Explore the cultural, social, and economic forces that led to a remarkable phenomenon:  although the Jewish population in America has rarely exceeded 2%, over 80% of Broadway and Tin Pan Alley songwriters have been Jewish. How are Jewish religion and tradition and the qualities inherent in the Yiddish language reflected in the songs written by those lyricists, including Lorenz Hart, Oscar Hammerstein, Ira Gershwin, Yip Harburg, Dorothy Fields, Sheldon Harnick, and Alan Jay Lerner.

“It is not a coincidence,” says photographer Penny Wolin “that Jews are attracted to the alchemy of photography and photography has found its storytellers in Jews.” Over six years, Wolin had in-person encounters with 70 leading American Jewish photographers, including Robert Frank, Annie Leibovitz, and Arnold Newman. With a visual and verbal discussion, we will explore the motivations of Jews in photography.

Explore culture, history and, of course, great food on an exciting and educational trip to Morocco, March 3-13, 2023. Rabbi Yoel Kahn will lead us on a journey to fabled cities like Casablanca, Fez and Marrakech, as well as the desert and the mountains. Jews have lived in Morocco for over two thousand years and we will engage with both the historical and contemporary Jewish sites and community.

We will begin with an overview of the history of Mexico from the Olmec to Aztec pre-colonial cultures, through the Spanish occupation, and on to the birth and growth of the independent state. Along the way, we’ll discover how space archaeology is revealing dozens of ancient Mexican sites previously unknown; how Church and State have struggled for control under Spain and later independence; and Mexico’s complex relationship with the United States.

In partnership with KlezCalifornia

In person at the Magnes Museum in Berkeley.

In partnership with the Jewish Studies Program and the Magnes Collection of Jewish Art and Life, the Helen Diller Institute for Jewish Law and Israel Studies at UC Berkeley, the Jewish Film Institute, and the Consulate General of Israel, San Francisco.

In partnership with Sha'ar Zahav and the Peninsula Jewish Community Center

In partnership with Berkeley Rep and Taube Philanthropies

Sunday, December 4 @ 2-4:30pm

In partnership with Temple Sinai, Oakland

In partnership with Klez California, the East Bay International Jewish Film Festival, and Temple Isaiah