by Elaine Durbach
NJJN Bureau Chief/Central

January 15, 2009

It was after 6 p.m. on Saturday when the decision was finally made: The show would go on. The Leil Iyun, the Jewish Federation of Central New Jersey’s ninth annual evening of Jewish learning, would take place, despite a day of snow showers and predictions of ice still to come.

And for the 200 people who came to the Wilf Jewish Community Campus in Scotch Plains for what turned out to be a condensed program, it was an opportunity to beat the chill with classes on topics ranging from Jewish sexual ethics, to the history of Spain’s conversos, to spirituality and music.
They were also able to begin the evening with an Israel solidarity rally that drew an additional 100 people despite organizers’ worries about the weather.

The federation’s director of Jewish education, Linda Poleyeff, said deciding to go ahead with the events was a very tough call.

“We didn’t want to cause anyone — God forbid — to get into an accident. But when we realized how many of the presenters were still willing to come, and that people were coming for the rally, we decided to go ahead,” she said. “And we’re so glad we did. Given the weather, the turnout was terrific.”

The rally, however, didn’t end until just before 9 p.m., and organizers finally decided to condense the Leil Iyun’s scheduled two sessions into just one. A few presenters were unable to come because of the weather, but participants still had 15 topics to choose from.

Cantor Matthew Axelrod discusses spirituality and music at the Central federation’s Leil Iyun

There was a special surprise in Susie Meyersdorf’s class on Spain’s conversos, or Marranos, subtitled “Can the Lost Tribes Be Found?” One of the people attending knew a woman with converso roots, and at the end of the class, Meyersdorf, who teaches at Congregation Beth Israel in Scotch Plains, answered her own question by introducing the woman, who had been quietly sitting among them all along.

The evening ended with the customary dessert reception, more or less on time. The buzz of conversation around the tables was as animated as ever, as people compared notes on the lectures they had just attended and on the rally that preceded them.

And no one asked for their money back or even a partial refund.

“Oh, I wouldn’t do that,” said participant Laura Cohen of Westfield, talking the next day. “There was nothing else they could have done, and we wanted to be at the rally anyway.”

Comment: comments@njjewishnews.com

--TOP--