Events
Adult B’nai Mitzvah Hebrew Class
We are excited for a new Adult B’nai Mitzvah class! This is an opportunity for adult members of our congregation, with a group of peers, to engage with our millennia-old tradition and community ritual of affirming one’s place in the Jewish community.
There will be a Hebrew learning component as well as a content study with Cantor Caro, Rabbi Holzman, and Rabbi Barrett. The culmination of this journey is set for Shabbat morning, May 23, 2026.
The Adult B’nai Mitzvah Hebrew class will be divided into two sections from April through August, to address varying levels of Hebrew. Starting in September, we will all come together into one Hebrew class. The calendar includes the dates and times for both sections of the Adult B’nai Mitzvah Hebrew classes.
All classes will be in person.
Short Story Discussion Group
Short Story Discussion Group
First Monday of each month
7:30-8:30pm, on Zoom
Join us for a fourth year of monthly lay-led discussions of Jewish short stories. Four
NVHC members have selected the stories and will take turns leading the discussions.
Each session will stand on its own – you can attend whenever you have the time and
interest. We’ll meet on the first Monday of the month on Zoom at 7:30pm for 45 minutes
to an hour. Participants will receive the story and meeting links in advance. To sign up
for this year’s discussion group, email shortstories@nvhcreston.org. Even if you
participated last year, we’d like you to sign up again so that we can gauge interest in the
program and ensure that we have the correct email address for you.
Short Story Discussion Group
Short Story Discussion Group
First Monday of each month
7:30-8:30pm, on Zoom
Join us for a fourth year of monthly lay-led discussions of Jewish short stories. Four
NVHC members have selected the stories and will take turns leading the discussions.
Each session will stand on its own – you can attend whenever you have the time and
interest. We’ll meet on the first Monday of the month on Zoom at 7:30pm for 45 minutes
to an hour. Participants will receive the story and meeting links in advance. To sign up
for this year’s discussion group, email shortstories@nvhcreston.org. Even if you
participated last year, we’d like you to sign up again so that we can gauge interest in the
program and ensure that we have the correct email address for you.
The Layers of the Moroccan Jewish Experience: Session 4 – The Jews of Morocco: Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow
The Layers of the Moroccan Jewish Experience
We are excited to be able to share this lecture series, The Layers of the Moroccan Jewish Experience, with our entire congregation. The series will be presented by Dr. David Mendelsohn. We are thrilled that Dr. Mendelsohn will also be joining us on our congregational trip to Morocco in the fall, in addition to our local guide, to bring added depth to our learning as we travel the country together.
Dr. Mendelsohn’s areas of expertise include Islamic Studies, History and Culture of Arabs with Israeli Citizenship, Bedouin Law and the relationship between language and culture in Arabic and Hebrew. Mendelsohn also lectures on the history and relationship between Middle East countries and militant organizations. Dr. Mendelsohn holds advanced degrees in diverse fields: a Ph.D. in Classics/Linguistics and an M.A. in Archaeology/Linguistics from Concordia University in Montreal. Dr. Mendelsohn is the recipient of one of Canada’s highest academic honors: the Trudeau Prize. From 2005-2012 he was the Israel Academic Director of Givat Haviva, the national education center of the Kibbutz Federation. He has working fluency in 5 languages and working knowledge of two others plus Middle Egyptian (Hieroglyphics). He lives in Jerusalem with his wife Ronny and their 3 children.
Session 4: The Jews of Morocco: Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow
Sunday August 31, 2025 – 10:00am on Zoom
In 1948, the creation of the state of Israel, motivated many Jews to leave Morocco – a land they had inhabited for many centuries – and move to Israel. By 1964, more than 97,000 Jews had left Morocco, mainly to Israel where they presently number around 1,000,000 Jews of Moroccan descent. Today there are about 2500 Jews living in Morocco, mostly in Casablanca. The community has good relations with the current ruler, King Mohamed VI who encourages religious tolerance and who strives to uphold the legacy of tolerance demonstrated by King Mohammed V during the Holocaust.
We will ask and attempt to answer the oft-repeated question: If the Jews had it so good, why did they ever leave Morocco?
Registration is forthcoming.
This lecture series is for members only.
The Layers of the Moroccan Jewish Experience: Session 3 – Moving into Modernity: Monarchy, Islam, and the Jews of Morocco
The Layers of the Moroccan Jewish Experience
We are excited to be able to share this lecture series, The Layers of the Moroccan Jewish Experience, with our entire congregation. The series will be presented by Dr. David Mendelsohn. We are thrilled that Dr. Mendelsohn will also be joining us on our congregational trip to Morocco in the fall, in addition to our local guide, to bring added depth to our learning as we travel the country together.
Dr. Mendelsohn’s areas of expertise include Islamic Studies, History and Culture of Arabs with Israeli Citizenship, Bedouin Law and the relationship between language and culture in Arabic and Hebrew. Mendelsohn also lectures on the history and relationship between Middle East countries and militant organizations. Dr. Mendelsohn holds advanced degrees in diverse fields: a Ph.D. in Classics/Linguistics and an M.A. in Archaeology/Linguistics from Concordia University in Montreal. Dr. Mendelsohn is the recipient of one of Canada’s highest academic honors: the Trudeau Prize. From 2005-2012 he was the Israel Academic Director of Givat Haviva, the national education center of the Kibbutz Federation. He has working fluency in 5 languages and working knowledge of two others plus Middle Egyptian (Hieroglyphics). He lives in Jerusalem with his wife Ronny and their 3 children.
Session 3: Moving into Modernity: Monarchy, Islam, and the Jews of Morocco
Sunday August 17, 2025 – 10:00am on Zoom
As a French colony, Morocco was subject to same anti-Jewish decrees as the Jews of France from Nazi-allied Vichy France during the Second World War. Yet in 1941, King Mohammed V refused to deport Morocco’s 250,000 Jews to the concentration camps of Europe stating: “There are no Jews in Morocco. There are only Moroccan subjects,” resulting in the entirety of Morocco‘s Jewish population being saved. This continuing relationship and the genuine affection most Moroccan subjects (Muslim and Jew) still feel for their king is still evident today.
This lecture will investigate the complex relationship between monarchs and Jews in Morocco – especially as it pertains to the culture of Islam.
Registration is forthcoming.
This lecture series is for members only.
The Layers of the Moroccan Jewish Experience: Session 2 – The Birth of Islam and the Arabian Conquest of Morocco (or There and Back Again)
The Layers of the Moroccan Jewish Experience
We are excited to be able to share this lecture series, The Layers of the Moroccan Jewish Experience, with our entire congregation. The series will be presented by Dr. David Mendelsohn. We are thrilled that Dr. Mendelsohn will also be joining us on our congregational trip to Morocco in the fall, in addition to our local guide, to bring added depth to our learning as we travel the country together.
Dr. Mendelsohn’s areas of expertise include Islamic Studies, History and Culture of Arabs with Israeli Citizenship, Bedouin Law and the relationship between language and culture in Arabic and Hebrew. Mendelsohn also lectures on the history and relationship between Middle East countries and militant organizations. Dr. Mendelsohn holds advanced degrees in diverse fields: a Ph.D. in Classics/Linguistics and an M.A. in Archaeology/Linguistics from Concordia University in Montreal. Dr. Mendelsohn is the recipient of one of Canada’s highest academic honors: the Trudeau Prize. From 2005-2012 he was the Israel Academic Director of Givat Haviva, the national education center of the Kibbutz Federation. He has working fluency in 5 languages and working knowledge of two others plus Middle Egyptian (Hieroglyphics). He lives in Jerusalem with his wife Ronny and their 3 children.
Session 2: The Birth of Islam and the Arabian conquest of Morocco (or There and Back Again)
Sunday July 13, 2025 – 10:00am on Zoom
To properly appreciate Morocco as an Islamic country, one needs to understand the origin and evolution of Islam in Arabia. Muhammad’s revelations led to the rise of a new faith and culture that spread through Arabia to the rest of the Levant, Egypt, Persia, North Africa, Asia, Europe and back again, transforming Islam through its encounter with the Berber (Amazigh) culture of Morocco.
Then, in 1492, the Spanish Expulsion led to a wave of Spanish Jews seeking refuge in northern Morocco, and importing a unique cultural heritage, including their own language. How did these syntheses affect the indigenous Jews of Morocco, who had already lived there for centuries?
The lecture will trace these seemingly disparate histories and examine the difficulties inherent in integrating and coexisting with this dominant new culture and religion.
Registration is forthcoming.
This lecture series is for members only.