Sherwin Wine Weekend and Seminar

SHERWIN WINE RETURNS TO CONNECTICUT Sept. 10-12

An exciting weekend is in store for us . Not only will our Congregation year be kicked off with an open house on Sunday, but Rabbi Sherwin Wine, the founder of Humanistic Judaism, will also be here that weekend to lead a seminar that

is sponsored by the Congregation for Humanistic Judaism of Fairfield County, in cooperation with the Fairfield University Judaic Studies Program and the International Institute for Secular Humanistic Judaism, the educational arm of our movement.

The seminar’s topic is “Celebration of the Jewish Calendar and Holidays.” Rabbi Wine’s theme is that Jewish holidays are human creations that have evolved over time, and the course will explore their origins and historic development. The calendar events which will be covered are: Shabbat, Rosh Hashana, Yom Kippur, Sukkot, Hanukka, Tu B'Shevat, Purim, Pesakh, Shavuot and the four traditional fast days. The store of the "two" Jewish calendars will also be explored. Participants will receive an evolutionary perspective on the development of Jewish holidays from the patriarchal period to modern times.

Schedule and details are as follows:

Friday, Sept. 10

7 PM - An Oneg, a brief Shabbat service, and the introductory lecture.

Canisius Hall Room 15 at Fairfield University. Free and open to all.

Sat. Sept. 11

9 AM – noon: Shabbat, Passover, Shavuot

1 PM – 4 PM: Sukkot, Simhat Torah, Tu B’shevat, Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur

Sessions at Canisius Hall Room 15 at Fairfield University. Registration required--see below.

Evening: Dinner at 3 Bears Restaurant in Westport with Rabbi Wine. To reserve your place, contact Gert.

This session at Bedford Middle School, Westport, concurrent with CHJ open house. Registration required.

The cost for CHJ members is $15 for each session (Sat. AM, PM, Sun. AM), or all three for $40. Cost for non-members is $40 per session; $100 for all three.

Please register by indicating which sessions you will attend and sending a check payable to CHJ to Bob Ginsberg.

On Saturday night, Sept. 11 the Congregation and course attendees are invited to have dinner with Rabbi Wine. Another group is working on this and you will hear from them shortly.

Rabbi Sherwin T. Wine is the author of Humanistic Judaism, Judaism Beyond God, Celebration and Staying Sane In A Crazy World. He was named the "2003 Person of the Year" by the American Humanist Association. He is a graduate of the University of Michigan and the Hebrew Union College where he originally became Rabbi, and was awarded the honorary D.D. degree. He founded the first Humanistic Jewish congregation in 1963, established the Society for Humanistic Judaism to serve as the national outreach of the Humanistic Jewish movement in 1969, and is Dean of the IISHJ. Today Humanistic Judaism is recognized as a major branch of Judaism (by the United Jewish Communities, the umbrella group of Jewish Federations). It is expected that Rabbi Wine also will be on hand at the Congregation for Humanistic Judaism's Open House on Sunday September 12.

Directions to Canisius Hall, Fairfield University: From the Barlow Rd. entrance, go to the first fork and bear left. Continue straight and follow signs to Canisius Hall, which is just past Donnarumma Hall. Parking is behind Donnarumma or Canisius. Room 15 is on the ground floor. For a detailed map, go to http://www.fairfield.edu/about/map.htm#canisius.