Shabbat Program to Highlight Black Swans of 2024 Election

On Friday, Sept. 13, 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. 

David Schultz

David Schultz

Following the service, David Schultz will present “Black Swans, Unknown Unknowns and October Surprises in the 2024 Elections.” 

The 2024 election is one of the most unpredictable in recent American history, with many events defying conventional wisdom. More surprises are certainly possible. Schultz’s talk will look at what other black swans could emerge between now and election day.

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

Schultz is a distinguished university professor of political science and legal studies at Hamline University and an adjunct professor of law at the University of Minnesota and the University of St. Thomas. He is a three-time Fulbright scholar who has taught extensively in Europe and Asia, and is the winner of the Leslie A. Whittington national award for excellence in public affairs teaching.

The author of numerous books and articles, Schultz is regularly interviewed and quoted in the local, national and international media, including The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, the Economist and National Public Radio.

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 Eva Cohen to Lead ‘Intro to Judaism Through a Humanistic Lens’

Rabbi Eva Cohen

Rabbi Eva Cohen

Rabbi Eva Cohen of Or Emet, the Minnesota Congregation for Humanistic Judaism, will lead a three-session “Intro to Judaism Through a Humanistic Lens” course at the Rondo Community Library in St. Paul during the following dates and times:

  • Sunday, Sept. 8, 3-4:30 p.m.: “Philosophy, History and Shabbat”
  • Sunday, Sept. 15, 3-4:30 p.m.: “Jewish Holidays and Culture”
  • Sunday, Sept. 22, 3-4:30 p.m.: “Life Cycle Rituals and Big Questions”

Free parking is available in a garage beneath the building; enter from University Avenue.

Cohen received rabbinic ordination from the International Institute for Secular Humanistic Judaism in May 2024. In addition to being Or Emet’s first rabbi, she also is the first Humanistic rabbi in Minnesota.

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

For more information, email info@oremet.org or visit oremet.org.

Twin Cities’ newest religious leader grew up in the community she now serves

The Minnesota Congregation for Humanistic Judaism has a new leader, and for Rabbi Eva Rose Cohen, it’s a leadership position she was destined to achieve.

The now 37-year-old St. Paul native and recently ordained rabbi became the spiritual leader at Or Emet in May 2024. It is the very congregation in which she grew up and came of age.

Rabbi Eva Rose Cohen

Rabbi Eva Rose Cohen

“My family has been involved with Or Emet since I was around 8 years old,” she said. Rabbi Cohen attended Or Emet’s Sunday School in the 1990s, and after graduating from Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, in 2009, returned to the Twin Cities to do a year of AmeriCorps VISTA service — and also reconnected with Or Emet.

Cohen began teaching in the congregation’s Jewish Cultural Sunday School. In 2012, she was named as the school’s director. In that role, one of her primary jobs was to train B Mitzvah-bound students.

“I find it meaningful to teach young people and build relationships, and create excitement about Jewish culture,” said Rabbi Cohen.

Since it was a part-time position, she also took on roles as an afternoon schoolteacher at St. Paul’s Talmud Torah, and as a research assistant for nonprofits. In addition, she did some work as a standardized patient trainer, and completed work as an artist. Cohen specializes in compositions that incorporate expressive line work and hand-drawn collage elements that are figurative and a bit surreal.

“The common thread through all of my experiences has been to do work I find engaging. I enjoy drawing on my skills, learning new things and making a positive difference in the world,” said Rabbi Cohen, who made the decision to train to become a rabbi in 2017.

She earned her master’s degree in Classical and Near Eastern studies from the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities with a focus on the Hebrew Bible and the ancient Near East. She earned a rabbinical degree through the International Institute for Secular Humanistic Judaism, and shortly after being ordained was named the spiritual leader at Or Emet.

In addition to leading services for the congregation, and presiding over weddings and funerals, Rabbi Cohen plans to continue to teach and lead the congregation’s B Mitzvah program. Plus, she plans to do some advocacy work.

She is interested in increasing support for non-religious (or secular) people dealing with addiction. “The non-religious/secular part is key; a lot of recovery programs and resources are faith-based, which is problematic for atheists and agnostics — including secular Jews,” said Rabbi Cohen, who also plans to work to address immigrant rights as a social issue.

“As the congregation’s first rabbi, my hope is that I can increase our profile locally and within the state. I want to make us more visible to Jewish people from all backgrounds who maybe don’t relate with more religious streams of Judaism. Everyone is welcome here,” said Rabbi Cohen.

About Rabbi Eva Rose Cohen
Rabbi Eva Rose Cohen and her husband, Jack Spencer, live in Minneapolis. They have a four-year-old daughter named Freyja, who was born in February 2020, just as the Covid-19 pandemic was striking.

Rabbi Cohen is a 2005 graduate of St. Paul’s Central High School. She went on to Brown University in Rhode Island from which she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in anthropology and visual art. She graduated in spring 2009. She was awarded her Master of Arts in classical and Near Eastern studies from the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities in January 2020, and received rabbinic ordination from the International Institute for Secular Humanistic Judaism in May 2024.

In addition to being Or Emet’s first rabbi, she is also the first Humanistic rabbi in Minnesota.

About Or Emet
Or Emet is the Minnesota congregation for Humanistic Judaism, and welcomes all who identify with the history and culture of the Jewish people. Or Emet celebrated its 30th anniversary in 2018. The congregation currently has more than 160 members. Learn more at Oremet.org.

About Humanistic Judaism
Or Emet is an affiliate of the Society for Humanistic Judaism (SHJ), an international movement founded in 1963 in Detroit, Michigan, by Rabbi Sherwin Wine as a non-theistic alternative in contemporary Jewish life. Humanistic Jews believe in creating a meaningful Jewish life free from supernatural authority, and in celebrating the secular roots of Judaism.

SHJ has affiliates in North and South America, Israel, Europe and Australia. Learn more at Shj.org.

EDITOR’S NOTE: To arrange an interview with Rabbi Eva Rose Cohen, contact Rachel M. Anderson, publicist, at 952-240-2513 or rachel@rmapublicity.com.

Shabbat Program to Feature Minnesota ACLU Leader

On Friday, May 24, from 7:30-9 p.m., Or Emet will host a Shabbat service followed by a program and social time. The events will take place at the Minnesota JCC Sabes Center Minneapolis, 4330 S. Cedar Lake Road, Minneapolis. 

The service will be led by Or Emet’s Rabbi Eva Cohen, who was ordained on May 3.

Hailey Bailey

Hailey Bailey

After the service, Hailey Bailey, chief advancement officer for the American Civil Liberties Union of Minnesota, will present “From Small Town Dreams to Global Impact: A Journey Around the World.”

Bailey is responsible for holistically and strategically directing all fundraising, communications and outreach activities of the ACLU of Minnesota. She develops and executes coordinated fundraising strategies that include established special events, increasing individual giving and new methods of corporate and community support. 

Bailey works to develop and maintain a healthy and thriving organizational culture that values the principles of equity, diversity, inclusion and belonging, with the goal of fighting for systemic change and racial justice internally and externally. 

She holds a bachelor’s degree in biology and a master’s degree in public health. Originally from Idaho, she now has lived and worked in almost a dozen countries.

Those who cannot attend the program 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, email info@oremet.org or visit oremet.org.

Program to Showcase Johnny Clegg: Humanistic Jewish Role Model

On Sunday, May 19, Dr. Richard Logan will introduce us to Jewish South African anthropologist, singer-songwriter and anti-apartheid activist hero Johnny Clegg. Clegg was named the 2023-24 Humanistic Jewish Role Model by the Society for Humanistic Judaism. 

Johnny Clegg

Johnny Clegg (Dominique Cardinal photo)

The program will take place from 10 a.m.-noon at the Talmud Torah of St. Paul, 768 Hamline Ave. South in St. Paul. A social time will follow.

Logan will share the unique life story and music of Clegg to illustrate how he helped change a nation and earned the status of Humanistic Jewish Role Model.

Logan is a past-president of Or Emet and the Society for Humanistic Judaism and a retired professor of human development.

Those who cannot attend in person may join over 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-1@oremet.org. For information about Or Emet, email info@oremet.org or visit oremet.org.