2009

January 4–Kiddish HaHaShem (martyrdom) on Yom Kippur. Analysis of two Yom Kippur Musaf Prayers: Eleh Ezkerah and the 93 Beit Yaakov Maidens.

Professor Zev Garber is chair of the Dept. of Religion, Jewish Studies at Los Angeles Valley College. He has a B.A. from Hunter College (NYC) and M.A. and Ph.D. degrees from UCLA. He is Editor-in-Chief of Studies in the Shoah series, and co-editor of the scholarly journal, Shofar). He has lectured in the United States, Israel and Europe and is a dynamic force in the field of Jewish Education.

January 25–The Final Solution by Michael Chabon. A Sherlock Holmes serious farce with Holocaust underpinnings-by a Jewish writer.

Professor Abe Ravitz holds a Ph.D. from NYU and is Emeritus Professor of English Literature at California State University, Dominguez Hills. Professor Ravitz is a provocative speaker. He has written extensively on Clarence Darrow, Ben Hecht and other writers of the thirties.

February 1–Soul Quest. The Journey through Life, Death, and Beyond.

Rabbi Yitzie Magalnic was born and raised in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, New York where the world headquarters of the Chabad movement is located. He spent his first year of rabbinical college in Israel and in 1986 Lubavitcher Rebbe Rabbi Schneerson sent him to Seattle, to continue his rabbinical studies and be involved in the life of the Jewish community. He received his Rabbinic Ordination from the United Lubavitcher Yeshiva in 1989. In 1990 Rabbi Yitzie Magalnic established the Chabad Jewish Center in Palos Verdes.

February 8–Palestinian and Jewish Refugees: A Look at the Past and Present. A slide-lecture about Palestitian refugees (1948-present), Jewish refugees from Europe and Muslim countries (1945-1989), and where they are now.

Professor Jody Meyers has a B.A. from Brandeis University and an M.A. and a Ph.D. from University of California, Los Angeles. She is Professor in and the Coordinator of the Jewish Studies Interdisciplinary Program at California State University, Northridge, College of Humanities.

March 1–Is What Got Us Here Going to Get Us There? Ours is an age of rapid and radical change. Judaism is a culture of tradition and history. What must change in Jewish life for us to see a renewal of Jewish life in the 21st Century?

Rabbi Ed Feinstein holds a B.A. from the University of California, Santa Cruz, a B.Lit. in Judaism from the University of Judaism, an M.A. in Judaism and ordination from the Jewish Theological Seminary of America, and an M.A. in Religion and Education from the Teachers College of Columbia University. He serves as rabbi at Valley Beth Shalom in Encino, and as an instructor at the Ziegler Rabbinical School of the University of Judaism. He is a Commissioner of Human Relations for the City of Los Angeles. Rabbi Feinstein has taught in Israel, Canada and the United States, and has been a Scholar in Residence at camps, temples and seminaries throughout the United States and Canada.

March 15 –Jerusalem: City of Peace and City in Pieces. Discussion of the history of the city and how the history shapes the current conflicts between Israel and Palestinians.

Professor Gary Gilbert, Assistant Professor of Philosophy and Religious Studies at Claremont McKenna College. He holds a B.A. degree in Classics from Haverford College and has an M.A. and a Ph.D. from Columbia University in Religion and Theology. Among many research papers, he has written on Jews in Aphrodesias, The Disappearance of the Gentiles: God-fearers and the Image of Jews in Luke-Acts.

April 12–History of Reform Judaism in the United States. The evolution of Reform Judaism from the mid-19th century in America to the present.

Professor Arlene Lazarowitz received a B.A. and M.A. in American and European History from California State University, Long Beach. She received a Ph.D. from UCLA in 20th Century U.S. History of Politics and Foreign Policy.

April 26–Protestantism in Latin America: Growth and Impact. Decline of Catholicism and Rise of Protestantism.

Professor Carlos Piar, Professor of Theology at California State, Long Beach. He holds a B.A. in Theology from Biola College and a M.A. in Theology from Talbot Seminary. He has a Ph.D. in Religious Studies from USC.

May 10–Israel: Creative Ground. Modern and Contemporary Art created in and inspired by Israel, including speakers own art. NOTE DATE CHANGE

Marcie Kaufman has a B.A. from the University of Southern California and an M.F.A. from Claremont Graduate University. She is presently Art Program Director, for the Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles.

May 17–How Have Race Relations Changed Since November 2008. America in the post Obama Age.

The Honorable Joe Hicks, former Director of the Commission on Human Relations for the City of Los Angeles, he has served as Communications Director for the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California, and as Executive Director of the Los Angeles Chapter of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. Following the 1992 Los Angeles riots, he founded and became the Executive Director of the Multi-Cultural Collaborative. After serving as the Director of the Center for the Study of Popular Culture, he is presently Vice President of Community Advocates, Inc.

May 24–Kabbalah and Names of God. Explanation of names of God from Tanach to Medieval period.

Professor Yechiel Shalom Goldberg, holds a B.A. and an M.A. in Jewish Studies from Brandeis University, and a Ph.D. in Jewish Studies from New York University. He completed his dissertation and writings on Mysticism and Kabbalah and the Philosophy of Maimonides. He has taught at New York University, the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College, University of Rochester, University of Indiana and Cal State University Long Beach.