Date & Time |
Venue or Medium |
Contact |
Event |
30 Nov
7.30
|
Edinburgh
|
|
Works of Emancipation:
Jewish Themes in the
Operas of Giacomo Meyerbeer
Mark Solomon
Edinburgh Jewish Literary Society
A scion of the wealthiest Jewish family of Berlin, with religious roots in the early Haskalah (Enlightenment) movement. Meyerbeer lived a secular life devoted to music in Italy, Paris, and as court composer to the King of Prussia. Unlike other Jewish musicians of his time, however, he did not follow the fashion of conversion to Christianity, but kept the vow he had made to his formidable mother to remain faithful to the religion of his forebears. Throughout his life he was alert to signs of antisemitism, and suffered particularly from the vicious attacks of Wagner. This talk, illustrated with musical examples, will argue that, beneath the surface of his operas dealing with grand historical – and often Christian – themes, lies a sharp awareness of the issues confronting Jews of his time.
|
4 Dec
7.30–9.00
|
Online
Zoom |
|
David Ian Neville in conversation
with journalist and author Colin Grant
Edinburgh Jewish Cultural Centre
David Ian Neville is an award-winning playwright, director, producer and presenter. He has produced a wide range of plays and series for BBC Radio.
He also produces podcasts and live events.
|
6 Dec
7.00
|
Edinburgh
venue will be advised after booking
and online |
|
Cooking Continents:
Chanukah dishes from Kerala
Edinburgh Jewish Cultural Centre
The latest in a kosher cookery series that brings us Jewish cuisines from around the world. Join in-person for the opportunity to eat the amazing meals created by the chefs themselves, or join online to follow alongside the recipes from home. Ingredient and recipe sheets will be circulated in advance of the sessions for those who want to cook along and will also be available online.
|
7 Dec
12.30–2.30
|
Glasgow
West End, G12
venue will be advised after booking |
|
Three More Jewish Stories
West End Project
Intrigue, different cultures and food! Deep in the heart of the West End, this new venture is a chance to hear three modern and anciet captivating tales, get to meet your Jewish fellow neighbours and find connections in unexpected places.
|
14 Dec
7.30
|
Edinburgh
online (zoom) |
|
"Abraham: The First Jew"
Anthony Julius
Edinburgh Jewish Literary Society
In this new biography of Abraham, Judaism’s foundational figure, Anthony Julius offers an account of the origins of a fundamental struggle within Judaism between skepticism and faith, critique and affirmation, thinking for oneself and thinking under the direction of another. Julius describes Abraham’s life as two separate lives, and as a version of the collective life of the Jewish people.
|
11 Jan 2026
7.30
|
Edinburgh
|
|
Klezmer:
now and then, there and here
Phil Alexander
Edinburgh Jewish Literary Society
Phil will give a brief history of eastern European Jewish klezmer music, and will also bring the story more up to date, with examples of how this traditional, ritual, place-bound art form functions in different ways and different places around the world today. The talk will include live and recorded musical performance.
|
8 Feb 2026
12.30–2.30
|
Glasgow
West End, G12
venue will be advised after booking |
|
Three More Jewish Stories
West End Project
Intrigue, different cultures and food! Deep in the heart of the West End, this new venture is a chance to hear three modern and anciet captivating tales, get to meet your Jewish fellow neighbours and find connections in unexpected places.
|
8 Feb 2026
7.30
|
Edinburgh
|
|
The Last Days of Budapest: Spies, Nazis, Rescuers and Resistance, 1940–1945
Adam LeBor
Edinburgh Jewish Literary Society
Budapest, autumn 1943. Four years into the war, Hungary is allied with Nazi Germany and the Hungarian capital is the Casablanca of central Europe. The city swirls with intrigue and betrayal, home to spies and agents of every kind. But Budapest remains at peace, an oasis in the midst of war where Allied POWs, and Polish and Jewish refugees find sanctuary. All that comes to an end in March 1944 when the Nazis invade. Budapest's surviving Jewish population has been forcibly relocated to cramped, overcrowded Yellow Star houses. Hungarian death squads roam the streets as the city's Jews are forced into ghettos. Using newly uncovered diaries, documents, archival material and interviews with the last survivors, Adam LeBor brilliantly recreates life and death in the wartime city, the catastrophic fate of half of its Jewish population.
|
22 Feb 2026
7.30
|
Edinburgh
and online (zoom) |
|
Jewish Languages and Book Culture
Judith Olszowy-Schlanger &
César Merchán-Hamann
Edinburgh Jewish Literary Society
From Cairo Genizah to Europe, North Africa and the Middle East, the spread of books in Jewish vernacular languages and Hebrew characters offers us an extraordinary insight into the linguistic richness of Jewish life. For over two millennia, Jewish communities have used languages other than Hebrew for daily oral communication, including Aramaic, Judeo-Arabic, Judeo-French, Judeo-Italian, Yiddish and Ladino. They used the Hebrew alphabet to write these languages down and developed sophisticated systems to transmit texts in them. Many of these vernacular languages became also languages of book culture. Produced and sold cheaply, using the tools of the book cultures of host societies, these publications reached a wide audience.
|
8 Mar 2026
7.30
|
Edinburgh
online (zoom) |
|
Unplugged: Jewish Wisdom in the Age of AI
Moshe Koppel
Edinburgh Jewish Literary Society
In our rapidly evolving digital world, artificial intelligence is transforming how we work, communicate, and even think. This talk explores what happens when an ancient tradition encounters these cutting-edge technologies. The Jewish tradition—with its emphasis on collaborative learning, intentional unplugging through Shabbat, and nuanced ethical reasoning that balances principles with context—offers thoughtful perspectives worth considering as we navigate these challenges.
|
22 Mar 2026
7.30
|
Edinburgh
|
|
"An Unbreakable Bond:
The Targu Mures Holocaust Survivors And Their Scottish Saviours – A Story That Had To Be Told"
Sharon Mail
Edinburgh Jewish Literary Society
The talk will focus on the book – why it was written; how the desperately struggling Targu Mures community of concentration and labour camp survivors were discovered by a member of the Glasgow Jewish community; the setting up of the Targu Mures Trust; and a description of how the lives of both the survivors and their Scottish saviours were transformed and a beautiful friendship developed.
|
12 April 2026
12.30–2.30
|
Glasgow
West End, G12
venue will be advised after booking |
|
Three More Jewish Stories
West End Project
Intrigue, different cultures and food! Deep in the heart of the West End, this new venture is a chance to hear three modern and anciet captivating tales, get to meet your Jewish fellow neighbours and find connections in unexpected places.
|
14 June 2026
12.30–2.30
|
Glasgow
West End, G12
venue will be advised after booking |
|
Three More Jewish Stories
West End Project
Intrigue, different cultures and food! Deep in the heart of the West End, this new venture is a chance to hear three modern and anciet captivating tales, get to meet your Jewish fellow neighbours and find connections in unexpected places.
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