Metro Briefs November 12

Metro Briefs November 12

“The Jewish Cardinal” will open the Rodef Shalom Sisterhood Movie Night Series on Sunday, Nov. 15 at 7:30 p.m. in Levy Hall.

Jean-Marie Lustiger, archbishop of Paris from 1981 until his death in 2007, was born Aaron Lustiger to Jewish parents who emigrated to France from Poland in 1927. Hidden with a Christian family in Orleans during World War II, Lustiger became strongly attracted to Christianity and was baptized as a Catholic in 1940. He distinguished himself as a scholar and an activist and rose quickly through the Church hierarchy to become archbishop of Paris appointed by Pope John Paul II. To the end of his life he strongly maintained his cultural identity as a Jew.

The story of his career was filmed in 2014 and won awards at film festivals around the world including, the 2014 JFilm Festival.  Written and directed by Han Duran Cohen, “The Jewish Cardinal” is in French with English subtitles.

The film is free and open to the community. Contact Marla Perlman at 412-687-6080 for more information.

Temple Sinai will host two opportunities for Chanukah shopping with the Women of Temple Sinai Gift Shop’s annual Chanukah Bazaar and the Nathan and Hilda Katzen Religious School’s annual Book Fair.  Both events will take place for two consecutive weeks on Sunday, Nov. 15 and Sunday Nov. 22 from 10 a.m. to noon.

The Religious School, along with the Tikkun Olam Center, will also be sponsoring a book drive in honor of Jewish Book Month during these dates.  All books are appreciated but children’s books are in the highest need.

Call 412-421-9715, ext. 121 for more information.

Global Day of Jewish Learning, an event taking place in more than 500 communities in 40 countries around the world, will be held at the South Hills Jewish Community Center on Sunday, Nov. 15 from 6:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. Israeli author and lecturer Doron Kornbluth will be presenting “John Lennon and the Jews” as part of the Global Day theme of “Love: Devotion, Desire & Deception.”

Contact Rob Goodman, director of the South Hills Community Engagement Initiative, at rgoodman@jfedpgh.org or visit southhillsjewishpittsburgh.org for more information.

Classrooms Without Borders will present Lee I. Levine, professor emeritus, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, on “How and Why Did the Synagogue Become a Central Institution in Late Antiquity?” on Sunday, Nov. 15 at 7 p.m. at Rodef Shalom Congregation.

Visit classroomswithoutborders.org/events for more information and to register.

Tree of Life*Or L’Simcha is hosting part two of the Adult Education Series focusing on Israeli history and the connection to the current events of today. On Wednesday, Nov. 18, Ivan Frank will present, “Israeli History and Key Events from 1948 and Beyond.” This program is free and open to the community.  Light refreshments will be provided.

RSVP with Alex Speck at aspeck88@yahoo.com or 412-521-6788.

Squirrel Hill AARP Chapter 3354 will hold its next meeting on Wednesday, Nov. 18 at 1 p.m. at New Light Congregation at 1700 Beechwood Blvd. at Forbes Avenue. Following the business meeting, a representative from Vintage, a community service organization for seniors, will speak and refreshments will be served. The community is invited. Contact Frieda Safyan at 412-521-2804 for more information.

Chabad of the South Hills will hold Torah and Tea for Women on Thursday, Nov. 19 at 7:30 p.m.  “Feminine Insights into Chanukah” will be explored. There is no charge.

Contact 412-344-2424 for more information.

The Bronfman Youth Fellowships in Israel is now accepting applications for the program’s 30th year. The Fellowships select 26 North American teenagers for an academic year of seminars including a free, five-week trip to Israel between the summer of the Fellows’ junior and senior years of high school. The program educates and inspires young Jews from diverse backgrounds to grow into leaders grounded in their Jewish identity and committed to social change. The program was founded and is funded by the late Edgar M. Bronfman.

Applications for the 2016 Fellowship are due Jan. 6 and are available online, along with a recruitment video, at bronfman.org. High school students in the United States and Canada who self-identify as Jewish and who will be in the 12th grade in the fall of 2016 are eligible to apply.

BYFI is a pluralistic program for Jews of all backgrounds. Prior Jewish education is not required. Students are chosen not on the basis of financial need but on merit alone.

Three Jewish candidates were victorious in the Nov. 3 general election.

Judge David Wecht, a Democrat from Fox Chapel, won a seat on the state Supreme Court, and Judge Alice Dubow, a Democrat from Philadelphia, won a seat on the state’s 15-member Superior Court.

Squirrel Hill Democrat Terri Klein defeated two challengers — Republican Andy Dlinn, and Constitution Party candidate Albert Lengyel — to keep her temporary post on the Allegheny County Council. Klein will serve out the roughly seven weeks remaining in former District 11 Councilwoman Barbara Daly Danko’s term, which expires at the end of the year. Although Danko died prior to last May’s primary, she nonetheless won that election.

Heather Arnet, a Democrat from Mt. Lebanon, lost her contest for the state Senate’s open 37th District seat to Iraq veteran Guy Reschenthaler, a Republican.

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