Viewpoints

The Viewpoints Committee celebrates the rich diversity of the Jewish community. Viewpoints presents a wide variety of programs that help the congregation grow and learn together about different segments of our family, especially the interfaith, Jews of color, and the LGBTQ communities. These programs involve speakers, films, readings, and performance artists who hail from a wide spectrum of backgrounds. The one recurring program that Viewpoints sponsors is our Pride Shabbat in June. At that Shabbat there are special readings and speakers that highlight the LGBT Jewish experience.

The Viewpoints Committee offers programs to the Temple Emeth community both online and in person.

Our short film series included such movies as: Hannah Cohen’s First Communion; From Man to Man; The Outer Circle; What We Left Behind; Through the Window; The Love Letter; and Black Hat. In addition, we've offered a two-program discussion on Unconscious Bias and a tour of LGBTQ sites in New York City from the Museum Of the Living Heritage. We have held a discussion with the director of the film A Question of Survival and a presentation about the Vilna Project. We joined with other synagogues to sponsor a panel of Jews of Color.

As part of our efforts to raise awareness of the minority, LGBTQ, disabled, and interfaith communities, the Viewpoints Committee is currently sponsoring a program of DEI groups. The Diversity, Equity, Inclusion (DEI) groups are small discussion groups, whose purpose is to enable us to understand how others experience life at Temple Emeth. Reading and assessment materials are used to facilitate the discussions.

Programs for 2022-23
Sunday at the Movies
Sunday, October 30 at 2:30 pm
The Viewpoints Committee will show the film Dimona Twist. The 2016 award-winning documentary is about the settlement of the North African Jews in Israel in the 1950’s. The film will be followed by a discussion and refreshments.

Disability Shabbat
Friday, February 17 at 8:00 p.m.
Lisa Shulman, MD, a neurodevelopmental pediatrician and a Professor of Pediatrics at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, will speak on Shining a Light on Inclusion. Her talk will include ways to make our Temple community more inclusive. Dr. Shulman specializes in treating children with developmental and learning disabilities. In her work she hears from families who want to feel more included in the community. 

New-York Historical Society Presentation
Thursday, February 23 at 7:30 p.m.
New-York Historical Society docent Kyle Einhorn will present an online history tour, I’ll Have What She’s Having: The Jewish Deli. The presentation will examine how Jewish immigrants, mostly from Central and Eastern Europe, imported and adopted their traditions to create a uniquely American restaurant. The talk will reveal how Jewish delicatessens became a cornerstone of American food culture. Photo Credit: James Reuel Smith (1852-1935), Louis Klepper Confectionary and Sausage Manufacturers, 45 E. Houston Street, New York, ca. 1900. Patricia D. Klingenstein Library, New-York Historical Society.

Creating a Sense of Belonging as Racial Beings
Sunday, March 12 at 2:00 p.m.
Dr. Nathalie Edmond, PsyD, a licensed clinical psychologist who integrates multiculturalism and feminism into her work, will speak on "Creating a Sense of Belonging as Racial Beings." The program, co-sponsored by the Social Action Committee, will focus on celebrating differences and fostering inclusion.

The Viewpoints Committee welcome your suggestions about future programming. Email viewpoints@emeth.org.