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THE LIPINSKY INSTITUTE FOR

COMMUNITY JEWISH STUDIES                                                       

NEWSLETTER

Editor: Lawrence Baron                    Spring 2006

 

 

Director's Message

 

Why change the name of the Lipinsky Institute for Judaic Studies to the Lipinsky Institute for Community Jewish Studies?  Many members of the San Diego Jewish community have indicated that they believe the Lipinsky Institute and the Jewish Studies Program at SDSU are one and the same.  The Institute, however, organizes community outreach programs and sponsors the Visiting Israeli professorship, whereas the Jewish Studies Program offers courses, which SDSU students take as electives or to major or minor in Jewish Studies.    

 

Approved as a Major in Modern Jewish Studies in 2003, the Jewish Studies Program at SDSU seeks philanthropic support to offer a comprehensive curriculum on the three population centers of modern Jewry: pre-Holocaust Europe, the United States, and Israel.  Scholarships are needed to defer the additional costs incurred by students who enroll in the CSU’s Israel Program and encourage students to participate in internships with local Jewish agencies and organizations.

 

The rich cultural legacy of European Jewry is often eclipsed by the Holocaust.  To recall the vibrant life of Yiddish and Ladino folklore and music, the Modern Jewish Studies Program has received a $250,000 donation to appoint the renowned ethnologist, filmmaker, and Klezmer musician Yale Strom as an artist-in-residence.  Strom will teach courses on Ashkenazi and Sephardic culture, perform local concerts, mount exhibitions, and organize workshops by leading Jewish artists and musicians jointly sponsored by the Center for Jewish Creativity and Culture in Los Angeles.

 

One cannot understand modern Jewish life without learning about the culture, history, politics, and religious denominations of American Jewry.  The Modern Jewish Studies Program plans to establish a Professorship in American Jewish Studies.  This professor would offer courses in his or her respective discipline and be available to speak to local groups about the diversity of American Jewry and its impact on American society. 

 

The Nasatir Professor in Modern Jewish History serves as the director of the Modern Jewish Studies Program and the Lipinsky Institute for Community Jewish Studies' programs of film screenings, symposia, and lectures.  The director of the Institute needs an endowment to fill gaps in the Jewish Studies curriculum, cover the Institute's operating expenses, and organize special events at SDSU and in San Diego. 

 

Since 1985, the Lipinsky Institute annually has brought a Visiting Professor from Israel to teach courses on modern Israel and its role in the Middle East.  The importance of this program has grown as the Middle East has assumed a central role in American foreign policy and the world’s economy.  The ability of the original endowment to support the Visiting Israeli Professorship for a full year appointment gradually has been eroded by increases in salaries and decreases in investment earnings.  To ensure the Lipinsky Institute can afford to appoint Visiting Israeli Professors for one-year terms, it is essential that the endowment be doubled.            

Special Events for Fall 2005

These are free and open to the public

February 6

Dorsha Wallman Lecture in Modern Torah Interpretation

"The Politics of Translating the Hebrew Bible"

Leonard Greenspoon

Creighton University

3:30 PM

Scripps Cottage, SDSU

Co-Sponsored by the Religious Studies Department, SDSU

and the Jewish Student Union, SDSU

 

March 20

Abraham and Ida Nasatir Lecture in American Jewish History

"A History of Their Own: American Jewish Women"

Hasia Diner

New York University

7:00 PM

Aztec Athletics Center Auditorium

Co-Sponsored by the Women's Studies Department, SDSU

 

 

April 4

Dorothy Stuzane Lecture on Women and Judaism

"Creativity and Orthodoxy in Women's Rosh Hodesh Ceremonies"

Jody Myers

California State University, Northridge

7:00 PM

Ner Tamid

15318 Pomerado Road, Poway

 

May 7

Maurice Friedman Lecture in Modern Jewish Thought

"The Social Logic of Muslim Suicide Bombers"

Ivan Strenski

University of California, Riverside

2:00 PM

Astor Judaica Library of the M. Larry Lawrence Jewish Community Center

4126 Executive Drive, La Jolla

Co-Sponsored by the Baron Fund for Ethics Education

 

Community News

Universal Theme of Scholar-Led Program Has Broad Interest to San Diegans

 

The San Diego County Library will host a free five-part monthly series titled, "Let's Talk About It: Jewish Literature - Identity and Imagination."  The series, co-sponsored by the Lipinsky Institute and  the Agency for Jewish Education through a grant from the American Library Association, explores Jewish literature and culture through scholar-led discussions. The first program explores Lost in Translation by Eva Hoffman on Sunday, March 5, from 1-3 p.m.  All programs will be held at San Diego State University, 201 West Commons (5500 Campanile Drive, San Diego). Ben Siegel, a scholar of Jewish American literature and Professor of English at California Polytechnic University, Pomona, will lead the discussions.  For details and to register, phone  (858) 694-2484 or send name, address, phone and email to sdcountylibrary@yahoo.com <mailto:sdcountylibrary@yahoo.com> , or by mail to:  Ellen Zyroff, San Diego County Library, 5555 Overland Ave., Bldg. 15, San Diego, CA 92123.

 

Faculty News

Lawrence Baron, Director of the Lipinsky Institute and Jewish Studies Program

 

Professor Baron's book Projecting the Holocaust into the Present: The Changing Focus of Contemporary Holocaust Cinema was published by Rowman and Littlefield in October.  During the Fall, he delivered lectures at the Spertus Institute for Jewish Studies in Chicago, St. Lawrence University, Michigan State University, Lafayette College, University of California at Santa Barbara and the University College of London.  He was one of four directors of Jewish Studies Programs invited to participate in a panel discussion at the University of Hartford.  He presented papers on displaced person movies at the Jewish Studies Association Conference in Washington, DC and an international Holocaust conference held at the Imperial War Museum in London.  In the community, he has facilitated discussions of Jewish comedies for Temple Emanu-El and Tifereth Israel Synagogue and has given talks for the College Area and East County Jewish Senior Centers.    

 

Zev Bar-Lev, Dept. Linguistics and Oriental Languages

 

Professor Bar-Lev’s most recent publications include:
- “Why Jake Doesn’t Know Hebrew,” Jewish Educational Leadership (Lookstein Center Publications), Fall 2005, available @: www.lookstein.org/online_journal.php?id=81.  
- ”Arabic Key-Consonants” forthcoming in Journal of Arabic & Islamic Studies.   (See also nacal.org for NACAL 2004.)
- ”shorshé hashorashim’”[‘Roots of Roots’], forthcoming in HED HAULPAN HEHHADASH.

Joellyn Zollman, Dept. of History

Dr. Zollman designed lesson plans as part of the educational program for From Haven to Home: 350 Year of Jewish Life in America, a Library of Congress Exhibit.  These are published online, at www.350th.org, as well as available in hardcopy for schools in cities where the exhibit has traveled.

Risa Levitt Kohn, Dept. of Religious Studies

Professor Levitt Kohn’s most recent pending publications include:

- “In and Out of Place: Physical Space and Social Location in the Bible,” in From Babel to Babylon: Essays on Biblical History and Literature in Honour of Brian Peckham, Sheffield: T & T Clark, in press.
- “Where is God? Divine Presence in the Absence of the Temple,” with Rebecca E. Moore in S. Malena & D. Miano eds., Milk and Honey: Essays on Ancient Israel and the Bible (Winona Lake: Eisenbrauns)  in press.

     Dr. Levitt Kohn is currently on leave from SDSU to serve as the curator for the Dead Sea Scrolls Exhibition at the San Diego Museum of Natural History.  The show will run from July 1, 2007 through December 2007.

Lipinsky Institute Honors its Valued Donors

The Lipinsky Institute for Community Jewish Studies wishes to thank its honored donors for their generous contributions, which insures the future success of the Lipinsky Institute and the Jewish Studies Program at SDSU, both under the direction of Professor Lawrence Baron. We applaud your gracious giving.

 

In Support of the Siegel Lecture Series:

Jonathan Siegel &

Barbara Lounsbury
In Memory of Robert Elson:
Roslyn Elson

In Support of the Visiting Israeli Professorship:

The Nierman Foundation,

Paul Nierman &
Deb Horowitz

In Honor of the 20th Anniversary of the Lipinsky Institute for Judaic Studies:

Elaine Millard

Cecile B. Jordan

Donation of Books to the Snyder Judaic Studies Reading Room

Norman Mann

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Lipinsky Institute for Judaic Studies                                                       

College of Arts & Letters                                                                                     

San Diego State University                                                                                    

5500 Campanile Drive                                                                                              

San Diego, CA 92182-8148