Jewish Studies celebrates centuries of culture

Annual event includes celebration of Reb Zalman Archives at CU-Boulder

The Program in Jewish Studies at the University of Colorado at Boulder presents the Third Annual Week of Jewish Culture, a series that began Tuesday and actually runs over two weeks, through Jan. 25. This year's series is presented in conjunction with two community events: Movers: Do You Speak Jewish? (www.jewishmovers.org) and Czech Point Denver (http://www.czechpointdenver.com).

CU's Annual Week of Jewish Culture is dedicated to the exploration of more than 3,500 years of Jewish culture, from traditional to cutting-edge.

The event began with a celebration of the Reb Zalman Archives, which will be housed in CU's Library Archives. Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi is considered the father of the Jewish Renewal movement, a recent movement in Judaism that works to reinvigorate modern Judaism with mystical teachings and contemplative practices influenced by Hasidism.

Until recently, these materials were in the care of Naropa University, which was working closely with the Reb Zalman Legacy Project of the Yesod Foundation, whose mission is to preserve, develop and disseminate the teachings of Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi. The CU Libraries and Archives and CU's Program in Jewish Studies now join this team in providing broad access of the resource to students and researchers throughout the world.

The Week of Jewish Culture concludes with two events in Denver that also are part of Czech Point Denver, a festival celebrating Czech cultural arts with programs hosted by Denver and Boulder nonprofit arts and cultural organizations, and educational institutions throughout January and February. This cooperative project, led by Opera Colorado, will include classical music, theater, visual arts, film and multimedia experiences.

CU's Week of Jewish Culture is an annual series produced and presented by the Program in Jewish Studies at CU-Boulder and generously supported by the program's donors.

"As we have every year, CU's Program in Jewish Studies is proud to be highlighting the most cutting-edge forms of Jewish culture – from Renewal Judaism's archives and soccer in interwar Czechoslovakia to a series of programs on Yiddish culture in East Germany, including a concert with the world renowned performer Jalda Rebling," said David Shneer, director of the Program in Jewish Studies at CU-Boulder.

Events will take place in venues on the CU-Boulder campus and in Denver. Complete details may be found at http://www.colorado.edu/jewishstudies. All events are free and open to the public, but RSVPs are suggested since space is limited. For more information, contact the Program in Jewish Studies at 303-492-7143 or e-mail Jamie.Polliard@colorado.edu.