Please note: Due to a predicted snowstorm Friday night into Saturday morning, Or Emet’s Shabbat service and program on Saturday, Dec. 11, will be held over Zoom only. Please register in advance. Program details are otherwise the same (see below).

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Or Emet continues its fall programming on Saturday, Dec. 11, with a Humanistic Sabbath service, followed by a program on I.L. Peretz and Sholem Aleichem, two literary giants of Yiddish literature. The service, led by Eva Cohen, Or Emet’s ritual leader and a Humanistic rabbi-in-training, will begin at 10 a.m. at the Sabes Jewish Community Center, 4330 South Cedar Lake Rd., St. Louis Park.

Lea Kalisch

The program will feature readings (in English) from classic stories by I.L. Peretz and Sholem Aleichem by Lea Kalisch, a professional actress and singer, a veteran of New York’s Yiddish Theater and a recent performer at the Six Points Theater (formerly Minnesota Jewish Theatre Company). Or Emet members Barry Cohen and Molly Wilbur-Cohen also will provide commentary on the life and work of the two most influential authors of Yiddish literature. 

Kalisch, also known as the shtreimel (fur hat) girl, creates multicultural, multilingual art that blends Yiddishkayt with Latino flavor and New York swag. She believes that each of us can embrace multiple cultures and disparate passions. Kalisch, quoting her beloved Yiddish, says “Men ken nisht tantsn af zvey khasenes mit eyn tukhes!” which translates to “You can’t dance at two weddings with one butt,” but Kalisch can, or at least she tries.

All attendees must wear a mask and show proof of vaccination or a recent negative COVID test. Plans are subject to change based on CDC and state guidelines. Those who cannot attend in person may join over Zoom. Please register in advance.

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, Oct. 24, from 10 a.m.-noon, longtime Or Emet members Barry Cohen, Allan Malkis and Howard Schneider, retired sociologists with applied research backgrounds, will discuss changes and trends in Jewish demographics, practices and beliefs with important implications for Or Emet and the Minnesota Jewish community. 

The program will be at the Talmud Torah of St. Paul, 768 Hamline Ave. South in St. Paul. Those who cannot attend in person may join over Zoom. Register in advance here. 

Cohen has had a 50-year career as an academic, planner and researcher for government agencies, foundations and nonprofits. He is currently a senior consultant to the New Impact Fund.

Malkis is a lifelong learner of Jewish history who has co-presented a Jewish history course and given a number of lectures to Or Emet on various subjects. He is a retired social researcher last employed by Ramsey County Human Services. 

Schneider was a New Yorker until moving to Minnesota for graduate school. He has since lived in various areas around the Twin Cities. He retired after 40-plus years of research and planning for nonprofit and county government agencies.

The Sunday adult programs are free and open to the public and meet concurrently with the Jewish Cultural School. Everyone is required to wear a mask and show proof of vaccination or a negative COVID test within the previous 72 hours. 

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 School, contact JCS director Arty Dorman at school-1@oremet.org. 

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

(Photo illustration credit: Pew Research Center)

Or Emet, the Minnesota Congregation for Humanistic Judaism, begins its 2021 Shabbat programming at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 1, at the Sabes Jewish Community Center, 4330 South Cedar Lake Rd., St. Louis Park. Those who cannot attend in person may join over Zoom. Please register in advance.

Or Emet member Richard Logan will present “Jewish Protest Music in America and Abroad.” The program will include songs written and/or sung by Jewish people, and a song or two where Jews are the subject. Since this topic is so rich in material, the program will encourage discussion and suggestions. Logan is a past-president of Or Emet and the Society for Humanistic Judaism and a retired professor of human development.

Or Emet ritual leader and rabbinic candidate Eva Cohen will lead a short Humanistic Jewish Sabbath service preceding the program, which is free and open to the public. 

Please note: All attendees must wear a mask in all areas of the JCC and will be asked for proof of vaccination or a recent negative COVID test. Please bring written verification with you. Plans are subject to change based on CDC and state guidelines.

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 welcome@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? Or Emet member Rachel Wexelbaum will kick off the 2021-22 Sunday programming season with her research and facilitated discussion on the origins of Ashkenazi Jews. The program will run from 10 a.m.-noon Sunday, Sept. 26, at the Talmud Torah of St. Paul, 768 Hamline Ave. South in St. Paul. 

Please note: All attendees will be asked to wear masks 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. 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 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 School, contact JCS director Arty Dorman at school-1@oremet.org. 

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