Shabbat Program to Focus on Urban Pollution and Redlining in the Twin Cities

On Friday, May 9, from 7:30-9 p.m., Or Emet will host a Shabbat service led by Rabbi Eva Cohen, followed by a program and social time. The evening’s events will take place at the Minnesota JCC Sabes Center Minneapolis, 4330 S. Cedar Lake Road, Minneapolis. 

Andrew Hazzard

Andrew Hazzard

Following the service, Andrew Hazzard, a reporter with Sahan Journal, will present “Mapping Inequalities: How Historical Discrimination Created Environmental Justice Neighborhoods.” 

The talk will focus on the history of urban pollution and redlining in the Twin Cities and how that history is felt today in health disparities. Hazzard will discuss the historical redlining that kept Black and Jewish families from buying homes in certain neighborhoods, and how those geographical boundaries remain visible in modern maps of air pollution, asthma rates and poverty today. 

Hazzard, who grew up in the Twin Cities, is a graduate of the University of Missouri School of Journalism and a member of the Society of Environmental Journalists. After starting his career in daily newspapers in Mississippi and North Dakota, he returned to Minnesota, where he worked for local publications such as Southwest Journal. He enjoys travel, speaks Spanish and is a depressed supporter of Minnesota’s professional sports teams. 

Those who cannot attend in person may join over Zoom. Please register in advance here. 

Or Emet is a secular congregation celebrating and honoring Jewish culture, history and values from a humanistic, inclusive perspective. For more information about Or Emet, email info@oremet.org or visit oremet.org.

Program to Focus on History of Unitarianism

On Sunday, April 27, Or Emet will host a presentation by Philipp Muessig and Victor Urbanowicz on the history of Unitarianism.

The program will run from 10 a.m.-noon at Twin Cities German Immersion School, 1031 Como Ave. in St. Paul. A social time will follow.

Muessig, from First Universalist Church in Minneapolis, and Urbanowicz, from White Bear Unitarian Universalist Church in Mahtomedi, will talk about the long history and theological roots of Unitarianism. They will begin with some jokes about Unitarians and end with discussion of commonalities between Unitarian and Humanistic Judaism congregations.

Those who cannot attend in person may join via Zoom. Please register in advance here.

The Sunday adult programs are free and open to the public and meet concurrently with the Jewish Cultural Sunday School.

Or Emet is a secular congregation celebrating and honoring Jewish culture, history and values from a humanistic, inclusive perspective. 

For information about Or Emet’s Jewish Cultural Sunday School, contact JCSS director Molly Phipps at school@oremet.org. For information about Or Emet, email info@oremet.org or visit oremet.org.

Shabbat Program to Focus on the Dead Sea Scrolls

On Friday, April 4, from 7:30-9 p.m., Or Emet will host a Shabbat service led by Rabbi Eva Cohen, followed by a program and social time. The evening’s events will take place at the Minnesota JCC Sabes Center Minneapolis, 4330 S. Cedar Lake Road, Minneapolis. 

Following the service, Or Emet member Allan Malkis will speak about the Dead Sea Scrolls, a famous set of writings from Qumran, an area in the valley of the Dead Sea south of Jerusalem. It is the largest known collection from the era of the Second Temple of Jerusalem. The works include the books of the Hebrew Bible, commentaries on those books, and explanations of the rituals and practices of a religious sect active during that time.

What do the Dead Sea Scrolls tell us about Jewish thought and practices just before the first Jewish revolt against Rome and the destruction of the Second Temple? What relationship, if any, do they have to the sect that grew up around Jesus of Nazareth? 

Malkis, a former president of Or Emet, is a retired social researcher who holds a master’s degree in sociology from the University of Minnesota. He enjoys exploring the early history of the Israelite people. 

Those who cannot attend in person may join over Zoom. Please register in advance here. 

Or Emet is a secular congregation celebrating and honoring Jewish culture, history and values from a humanistic, inclusive perspective. For more information about Or Emet, email info@oremet.org or visit oremet.org.

Rabbi Adam Chalom to Explore Boundaries of Jewish Culture

On Sunday, March 23, Or Emet will host a presentation titled “What Is a Jewish Book?” by Rabbi Adam Chalom, dean for North America of the International Institute for Secular Humanistic Judaism (IISHJ) and rabbi at Kol Hadash Humanistic Congregation in Deerfield, Illinois. This learning session is in honor of the March 22 installation of Rabbi Eva Cohen as the new rabbi of Or Emet.

Rabbi Adam Chalom

Rabbi Adam Chalom

The event with Rabbi Chalom will run from 10 a.m.-noon at Twin Cities German Immersion School, 1031 Como Ave. in St. Paul. A social time will follow.

If Humanistic Jews root their Jewishness in Jewish heritage and culture rather than theology and commandments, then a clear understanding of what counts as Jewish culture is essential. Is everything written by Jewish authors “Jewish literature?” If not, then where should the boundaries of Jewish culture be drawn — or does Jewish culture need boundaries at all?

Chalom is co-editor of the book “Contemporary Humanistic Judaism: Beliefs, Values and Practices,” which was published by the Jewish Publication Society/University of Nebraska Press in January 2025. Signed copies will be available for purchase after the program.

Chalom, who has served as the rabbi at Kol Hadash since 2004, earned rabbinic ordination from the IISHJ.

Those who cannot attend in person may join via Zoom. Please register in advance here.

The Sunday adult programs are free and open to the public and meet concurrently with the Jewish Cultural Sunday School.

 Or Emet is a secular congregation celebrating and honoring Jewish culture, history and values from a humanistic, inclusive perspective. 

For information about Or Emet’s Jewish Cultural Sunday School, contact Phipps at school@oremet.org. For information about Or Emet, email info@oremet.org or visit oremet.org.

History of Jewish Communities in Hellenistic and Early Roman Egypt

On Sunday, Feb. 23, Or Emet will host a presentation by Dr. Patricia Ahearne-Kroll, Director of Graduate Studies in the Department of Classical and Near Eastern Religions and Cultures at the University of Minnesota. She will speak about Greek-speaking Jewish communities in Hellenistic and early Roman Egypt.

Dr. Patricia Ahearne-Kroll

Dr. Patricia Ahearne-Kroll

The event will run from 10 a.m.-noon at Twin Cities German Immersion School, 1031 Como Ave. in St. Paul. A social time will follow.

Ahearne-Kroll will talk about the evidence for Jewish life in Hellenistic and early Roman Egypt and the various ways these populations interacted with the multicultural realities of Egypt. 

Ahearne-Kroll holds a Ph.D. in Biblical Studies (Hebrew Bible) from the University of Chicago Divinity School. Her research has focused on Second Temple literature from Egypt as well as the impact of religious practices in Hellenistic Egypt on discourses of power and identity. 

Those who cannot attend in person may join via Zoom. Please register in advance here. 

The Sunday adult programs are free and open to the public and meet concurrently with the Jewish Cultural Sunday School.

Or Emet is a secular congregation celebrating and honoring Jewish culture, history and values from a humanistic, inclusive perspective.

For information about Or Emet’s Jewish Cultural Sunday School, contact Phipps at school@oremet.org. For information about Or Emet, email info@oremet.org or visit oremet.org.

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