Continuing Education Lecture Series and Special Events
Upcoming Presentations
NOTE: Unless otherwise noted, presentations are at 7 pm at Congregation Beit Tikva, 2230 Old Pecos Trail, Santa Fe. Donation requested: $10-18 unless otherwise noted.
Thursday, January 16, 7 pm
The Tanakh in Classical Music, Part 1: Music Inspired by the Torah and Prophets
Thursday, February 20, 7 pm
The Tanakh in Classical Music, Part 2: Music inspired by the Psalms and Writings
We are pleased to announce a two-part series on the Tanakh in Classical Music, with Steven Ovitsky, Executive Director of the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival.Some of the greatest classical compositions of the past five centuries were inspired by texts from the Hebrew Bible (Tanakh). This two-part series will feature a wide range of composers including Handel, Haydn, Gabrieli, Stravinsky, Walton, and Bloch, Bernstein, Reich and others.
Steven Ovitsky is the Executive Director of The Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival. He previously occupied managerial positions with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, Minnesota Orchestra and Grant Park Music Festival in Chicago. He was vice-president of Chamber Music America and has chaired and served on numerous panels for such organizations as The National Endowment for the Arts and the Illinois Arts Council. Steve is himself a musician. He performs as a shofar soloist and horn player and has been the music director for several prize-winning recordings. Steve has been active in the world of Jewish music since the mid-1960's and lectures widely on the subject.
Thursday, November 21, 7 pm POSTPONED
Let My People Sing! The Torah of Music
Hazzan Cindy Freedman, presenter
Song is central to the Judaic experience. As soon as one breathes, one sings. As King David exclaimed in his final and most musical psalm, "Let everything that breathes praise God, halleluyah!" Every breath sings the praises of the Holy One. We do not pray; we davven, meaning we sing the words we direct toward heaven. Nor do we read the Torah. Instead we chant it, each word with its own cantillation.
In Judaism, music isn't an accompaniment, it's a spiritual practice. This evening will weave the stories, liturgy, history and poetry that make music a primary, powerful source of spiritual transformation. We'll also explore chant and song as a powerful modality of Jewish prayer. Let My People Sing!
Hazzan Cindy Freedman has been serving HaMakom:The Place for Passionate and Progressive Judaism in Santa Fe, NM since 2004. She received her cantorial ordination from ALEPH:Alliance for Jewish Renewal in 2014 and she has been a member of the Women Cantor's Network since 2005. She is a professional singer, life cycle officiant and chant leader who thoroughly engages people in the power of prayer through music and sound.
Previous Presentations (Partial List)
The Cello as a Jewish Voice, Pecos Singer (cello) and Natasha Stojanovska (piano), presenters
Perceiving, Thinking, Acting as a Prophet: An Exploration with Rabbi Nahum Ward-Lev
The Jewish Experience Through Song, Dr. Andre Garcia-Nuthmann and El Coro de la Tierra Alta, Presenters
Growing Up Jewish in Other Countries—Panel Discussion, Deborah Avren, Gloria Abella Ballen, Joalie Davie, Miguel Grunstein, Karen Milstein, and Marcel Wallace, presenters, Rabbi Jack Shlachter, moderator
From Adam to Atom: How Science and Religion Interact in the Mind of a Physicist/Rabbi, Rabbi Jack Shlachter, Presenter
Jews and Navajos: Listening to Each Other, Gordon Bronitsky, Presenter
The Santa Fe Faith Network for Immigrant Justice and the Work They are Doing, Sarah Grace, Presenter
Widows and Wiles—Holiday Heroines,Rabbi Judith HaLevy, Presenter
The History of Antisemitism: a mini-course, Ron Duncan Hart, Presenter
The Hearts of Fathers, The Hearts of Sons: Rabbi Shimon Bar Yohai and His Three Sons, Joseph Skibell, Presenter
Jewish Immigrant Composers Who Created The Sound of American Movies, Steven Ovitsky, Presenter
Jews are no Strangers to the Strangers in our Midst: A Jewish Perspective on Immigration, Rabbi Jack Shlachter, Presenter
Saving Myself: A Los Angeles Childhood, Jeanne Simonoff, Presenter.
A Journey of Sacred Chanting, Hazzan Cindy Freedman, Site, and Henry Marshall, Presenters
Sex, Death, and Tachrichim (Shrouds), Rick Light, Presenter
Development Without Displacement in Santa FeTomás Rivera, Presenter
Six Memos From The Last Millennium:A Novelist Reads The Talmud, Joseph Skibell, Presenter
Creating and Breaking the Gender Boundary, Rabbi Neil Amswych, Presenter
Contemporary Judaic Metalsmithing, Jim Cohen, Presenter
Death, Stories, and Transformation, Rick Light, Presenter
Through the Eye of the Needle, Bernice Steinhardt, Presenter.
Mishlei (Proverbs), Rabbi Ron Wittenstein, Presenter.
The Book of Psalms and Healing the Soul. Rabbi Martin Levy, Presenter.
Ahead of Their Time: Else Lasker-Schuler, Dvora Baron, and Esther Kreitman. Rabbi Jack Shlachter, Presenter.
Sing A New Song. Hazzan Cindy Freedman, Presenter.
America Needs Artists: Ten Reasons Why. Arlene Goldbard, Presenter.
Our Selves, our Souls and our World. Rabbi Yoel Glick, Presenter. Opening chant by Rabbi Shefa Gold.
Unconventional Traditionalists: The Correspondence between Reb Zalman and Thomas Merton, by Professor Victoria Erhart
The Writings of Ruth F. Brin, by Rabbi Deborah Brin
The Fifth Question, by Rabbi Jack Shlachter
Songs for the Joy of Gratitude, by Cantor Cindy Freedman
Syria’s Jewish Community, Then and Now, Here and There, by Claudette Sutton
Jewish Composers and Their Music, by Frederick Schreiner
The Adaptation of Immigrant Religions to American Life, by Dr. Bette Evans
The World of Yiddish, by Harvey Buchalter
Jewish Connection in Las Vegas, by Marcus Gottschalk
Jews and Baseball: How We Became True Americans, By Rabbi Malka Drucker
Pastor Dietrich Bonhoeffer: A Righteous Gentile? By Professor Victoria Erhart
The Vanishing Bookstore, By Edward Borins
Gershwin in Hollywood, by Steven Ovitsky
Special HaMakom Fundraiser: Hi Ho at the Houhai – A Rabbi and His Wife Visit Beijing and its Jewish Community, with Rabbi Jack Shlachter
Art in Judaism – A Profound Look, by Rabbi Ashkenazi
A Healing Journey – from a Jewish Mythological Perspective, By Dr. Karen Kaufman Milstein
Ethiopian Jews in Israel: A Photographer’s Portfolio and History, by Irene Fertik
The French Revolution, Napoleon, and the Jews, by Dr. Michael Nutkiewicz
The Healing Power of Forgiveness, by Dr. Joalie Davie
Ignatius of Loyola and the Musar Tradition, by Professor Victoria Erhart
The People of the (Cook) Book, by Rabbi Jack Shlachter
Not Your Fiddler on the Roof: The Religious Thought of Hasidism, by Michael Nutkiewicz, PhD
Soulful Melodies to Open the Heart: Contemplative Niggunim, by Hazzan Cindy Freedman
The Prophetic Stream at the Heart of Judaism – From Creation to the Present Moment, By Rabbi Nahum Ward-Lev
In Search of a Homeland, By Dr. Joalie Davie
About Us:
Your support for the HaMakom Arts and Education Program will assure the continuance of the programming we offer in service to the New Mexico Jewish community. Visit for weekly updates.
HaMakom services and events are fragrance free in support of chemically sensitive members. Please refrain from using scented body products.
If you have a recommendation for a topic or speaker, please contact us.
All events are at HaMakom at Beit Tikva, 2230 Old Pecos Trail, Santa Fe, unless otherwise noted.