Continuing Education Lecture Series and Special Events

Upcoming Presentations

Donation requested: $10-18 unless otherwise noted.

All events on Zoom

Tuesday, May 11, 7 pm

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Nourishment from a Bowl of Aleph Bet Soup: Stories and Teachings from the Hebrew Letters

The Hebrew aleph bet offers rich opportunities for exploring Judaism. In this talk, Rabbi Dr. Jack Shlachter will examine the history of the aleph bet and its use as a structural device in the Jewish Bible and siddur.  There will be a summary of various aleph bet tools used in Torah commentary including gematria, notarikon, and other techniques known as remez which hint at additional meanings beyond the literal. Examples of each will be studied.  Finally, a synopsis of four separate “Aleph Bet” midrashim (expansions on the Bible) will be provided, and short passages from each will be shared.

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Jack Shlachter is a physicist who worked at Los Alamos National Laboratory for over three decades before coming to Brookhaven National Laboratory in 2019. At Los Alamos, Jack proudly served as the division leader of Theoretical Division, an organization comprising over 300 scientists who pursue a broad range of research in theoretical physics, chemistry, biology, and mathematics. In his spare time, Jack is a rabbi; he was the rabbi and spiritual leader for the Jewish congregation in Los Alamos for many years, served HaMakom in Santa Fe, and is now the rabbi in Center Moriches, NY.  He has also provided itinerant rabbinic support to far-flung communities including Vienna, Austria, and Beijing, China. 

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Upcoming Presentations

May 11, 2021—Nourishment from a Bowl of Aleph Bet Soup: Stories and Teachings from the Hebrew      Letters, presenter Rabbi Jack Shlachter

 June 8, 2021—My Yiddishe Mama, Jewish Women in Film, presenter Marcia Torobin

Previous Presentations (Partial List)

Let My People Sing! The Torah of Music, Hazzan Cindy Freedman, presenter

Passover and the Tradition of Resistance, Rabbi Deborah Brin, presenter

The Death of Moses: How Judaism Differed, Rabbi Dr. Rob Lennick, presenter

The Tales of Rabbi Nachman: Healing our lives through Jewish Story, Rabbi Judith Halevy, presenter

Jewish Agricultural Communities of the Nineteenth Century, Naomi Sandweiss, presenter

Martin Buber—A Thinker for All Times, Michael Nutkiewicz, presenter

What We Eat and Why It Matters, Karen Milstein, Ph.D. and Susan Keller, presenters

Medical Ethics in The Time of COVID-19, Dr. Audrey Stein Goldings and Rabbi Jack Schlachter, presenters

The History of Hasidism and the Current Hasid Community, Dr. Nurit Patt, presenter

The Power of Words—The Power of Silence, Rabbi Harry L. Rosenfeld, presenter

The Tanakh in Classical Music, Parts 1 and 2: Music Inspired by the Torah and Prophets, Steven Ovitsky, presenter

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

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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.

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HaMakom services and events are fragrance free in support of chemically sensitive members. Please refrain from using scented body products.

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If you have a recommendation for a topic or speaker, please contact us.

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All events are at HaMakom at Beit Tikva, 2230 Old Pecos Trail, Santa Fe, unless otherwise noted.