2022/23 Update on The Belmont University Initiative for Jewish Engagement

The Belmont University Initiative for Jewish Engagement program continues to develop relationships between Nashville’s Jewish and Christian communities. The initiative, now heading into its second year, is offering a full slate of lectures, workshops, book groups, and hands on travel experiences. According to Rabbi Mark Schiftan, who has been a leader in the effort, “When it comes to fostering a deeper understanding of Jewish tradition in the Christian community, there has been a vacuum, and Belmont wants to fill that space with ongoing engagement. This is my passion, and I can think of no higher academic offering from our Jewish community.”

Promoting Pluralism

The Ken Burns documentary, The U.S. and the Holocaust, debuted at the end of September, and the Gordon JCC hosted a preview on September 14. As with all of Mr. Burns’ work, the documentary is meticulously researched, and contextualized within the bigger story of our nation’s complicated history related to immigration, racism, and discrimination. It begins with historic records and video of notable American public and private sector leaders and the shocking lengths they were willing to go to bar certain immigrant and refugee populations from tarnishing the white protestant ideal they hoped to protect, including open and blatant antisemitic views. These views were ultimately at the heart of decisions to maintain quotas, and the refusal to allow greater numbers of Jewish refugees fleeing Nazi Germany be afforded safety in the United States.

Newcomer Highlight

PROTECTING ASSETS IN MARRIAGE AND DIVORCE

It is often said that the best defense is a good offense. No one wants to plan for divorce, and yet, the best way to protect your assets through a divorce is to begin preparing today. Whether you have been blessed with a large inheritance passed down for generations or are in the initial stages of accumulating a few personal items, there is no better time to plan than now.

My incredible journey to Kazakhstan!

״Your Challenge May be your Purpose״

Award-Winning Holocaust Documentary Has Nashville Ties

“Three Minutes: A Lengthening,” which won the inaugural award from Yad Vashem for Cinematic Excellence in a Holocaust Documentary earlier this year, will screen at The Belcourt Theater on Tuesday, September 13, 2022, at 7:00 pm, followed by Q&A with author Glenn Kurtz. The film is narrated by Helena Bonham Carter and co-produced by Steve McQueen (“12 Years a Slave”).

Camp Davis Summer 2022 was our Best Summer Yet!

While the fun and ruach of Camp Davis Summer 2022 is over, there is much to celebrate as we head into the Fall. The new Camp Davis Leadership -- Camp Director Andrew Fishman and Assistant Director Max O'Dell -- took camp in a new and exciting direction, much to the delight of the campers and their families.

NPT and the Gordon JCC Present: THE U.S. AND THE HOLOCAUST

The Gordon JCC and Nashville Public Television invite the community to a special preview of THE U.S. AND THE HOLOCAUST, a new documentary by Ken Burns, Lynn Novick & Sarah Botstein, on Wednesday, September 14 at 7PM in the Gordon JCC’s Pargh Auditorium. In addition to the preview, the event will include a screening of Our American Family: The Mays. This story about the local May family, who many know as running the May Hosiery Mill in Wedgewood-Houston, also tells how the Mays were instrumental in helping hundreds of Jews escape to America before World War II began. The program is free and open to the public.

Cantor Duvid Erblich will lead High Holiday Services at Chabad

Congregation Beit Tefilah is honored and pleased to welcome Cantor Duvid Erblich to lead the High Holiday services during the High Holiday season of 5783.

A Rosh Hashanah New Year’s Eve Dinner with ALL of the Trimmings

As High Holidays 5783 will roll around very soon, many are deciding where they plan to attend services. Yet, there is another aspect to this special season. Just as spiritual preparation is needed as we approach the High Holy Days, holiday meal preparation also remains an important feature of our traditions. Jewish people are known to be major foodies (our friends and neighbors still can’t believe that we prepare Thanksgiving-worthy meals every week for Shabbat!), and we wear our chef badges with pride.

Shofar in the Park Comes to Nashville

The Jewish people have been blowing the Shofar, a simple hollowed out ram's horn, for thousands of years in celebration of Rosh Hashana, the beginning of the Jewish New Year – also known as the birthday of humanity. According to Jewish law, one must hear the blasts directly from the shofar itself. No other medium will do — not a microphone, not a computer, not even a slight echo.

Isn’t It Time for A Single K-12 United Nashville Jewish Community School?

Study after study confirm the vital role that Jewish schools play in the continuity and survival of the Jewish people. Here in Nashville, we have outstanding models of those educational institutions, all committed towards achieving that end.

Congregation Micah Introduces Use of Gender Inclusive Pronouns

Is it Bar Mitzvah, Bat Mitzvah or…

MTSU Holocaust Studies Conference Returns After Four Year Absence

Middle Tennessee State University’s Biannual Holocaust Studies Conference returns September 22nd and 23rd. This year’s conference is the first since Covid interrupted plans in 2020. The event draws scholars from around the world from diverse disciplines to share their research with other academics, the university’s students, and the general public. The theme is Teaching the Holocaust Today, but papers will be presented on a wide range of topics related to the Holocaust. Dr. Elyce Helford is a Professor of English, Director of Jewish and Holocaust Studies Minor, and Co-chair of the conference. She says, “Learning about the Holocaust provides a vital touchstone for understanding why it is important to remember the genocide of millions of people. Interest combined with lack of knowledge can lead to denialism, misinformation, and more hatred.”

JMS Pioneers New Strings Program

AKIVA REOPENS WITH NEW STATE-OF-THE-ART PLAYGROUND

Jewish Family Service Provides Financial Assistance in Uncertain Times

Shofar-People

In his book When all you ever wanted isn’t enough, Rabbi Harold Kushner shares that, years ago, he “was sitting on a beach one summer day, watching two children, a boy and a girl, playing in the sand. They were hard at work building an elaborate sand castle by the water’s edge, with gates and towers and moats and internal passages. Just when they had nearly finished their project, a big wave came along and knocked it down, reducing it to a heap of wet sand.” At that point, Kushner says that he, “expected the children to burst into tears, devastated by what had happened to all their hard work. But they surprised [him]. Instead, they ran up the shore away from the water, laughing and holding hands, and sat down to build another castle.” In that moment, Kushner realized that the two kids had taught him a wonderful lesson: “All the things in our lives, all the complicated structures we spend so much time and energy creating, are built on sand. Only our relationships to other people endure. Sooner or later, the wave will come along and knock down what we have worked so hard to build up. When that happens, only the person who has somebody’s hand to hold will be able to laugh.”

Writers of the Lost Ark

Writers of the Lost Ark, the Temple’s writer’s group, recently got a head start on the High Holy Days by sharing their works in a special showcase that focused on the season’s theme of peace and renewal. Here are two poems that were featured that night. The first is written by Frank Boehm, inspired by Yom Kippur, while the other is a collaborative effort of 12 writers who were each challenged to contribute two lines. In order of their creative endeavors about peace and renewal are the following writers: Nina Pacent, Rick Forberg, Betsy Chernau, MaryBeth Stone, Rabbi Michael Shulman, Frank Boehm, Becky Warren, Rise Tucker, Ruth Thomas, Loretta Saff, Martin Sir and Brennan Langenbach.

Hillel Anniversary