The exhibition will be on view to the public in the Central Synagogue Pavilion Fridays, November 12–December 3, 2021, from 5:00–6:00 pm, and other select dates and times.

Tuesday, November 30, 2021, 7:00–8:00 pm
Martin Indyk returns to the origins of American diplomacy in the region, led by Henry Kissinger. Using newly available documents from American and Israeli archives, extensive interviews with Kissinger, and his own experience with key players, Indyk takes us inside the negotiating rooms of the past to glean lessons for Middle East peacemaking in the present.

Wednesday, December 1, 2021, 7:30–8:30 pm
Join Rabbi Ari Lorge and Dr. Annie Polland (Director of the Tenement Museum) for a tasty lesson about the history of our immigrant ancestors, the foods they made to celebrate the Festival of Lights, and the diverse flavors that define the holiday for us today. Watching the Chanukah episode of Taste the Nation: Holiday Edition with Padma Lakshmi on Hulu featuring Rabbi Lorge and Dr. Polland is recommended but not required to enjoy this program.

Thursday, December 2, 2021, 7:30–8:30 pm
Jordan B. Gorfinkel — known as Gorf — is a veteran comic book editor, writer and creator on the Batman franchise for DC Comics, his creations serving as the inspiration for television shows, movies and games. Among other projects, he is the writer/producer of the #1 bestselling Passover Haggadah Graphic Novel. As a musician, Gorf pioneered professional Jewish a capella and with his all (Jewish) star vocal group Kol Zimra he brings harmony—vocal and communal—to simchas and services. Learn more at www.gorfy.com.

Monday, December 6, 2021, 1:00–2:00 pm
Olympic fever is still going strong, as we shift from summer games to winter ones. Join us as we hear from Moran Samuel, an Israeli paralympic basketball player and world champion rower, who represented Israel at the Paralympic Games this past summer. She was also chosen to light a ceremonial torch on Israel's Independence Day in 2019, and has been named Female Athlete of the Year at the Israeli Paralympic Committee’s annual awards ceremony.

Tuesday, December 7, 2021, 12:00–1:00 pm
This year has seen the first major shift in years in Israeli leadership, with the emergence of an unlikely coalition. Join us over (virtual) lunch to learn more about the new government. Who are they? What makes them different from the prior leadership? What challenges and opportunities do they face? And how is the future of the America-Israel relationship being shaped by new administrations in both countries? Experts Dr. Shira Efron (Israel Policy Forum), Nimrod Dweck (Darkenu), and Nadav Tamir (J Street) will offer answers to these and other pressing questions—including your own.

Wednesday, December 8, 2021, 7:30–8:30 pm
Professor Julian Zelizer, author of Abraham Joshua Heschel: A Life of Radical Amazement (Yale University Press, Jewish Lives Series), in conversation with Rabbi Ari Lorge, will explore Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel’s quest for spirituality in the modern world.

Central Synagogue is a single community, made up of thousands of individuals. Each one of us has a story to tell, and everyone’s voice matters. Learn how you can help us complete our oral history mosaic by sharing your story.

We are pleased to announce a new partnership with the award-winning oral history project StoryCorps, who will be helping to document and share the many voices of Central through a series of facilitated, recorded conversations.