On Friday, April 19, 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 Eva Cohen, Or Emet’s ritual leader and a Humanistic rabbi in training. 

Judith Brin Ingber

After the service, Judith Brin Ingber, former head of the dance department at the University of Minnesota and acknowledged Jewish dance historian, will present her illustrated talk, “Exterminating Pests: Fireflies, Ladybugs and Children at Terezin Concentration Camp.” 

Brin Ingber has been researching performances in the unlikely site of the Nazi ghetto camp outside Prague for more than 30 years. During Word War II, over 12,000 children were imprisoned there with their families, as well as artists including the dancer/choreographer Kamila Rosenbumova. She created musicals for and by children. 

Only 100 children survived the war and there was barely anyone to tell the story of the remarkable musicals in Terezin. But Brin Ingber persevered in her research, which resulted in performances at the St. Paul Slovak Czech center, Sokol, as well as her chapter in the new online, free textbook for high school and college students, “The Holocaust: Remembrance, Respect, and Resilience.”

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.

Or Emet president Allan Malkis will speak about the Dead Sea Scrolls from 10 a.m.-noon Sunday, April 14, at the Talmud Torah of St. Paul, 768 Hamline Ave. South in St. Paul. A social time will follow.

The Dead Sea Scrolls are a famous set of writings from Qumran, an area in the valley of the Dead Sea south of Jerusalem, that provide the largest known collection from the era of the Second Temple of Jerusalem. The works include the books of the Bible, commentaries on those books, and explanations of the rituals and practices of a religious sect active during that time.

What do they 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 longtime member 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 and recently participated in a webinar studying the scrolls and their times, led by prominent (and controversial) biblical scholar Dr. James Tabor. 

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.

On Saturday, April 27, from 4:30-7:30 p.m., Or Emet, the Minnesota Congregation for Humanistic Judaism, will host a Passover Seder at the First Unitarian Society of Minneapolis, 900 Mount Curve Ave., Minneapolis. Or Emet members and visitors are welcome to attend.

 Or Emet’s Seder celebrates Passover with a Humanistic Jewish service led by rabbinic candidate and ritual leader Eva Cohen. The service emphasizes themes of human freedom and dignity, the capacity to change our destiny and the power of hope. The Seder also includes traditional Passover elements and songs.

The event will be in a hybrid format with a Zoom option. Register for the Zoom option here.

The dinner will be a Mediterranean-style, catered meal from Ansari’s, with chicken kabobs, rice, falafel, Greek salad, vegetarian stir-fry and hummus. The meal will include vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free choices.

For the catered meal, the cost is:

• Adults (age 14 and over): $15 for adult members; $25 for non-members.
• Kids (age 0-13): $5 for members; $10 for non-members.

To RSVP, please complete this form. You can select how many meals you will need and sign up for volunteer opportunities, including reading during the service, bringing drinks/desserts or helping with setup or cleanup. The RSVP form will link to online payment options. Cash or checks also will be accepted at the door.

Please register by Friday, April 12. Reservations are limited, with members receiving priority. We look forward to celebrating Passover with you!

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, March 22, 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 Eva Cohen, Or Emet’s ritual leader and a Humanistic rabbi in training. 

After the service, Or Emet vice president Jeff Pipes will discuss the Jews for a Secular Democracy (JFASD) organization. 

JFASD is focused on issues of religion-state separation from a Jewish perspective. Why? Because throughout American history, Jews, as a minority religion, have benefited from a pluralistic society and government. JFASD advocates for religious freedom for all religions and all people.

Pipes, the Minnesota director for JFASD, is a retired lawyer and winery owner.

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, March 17, Dr. David Gardiner, director of Irish Studies at the University of St. Thomas and editor of the New Hibernia Review, will explore the history of Irish-Jewish connections with Or Emet member Dr. Michal Moskow, professor emerita at Metropolitan State University.

This program, on St. Patrick’s Day, will run from 10 a.m.-noon at the Talmud Torah of St. Paul, 768 Hamline Ave. South in St. Paul. A social time will follow.

Gardiner will focus on James Joyce’s hero, Leopold Bloom, and what Bloom’s perceived Jewish identity in “Ulysses” (1922) demonstrates about his role in Ireland and Europe at the beginning of the 20th century.

Moskow will speak about the Jewish community in Ireland with a focus on a brief historical overview. She will highlight the role of Ireland in saving Jewish children during the Holocaust and will provide brief comments on loyalties to Israel or Palestine during the Second Intifada and Queen Elizabeth’s Golden Jubilee.

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.