Our synagogue will be home to this year’s Shabbat Retreat. We will host two special events: the first in the context of Friday night services, the second, a Shabbat morning study/discussion session.

GOOD AND EVIL THROUGH A JEWISH LENS: featuring Dr. Yedida Kanfer of the San Francisco Holocaust Center

Our focus Shabbat morning  is “Good and Evil in Judaism” through two consecutive workshops and a keynote speaker. You can attend any or all of the following programs:

10:00-10:15    WELCOME

10:15-10:45    CAIN and ABEL RE-EXAMINED

Using the lens of the mid-twentieth century philosopher, Martin Buber, Rabbi Lee will consider how the first murder in human history may not have been as evil as it seems.

10:50-11:20    GOOD AND EVIL IN JEWISH POP CULTURE

From Moses vs. Pharaoh to Superman vs. Lex Luthor to Hank Greenberg vs. Father Coughlin, Cantor Eric will explore the ways in which Jewish culture has approached the battle between forces for good and those for evil.

11:30-12:30    THE HOLOCAUST DIARY OF RYWKA LIPSZYC with Dr. Yedida Kanfer

All the world knows about the Diary of Anne Frank. Dr. Kanfer has helped bring to light the diary of Rywka Lipszyc, a fourteen year old girl, who lived in the darkest days of the Lodz Ghetto. Unlike secular Anne, Rywka was surrounded by a rich traditional religious life of study and belief. After a brief film, Dr. Kanfer will talk about the discovery and the contents of this important diary and will examine the consequences of losing one’s “home” and what it means for our times.

Dr. Kanfer is Coordinator of Education Services at the Holocaust Center in San Francisco.  A PhD graduate of Yale University in Russian and East European history, and a Fulbright scholar, Dr. Kanfer is also the granddaughter of Naomi Weinberg. A limited number of copies of Rywka Lispszyc’s Diary will be for sale during a light bagels lunch following Dr. Kanfer’s presentation.

We hope to see you in the course of this special Shabbat ‘In-House Retreat’ weekend.