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.

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

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.

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 (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.