Spertus News & Events July-December 2019

Spertus Institute for Jewish Learning and Leadership | spertus.edu

July–December 2019

News & Events

Jewish Book Month | P29

Learning to Lead | P17

COMMUNITY

Exploring it, building it, creating ways for it to thrive | P5

From Slavery to Freedom Natan Sharansky at Chicago Festival of Israeli Cinema premiere of film about his life | P27

Spertus Graduate Seminars Go Green Spertus Institute is a leader in environmental sustainability. This spring, as we welcomed students from across North America to our Integrated Graduate Seminar, our commitment was front and center.

Less paper | Graduate school used to require lots of paper. Not anymore! Previously printed materials are now available online for convenient access via smartphone or computer.

Less waste | Composting and recycling keep organic waste, glass, paper, and plastic out of landfills.

Eco-friendly swag | Green giveaways help students use fewer disposables at the seminar and at home.

Less energy | Our award-winning facility is powered by renewable energy, keeping more than 2,000 tons of CO² out of the atmosphere annually.

A good neighbor | Our green roof (planted with special vegetation) allows rainwater to evaporate rather than enter the sewer system. It absorbs air pollution and keeps the building cool in the summer.

Taking the lead | Spertus was recently selected

by Hazon: The Jewish Lab for Sustainability for their Seal of Sustainability, and is a member of the EPA’s Green Power Leadership Club, honoring organizations that support the development of renewable capacity nationwide.

We are particularly proud to have Silver LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification from the U.S. Green Building Council.

Thank you to our facility and event partner Venue SIX10.

Learning

Contents News Community: Letter from Spertus President and CEO Dr. Dean P. Bell | P5 Two Local Leaders Join Spertus Board of Trustees | P7 Celebrating RBG’s Leadership—with Song | P9

Leadership

Critical Conversations: Immigration | P31

Center for Jewish Leadership Jewish Community Networking Night | P11 Fundraisers Forum | P13 Lay Leadership Academy | P13 Expansion of MA in Jewish Professional Studies | P15 Learning to Lead: Degree and Certificate Programs | P17

Arts & Culture

Who We Are | P19

Center for Jewish Studies Courses and Seminars | P21

Programs and Events Film Premiere | The Jewish Experience | P23 Exhibition | The Three Escapes of Hannah Arendt | P25 Exhibition | From Here to There | P25

News

Natan Sharansky | From Slavery to Freedom | P27 ViewPoints | Antisemitism | P27 Author Event | The Art of Inventing Hope with Howard Reich | P29

Sponsorship, Support, and Membership Membership | P32

Calendar

Resources

Leave a Legacy of Learning | P33 | P35

Connect with Spertus for updates, invites, and discounts.

Events

Cover Image: Clockwise from top left, Spertus student Caleb Bromberg, Spertus student Joelle Swatez, summer interns Adam Katz and Victoria Blum, Spertus alum Miriam Brosseau, Spertus student Lauren Silverman, and Spertus alum and Director of Enrollment Anita Silvert.

Photo by Aleya Cydney Photography. Read about Spertus students and alumni on page 19.

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A partner with the Jewish United Fund in serving our community

The Global Jewish Leadership Seminar was launched last year by Spertus in partnership with the JDC, funded by Carol and Ed Kaplan, with JUF as a coordinating partner. The program continues this fall with a new group of participants from Europe, the former Soviet Union, and Latin America (where Spertus is expanding its leadership training opportunities). Photos by Aleya Cydney Photography.

Learning

The many meanings of community Letter from Dr. Dean P. Bell Each year Spertus Institute identifies a catalyzing theme that addresses important issues in our educational offerings. This year’s coalescing theme is “community,” a concept that is incredibly complex—perhaps increasingly so—and exceedingly important. Community is difficult to describe, construct, or engage. Indeed, it is impossible to speak of community in the singular, as we all connect with multiple communities, some that overlap and others that seem to have little in common.

Leadership

Last fall, Spertus, along with the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (the JDC), launched a Global Jewish Leadership Certificate. Young Jewish communal professionals came to Spertus from countries across Europe and the former Soviet Union to learn with us and each other. During a session on models of community, we learned that just as the words for community vary in different languages—reflecting linguistic roots and associations—the meaning of community also varies. Is community a group of people with similar interests, practices, or values? Is it individuals who live in close proximity?

Is it defined by members or someone else? Is it about formal organizations and infrastructure? Does it change over time? Is it altered by context?

Arts & Culture

Community… should be considered a verb and not a noun.

News

Although community meant something different to each of our participants, its value was never insignificant. However defined, it clearly relies on relationships. A recent theorist noted: “community is never a fixed state, rightly it should be considered a verb and not a noun, and it is always the outcome of sociality as an action…it is therefore impossible to perform without the presence of other people” (David Studdert, Conceptualising Community: Beyond the State and Individual, 2).

Resources

At Spertus, we are committed to developing and fostering community through a welcoming, pluralistic educational environment and a commitment to address concerns faced by the many communities with which we interact —across Chicago, and, increasingly, around the world. With programs that explore urgent contemporary questions, bring people with diverse perspectives into conversation, and build professional networks, Spertus creates communities. We “do” community (if it indeed can be a verb)—even as we examine its nature and needs for today and the future.

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I hope you will take advantage of the many offerings here at Spertus and help us to foster community, for we are convinced that a vibrant Jewish community is a learning community.

Best wishes,

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Dr. Dean Phillip Bell President and CEO Spertus Institute for Jewish Learning and Leadership

Spertus Institute proudly welcomes two community leaders to its Board of Trustees Barbara Grant Bereskin is Principal and Founder of Lincoln Avenue Partners, a consulting business that provides strategic marketing services to law firms and businesses in the professional services, investment banking, and private equity sectors. Before founding her business, Barbara held senior marketing positions for international law firms, including Winston & Strawn and Jenner & Block, and served as National Director of Marketing for Grant Thornton’s Corporate Advisory and Restructuring Services.

Barbara’s familiarity with Spertus Institute goes back decades, to when her cousin Marvin Cutler served as Spertus CFO. She reconnected through a longstanding relationship with Spertus Vice President for External Relations Ellen Spira Hattenbach. Illustrating interconnectedness typical of Jewish geography, Barbara was once neighbors with both Ellen and Spertus Board Chair Peter Bensinger, Jr.—and their professional lives have long intertwined.

In addition to her new role on the Spertus Board, Barbara serves on the Board of the Hillel Foundation at the University of Arizona. She also served on the Steering Communittee of the Business Council of The Goodman Theatre, and on committees at the Jewish United Fund of Metropolitan Chicago and other local organizations.

Like her cousin before her, Barbara is a licensed CPA. She earned her

undergraduate degree in accounting from University of Illinois and her MBA from the University of Chicago. She is excited to bring her strategic marketing counsel and range of business relationships to the Spertus Board, adding her talents to the Board’s already robust range of expertise.

Barbara lives in Glencoe with her husband Robert. They have one son, Jared, who attends the University of Arizona in Tucson. He is dedicated to their Center for Judaic Studies, just one of the things making his parents proud.

Marilyn Diamond also has a long relationship with Spertus Institute. A Spertus alumna, she received her MA in Jewish Communal Services from Spertus in 1982.

Today Marilyn is the Honorary Consul General for Morocco in Illinois. And as if that isn’t impressive enough, she is on the Board of the University of Chicago’s Harris School of Public Policy, the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, and the Crown Center for Middle East Studies at Brandeis University, and she chairs the American Board of Al Akhawayn University in Ifrane, Morocco.

She and her husband Terry (grandparents of six) have traveled the globe. Their adventures have included climbing mountains in Africa, Mexico, and Bhutan. Terry, a founding partner of Method Capital LLC and former Chairman of Chicago’s Talon Asset

Interested in putting your own leadership skills to work?

Contact Spertus VP for External Relations Ellen Spira Hattenbach at ehattenbach@spertus.edu or 312.322.1262.

News

Support Spertus

Resources

Donate online at donate.spertus.edu or call 312.322.1777

Events

Text to Give Text Spertus to 56512 and follow the prompts!

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She continued, “I could not be doing what I’m doing without the critical thinking skills I gained through Spertus and the hands-on experience. This institution is very close to my heart. I don’t know of any other place that fills the space that Spertus does. This is an entire institution that exists to educate, support, serve, and advance Jewish causes and community.”

Arts & Culture

About her Spertus education, Marilyn said, “I enrolled at Spertus in 1976 because I love languages and wanted to study Hebrew.

When I got here, I discovered an intellectual feast. Every faculty member I studied with was a giant in their field. I studied the Holocaust with Dr. Byron Sherwin (noted author and theologian), Jewish history with David Weinstein (Spertus President 1964-1980, later tapped by Elie Wiesel to lead the fundraising effort for the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum), and Talmud with noted expert Dr. Martin Goldman. One of my professors was my cousin, Dr. Steven Nasatir (longtime President, Jewish United Fund of Metropolitan Chicago).”

Leadership

Management, quips: “We are on a very short list of Jewishgrandparent mountain climbers.”

Leaders of Jewish nonprofits strengthen the organizations they serve and play a significant role in the vibrancy of our community.

They also gain leadership skills, new connections, and the gratification that they are truly making a difference.

Learning

Great Jewish organizations need great Jewish leaders

The life of a groundbreaking Jewish leader, creatively celebrated in song Four hundred Chicago-area music fans—and admirers of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg—filled Spertus Institute’s Feinberg Theater on May 19 for a sold-out, single-Chicago-performance of Notorious RBG in Song.

This one-act dramatic concert celebrated Justice Ginsburg’s life and work in a unique way. Soprano/composer Patrice Michaels used the Justice’s own writings—along with letters from family and colleagues—as lyrics. One song was based on a missive from the secretary who typed RBG’s early groundbreaking briefs against gender discrimination (and from them, learned to fight discrimination in her own life). Another was advice from the Justice’s father-in-law extolling her ability to handle law school—if she decided to attend—even though she’d be one of the only women students and was the mother of a young child.

The concert featured Patrice Michaels, pianist Kuang-Hao Huang, soprano Michelle Areyzaga, tenor Matthew Dean, and baritone Evan Bravos. A guest speaking role was performed by Chicago lawyer (and former actor) Peter Bensinger, Jr., Chairman of the Spertus Board of Trustees and Partner at Bartlit Beck Herman Palenchar & Scott LLP. This concert and the accompanying CD are personal to Justice Ginsburg. The songs expressing key moments in her life are sung and in many cases composed by her daughter-in-law (Michaels) and produced by her son, Cedille Records founder James Ginsburg.

James Ginsburg joined Patrice Michaels on stage for a post-show Q&A, during which the audience was treated to a surprise video greeting from Justice Ginsburg. (If you looked closely, you could see her very own RBG action figure on the shelf in her chambers.)

The post-show reception was generously sponsored by the law firm of Duane Morris and their Women’s Impact Network for Success (WINS), which is devoted to the success of women attorneys—both at Duane Morris and throughout the legal industry.

Learning Leadership Arts & Culture News Resources Events

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From left: Kuang-Hao Huang, Peter Bensinger, Jr., Evan Bravos, Matthew Dean, Michelle Areyzaga, and Patrice Michaels. Photo by Robert Kusel.

Supported by a generous grant from the Crown Family

Thank you to our Networking Night Sponsors and Community Partners

Monica & Steven Perlman Program Partner

Innovation and Collaboration Award

Learning

Jewish Community Networking Night A celebration of partnerships and opportunities

Among the 200+ attendees, it was terrific to see Spertus students, alumni, faculty, mentors, and mentees. It was equally wonderful to welcome new friends to the growing network of those who share our passion for strengthening Jewish life through leadership and education.

Arts & Culture

During the event, the Innovation and Collaboration Award was presented to ELI Talks. Guests enjoyed a speed presentation by executive coach Rae Ringel.

Leadership

In April, Spertus presented its annual Chicago Jewish Community Networking Night, bringing together professionals, trustees, volunteers, and consultants who work with organizations across Jewish Chicago.

To the evening’s attendees, Spertus Dean and Chief Academic Officer Dr. Keren E. Fraiman said, “At Spertus, we believe that when we grow our skills, knowledge, and networks, we better serve our causes and communities.

To fill this need, Spertus provides offerings to support you at every juncture in your professional or volunteer career.”

She continued, “I hope to see you back, taking advantage of programs to help you develop professionally and personally.” See the pages that follow for opportunities to do just that!

News

Networking Night Encore Wednesday, November 20 at 5:30 pm Do you work for or with a Jewish organization? This free event is for you!

Resources

In response to feedback, we are moving the annual Chicago Jewish Community Networking Night from spring to fall. Which means that this year, we get twice the networking fun!

Network with colleagues. Celebrate successes. Learn new ways to excel.

Learn to tap the power of LinkedIn to support your organization’s mission and sharpen your personal brand. Come away with a new professional headshot snapped at the LinkedIn photo booth.

Events

LinkedIn Chicago has graciously contributed their employees and photo booth to support our program. Thank you to Jay Carlile, Sam Patel, Jacob Cynamon-Murphy and speakers Michelle Flaksman and Tad Leavy.

Thanks to generous grants from the Crown Family, Caryn & Laurence Straus, and our Community Partners, there is no charge for this event.

Photos from top: Spertus Dean and Chief Academic Officer Dr. Keren E. Fraiman and President and CEO Dr. Dean P. Bell | Mary Rubenstein of ELI Talks with Ilana Bley of Award Sponsor Gould & Ratner LLP | Spertus faculty member Jane Shapiro of Orot with Rebecca Schwab of ChiTribe | Rae Ringel and Spertus VP Ellen Spira Hattenbach | Spertus alum Cindy Stern of the Chicago Festival of Israeli Cinema with Baruch Tuman of TorahHub. Photos by Joe Mazza | Brave Lux.

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Advance reservations requested by November 11.

Reserve online at spertus.edu/networking

Amy Schiffman

Gary Weinstein

Alison Bloom of SHALVA at Fundraisers Forum 2018, photo by Dan Rest.

Dr. Gail Berger

Jennifer Flink, American Friends of Israel Sports Center for the Disabled, at Fundraisers Forum 2018, photo by Lynn Renee Persin.

Vicki Agron

Supported by a generous grant from the Crown Family

Learn to manage conflict with Marci Mayer Eisen

Learning

Fundraisers Forum This Spertus Institute series is for everyone involved in securing contributions for Chicago-area Jewish organizations. Hear experts on philanthropy and fundraising. Network with peers from other organizations. Master new ways to raise funds.

Session 1

Leadership

$25 per session | $54 for the three-session series For program information, call 312.322.1773. Reserve at spertus.edu/fundraisers

Leveraging Lay Leadership Wednesday, September 18 from 9 am to 11 am Arts & Culture

Learn to turn your trustees into fundraisers from two experienced experts. Amy Schiffman, CFRE, is Co-Founder and Principal of Giving Tree Associates. Spertus faculty member Gary Weinstein is a master fundraiser who has worked for Jewish Federations across America.

Session 1 presented in partnership with Session 2

Expand how you garner gifts with ideas gleaned from the psychology of influence. Under the guidance of leadership development expert Dr. Gail Berger, discover ways to persuade funders of the importance of your cause—and how to evaluate what methods are best for you.

News

Persuasion Without Authority: The Hidden Forces of Influence Thursday, December 5 from 4:15 pm to 5:15 pm

Session 3

Total Financial Resource Development Thursday, December 5 from 5:3o pm to 6:30 pm

Resources

Be strategic, save time, and raise more with a healthy variety of income streams. Master fundraiser Vicki Agron will teach you techniques to manage campaigns and maximize results from current and prospective donors.

Events

Lay Leadership Academy Wednesday, November 20 at 4 pm Being a great board member means advancing your organization’s mission even through the push and pull that is inevitable when passionate people work together for a cause.

$35 | $25 for Spertus members, alumni, and students. Reserve at spertus.edu 13

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Join Marci Mayer Eisen to discover how to manage perspectives, priorities, and personalities with enthusiasm and optimism. Eisen, Director of the Millstone Institute of the Jewish Federation of St. Louis, leads workshops on topics including teamwork and leadership. Dr. Hal M. Lewis, Spertus Institute Chancellor and principal consultant for Leadership For Impact LLC, will introduce the program.

New for communal professionals from all across North America!

Learning Leadership

Spertus Institute announces expansion of its Master’s in Jewish Professional Studies program

Arts & Culture

We are overjoyed to announce that Spertus Institute’s worldclass, career-boosting Master of Arts in Jewish Professional Studies (MAJPS) is now available to participants from across North America. First piloted in Chicago in 2007, the program proved so influential for graduates and their organizations that it grew to meet demand from select Jewish communities around the U.S., Canada, and Israel. Now, participants throughout North America need not wait for their community’s turn—they can simply join the North American cohort!

News

“Every Jewish professional deserves the opportunity to grow in their career, no matter where they might be located geographically,” said Dr. Keren E. Fraiman, Spertus Institute Dean and Chief Academic Officer. “We recognize that many areas don’t have access to skill-enhancing, career-building Jewish higher education, especially programs for busy students working full-time in the Jewish community. This program is designed so students don’t need to move or leave their jobs.

Coursework has immediate application (a hallmark of the Spertus experience), with projects designed so students can use their own institutions as learning laboratories. We are thrilled that emerging leaders throughout North America can now benefit from this signature Spertus experience.”

Resources

The integrated curriculum emphasizes small-group collaboration. It combines online and classroom learning, with online courses taught through synchronous web conferencing providing real-time interaction with professors and fellow students. Onsite courses take place during twiceyearly Chicago seminars. The program includes a yearlong professional mentorship and a personalized capstone project.

Events

“Students across North America can now benefit from our unique cohort model and learn with a diverse, supportive network of peers from around the world,” Fraiman continued.

“Our top-notch faculty and international network of alums can’t wait to welcome you to the Spertus family!”

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Learn more at spertus.edu/north-america

Supported by a generous grant from the Crown Family

Rooted in the belief that great Jewish communities need great leaders, the mission of the Center for Jewish Leadership (CJL) is to transform Jewish life by cultivating innovative approaches to leadership and enhancing the abilities of Jewish professionals and lay leaders.

Programs dramatically strengthen the knowledge, effectiveness, creativity, and strategic agility of current and future Jewish leaders, magnifying the vibrancy of their communities and advancing the missions of the organizations they serve.

Contact Director of Enrollment Anita Silvert at asilvert@spertus.edu or 312.322.1707

Find out more at spertus.edu/center

Learning

Fellowships available for qualified degree students.

MA in Jewish Professional Studies

Leadership

For Jewish communal professionals with 5+ years of post-college work experience. More than 75% of students report a promotion or higher-level job change within one year of graduation.

Accepting applications for: North American Cohort | Begins March 22, 2020

Deadline for preferred admission is September 23, 2019

Arts & Culture

Executive MA in Jewish Professional Studies For Jewish communal executives with 12+ years of professional experience. Can be completed in just one year because executive experience can count toward graduate credit.

Accepting applications for: North American Executive Cohort | Begins June 7, 2020 News

Certificate in Jewish Leadership Begins November 17, 2019

Resources

For the staff and lay leaders of Jewish organizations across North America, presented by Spertus Institute in partnership with Northwestern University. | Apply Now!

Events

Certificate in Jewish Leadership for Educators

Begins February 9, 2020 Deadline for preferred admission is September 23, 2019 17

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For senior-level educators serving Jewish organizations across North America, presented by Spertus Institute in partnership with Northwestern University, with support from the Jim Joseph Foundation.

The who of Spertus Institute’s Center for Jewish Leadership Several years ago, we set an audacious goal: To make Spertus Institute’s Center for Jewish Leadership the global center for Jewish leadership training.

We sought to empower Jewish communal professionals with the knowledge, skills, and tools to make significant impact, both within and beyond the Jewish community. Why? To ensure that Jewish organizations have the flexibility and capacity to serve community needs in our rapidly changing world.

Today we are proudly on our way.

Spertus students and alumni serve Jewish organizations of every size and description, in our hometown of Chicago, and—without exaggeration or hyperbole—around the world.

To see if your favorite Jewish organization is among them, see a list at spertus.edu/orgs Lists, however, only tell part of the story. So we brought together some local alumni and students to share the impact of their work.

Visit spertus.edu/global for profiles of Spertus students, both locally and farther afield.

Photo by Aleya Cydney Photography.

Joelle Swatez (far left below) is passionate about weaving Jewish meaning into the ways people live. As Director of Development and Operations at University of Chicago Hillel, she helps students build Jewish lives on campus. Before stepping into this new role, this current Spertus student fed the hungry and nourished their spirits as the JUF Uptown Café Coordinator (part of the EZRA Multi-Service Center).

Lauren Silverman (second from left) is a Spertus student and Senior Young Adult Engagement Associate at the Jewish United Fund of Metropolitan Chicago.

She helps recent college grads, Birthright Israel alumni, and young Jewish adults find connection—to each other and to the Jewish community.

Learning Leadership Arts & Culture

Tani Prell Epstein is Emanuel Congregation’s Director of Jewish Learning and Engagement.

This current Spertus student was recently selected for the Union for Reform Judaism’s JewV’Nation Fellowship, a program that invests in leadership development for Jews of color (estimated at 11% of Jews nationwide). This summer will be her second on faculty at the URJ’s specialty camp, the Creative Arts Academy.

News

Misha Vilenchuk knows a few things about global Jewry, having been born in Russia and lived around the world. Before becoming a Spertus student, he already proved his leadership, having founded CAASE, a studentled social movement to combat European AntiSemitism, and serving as Chairman of the Union of American Jewish Students. In a perfect match for his expertise, he now creates transformative experiences for traveling Jewish students at KAHAL: Your Jewish Home Abroad.

Resources Support Spertus

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Events

Caleb Bromberg (second from right) is the Youth Engagement & Curriculum Coordinator at Temple Sholom Chicago, where he shapes the Jewish educational experience of tomorrow’s young adults. A current MAJPS student, his love for Jewish learning is contagious. He has been researching education trends and adapting them to a Jewish context, adding a social justice focus, and reinvigorating how Hebrew is taught.

Out with workbooks, in with participatory learning! Miriam Brosseau (far right) was a student in the first cohort of Spertus Institute’s MA in Jewish Professional Studies. Today this creative communications strategist is Principal of Tiny Windows Consulting, training nonprofit professionals and crafting ways for Jewish organizations to shine light on their stories. Recent clients include JFNA, the URJ, UW-Madison Hillel, and Spertus Institute.

In I am seven years old (After Isidor Kaufmann, The Son of the Miracle-Working Rabbi of Belz), artist Ken Aptekar overlays paintings from the past with autobiographical text from the present to urge viewers to think about history in relation to their own lives. Lent by Ruth Durchslag, Chicago, on view on Spertus Institute’s second floor landing.

Learning

Jewish Studies We believe passionately that the wisdom of Jewish thought and the richness of Jewish history are critical to Judaism and Jewish society today.

Leadership

Jewish Studies is an interdisciplinary academic discipline centered on the study of Jews and Judaism. Combining history, religious studies, sociology, and political science, it explores Jewish texts, cultures, languages, and experiences over three millennia. Jewish Studies departments exist today at many colleges and universities, but this wasn’t always the case.

Spertus has offered Jewish Studies for nine decades, with distinguished Spertus faculty and alumni influencing the field around the world.

Arts & Culture

Our Jewish Studies courses take place at twice-yearly seminars and through a variety of online formats. Our students grapple with Jewish ideas in the service of their personal and professional advancement.

Degree Types Master of Arts in Jewish Studies (MAJS) Doctor of Science in Jewish Studies (DSJS) Doctor of Hebrew Letters (DHL)

Info at spertus.edu/learn News

Considering a Jewish studies graduate degree?

Apply by November 26 to participate in the January 12–16 seminar.

At seminars, you meet and learn together with acclaimed faculty and fellow students, providing an ideal opportunity to begin your learning experience.

Resources

Upcoming Jewish Studies web courses Via Zoom Web Conferencing Platform Wednesdays 6-8 pm, eight weeks beginning September 4 Jewish Ethics: Relating to God and One Another Taught by Rabbi Dr. Moshe Berger for admitted Jewish Studies students Learn about the interplay between ethical and spiritual values as manifested in classical Jewish literature.

Events

Thursdays 6-8 pm, eight weeks beginning September 5 Judaism, Health, and Spirituality Taught by Rabbi Dr. Joseph Ozarowski for admitted Jewish Studies students and members of the public

Under the guidance of Chaplain/Educator Rabbi Dr. Joseph Ozarowski (who will share case studies from his decades in the field), learn to address a variety of healthcare issues through the eyes of Jewish teachings.

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Will be especially relevant to chaplains and healthcare professionals.

Visit spertus.edu/ce for continuing education information.

Learning

North American Premiere

The Jewish Experience From Basavilbaso to New Amsterdam In Spanish with English subtitles | Runtime 88 minutes Directed by Miguel Kohan

Leadership

Monday, September 9 at 7 pm $18 | $10 for Spertus members | $8 for students and Spertus alumni Purchase tickets online at spertus.edu

We don’t have a family tree.

It is a tangle of vines.

Kohan touches down in Brazil, Surinam, Jamaica, St. Eustatius, and his native Argentina (where his own family descends from Jewish Gauchos and he discovers an abandoned 17th-century synagogue and cemetery buried in the jungle).

Arts & Culture

Director Miguel Kohan takes viewers on a rare voyage of discovery, unearthing Jewish history in the Americas extending back to the time of the Spanish Inquisition.

On St. Eustatius, Kohan learns about assistance given by Jewish merchants —at great risk to their lives—to the rebelling British colony key to the future United States.

News

In the course of his adventures, Kohan proves how Jews who settled in remote places turned their exile into strength.

Dr. Daniel Dunkelman is a surgeon at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles.

He has been involved in the arts for many years and is a regular consultant for Hispanic television. Upon learning about film director Miguel Kohan’s quest to tell this unknown chapter of Jewish diaspora history, Dr. Dunkelman came on as the film’s producer.

Resources

Following the screening, stay for a post-show discussion with film producer Daniel Dunkelman.

Dr. Dunkelman will be in conversation with Spertus Institute Dean and Chief Academic Officer Dr. Keren E. Fraiman, whose family is from Uruguay.

Events

This is the annual Horwitz Family Presentation on Jewish History, generously endowed by the Horwitz Charitable Fund.

Support Spertus

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From Here to There Linda Robinson Gordon Ellen Holtzblatt Lilach Schrag Michelle Stone

Lilach Schrag, video still from The Hope.

Michelle Stone, Hybrid 2 from Grew Some Hybrids series, mixed materials including acrylic gel and paint.

Linda Robinson Gordon, Untitled, 21” x 21”, ink on paper.

Admission is free | Ground Level Arts Lab Exhibition Hours Sunday 10 am – 5 pm | Monday – Wednesday 9 am – 5 pm Thursday 9 am – 6 pm | Friday 9 am–3 pm Closed Saturdays and Jewish and secular holidays.

Ellen Holtzblatt, There Is Nothing So Whole As A Broken Heart, 40” x 90” (triptych), oil on linen.

Exhibitions made possible through the generous support of the Harry and Sadie Lasky and Charles & M.R. Shapiro Foundations. Artist Talks are part of the Solomon Goldman Lecture Series endowed by the late Rose and Sidney Shure.

Learning

On view in the Ground Level Arts Lab

The Three Escapes of Hannah Arendt

“Remarkable” — The Chicago Reader

Leadership

Extended through August 18, 2019

Arts & Culture

Step into cartoonist Ken Krimstein’s page-turning graphic biography of philosopher Hannah Arendt.

The exhibition creatively introduces a key chapter of the Jewish experience and shines a spotlight on its relevance for today.

From Here to There September 23, 2019–January 19, 2020 Four contemporary artists—Linda Robinson Gordon, Ellen Holtzblatt, Lilach Schrag, and Michelle Stone—explore the relationship between the physical and spiritual.

News

Inspired by the natural world, the artists delve into the relationships between matter and energy and between the roles of process and materials. They explore their fascination with human experience, community, memory, time, and narrative.

Resources

Evoking the concept of Lech Lecha, a Hebrew phrase that translates as “go forth,” the artists experiment and take risks, stretching the boundaries of their artistic practice. Works on view include drawings, paintings, sculptures, and videos. Exhibition organized by Lilach Schrag.

Opening Reception Monday, September 23 from 5:30 pm to 8 pm Meet the artists at this opening celebration.

Reservations recommended by September 13.

Artist Talk: The Journey Events

Sunday, October 27 at 12:30 pm Join the artists as they discuss the processes that go into the creation of their work.

Artist Talk: Stories That Move Us

These Ground Level Arts Lab programs are free.

Visit spertus.edu to reserve your spot.

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Thursday, January 9 at 6:30 pm Join the artists as they discuss how their life experiences, memories, and ideas inform their work.

Human Rights Activist | Politician Writer | Israel Prize Laureate Recipient of the U.S. Presidential Medal of Freedom

Natan Sharansky In Person At the Chicago Premiere of the Film that Tells His Story

Learning

From Slavery to Freedom In Russian with English subtitles | Runtime 84 minutes Directed by Arkady Kogan

Saturday, November 16, 2019 7 pm VIP Reception | 8 pm Program | 9:45 pm After Party

Tickets on sale online in September at israelifilmchi.org Call 847.687.2126 for information.

Arts & Culture

Spertus Institute is proud to be the screening host for this special Chicago Festival of Israeli Cinema presentation.

Leadership

$180 VIP (includes VIP Reception, Reserved Program Seating, After Party) $36 for Program Only | $25 After Party

Through the prism of Natan Sharansky’s incredible life, From Slavery to Freedom tells the story the Refuseniks, Jews seeking to leave the Soviet Union to live in freedom. It follows Sharansky to the Moscow prison where he was held after being arrested in 1977 on charges of anti-Soviet agitation. Against remarkable odds, he defied the Soviet system and won the struggle for all Soviet Jews.

News

ViewPoints is a new Spertus program series in which you are invited to join topic experts and passionate fellow participants to discuss issues that make a difference in today’s world.

ViewPoints: Antisemitism Resources

Same Old Problem or Something New? Sunday, October 27, 2019 at 2 pm Discussion and Reception $18 | $10 for Spertus members | $8 for students and Spertus alumni Purchase tickets online at spertus.edu

Events

How distinctive is the current resurgence of antisemitism? Join Indiana University Professors Dr. Mark Roseman and Dr. Günther Jikeli as they share their expertise, then open the floor for conversation. Roseman will discuss themes in antisemitism over the last centuries. Jikeli will draw on his recent research to analyze characteristics of today’s antisemitism.

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Presented in collaboration with Indiana University’s Robert A. and Sandra S. Borns Jewish Studies Program.

“Irreplaceable thoughts from a vanishing generation.”

— Kirkus Reviews

Learning

Jewish Book Month

Leadership

Author Event Sunday, December 15 at 2 pm $18 | $10 for Spertus members $8 for students and Spertus alumni Purchase tickets online at spertus.edu

Arts & Culture

A conversation with Howard Reich on his new book

The Art of Inventing Hope: Intimate Conversations with Elie Wiesel

News

The Art of Inventing Hope provides readers a chance to listen in on unprecedented conversations between Elie Wiesel (Holocaust survivor, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, acclaimed writer and educator), and awardwinning Chicago Tribune reporter Howard Reich, himself the son of survivors.

Resources

During the last four years of Wiesel’s life, he and Reich met frequently and spoke often—discussing the subject that linked them: Reich’s father, Robert Reich, and Wiesel were both liberated from the Buchenwald death camp on April 11, 1945.

What started as a Chicago Tribune assignment evolved into a true friendship. Wiesel said, “I’ve never done anything like this before,” and after reading the book’s final draft, he asked Reich not to change a word.

Howard Reich will be interviewed on stage by Alison Pure-Slovin. The Art of Inventing Hope will be for sale. A book signing will follow the program.

Events

Howard Reich has written for the Chicago Tribune since 1978. He is an Emmy Award recipient and was named Chicago Journalist of the Year by the Chicago Journalists Association. This is his sixth book.

This is the 2019 Norman Asher Memorial Program.

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Alison Pure-Slovin is the Midwest Director of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, a global human rights organization that confronts antisemitism and hate and teaches about the Holocaust.

Passionate Speakers Opposing Viewpoints Inspired by Judaism’s Embrace of Civil Discourse Made Possible With Support from the Spertus Community

Critical Conversations is generously funded by the late Eric Joss.

This year’s Critical Conversations program series topic was Immigration, the issue that has risen to the top of the list when Americans are asked the most important problem facing the nation (GALLUP, 2019). The fact that the immigrant experience is part of recent family history for many in the Jewish community made this complex and multifaceted subject particularly resonant for the Spertus audience.

Contact Ellen Hattenbach at ehattenbach@spertus.edu to find out out how you, your family, or your company can support Spertus programs.

Sign up at spertus.edu/conversation to receive your invitation to Critical Conversations 2020.

Spertus Institute is grateful for the support of our Sponsors and Community Partners

Joan & John Gilchrist

Vicki & Tom Rivkin

Learning

Photo by Elliot Mandel

Leadership

Arts & Culture

News

Resources

Events

Support Spertus

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Become a Member Benefits

Your membership fees directly support extraordinary programs, resources, and opportunities that foster a dynamic and enduring Jewish future.

Individual $60 Discounts on performances, films, lectures, author events, master classes and workshops Asher Library borrowing privileges and access to online resources Discount subscription to Moment, North America’s premier Jewish magazine 10% discount at JUDAICA.COM Select discounts from Spertus partners including SIX10 To Go

Household $75 and Senior $50 (age 65+) All benefits of Individual Membership, but for two people (Includes a second member card) Associate $100 All benefits of Household Membership plus online recognition SpertusNet $50 Library borrowing privileges and online access to the Feinberg eCollection (Included with all levels)

Join or Renew Today | Memberships are for one year and are 100% tax deductible.

To join or renew online, click the Join link at spertus.edu or contact Regina Rivers at membership@spertus.edu or 312.322.1777

SIX10 To Go SIX10 To Go is the coffee kiosk located right inside our front doors! Enjoy kosher snacks, teas, and coffee (including delicious cold brew).

Open Monday–Friday 8 am–3 pm and for select public programs.

Asher Library Public Hours | Sunday 12–4 pm | Monday 10 am–6 pm | Wednesday 10 am–4 pm Spertus students, faculty, and members receive borrowing privileges and online access to a treasure trove of Jewish resources through the Asher Library.

For info, visit spertus.edu/online-resources

Learning

In 2024 (just five years from now), Spertus Institute will reach an impressive milestone.

100 years.

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I give because this is the time for us to provide for future generations.

Unlike many other Jewish philanthropies, Spertus trains the leaders who will lead our communities. This is philanthropic leverage.

go Ignitin

Arts & Culture

titute for Je Ins wi s u

Second Century Circle

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A Legacy of Learning

rning and Lea Le h s

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Second Century Circle

Leadership

The start of our second century.

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— Bruce Werner

Donna Barrows

Mark & Barbara Mehlman

Dr. Dean & Juli Bell

Odette G. Olson

Peter B. Bensinger, Jr.

Tal M. Rosen & Anna Levin Rosen

& Heidi Wagman

Dr. Sharon Silverman Michael Spertus

Ethel & William Gofen

Sylvia & Philip Spertus

Norma & Phillip Gordon

In loving memory of David J. Spira

The Ellen & Jon Hattenbach Family

Caryn & Laurence Straus

Gene & Adele Hoffman

Bruce D. Werner Family

Harold & Holly Israel

Stephen Wolff &

Resources

Bruce Crane & Laura Cooper

Sheryl & Michael Markman

News

Through gifts to the Spertus Institute endowment, members of our new Second Century Circle ensure a future of Jewish learners and leaders.

Dr. Marla Mendelson

There’s room for your name on this list!

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Support Spertus

Spertus Institute is proud to be a part of the Jewish Federation’s Create a Jewish Legacy program, designed to train and support Chicago’s Jewish schools, agencies, and synagogues in the area of legacy giving.

Events

Leave a legacy of learning through a gift in your will, trust, retirement account, or life insurance policy. Contact Ellen Spira Hattenbach, Vice President for External Relations, at ehattenbach@spertus.edu or 312.322.1262.

HAVE YOUR EVENT IN AN ARCHITECTURAL GEM!

ARE YOU CELEBRATING THIS YEAR? Events at Spertus are managed by VenueSIX10, named one of Chicago’s best

by Crain’s Chicago Business. Choice of select caterers, including kosher options.

Visit VenueSIX10.com to find out more.

VENUESIX10.COM | 312.322.1725 610 SOUTH MICHIGAN AVENUE | CHICAGO

Discount Parking Discount parking is available for $8 at Grant Park South Garage, 325 S. Michigan Avenue.

The discount is good for 12 hours with Spertus validation.

Accessibility Spertus welcomes all visitors and is committed to making its facilities and programs accessible.

Elevator access is available to all areas of the building. Please let us know of any special needs or requests when you purchase program tickets, or call 312.322.1773.

For program information, call 312.322.1773.

September 2019

November 2019

1 | Sunday

17 |

Library closed Spertus closed Labor Day

9 | Monday 7 pm Film Premiere The Jewish Experience P 23

18 |

23 | Monday 5:30 pm Exhibition Opening Reception From Here to There P25

29 | Sunday 3 pm Spertus closes early Erev Rosh Hashanah

30 | Monday October 2019

1 | Tuesday Spertus closed Rosh Hashanah Spertus closes early Erev Yom Kippur

9 | Wednesday Spertus closed Yom Kippur

14– 15 |

Monday–Tuesday Spertus closed Sukkot

21 | Monday Spertus closed Shemini Atzeret Spertus closed Simchat Torah

27 | Sunday 12:30 pm Artist Talk The Journey P25

27 | Sunday 2 pm

28– 29 | Thursday–Friday Spertus closed Thanksgiving

December 2019

1 | Sunday Library closed

5 | Thursday 4 pm Fundraisers Forum Hidden Forces of Influence P 13

5 | Thursday 5:30 pm Fundraisers Forum Total Financial Resource Development P 13

15 | Sunday 2 pm Author event Howard Reich on The Art of Inventing Hope P29

25 | Wednesday Spertus closed Christmas holiday

January 2020

1 | Wednesday

Events

22 | Tuesday

Jewish Community Networking Night P11

Resources

8 | Tuesday 1 pm

20 | Wednesday 5:30 pm

News

Spertus closed Rosh Hashanah

Lay Leadership Academy P13

Arts & Culture

Wednesday 9 am Fundraisers Forum Leveraging Lay Leadership P13

20 | Wednesday 4 pm

Leadership

2 | Monday

Sunday Certificate in Jewish Leadership begins P17

Learning

Calendar

Spertus closed New Year’s Day

9 | Thursday 6:30 pm Artist Talk Stories That Move Us P25

Printed on 30% post-consumer recycled paper.

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Viewpoints Antisemitism P27

Join visiting experts to discuss the issues in today’s headlines. Upcoming topic: Is today’s resurgence of antisemitism the same old thing or something new?

See page P27

ViewPoints: A new Spertus series

Permit No. 7320 Chicago, Illinois

PAID

Nonprofit Org. U.S. Postage