LEE SLAVUTIN The Voice of Jewish Mysticism Sunday, October 14 at 10:30 AM

Lee Slavutin studies Jewish texts daily. In recent years he has come to devote hours each day for the study of Torah in order to find spiritual meaning and fulfillment in his life. He is a graduate of Monash University in Melbourne, Australia where he also completed his studies in Medicine. A certified physician, Slavutin went on to specialize in Pathology and became a Fellow at the Royal College of Pathologists of Australia. Being licensed in Australia and New York, he moved on in his life to become a Chartered Life Underwriter and currently is a principle in Stern Slavutin-2 Inc. in New York City. He is the author of many articles and books in the field of medicine and life insurance and has spoken nation ally on subjects regarding life insurance and related subjects. His story leading him to the study of Jewish texts is a powerful one and we are honored to have him share it with us.

Born into a secular family in 1937, today Adin Steinsaltz is internationally regarded as one of the greatest rabbis of this century and of the last. Teacher, mystic, scientist, and social critic, and hailed by Time magazine as a “once in a millennium scholar,” Rabbi Steinsaltz has been a resident scholar at Yale University, at the Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton, and at the Woodrow Wilson Institute in Washington, D.C. Best known for his monumental translation of and commentary on the Talmud, Rabbi Steinsaltz has also founded a network of educational institutions and outreach programs in the United States, Israel, the former Soviet Union, Great Britain, and Australia. He is the recipient of the Israel Prize and of the French Order of Arts and Literature. The author of many books, including the contemporary classic The Thirteen Petalled Rose, Rabbi Steinsaltz is widely known throughout the world as an extraordinary teacher. He has been featured on Good Morning America and National Public Radio, as well as in People, Newsweek, and many other publications and media. The Rabbi is also a featured panelist on the Newsweek website’s On Faith page. You can learn more about the Rabbi and his work at www.steinsaltz.org.

RABBI LAWRENCE KUSHNER Kabbalah: A Reform Approach Monday, October 22 at 7:30 PM

Lawrence Kushner is a rabbi, writer and teacher who has authored over a dozen books on Jewish mysticism and spirituality. He is a regular contributor to major national media outlets like NPR’s All Things Considered, The New York Times, and People magazine.

Kushner currently lives in San Francisco where he is the Emanu El Scholar In Residence at Congregation Emanu El of San Francisco and a Visiting Professor of Jewish Spirituality at the Graduate Theological University in Berkeley, CA. Rabbi Kushner is speaking as a Keeper in partnership with Friends’ Health Connection of New Brunswick.

Our co sponsor for this event, Friends’ Health Connection, is a nonprofit organization that connects people who are currently experiencing or who have overcome the same disease, illness, handicap or injury in order to communicate for mutual support. Their Patient Network connects individuals with health problems; their Caregiver Network connects family members, friends and caregivers of people with health problems.

LEN LYONS The Ethiopian Jews: Stories of Life in the Promised Land Sunday morning, February 10 at 10:30 AM

Andrew Silow Carroll is the editor in chief of the New Jersey Jewish News. In a long career in Jewish journalism, he has been the managing editor of the Forward, the editor of the Washington Jewish Week, senior editor of Moment magazine and a reporter for the JTA. In addition to his journalism experience, from 1996 to 1998 he lived in Israel as a Jerusalem Fellow, an international program in Jewish education sponsored by the Mandel Foundation. He is a 2006 graduate of Leadership New Jersey, a civic and political seminar program for emerging state leaders.

NOA BAUM A Land Twice Promised Sunday morning, May 4 at 10:30 AM

Noa Baum was born and raised in Jerusalem. Since 1982 she has been performing and teaching in schools, libraries, festivals and many other settings for audiences of all ages, and this is her story:

Noa received a BFA in Theater Arts from Tel Aviv University and was an actress with the Khan Repertory Theater of Jerusalem. One day, when the theater had financial difficulties, she was ‘cast out’ to do the Cinderella Job: entertain family audiences with stories and creative drama. Initially downcast and humiliated, she soon discovered that there is a blessing in every curse and was intrigued by the healing power of stories and drama. She set out in search of more. She studied acting with Uta Hagen in N.Y. and received an M.A. in Educational Theater from N.Y.U. with an emphasis on Drama Therapy. (Her teachers include Robert Landy, U.S.A. and Sue Jennings, U.K.). She was awarded a Graduate Assistance Fellowship with C.A.T. Theater in Education Company of N.Y.U. and worked in inner city schools.

Returning to Tel Aviv she continued to combine storytelling and drama working in a school for emotionally disturbed boys and teaching at teachers’ colleges. She toured Israel with a shadow puppet show and storytelling presentations. In 1990 she returned to the U.S. Since 1993 she has trained with Kaya Anderson and the Roy Hart Theater (based in France) exploring “the inextricable link between the voice and the psychology of the individual” and expanding the potential of the human voice.

Join us for a dramatic performance by this award winning storyteller who makes her audience a part of her story.