Berlin is the city in which
Regina Jonas, the world‘s first woman rabbi, served. With
her murder in Auschwitz in 1944 an important development in Judaism was
cut off and set back by decades. The questions Regina Jonas raised about
Jewish tradition then are still relevant today. We remember her courage
and her difficult struggle for recognition as a rabbi. More than half a
century after the Shoah we invite women rabbis, cantors, scholars and
interested Jewish men and women from all over Europe to come to Berlin
and join us in discussing what it means to be Jewish.
BET DEBORA initiated by
Elisa Klapheck, Lara Dämmig
Dr. R. Monika Herweg
Invited Speakers:
· Adina Ben Chorin (Jewish Liberal Community „Or Chadasch",
Zurich)
· Prof Dr Judith Frishman (Universities Leiden and Utrecht)
· Hadass Golandsky (Progressive Jewish Community „Or Chadasch, Vienna)
· Prof Dr Eveline Goodman-Thau (Universities Halle and Harvard)
· Rabbi Jane Kanarek (University Moscow)
· Rabbi Katalin Kelemen (Jewish Community „Szim Salom", Budapest)
· Dr Susanna Keval (Egalitarian Minyan, Frankfurt/M)
· Nelly Kogan (Community for Progressive Judaism „Simcha", Minsk)
· Katka Novotna (Educational and Cultural Center of the Jewish Museum,
Prague)
· Prof Dr Diana Pinto (Consultant of the European Council, Paris)
· Cantor Pamela Rothmann-Sawyer („Temple Israel", Almeda, California)
· Rabbi Sylvia Rothschild (Jewish Community, Orpington)
· Rabbi Elizabeth Tikvah Sarah (London)
· Rabbi Dr Sybil Sheridan (Leo Baeck College, London)
· Rabbi Daniela Thau (Bedford)
· Rabbi Bea Wyler (Jewish Community, Oldenburg)
Guests of Honor
· Hanna Hochmann (Petach Tikva, former member of the Liberal
Synagogue Norden, Berlin)
· Dr. Ilse Perlman (New York, former student of the „Hochschule für die
Wissenschaft des Judentums", Berlin)
· Shoshana Ronen (Tel Aviv, former student of the „Hochschule für die
Wissenschaft des Judentums", Berlin)
Program
The languages of the conference are English and German
(Translations provided).
Thursday, May 13
until 1530 Arrival and Registration
1600 „Women on the Bima" – Opening Discussion with Speakers and Special
Guests
Opening Comments - Daniela Thau
1830 Buffet Reception
2000 Lectures:
Sybil Sheridan: History of Women in the
Rabbinate
Bea Wyler: Experiences as the First Woman Rabbi In Germany since the
Shoa
Friday, May 14
0900 Morning services
1000 Lecture:
Diana Pinto: The Concept of „Choosing to be
Jewish"
1100 Discussions about Egalitarian Communities in
Eastern
and Western Europe
1230 Lunch
1400–1630 Workshops:
- Halacha and Equal Rights for Women
- The Status of Women in Community Life, Ritual Functions and the
Rabbinate
- Professionals and Lay People
- Female Perspectives on Tanach and Rabbinical Literature
- Concept of God and Human Beings in a non-patriarchal Judaism
- Emotions and Ambivalence Regarding Traditional Liturgy, Creating New
Litugies and Experiences withWomen‘s Rituals
- Taboos in the Synagogue
- Educational Ideals
- Loneliness: Learning Outside the Traditional Guidelines – Theory and
Practice
- "Leining" – Theory and Practice
1630 Preparation for Shabbat
· Walking tour „In the footsteps of Regina Jonas"
· Mikva visit
1945 Services with a „Taste" from all parts of Europe
Kiddush and Dinner
Saturday, May 15
1000 Services with all Rabbis, Cantors and Conference Participants
Kiddush and Lunch
1500-1600 Study and Relaxation
Shiurim on the Parasha, Haftora, Book of Ruth, Rosh Chodesh etx
1700 Lectures
- Eveline Goodman-Thau: Study and Prayer: the
Pillars of Jewish Tradition
- Judith Frishman: Reconstructing a Useable Past
2000 Dinner and Musical Program
2200 Havdalah and Rosh Chodesh Ceremony
Sunday, May 16
1000 Rosh Chodesh Service with Jane Kanarek and Bea Wyler
1130 Panel Discussion: „Is the Synagogue The Right Place for
Emancipation?"
Bet Debora – Summary and Perspectives
1600 Concert: Mimi Sheffer, Soprano
(Opera Singer and Cantor)
Meeting Place:
Jewish Community Berlin, Oranienburger Straße 28/29, 10117 Berlin
Underground station nr 6 Oranienburger Tor, S-Bahn station Hackescher
Markt or Oranienburger Tor
Organization: Elisa Klapheck, Lara Dämmig, Dr R Monika
Herweg
c/o Elisa Klapheck, Jüdische Gemeinde zu Berlin, Fasanenstraße 79/80,
10623 Berlin
Tel. +49-30-880 28 260, Fax +49-30-880 28 266 -
e-mail
With assistance from members of the
Oranienburger Strasse Synagogue, the
Berlin Egalitarian Minyan and the group "Gesher, Forum for Diaspora
Culture"
With support from the Jewish Community of Berlin,
the Berlin Jewish Volkshochschule, The Ronald S. Lauder Foundation, the
Berlin Senate’s Office for Labor, Professional Education and Women and
the German Federal Ministry for Family, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth
Registration
The application form below must be completed and
returned with the registration fee by April 30, 1999.
Space is limited, so please register soon.
The participation fee (including dairy-vegetarian meals as listed in the
program) is DM 200.-/
DM125.- (reduced rate for students, unemployed, etc.)
We have reserved a number of rooms in a pension within short walking
distance. All rooms are double or triple occupancy and have their own
bath and small kitchen. The cost per person for three nights is DM 240.
For those who need financial assistance (i.e unemployed individuals or
those receiving public social support), we hope to have a small amount
of money available to cover travel and accommodation expenses. Please
tell us when returning the registration form if you need such
assistance. We are also attempting to arrange free home hospitality for
some participants.
We will confirm your participation as soon as we receive your
registration form and payment of the registration fee (as well as
payment for the hotel if required.)
Please indicate on the form the amount you will be paying to participate
in this conference. The registration fee is not refundable.
Please send registration forms to:
Elisa Klapheck
Jüdische Gemeinde zu Berlin
Fasanenstraße 79/80
10623 Berin
Fax +49-30-880 28 266
e-mail: LaraBLD@aol.com
Name ......................
Address ...................
.......
.........
Tel/Fax.....
e-mail....
I will pay
· DM 250
· DM 100
I would like to contribute DM . . .
· By transfer to the Bet Debora Account
· By Check
I would like to:
· stay in a hotel , at my own expense (3 nights for DM 240) . I
understand that this amount must be paid to the account listed below not
later than April 30.
· Stay in private accommodations
I would like to arrange care for ___ children
aged ___, ___, ____
Date / Signature ..........
acct # 7581 14-108
Postbank Berlin
Bank code 100 100 10
Elisa Klapheck
