Greetings
From the
Jewish Renaissance Project!
What is the Jewish Renaissance Project?!?
The Jewish Renaissance Project (JRP) is about you, your interests, your friends and your Jewish identity! JRP is an alternative choice for Penn students who want to figure out what Judaism means in a sophisticated and intellectually open way with other people who look and talk just like you. JRP programs are diverse and cover any way that you could want to explore your Judaism. There are 9 different initiatives that are designed for freshmen in the college houses, Greek students, upperclassmen who live off-campus and everyone else in between. Past events have included a freshmen breakfast for Yom Kippur, an outdoor Shabbat picnic dinner, and mini-classes (Judaism 101, Sex Drugs & Rock N’Roll…or whatever you’re interested in!)
In this Email:
1. The Kavannah Initiative
2. American Jewish Performers on Stage and Screen
1.) The Kavannah Initiative
Are you bored, confused or intimidated at services? Do you find yourself sitting there thinking, "I don't believe any of this?"
The Kavannah Initiative is an intellectual open discussion group for modern thinking people who want to figure out what all of the prayers actually mean.
This Paid Fellowship meets Wednesdays from 5:30-7pm (Feb. 17 - April 14) and we will go through the major prayers, unlocking their history and struggling to figure out what they actually mean.
We will be focusing on questions like, “Do these words actually mean something to me today?” “Do I have to take it all literally to be a good Jew?”
2.) American Jewish Performers on Stage and Screen
The Philomathean Society will be hosting a lecture by Dr. Beth Wenger, professor of history and Jewish studies. Please join us for a fun and interesting evening that won't be followed by a quiz. Hope to see you there!
Details:
AMERICAN JEWISH PERFORMERS ON STAGE AND SCREEN
Professor Beth Wenger, History
Monday February 1 at 6 PM in the Philomathean Halls, 4th floor College Hall
Jewish involvement in America's entertainment industry has been the subject of public discussion ever since the emergence of Broadway and Hollywood. Professor Beth Wenger will discuss the early history of Jewish performers in American musicals, film, and television. The talk will also feature film and television excerpts.
Refreshments will be served.
All Philomathean Society events are free and open to the public.
From the history department website:
Beth S. Wenger is Associate Professor of History and Director of the Jewish Studies Program at the University of Pennsylvania . She is the author of New York Jews and the Great Depression: Uncertain Promise (Yale University Press, 1996), which was awarded the Salo Baron Prize in Jewish History from the American Academy of Jewish Research.
Wenger received the 2008 Richard S. Dunn Award for Distinguished Teaching. Her teaching interests vary widely from broad surveys of modern European and American Jewish history, to courses on Holocaust memory, contemporary Jewish culture, American religious history, gender and Jewish history, as well as many other courses. A specialist in American Jewish history, Wenger's interests also include European Jewish culture, American religion and ethnicity, and cultural, social and gender history.
