Brunch/program "Jewish Arts and Creativity"

The Institute for Jewish Ideas and Ideals invites you to a brunch/program, Jewish Arts and Creativity, Sunday February 13, 2011, 9:45 am to Noon, at Congregation Shearith Israel, 8 West 70th Street, NYC. Advance Reservations Required by February 10: info@jewishideas.org; 212 724 4145. Please make a contribution of your choice at the door. Read on to find out about the excellent program we have for you.

Pasha and Other Stories: Sephardic Writer Tells New York Tales

Dr. Jane Mushabac’s fiction provides a heady glimpse into Sephardic culture and ideas. Her writing introduces Sephardic customs, pleasures, and angst. Her Mazal Bueno: A Portrait in Song of the Spanish Jews, featured Broadway actress Tovah Feldshuh on its National Public Radio broadcast. She is an Associate Professor at City University of New York.

Jewish Folk Music: A Medley of Songs in Hebrew, Ladino and Yiddish

Hazzan Ira Rohde of Congregation Shearith Israel is a remarkable performer of Jewish music. This presentation will focus on various genres of Jewish folk music traditions.

Revealing the Secret Language of Jewish Art

Dr. Marc Michael Epstein of Vassar College has done extensive research into the art and meaning of Jewish Illuminated Manuscripts. He is author of “The Medieval Haggadah: Art, Narrative, and Religious Imagination”, due to be published this spring by Yale University Press. He is general editor of a new project, “Skies of Parchment, Seas of Ink: Jewish Illuminated Manuscripts.”