081210 Final Jsp Fall 2010 Newsletter
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FALL 2011 CollegeCOLLEGE of Charleston, Fall 2004of Page 1 1 CHARLESTON Yaschik/Arnold Jewish Studies Program rwdlfrom generationrwdm to generation FALL 2011 2 Yaschik/Arnold Jewish Studies Program Notes from the Director This past year we mourned the loss of two beloved leaders in South Carolina, Harriet Keyserling of Beaufort and Max Heller of Greenville. Both lives were Jewish stories—Harriet was a cosmopolitan and liberal New York woman who moved to small town South Carolina to marry a Jewish doctor, rising to statewide prominence with her vision of a more educated, more inclusive, and more environmentally sensitive South Carolina, and Max, a Holocaust survivor who moved from Vienna in 1938 to Greenville and, after a successful business career, became its popular and revered two-term mayor – “the father of modern Greenville,” with his wife, Trude, also a Holocaust survivor, always at his side. Both Harriet and Max were founding members of the Advisory Board of the Yaschik/Arnold Jewish Studies Program, and were deeply committed to Jewish values, Jewish education, and Jewish continuity. Both were inspirations to me personally, representing as they both did, in vision and in reality, a proud South Carolina community with the self-confidence and good judgment of welcoming the outsider, caring for the less privileged, and embracing a future worthy of a great state. Both were respected public servants, with a profound sense of justice. Both would be pleased with our latest initiative in Jewish Studies, a year-long series focusing on Jews and Social Justice. Funded by a nationally competitive and generous grant from the Legacy Heritage Fund of the Association for Jewish Studies, Jewish Studies will address an inclusive and welcoming vision of Jewish life, which considers the broader social responsibilities of the Jew. Both Harriet and Max thought that their Jewish values, and their particular histories as Jews, informed their commitment to the many issues they addressed benefiting the people of South Carolina. Like the Hebrew prophets before them who preached social justice, their lives and their commitments were not without detractors, causing serious discomfort in some, especially because both Max and Harriet never hid their Jewishness. And I would be surprised if some of the topics we will address do not produce similar discomfort. I am hopeful that these themes – whether it be Jews and the gay community or Jews and immigration – will be of interest to a broad constituency. Community outreach has been the particular hallmark of Jewish Studies since the Program’s inception. The community has embraced with enthusiasm what we have had to offer whether it be A World of Jewish Culture at Piccolo Spoleto, the Jewish Historical Society of South Carolina, Chanukah in the Square, our Three Rabbi Panel, our Sunday Morning Brunch Series, and much, much more. I have been concerned for a number of years that the large audiences for our Jewish Studies events did not include more young Jewish professionals. A younger constituency is often difficult to reach – their time is at a premium, they are less drawn to Jewish organizational life, some of the more common topics are of no interest to them – so Jewish Studies is not alone in this particular challenge. Issues of social justice resonate for many of them, so our successful grant proposal made attracting a broader constituency a central theme, and included afternoon workshops on social activism as an additional attraction. The afternoon programs will be hands-on while the morning presentations will be more descriptive (and prescriptive.) Social justice is a central Jewish tenet; the pursuit of justice is a core Biblical value. In Jewish thought, charity (Tzedakah) is not unrelated to justice (Tzedek.) In fact, perhaps the most famous haftorah of the year, the one recited on NEW ADDITION Yom Kippur, consists of the words of the prophet Isaiah, criticizing those who self-righteously fast, as if fasting satisfied the religious expectation. No, this is the fast I desire: To unlock the fetters of wickedness, And untie the cords of the yoke To let the oppressed go free; To break off every yoke. It is to share your bread with the hungry, And to take the wretched poor into your home; When you see the naked, to clothe him, And not to ignore your own kin. — Isaiah Ch. 58: v.6, 7. Harriet and Max lived lives committed to social justice; it was the very fabric of their Jewish lives. Our new initiative is a living testimony to their lives. Please join us, as we examine what justice requires of us as Jews in the often confusing modern world. Best wishes for a happy and healthy New Year. On the Cover: College of Charleston Birthright Israel trip, May, 2011 Martin Perlmutter, Director FALL 2011 College of Charleston, Fall 2004 Page 3 3 Elie Wiesel Comes to the College of Charleston Sunday, September 25, 2011 Nobel Peace Prize winner, Boston University These events made possible through a very generous Professor, author, and grant by the Zucker/Goldberg Center for Holocaust activist Elie Wiesel has Education at the College of Charleston: worked on behalf of oppressed people for Saturday, September 24, 1:00 — 2:15 pm, Stern Center much of his adult life. His Ballroom personal experience of Promoting a Culture of Inclusion: Lessons from the the Holocaust has led him Holocaust to use his talents as an Join prominent civil rights attorney Armand Derfner and author, teacher, and Auschwitz survivor Joseph Engel, both long-time storyteller to defend residents of Charleston, for a thought-provoking human rights and peace discussion of the Holocaust and its continuing impact on throughout the world. the lives of those who were touched by it. Open to And now he’s coming to College of Charleston Family Weekend participants only. Charleston. Sunday, September 25, Noon — 1:15 pm, Sottile Theatre The Zucker/Goldberg Center for Holocaust Education Elie Wiesel: Living in a Fractured World promotes research, education, and outreach at the College Elie Wiesel will be featured in a unique panel presentation. of Charleston, having endowed a chair occupied by Wiesel will be interviewed by eight College of Charleston MacArthur Fellow and Professor of Holocaust Studies, Ted students, including Aiken Fellows, education majors Rosengarten; offering multiple courses each year on the whose focus is social studies, Jewish Studies majors, and Holocaust, including an experiential one traveling through students who traveled to Eastern Europe to study the Eastern Europe; and sponsoring thought-provoking public Holocaust. The discussion will be hosted by Ted programming. The Zucker/Goldberg Center is bringing Rosengarten. Anita Zucker, educator, business leader, and international attention to the College of Charleston and the philanthropist will introduce the event. Book signing and Yaschik/Arnold Jewish Studies Program this fall by bringing meet and greet to follow from 1:15 – 1:45 pm This is a Elie Wiesel to campus for Family Weekend 2011, as its ticketed event, with priority given to Family Weekend featured speaker. attendees and students. For tickets, please call 843.953.2291. Sunday, September 25, 6:00 — 7:15 pm, Sottile Theatre Elie Wiesel: Don’t Stand Idly By Elie Wiesel discusses the impact of the Holocaust on his vision of the good life, and the lessons that unmitigated evils like the Holocaust teach us. Tickets to Sottile Theatre are available by invitation only. For more information on how to obtain tickets to The world did know and remained silent. And that is why I swore overflow venues, please email [email protected] or never to be silent whenever wherever human beings endure call 843.953.3894. suffering and humiliation. We must take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented. Sometimes we must interfere. — Elie Wiesel 4 Yaschik/Arnold Jewish Studies Program JHSSC meets in Columbia October 27-30, 2011 SIGHTS, SOUNDS, AND STORIES OF THE JEWISH SOUTH Southern Jewish Historical Society’s 36th Annual Conference in conjunction with the Jewish Historical Society of South Carolina October 27– 30, 2011 Columbia, South Carolina The Southern Jewish Historical Society will join forces with the Jewish Historical Society of South Carolina to present a weekend of sensational scholarship, photography, film, and music on the University of South Carolina campus in the state capital of Columbia. With generous support from USC’s Jewish Studies Program, the Ernest F. Hollings Special Collections Library, the School of Music, and McKissick Museum, we have designed a three-day immersion in the sights, sounds, and stories of the Jewish South. The conference will kick off on Friday, October 28, with a bus tour to Sumter, SC, one of the state’s earliest Jewish settlements. There we will see Temple Sinai’s spectacular stained glass windows, tour the Sumter County Museum, and visit the Levi family’s historic home and garden. “The Big Apple” in Columbia, SC On Saturday, panel sessions will convene in the new Hollings Library next to the Thomas Cooper Library. Researchers and writers from near and far will explore the tricky and sometimes treacherous terrain trod by Southern Jews. The afternoon will end with an “insider’s tour” of the capital city led by noted Columbia historians, Belinda and Richard Gergel. On Saturday evening, attendees are invited to the opening reception of an exhibition of political collections and Judaica back at the Hollings Library. Sunday, the venue switches to USC’s School of Music for the conference finale. First comes a performance and discussion with composer Meira Warshauer, USC’s Robert Jesselson, cello, and Janet Hopkins, mezzo soprano, and second, audio-video presentations by historians Bryan Stone and Jerrod Tanny, who ask the serious question, “What’s so funny about Southern Jews?” Reserve your hotel room now.