On Saturday, Feb. 15, from 10-11:30 a.m., Or Emet will host a Shabbat service led by Rabbi Eva Cohen, followed by a program in solidarity with the HIAS Refugee Shabbat initiative. The events will take place at the Minnesota JCC Sabes Center Minneapolis, 4330 S. Cedar Lake Road, Minneapolis. 

Steven Thal

After the service, immigration attorney Steven Thal will present “Trump 2.0: Are We Still a Nation of Immigrants?” Thal will address recent changes in immigration policy under the Trump administration and their effect on immigrants and the community.

Thal practices immigration law in Minnetonka. He is a past chair of the Immigration Section of the Minnesota State Bar Association and the Minnesota/Dakotas Chapter of the American Immigration Lawyers Association. He also is a member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association, Minnesota State Bar Association, American Association for Justice, Minnesota Advocates for Human Rights and several other professional and civic groups. 

Thal earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Minnesota College of Liberal Arts and a law degree from the University of Minnesota Law School. Prior to law school, he spent two years in the Peace Corps in Ecuador, South America. 

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, Jan. 26, Or Emet members Allan Malkis and Molly Phipps will facilitate a discussion of the question, How should humanists teach their children about the Bible? 

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

Malkis, a former president of Or Emet, and Phipps, director of Or Emet’s Jewish Cultural Sunday School, will introduce the topic and share ideas. Those in attendance then will gather in small groups to discuss the issues and report back. 

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

On Saturday, Jan. 18, from 10-11:30 a.m., Or Emet will host a Shabbat service led by Rabbi Eva Cohen, followed by a program and social time. The morning’s events will take place at the Minnesota JCC Sabes Center Minneapolis, 4330 S. Cedar Lake Road, Minneapolis. 

Judith Tiferes

After the service, Or Emet member Judith Tiferes will present “The Fight for Social Justice: Growing Up As a Secular Jew in Argentina.” Tiferes will detail her family’s history, her memories of living in a post-dictatorship society and the impact of the Argentine Israelite Mutual Association bombing during her teens. Through personal stories and reflections, she will explore the complexities of cultural identity, resilience and community activism.

Tiferes is a human factors engineer working in the medical device industry. After receiving a Foreign Fulbright scholarship, she moved to the U.S. and earned a Ph.D. in human factors engineering from the State University of New York at Buffalo. She now lives in the Twin Cities area with her family.

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, Dec. 15, Or Emet will host a presentation by Robin J. Doroshow, executive director of the Jewish Historical Society of the Upper Midwest. Doroshow will present “Aberdeen, South Dakota: A Jewish History” from 10 a.m.-noon at Twin Cities German Immersion School, 1031 Como Ave. in St. Paul. A social time will follow.

Robin J. Doroshow

From her first visit to Aberdeen, South Dakota, in 2018, Doroshow knew it was a special community. In 2020, the JHSUM and Congregation B’nai Isaac of Aberdeen joined forces to research and document the history of Aberdeen’s Jewish community.

In June 2022, after months of research and oral history recording, the JHSUM published the journal “Aberdeen: A Jewish History” ​and released the video “A Stop Along the Way.” Both were premiered in Aberdeen as part of a Shabbat weekend celebration at B’nai Isaac and other locations around the city. Doroshow will show “A Stop Along the Way” during her Or Emet presentation.

Doroshow is a Minnesota native whose grandparents and great-grandparents were third-wave Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe who settled in St. Paul. 

She holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology and Jewish studies from the University of Minnesota and a law degree from William Mitchell College of Law. 

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.

On Saturday, Dec. 7, from 10-11:30 a.m., Or Emet will host a Shabbat service led by Rabbi Eva Cohen, followed by a program and social time. The morning’s events will take place at the Minnesota JCC Sabes Center Minneapolis, 4330 S. Cedar Lake Road, Minneapolis. 

Following the service, Or Emet member Arty Dorman will present “When Jews Began to Play Themselves on Broadway.” It is commonly known that many, if not most, of the composers, lyricists and book writers who created Broadway musicals as far back as the 1920s were Jewish. However, the shows they sent to producers and that the public embraced, did not, for many years, include stories of Jewish life or significant Jewish characters.  

Dorman will present examples of the turning point in that trend, highlighting shows from the early 1960s, including “I Can Get It for You Wholesale,” “Milk and Honey,” “Funny Girl,” “The Zulu and the Zayda” and, the biggest game-changer of all, “Fiddler on the Roof.”  

Dorman is a theater aficionado and the Twin Cities critic for “Talkin’ Broadway.” He is a former director of Or Emet’s Jewish Cultural Sunday School. 

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.