West Orange–Congregation Ohr Torah will be hosting Rabbi Dr. Jacob J. Schacter, professor of Jewish History and Jewish Thought and Senior Scholar at the Center for the Jewish Future at YU at the fifth annual Jeffrey Berger/Stephanie Shatkin Memorial Lecture Series on January 30–31, Parshat B’shalach. The series was dedicated by Ohr Torah members Karen Berger and Elia Weixelbaum in memory of each of their first spouses. The mission is to bring scholars-in-residence to the shul. The annual event is very successful for the synagogue and is well attended by members from the entire community. Approximately 100 people participate annaully in the Friday night dinner preceding the scholar’s presentation.
Rabbi Dr. Schacter will speak three times over the course of Shabbat. Following the Friday night dinner, his topic will be Jerusalem in Christianity, Islam, and Judaism. Following Shabbat morning services, he will speak about hard choices facing American Jews in the 21st century. Finally, during the seudah shlishit, his talk will be entitled, “Did Moshe Rabbeinu Know Everything?”
The expectation is that this year’s lectures will be the most heavily attended to date.
Rabbi Dr. Schacter is the author or co-author of many books, articles, and reviews including A Modern Heretic and a Traditional Community: Mordecai M. Kaplan, Orthodoxy, and American Judaism and The Lord is Righteous in All His Ways: Reflections on the Tisha B’Av Kinot by Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik. He is currently completing a Hebrew edition of the autobiography of Rabbi Jacob Emden, a leading German rabbi and Talmudist in the early 18th century.
The cost of the dinner is $18/person, with a $54/family maximum. Sponsorships are available for $180 and $250. $180 sponsorships include the Friday night dinner, and the $250 sponsorship includes dinner on Friday and a private Shabbat luncheon with Rabbi Dr. Schacter and other sponsors in that category. For those interested in sponsoring the program or attending the dinner, visit www.CongregationOhrTorah.org or contact Mr. Bruce Bukiet at [email protected].
By Jill Kirsch
