Metro Briefs

Shefa Gold, a Jewish Renewal Leader, author and recording artist, will conduct a weekend of chanting workshops and services in Pittsburgh from March 29 to April 1.

“Liberation & Love,” as the weekend is called, will include appearances at Temple Ohav Shalom, Tree of Life*Or L’Simcha and Dor Hadash, Temple Sinai and Rodef Shalom Congregation.

All the above congregations, plus the Tikkun Chant Circle, are sponsoring the weekend.

Gold will lead a workshop on “Pathways of Intention,” Thursday, March 29, 7:30 p.m., at Ohav Shalom; a Kabbalat Shabbat service, Friday, March 30, 7 p.m., at Tree of Life*Or L’Simcha and Dor Hadash; a Shabbat morning service, Saturday, March 31, 9 a.m., at Temple Sinai; havdala and sacred chants, Saturday, March 31, 8 p.m., at Rodef Shalom; and a Passover prep workshop, Sunday, April 1, 9 a.m., at Rodef Shalom.

All events are free to the public. Contact David Goldstein at david@owlweb.org for more information.

Bet Tikvah and Hillel Jewish University Center are hosting a conversation with two volunteers from Germany, Sunday, March 25, 1 p.m., at the Hillel JUC, 4607 Forbes Ave.

Moritz Kulenkampff and Sebastian Adamski, both 20, came to Pittsburgh from their homes in Berlin last September to do voluntary service through Action Reconciliation Service for Peace (ARSP). Moritz is doing his voluntary service with the Holocaust Center of the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh; Sebastian is working for the Delta Foundation, a LGBT organization.

Moritz and Sebastian will share their experiences and answer questions that give further details about their voluntary work in the Pittsburgh community, insight into what Jewish life in Germany is like today and the differences between the United States and Germany.

In addition, Sebastian will discuss what it is like to grow up as a gay teen in Germany and give an overview of German and American LGBT history and law.

Agency for Jewish Learning will hold a dessert reception to honor outgoing Adult Learning Coordinator Amy Karp for her many years of service to the Melton Adult Mini-School, Wednesday, May 23, at Rodef Shalom Congregation. Rabbi Danny Schiff will be the guest speaker.

Karp, who has been with the AJL, formerly known as the Jewish Education Institute, since 1997, announced late last year she would be returning to Chicago in May, where her husband, Dan, has accepted a new position. The Karps have spent 20 years in Pittsburgh.

As part of the tribute, AJL is establishing the Amy Karp Scholarship for Adult Jewish Learning endowment in Karp’s honor. Financial support to establish the endowment is requested. The agency’s goal is $25,000 to ensure that scholarships may be awarded for years to come.

Contact Ilene Cohen at 412-521-1101, ext. 3003 or at icohen@ajlpittsburgh.org for reservations and more information.

The Pittsburgh Area Jewish Committee’s Christian-Jewish Dialogue will meet Thursday, April 5, noon, at Congregation Beth Shalom. The topic of the upcoming session is “Atheism.”

Participants will study Jewish and Christian texts (Deuteronomy 29:15-20; Romans 1:18-20).

The program is free to the public. Contact the PAJC office at (412) 605-0816 or at pajc@pajc.net for more information.

NA’AMAT USA, Pittsburgh Council Lunch and Learn program will feature Joy Braunstein, director of the Holocaust Center of Greater Pittsburgh, who will speak on “The Importance of Remembrance — Contemporary

Lessons of the Holocaust,” Wednesday, March 28, at noon at the Labor Zionist Educational Center, at 6328 Forbes Ave.

The program is free and open to the community. Call 412-521-5253 for more information.

Congregation Dor Hadash invites the community to two adult education offerings in April.

Introduction to Kabbalah with Dr. Jon Spiegel, clinical assistant professor of psychiatry at the University of Pittsburgh and co-founder of the program in spirituality and psychology at the Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, will be held April 2 and 23, from 7 to 8:30 p.m., at 5898 Wilkins Ave., the home of Tree of Life*Or L’Simcha and Dor Hadash.

“It’s not a Bobe Mayseh”: Yiddish Schools and Camps in North America, with Dr. Fradle Friedenreich, educator, author, camp director and university lecturer, will be held April 11, from 7 to 8:30 p.m. at Rodef Shalom Congregation. Dor Hadash is one of the co-sponsors.

There is no fee, but registration is required. Contact Dor Hadash congregational manager Leslie Hoffman at admin@dorhadash.net or at 412-521-5158.