Join us in the library for a series of fascinating documentary films and discussions.

Knocking

Knocking opens the door on Jehovah's Witnesses, revealing how they have impacted society in ways far greater and more surprising than the spreading of their faith. Joseph Kempler was born a Polish Jew, but has been a Jehovah’s Witness for nearly half a century. As the survivor of six concentration camps, he cursed God for allowing the Holocaust. After Joseph immigrated to the United States as a young man, a pair of Jehovah's Witnesses knocked on his door. He found a renewed purpose for God in their teachings and eventually converted. Joseph still embraces his Jewish heritage, and part of his family remains religiously Jewish while the rest follow the tenets of Jehovah’s Witnesses. In Knocking, both sides of Joseph's family accompany him to Austria and Poland to visit the camps where Joseph was imprisoned as a teenager. (56 min.)

• When: October 26, 2011 1:00-2:30 p.m.
• Cost: Free of Charge
• Contact: Barbara Goelman, 310-481-321 or bgoelman@sinaitemple.org for more details

Leaving the Fold

Leaving the Fold tells the story of five young people born and raised within the ultra-Orthodox Jewish world who no longer wish to remain on the inside. As children they grew up in a closed society where deviation from the rules of conduct is often punishable by ostracism, intimidation or worse. As young adults they pay a steep price for abandoning their parents and community to seek the freedom to make their own choices. From the Hasidic enclaves of Montreal, Brooklyn and Jerusalem come stories of conflict, coercion and struggle. Tinged with pain and unexpected humor, Leaving the Fold documents the process by which these five men emerged from a strictly controlled society into a baffling secular world of endless choices: What should I wear? What shall I become? Who will I marry? Once everything was decided for them; now they must decide for themselves. (52 min.)

• When: November 9, 2011 1:00-2:30 p.m.
• Cost: Free of Charge
• Contact: Barbara Goelman, 310-481-321 or bgoelman@sinaitemple.org for more details.

100 Voices: A Journey Home

100 Voices: A Journey Home is a deeply affecting tribute to the interwoven history of Jewish and Polish cultures. The film chronicles a musical voyage to the birthplace of songful prayer known as chazzanut. In June 2009, an assembly of the world’s finest cantors came together for a series of exhilarating concerts backed by the Polish National Opera Chorus and a 100 piece orchestra. On a historic mission of reconciliation, the largest group of cantors to return to Poland since WWII travels from Warsaw to Krakow, culminating in an emotional memorial at the gates of Auschwitz. The film celebrates the resilience of Jewish tradition and the ability of music to heal hearts. (91 min.)

• When: December 14, 2011 1:00-3:00 p.m.
• Cost: Free of Charge
• Contact: Barbara Goelman, 310-481-321 or bgoelman@sinaitemple.org for more details.
  

Secret Origin: The Story of DC Comics

Behind the amazing tales of legendary super heroes is the equally amazing story of the company that told them. Secret Origin: The Story of DC Comics is a documentary that takes viewers behind the scenes of the iconic company. Alongside the thrilling deeds of Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman and a host of other well-known characters, is the equally impressive story of the challenges, creativity and triumphs of the company that brought those characters to life. The creation of Superman by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, shaped by their experiences as poor Jewish immigrants, was so popular that it spawned an entirely new genre: the costumed superhero comic book. This engaging film chronicles how Superman went from a staunch FDR-ish crusader for social justice in the 1940s to a domesticated representative of 1950s conformity. (68 min.)

• When: January 18, 2012 1:00-2:30 p.m.
• Cost: Free of Charge
• Contact: Barbara Goelman, 310-481-321 or bgoelman@sinaitemple.org for more details.

Short Story Discussion Group

Co-Sponsored by the Sinai Temple Sisterhood

Have no time to read the whole book? Enjoy reading and discussing modern Jewish literature in the library. We provide you with the story.

Facilitated by Lisa Silverman, Library Director

• When: Wednesdays, 1:00 – 2:00 pm
• Dates: October 5, November 2, December 7, January 4, February 1, March 7, April 4, May 2
• Cost: Free of charge
• Contact: Barbara Goelman, 310-481-3217 or bgoelman@sinaitemple.org for more details.

Evening Book Group

Join us in discussing contemporary Jewish-themed books with the Sinai Temple Book Group. We are open to all who are interested in good books and good conversation. Come to one or all of our meetings, held in the Lainer Learning Center’s Library Lounge!

Facilitated by Lisa Silverman, Library Director

This season we are reading the following titles:

The Jump Artist by Austin Ratner - Thursday, November 3, 2011

A Tale of Love and Darkness by Amos Oz - Thursday, December 15, 2011

Day After Night by Anita Diamant - Thursday, January 26, 2012

The Brothers Ashkenazi by Joseph Singer - Thursday, March 1, 2012

*All books are available for purchase from the library at $12.00 a copy.

NEW THIS YEAR!!

Parent-Child Book Group for 4th and 5^th graders accompanied by a parent

Join Library Director, Lisa Silverman in discussing popular and classic children’s books in our wonderful library classroom.

• When: Thursdays: October 27, November 17, December 15, 3:45 p.m. - 4:45 p.m.
• Cost: $25.00 per family
• October discussion book: When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead
• Contact: Barbara Goelman, 310-481-3217, or bgoelman@sinaitemple.org for more details

All books will be available for purchase in the Sinai Temple Library

The Wonderful Work of Cynthia Ozick

The much honored author Cynthia Ozick is one of the last, and one of the greatest, American Jewish writers with a background that reflects the European experience. This five session course will introduce the reader to some of her more hilarious and provocative works*, including:

• The Shawl : about a Holocaust survivor trying to get her life back in Miami
  
  
• The Pagan Rabbi : about a Jewish scholar who falls in love with an ancient Greek goddess in a Westchester park
  
  
• The Puttermesser Papers : about a desperate bureaucrat who conjures a golem to reform New York City’s corrupt and incompetent government

The class will also focus on several of Ozick's essays, her ribald public battles with Norman Mailer, and her newest book, Foreign Bodies. The sessions will include PowerPoint and video presentations and the students will be able to listen in on Susan Dworkin's exclusive interview with Cynthia Ozick.

*Note: Students are asked to read only The Shawl and The Pagan Rabbi, both very short works. Excerpts from the other works will be distributed to class members.

Taught by writer Susan Dworkin, a former editor of Ms. and Moment magazines and author of 14 books of both biography and fiction, including The Nazi Officer’s Wife.

• When: January/February, 2012, Dates to be announced
• Cost: $150.00 for 5 weekly sessions, limited class size.
• Contact: Barbara Goelman, 310-481-3217 or bgoelman@sinaitemple.org