Area universities will present two programs of interest to the Jewish community in November.

Kristallnacht commemoration at Wright State

Wright State University will hold its annual Kristallnacht Commemoration on Tuesday, Nov. 5 at 7:30 p.m. in Room M252 of the Creative Arts Center. The program will include personal reflections by Dayton Holocaust Committee Chair Renate Frydman on the 75th anniversary of Kristallnacht.

Canadian author Gina Roitman will introduce and screen her new documentary, My Mother, The Nazi Midwife and Me. The film presents the forgotten story of the systematic murder of 52 Jewish babies in a Displaced Persons camp in the American military zone after the end of World War II. The film received the Make A Difference Award at the Eighth Annual Commffest, Toronto’s cultural showcase of issue-oriented movies. The program is free and open to the community. For more information, contact Wright State University Zusman Professor of Judaic Studies Dr. Mark Verman at 775-2461.

Hebrew University professor at University of Dayton for Ryterband Symposium

Dr. Rachel Elior, professor of Jewish philosophy with Hebrew University of Jerusalem, will be the speaker for the 35th Annual Ryterband Symposium at University of Dayton’s River Campus, 1700 S. Patterson Blvd., on Wednesday, Nov. 20. Elior’s research focuses on the history of Jewish mysticism. She is the author of The Mystical Origins of Hasidism, The Three Temples: On the Emergence of Jewish Mysticism, and Jewish Mysticism: The Infinite Expression of Freedom.

At 3:30 p.m., she’ll present the lecture The Origins of Hasidism. At 7:30 p.m., she’ll discuss The Dead Sea Scrolls: Who Wrote Them, When and Why?

The Ryterband Symposium is a collaborative project of United Theological Seminary, the University of Dayton, and Wright State University. Both lectures are free and open to the public. For more information, contact Wright State University Zusman Professor of Judaic Studies Dr. Mark Verman at 775-2461.

To view the print version of the November Observer, click here.