On Friday, Oct. 28, from 7:30-9 p.m., Or Emet will host a Shabbat service followed by a program about the upcoming midterm elections. The evening’s events will take place at the Minnesota JCC Sabes Center Minneapolis, 4330 S. Cedar Lake Road, Minneapolis. The service will be led by Eva Cohen, Or Emet’s ritual leader and a Humanistic rabbi-in-training. 

David Schultz

Following the service, David Schultz, a professor at Hamline University and the University of Minnesota Law School, will present “What’s at Stake for the Midterm Elections in Minnesota and the Nation?” The 2022 elections may well be the most consequential in American history and decide the trajectory of the future of American democracy. Schultz’s talk will examine what is at stake in the 2022 elections, as well as the forces that will shape it and what the results may mean. A social time will follow the program. 

Schultz is a distinguished university professor in the departments of political science, environmental studies and legal studies at Hamline University and a professor of law at the University of Minnesota. 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.

Those who cannot attend in person may join over Zoom. Please register in advance here. In-person attendees must wear a mask indoors and are expected to be up to date on vaccinations or have a same-day negative COVID test.

Or Emet’s events and programs may change per CDC and state guidelines during the pandemic. All updates and changes will be posted in Or Emet’s events calendar. 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.

As inspired by Bob Marley, “If you know your history, then you will know where you’re coming from.” The question is … which history? 

Rachel Wexelbaum

On Sunday, Oct. 16, Or Emet member Rachel Wexelbaum will present her research and facilitate a discussion on the origins of Ashkenazi Jews from 10 a.m.-noon at the Talmud Torah of St. Paul, 768 Hamline Ave. South in St. Paul. A social time will follow the program. Those who cannot attend in person may join over Zoom. Please register in advance here. 

Wexelbaum is an independent writer and researcher who focuses on LGBTQ+ and Jewish identities, histories and community building via cultural preservation, activism and Wikimedia projects. With more than 20 years’ experience as an educator, librarian and human rights advocate, she currently works as the education director at the St. Cloud Correctional Facility of the Minnesota Department of Corrections.

The Sunday adult programs are free and open to the public and meet concurrently with the Jewish Cultural Sunday School. Please note: All attendees must wear a mask indoors and are expected to be up to date on vaccinations or have a same-day negative COVID test.

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.

Or Emet 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. All services will be held in a large event space to allow for physical distancing.

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 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 ritual leader and rabbinic candidate Eva Cohen:

• Erev Rosh Hashanah: 7 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 25. (Register for Zoom.)
• Tashlich: 10:30 a.m. Monday, Sept. 26, location to be announced. (No Zoom option. Registration required.)
• Kol Nidre: 7 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 4. (Register for Zoom.)
• Yom Kippur: 4 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 5. (Register for Zoom.)
• Following the Yom Kippur service, a break-fast meal will be served outdoors under a tent on JCC property. (Registration required.) 

All attendees must wear a mask indoors and are expected to be up to date on vaccinations or have a same-day negative COVID test.

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.

Or Emet will host a program titled “Or Emet 101: Interviews with Founding and Long-Term Members” from 10 a.m.-noon Sunday, Sept. 18, at the Talmud Torah of St. Paul, 768 Hamline Ave. South in St. Paul. The program will be led by Scott Chazdon, an Or Emet member who served as president of the congregation from 2018-2021.

In 2019, Or Emet received a grant from the Minnesota Historical Society to conduct oral history interviews with founding and long-term members. During the past two years, a team of Or Emet members conducted 14 interviews, mostly over Zoom. The group compiled a one-hour video with excerpts from these interviews. 

During this session, attendees will watch the video, pausing to discuss four core themes: forming a Jewish identity, early beliefs about God, discovery of Humanistic Judaism and “Or Emet has never had an edifice complex,” as well as ideas for next steps with this oral history work. A social time will follow the program.

Everyone is required to wear a mask and show proof of vaccination or a negative COVID test within the previous 72 hours. Those who cannot attend in person may join over Zoom. Please register in advance here. 

Or Emet’s Sunday adult programs are free and open to the public, and meet concurrently with Or Emet’s Jewish Cultural Sunday School. Or Emet is a secular congregation celebrating and honoring Jewish culture, history and values from a humanistic, inclusive perspective. 

Or Emet’s events and programs may change per CDC and state guidelines during the pandemic. All updates and changes will be posted in Or Emet’s events calendar. For information about Or Emet, email info@oremet.org or visit oremet.org. 

Or Emet will host a Shabbat service followed by a program about Jewish storytelling and the legend of the Lamed Vavnik from 7:30-9 p.m. Friday, Sept. 9, at the Minnesota JCC Sabes Center Minneapolis, 4330 S. Cedar Lake Road, Minneapolis. The service will be led by Eva Cohen, Or Emet’s ritual leader and a Humanistic rabbi-in-training.

Faith Oremland

After the service, Faith Oremland, a Twin Cities storyteller and longtime member of Or Emet, will address questions such as: Can stories change the world? Is the legend of the Lamed Vavnik true and are you a Lamed Vavnik? What was Isaac Bashevis Singer thinking when he wrote “Gimpel the Fool”? Please join us for a lively discussion! A social time will follow the program.

All attendees must wear a mask and show proof of vaccination or a recent negative COVID test. Those who cannot attend in person may join over Zoom. Please register in advance here. 

Or Emet’s events and programs may change per CDC and state guidelines during the pandemic. All updates and changes will be posted in Or Emet’s events calendar.

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.