Rabbi Esther Lederman of the Union for Reform Judaism (URJ) will be the scholar-in-residence at Temple Beth-El of Great Neck, the recognized home for sophisticated intellectual Judaism on Long Island, during a special Shabbat weekend on Friday, Oct. 25, and Saturday, Oct. 26.
The community is welcome to attend two enlightening programs through Temple Beth-El’s Miriam & Moses Center for Pluralistic Adult Jewish Learning.
As Temple Beth-El continues the visioning work to chart its future, this leader in the national Reform movement will explore our current moment in American Jewish life and highlight key issues to consider as we move forward, during the Erev Shabbat service on Friday at 7 p.m. Her sermon will address Who Are the Ancestors of Our Future Needs? All are invited to enjoy the Oneg Shabbat that follows.
She will also present a fascinating Torah Study, “Where Are You?”: God’s Eternal Question, on Saturday from 9:15 to 10:15 a.m., followed by a Shabbat service at 10:30 a.m. and a bagel brunch.
During Torah Study, she will help attendees explore key themes of the first chapter of Genesis as she poses the question, What might God’s first question to Adam and Eve—“where are you?”—mean for us today?
The guest scholar serves as vice president of Leaders in Action at URJ and was previously URJ’s director of Congregational Innovation & Leadership.
Prior to working at URJ, she held the position of associate rabbi at Temple Micah in Washington, DC.
The proud NFTY alum was ordained from Hebrew Union College–Jewish Institute of Religion and received her BA in Political Science and Middle Eastern Studies from McGill University.
The rabbi sits on the boards of the Federation of Greater Washington, T’ruah: the Rabbinic Call for Human Rights, the Habonim Dror Foundation, and Ameinu.
These Shabbat events are free to the community, but registration is required for the brunch at https://tinyurl.com/TBERabbiLederman.
Temple Beth-El, a leader in shaping the future of pluralistic Judaism on the western North Shore, has served the community for more than 95 years at 5 Old Mill Road. Learn more at www.tbegreatneck.org, 516-487-0900 or info@tbegreatneck.org.
