Jewish Spirituality Expert Speaks

Nehemia Polen, professor of Jewish thought and director of the Hasidic Text Institute at Boston's Hebrew College, will visit the College on Monday, February 24, to deliver the 2003 Distinguished Holocaust Lecture. Titled "Divine Weeping: The Teachings of Rabbi Kalonymus Shapira, the Rebbe of the Warsaw Ghetto," the talk will begin at 7:30 p.m. in Textor 102. It is free and open to the public.

A leading expert on Hasidism and Jewish thought, Polen most recently edited and annotated a translation of Malkah Shapiro's memoir, The Rebbe's Daughter: Memoir of a Hasidic Childhood. Shapiro, the daughter of a noted Hasidic master, tells her story of awakening to physical maturity and spiritual awareness in Poland during the years before World War I. The book was one of 15 winners of the 2002 National Jewish Book Award.

Polen is also the author of the book The Holy Fire: The Teachings of Rabbi Kalonymus Shapira, Rebbe of the Warsaw Ghetto, along with many academic and popular articles on Hasidism and Jewish spirituality. A frequent lecturer, Polen speaks on such topics as Jewish mysticism and prayer, the rhythm of the Jewish calendar, and the Hebrew Bible. He received rabbinic ordination from Ner Israel Rabbinical College in Baltimore and a doctorate from Boston University, where he studied with Elie Wiesel.

Polen's talk is sponsored by the Interfaith Council, Hillel, Department of Philosophy and Religion, and Jewish studies program at Ithaca College, and Temple Beth El in Ithaca.

For more information call Rebecca Lesses, interim coordinator of Jewish studies, at 274-3556.