Weekend

Shabbat Service: “Giving the Gift of Life” - November 10
Marvin Reznik spoke on National Organ Donation Sabbath through a personal exploration that encompassed the Jewish responses and new laws affecting organ donation in Illinois. In the words of the late Rabbi Schindler, who served as President of UAHC and whose yarzheit occurs this weekend, “By gathering our heartaches into a house of worship, we find something transformative happening – our sorrows become windows of compassion. Paths through the wilderness, hewed and marked by past generations, give us our bearings. Patterns of meaning and significance emerge. We are moved from self-pity to love. Our individual heartbeats merge with the pulse of all humankind.”

Torah Study: “Do Not Stand Idle While Your Neighbor Bleeds” - November 11
Torah Study was led by Rabbi Michelle Greenberg on the topic of Pikuach Nefesh, to save a life. Parshat Vayera reveals different ways of fulfilling Pikuach Nefesh, the greatest of Jewish values, through our care for the ill, the stranger and the defiant.

Empty Nesters Brunch: “Tuesday’s Election: Was It Good for the Jews? Was it Good for the Country? Was it Good for the World?” - November 12
Rabbi Paul Cohen reviewed the election results and their potential impact on our local communities and the nation, including such topics as stem cell research and the war in Iraq.

"Celebrating the 150th Birthday of Freud: What's Jewish About Freud?"

Many have dubbed psychoanalysis a "Jewish science" and although Freud defined himself as a "Godless Jew," he definitively affirmed his Jewishness. Is it legitimate to delineate psychoanalysis as a "Jewish science"? What was the nature of Freud's Jewishness?

Dr. Marc Slutsky and Dr. Judith Heilizer took a closer look at this fascinating individual, dubbed the father of psychoanalytic psychology.