Musical Israeli couple to be scholars in residence to temples in April

Rabbi Or and Feliza Bascara-Zohar

Rabbi Or Zohar, an Israeli Reform rabbi, and his wife, singer/songwriter Feliza Bascara-Zohar, will be scholars in residence at Temple Shalom and The Temple from April 20 to 28.
Among their programs, all of which are open to the public, will be music-oriented services and sermons, a talk on Jewish-Arab relations in Israel and the feminine influence in the Bible and Kabbalah.
The Jewish Heritage Fund for Excellence is sponsoring their visit.
A resident of Hararit in the Galilee, Zohar is the rabbi of Ma’alot Tivon in Kiryat Tivon and Misgav Regional Council. He also is a radio broadcaster and musician, who teaches Judaism and Kabbalah and promotes interfaith coexistence programs in the Galilee.
Here are the programs the Zohars will lead:
• They will take part in Temple Shalom’s Shabbat services at 6:30 p.m. Friday, April 20, and 10:30 a.m., Saturday, April 21, singing their original liturgical music, including sermons-in-song.
• On Sunday, April 22, Rabbi Zohar will speak at Temple Shalom Men’s Club breakfast about Jewish-Arab co-existence in the Galilee. He will speak on the same topic again before The Temple Scholars at 9:30 a.m., Wednesday, April 25, in the Klein Center.
• At 7 p.m., Monday, April 23, in The Temple library, Rabbi Zohar will address the topic, “The Woman at the Window,” an intertextual study examining the feminine motif in the Bible, including issues of relationships, gender, ancient power dynamics and politics.
• At noon, Tuesday, April 24, Rabbi Zohar will speak at Temple Shalom’s Torah lunch, relating the Holiness Code from parashat Kedoshim to contemporary Israeli society.
• At 1 p.m., Wednesday, April 25, Rabbi Zohar will appear at Temple Shalom’s Senior Lunch Bunch (at a local restaurant), discussing Reform Judaism in Israel. Call 502-458-4739 to RSVP.
• At The Temple’s Senior University ,Thursday, April 26, Rabbi Zohar will lead a session on Reform Kabbalah, examining how ancient spiritual kabbalistic teachings are integrated into contemporary Reform theology and spiritual practice. Bascara-Zohar will talk about “embodied prayer,” the practice of connecting holistically, mind-body-and-spirit, to the prayer experience. Both sessions start at 1 p.m. and RSVPs are required. Call 502-423-1818.
• The Zohars will lead a musical Shabbat at 7 p.m. Friday, April 27 with The Temple musicians. They will sing original sacred music, showcasing an authentic musical voice from Israeli Reform congregations.
• Shabbat morning Torah study, 9 a.m, Saturday, April 28, at The Temple.

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