The World That We Knew by Alice Hoffman
Saturday, December 14, 12:45 – 2:00 p.m.
In Berlin, at the time when the world changed, Hanni Kohn knows she must send her twelve-year-old daughter away to save her from the Nazi regime. She finds her way to a renowned rabbi, but it’s his daughter, Ettie, who offers hope of salvation when she creates a mystical Jewish creature, a rare and unusual golem, who is sworn to protect Lea. Once Ava is brought to life, she and Lea and Ettie become eternally entwined, their paths fated to cross, their fortunes linked. Led by Ginny Baird. Email adulted@beth-david.org with questions.
Last Summer at the Golden Hotel (Beit Midrash)
Saturday, January 11, 12:45 – 2:00 p.m.
Join this monthly meeting to discuss Jewish literature! This month features Last Summer at the Golden Hotel by Elyssa Friedland, led by Rachel Abramovitz. Last Summer at the Golden Hotel is fun and nostalgic, harkening back to the days of Dirty Dancing and The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, both of which it references. Email adulted@beth-david.org with questions.
THe only woman in the room (Beit Midrash)
Saturday, February 8, 12:45 – 2:00 p.m.
by Marie Benedict, led by Paul Freudenthal
Her beauty almost certainly saved her from the rising Nazi party and led to marriage with an Austrian arms dealer. Underestimated in everything else, she overheard the Third Reich’s plans while at her husband’s side, understanding more than anyone would guess. She devised a plan to flee in disguise from their castle, and the whirlwind escape landed her in Hollywood. She became Hedy Lamarr, screen star. But she kept a secret more shocking than her heritage or her marriage: she was a scientist. And she knew a few secrets about the enemy. She had an idea that might help the country fight the Nazis…if anyone would listen to her. A powerful novel based on the incredible true story of the glamour icon and scientist whose groundbreaking invention revolutionized modern communication. Email adulted@beth-david.org with questions.
the heaven and earth grocery store (Beit Midrash)
Saturday, March 8, 12:45 – 2:00 p.m.
by James McBride, led by Lori Cinnamon
In 1972, when workers in Pottstown, Pennsylvania, were digging the foundations for a new housing development, the last thing they expected to uncover was a human skeleton. Who the skeleton was and how it got buried there were just two of the long-held secrets that had been kept for decades by the residents of Chicken Hill, the dilapidated neighborhood where immigrant Jews and African Americans lived side by side, sharing ambitions and sorrows. As the novel unfolds, it becomes clear how much the people of Chicken Hill have to struggle to survive at the margins of white Christian America and how damaging bigotry, hypocrisy, and deceit can be to a community. When the truth is revealed about the skeleton, the boy, and the part the town’s establishment played in both, McBride shows that it is love and community—heaven and earth—that ultimately sustain us. Email adulted@beth-david.org with questions.
additional upcoming DATES & titles
- April 19 – TBD
- May 17 – Wolf Hunt by Ayelet Gunnar-Goshen, led by Ruth Kohan