On Friday, Oct. 18, 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. 

Beth Gendler

Following the service, Beth Gendler, executive director of Jewish Community Action, an organization that provides a powerful Jewish voice in Minnesota’s movement for economic, racial and social justice, will present “Shelter of Justice: Sukkot and the Fight for Democracy and Housing Justice.”

Gendler will discuss how Sukkot, housing justice and the fight for a multifaith, multiracial democracy are all related. She also will talk about the work JCA is doing with its partners to support renters and to ensure that their voices are centered in the existential fight for democracy. 

Prior to joining JCA in 2022, Gendler served as executive director of The National Council of Jewish Women Minnesota, where she developed the Muslim & Jewish Women of Minnesota policy collaborative, the Courts Matter Minnesota Coalition, the Periods Happen menstrual equity initiative and the Rapid Response Emergency Fund. 

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.

On Sunday, Sept. 22, Or Emet will host a conversation and presentation by Doe Hoyer and Harry Greenberg, community organizers with the Twin Cities Repair Community for Makoce Ikikcupi  (Dakota land recovery). 

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

Outdoor earth lodge (Photo by Minnesota Repair Community member John Kellen)

Hoyer and Greenberg will talk about Makoce Ikikcupi, a reparative justice project for Dakota land recovery in Mni Sota Makoce (Minnesota), led by Dakota people. Attendees will learn about the project’s vision and how the Minnesota Repair Communities invite non-Native allies to follow Dakota leadership and support this work.

Hoyer is an organizer and song leader with the Coalition to Dismantle the Doctrine of Discovery and coordinates the Repair Network. They have lived on Dakota homelands for most of their life. Hoyer was raised Lutheran, but their spirituality is authentically Earth-based, which calls them into solidarity with Indigenous peoples. They are working on completing their master’s of divinity degree in interreligious chaplaincy and social transformation.

Greenberg grew up in a Jewish household and attended Hebrew school and Or Emet in his youth. He has always been involved in social justice movements, and learning more about the history of this land led him to supporting Makoce Ikikcupi. Greenberg helps to raise awareness about the most fundamental harm of settler colonialism, Indigenous disconnection from the land, by working among and speaking to other white or non-Native peoples about the many opportunities to support the “land back” movement, which is at the core of Makoce Ikikcupi’s work. 

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@oremet.org. For information about Or Emet, email info@oremet.org or visit oremet.org.

Or Emet, the Minnesota Congregation for Humanistic Judaism, is celebrating this year’s High Holidays with services at the Minnesota JCC Sabes Center Minneapolis, 4330 S. Cedar Lake Road, Minneapolis, along with the option to participate over Zoom. 

Or Emet invites everyone to share in our High Holiday services. We are a secular congregation celebrating and honoring Jewish culture, history and values from a humanistic, inclusive perspective. You can join us for Rosh Hashanah, Tashlich, Kol Nidre and/or Yom Kippur services, emphasizing the history and culture of the Jewish people and the values of each celebration.

The following programs will be led by Or Emet’s Rabbi Eva Cohen:

• Erev Rosh Hashanah: 7 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 2. (Register for Zoom.)
• Tashlich: 10:30 a.m. Thursday, Oct. 3, location to be announced. (No Zoom option. Email highholidays@oremet.org for details.)
• Kol Nidre: 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 11. (Register for Zoom.)
• Yom Kippur: 4 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 12. (Register for Zoom.)
• Following the Yom Kippur service, a break-fast meal will be served outdoors (indoors for bad weather) on JCC grounds. (Email highholidays@oremet.org for details.) 

In keeping with High Holiday tradition, Or Emet welcomes donations of nonperishable food and personal hygiene items to be shared with a local community center.

For more information about Or Emet’s High Holiday services, email highholidays@oremet.org. For general information about Or Emet, email  info@oremet.org or visit oremet.org.

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

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

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.