Four local synagogues (Congregation Shir Hadash, Congregation Beth David, Temple Emanu-El and Congregation Sinai) and Jewish Silicon Valley (formed by the recent merger of the Jewish Federation of Silicon Valley and Addison-Penzak JCC) have come together to, on a rotating basis, host educational programs that will be of interest to our collective communities. We believe there is strength in numbers and we will be able to bring in bigger and better speakers to the South Bay Jewish community.

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The long awaited Season 3 of the Israeli drama series Shtisel has just debuted. The internationally acclaimed series introduced, for the first time, the Ultra-Orthodox (Haredi) Jewish community in Jerusalem and provided an insider’s view into their daily lives and their interaction with the secular majority around them. 

Join us to get a glimpse at the real world behind the popular series in this two-part lecture. Moderator: Anat Balint, Jewish Studies Program, San Jose State University. Each meeting will conclude in Q&A.

Lecture 1: Wednesday, April 28 at 10:00 am - Dr. Tomer Persico, Berkeley

Dr. Tomer Persico is the Koret Visiting Assistant Professor at the Berkeley Institute for Jewish Law and Israel Studies, a Senior Research Scholar at the UC Berkeley Center for Middle Eastern Studies and the Shalom Hartman Institute Bay Area Scholar in Residence. He is a frequent commentator in the media and holds a popular blog. Persico will promote knowledge on Orthodox Jews, which strictly observe Jewish Halacha and isolates from the internet and any mainstream media. This program will be recorded.

Lecture 2: Wednesday, May 5 at 10:00 am - Yehonatan Indursky, Co-Writer of Shtisel

Meet Yehonatan Indursky, the co-writer of “Shtisel” and the creator of several other highly acclaimed films on ultra-orthodox Jews. He is a graduate of the elite ultra-Orthodox Ponevezh Yeshiva, and later a top alum of the Jerusalem Sam Spiegel Film School.