Jewish community expert to visit Tidewater

Thursday, Feb. 7–Sunday, Feb. 9

Dr. Ron Wolfson, an expert in the field of synagogue and Jewish community transformation, will appear on four separate occasions in Norfolk and Virginia Beach to speak, teach and interact with the community.

A professor of education at the American Jewish University in Los Angeles, Wolfson is the co-founder of an organization called Synagogue 3000, and the author of The Seven Questions You’re Asked In Heaven, The Spirituality of Welcoming: How to Transform Your Congregation Into a Sacred Community and God’s To-Do List: 103 Ways to Be an Angel and Do God’s Work on Earth, among other books.

Wolfson’s free, community appearances are presented by the Synagogue-Federation Partnership of the Tidewater Jewish community, the United Jewish Federation, the Temple Emanuel Rabbi Pincus Forum, Congregation Beth El’s Milton Kramer Scholar in Residence program, and the Goldring/Woldenberg Institute of Southern Jewish Life.

Thursday, Feb. 7, 7 pm
Community event, Sandler Family Campus
“Building Good Tents: Envisioning the Synagogue of the future”
How do we create a culture of “welcoming” in our congregations and communities? What are the components of a vibrant, exciting spiritual community? What can we do to shape sacred communities of meaning, purpose and relationship?
Free and open to the community.
RSVP to 757-965-6115 or pmalone@ ujft.org.
Visit JewishVa.org for more information.

Friday, Feb. 8, 6 pm
Temple Emanuel, 425 25th St., Virginia Beach
6 pm Shabbat Service
6:30 pm (approximate) Lecture open to the community‚ “God’s To-Do List”
The synagogue of the future will be a place where we explore the great question: “What on earth am I here for?” What is my task as a member of a sacred community? The Jewish answer begins with an understanding that every human being is “made in the image of God” and we are called to be God’s partner on earth. How? Wolfson will explore 10 ways we can create our own “God’s To-Do list,” the things we can do in sacred community together to further the ongoing creation and repair of the world.
7:30 pm dinner—There will be a charge for the dinner.

Saturday, Feb. 9, 9:30 am
Temple Emanuel
9:30 am—Shabbat services
11 am (approximate)—Lecture open to the community—“The Seven Questions You’re Asked in Heaven”
Synagogues are the place to review and renew your life on earth. Over the centuries, rabbis have imagined what might be asked in heaven about how we lived our lives. With funny and poignant stories, Wolfson will share seven of these questions from his newly published book, questions that lead us to a cheshbon ha-nefesh, an “accounting of the soul.”
12:30 pm—Kiddish lunch open to the community
For more information, call 757‑428‑2591. Part of the annual Temple Emanuel Rabbi Pincus Forum. Free, except for dinner on Friday.

Saturday, Feb. 9
Congregation Beth El,
422 Shirley Ave., Norfolk
8 pm—Lecture—Open to the public. “Blessings and Kisses: The Power of Family as Jewish Educator.”
With humorous and poignant stories, Wolfson will share ideas and strategies for creating a joyous, warm and meaningful Jewish life in the family.
9 pm—Dessert reception
Free and open to the community as part of the Milton Kramer Scholar-In-Residence Program.