Speaker: Dr. Hasia Diner, Paul and Sylvia Steinberg Professor of American Jewish History at New York University  Location: JCC of Greater Washington; Rockville, MD From the idea that the eighteenth century constituted a "sephardi era" in American Jewish history through the decades following World War II in which American Jews shunned talking about and memorializing the Holocaust, the history of the Jews of the United States has been laced throughout with myths which do not stand up to the test of historical evidence. This lecture examines a number of those ideas about the American Jewish past which have dominated popular memory. It juxtaposes them against the actual historical data and explores why such renditions of the past have held on so long and so tenaciously.
Also co-sponsored by Georgetown University Program for Jewish Civilization and the Jewish Historical Society of Greater Washington

Between History and Memory: Rethinking the American Jewish Past

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Speaker: Dr. Geraldine Gudefin Series: Rabbi Joshua O. Haberman Distinguished Speaker Series Location: Ohr Kodesh Congregation, Chevy Chase, MD Date: April 28, 2019 Bordeaux, as most Americans know, is one of the most important wine regions of France. Less known is the fact that for several centuries, Bordeaux and its region hosted a vibrant Jewish community, which made numerous contributions to the history of France. Join us to retrace the history of this unique Jewish community across four centuries. In this talk, Dr. Gudefin presents both a local and a global story — an exploration of a French Jewish community that developed unique traditions, rooted in the culture and the landscape of Southern France, while remaining connected to the Jewish diaspora spanning several continents.  

From New Christians to French Citizens: Jews of the Bordeaux Region

Speaker: Professor Pamela Nadell  Series: Rabbi Joshua O. Haberman Distinguished Speaker Series Location: JCC of Northern Virginia Date: February 6, 2019 This lecture was also given on March 11, 2019 at Kol Shalom in Rockville, Maryland.  In her groundbreaking new history, Pamela Nadell asks what does it mean to be a Jewish woman in America? Weaving together stories from the colonial era’s matriarch, Grace Nathan, and her great-granddaughter, poet Emma Lazarus, to union organizer, Bessie Hillman, and the eminent Supreme Court Justice, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Professor Nadell shows two threads binding the nation’s Jewish women: a strong sense of self and a resolute commitment to making the world a better place. Informed by the shared values of America’s founding and Jewish identity, America’s Jewish women – the well-known and the scores of activists, workers, wives, and mothers whose names linger on among their communities and families – left deep footprints in the history of the nation they called home.

America's Jewish Women: A History from Colonial Times to Today

Speaker: Professor Jonathan D. Sarna Series: Rabbi Joshua O. Haberman Distinguished Speaker Series Location: Ohr Kodesh Congregation, Chevy Chase, MD Date: November 11, 2018 The first U.S. President who actively sought to attract support from Jewish voters was none other than Abraham Lincoln. Renowned historian Jonathan D. Sarna will reveal how Lincoln’s remarkable relationship with American Jews impacted both his path to the presidency and his policy decisions as president. Using recently discovered documents featured in his book (written with collector Benjamin Shapell), Lincoln and the Jews, Professor Sarna will share this new and previously unknown aspect of Abraham Lincoln’s life, one that broadened him, and, as a result, broadened America.   

Lincoln and the Jews

Speaker: Professor Marsha Rozenblit Series: Special Event Location: Washington Hebrew Congregation, Washington, DC Date: December 9, 2019 Our community came together to honor the legacy of our organization's founder, Rabbi Joshua O. Haberman, z"l. We learned about the world that influenced Rabbi Haberman's life and teachings through Professor Marsha Rozenblit's lecture, "At Home in the Austian Capital: Viennese Jews Before World War II." Then the President of the Board of Directors, Elaine Amir, shared how the Foundation will recognize Rabbi Haberman's vision and the bright future he inspired. We hope you enjoy this special afternoon!

A Hanukkah Rededication: Honoring the Legacy of Rabbi Joshua O. Haberman

Speaker: Professor Kenneth Seeskin Series:Rabbi Joshua O. Haberman Distinguished Speaker Series   Location: Beth Shalom Congregation, Columbia, MD  Date: December 10, 2018 The first two commandments of the Decalogue are the primary sources for our Jewish monotheism. How do we understand the commandments? Is belief in one God all that is required to make one a monotheist? If not, what else is needed? Why does the third commandment prohibit us from making images of God? Professor Seeskin, a professor of philosophy and expert in Maimonides, will explain how these issues are more controversial than people might think. In fact, it is far from clear that we observe these laws in the ways that Rambam and other sages understood them. 

Between History and Memory: Rethinking the American Jewish Past

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