Fascinating speakers will be at Great Neck Synagogue this weekend, kicking off on Oct. 23 to 24 with a Shabbat Dinner and Guest Speaker Series.
Deena R. Zimmerman, MD, MPH, IBCLC, a pediatrician with a lifelong love of Judaic studies who lives in Israel with her husband, Rabbi Sammy Zimmerman, and their five children, will be the first speaker. One of the first graduates of the Nishmat Keren Ariel Program as a Yoetzet Halacha, she is the author of A Lifetime Companion to the Laws of Jewish Family Life and Mi Dor L’Dor: Genetics and Genetic Diseases: Jewish Legal and Ethical Perspectives, and wrote a number of articles related to women’s health issues and halacha. She is the director of Nishmat Women’s Health and Halacha websites and coauthor of Nishmat’s online interactive textbooks—the Kallah Companion and the Marriage Companion.
The communal Friday night dinner begins at 6:45 p.m. on Oct. 23 ($36 for adults, $25 for teens, $15 for children, $125/family maximum). The pediatrician will speak at approximately 8:15 p.m. Dr. Zimmerman will speak again at 11:15 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 24. In the evening, there will be a Seudah Shlishit at 5:55 p.m., which is open to the public.
On Sunday, Oct. 25, at 7 p.m., the Sunday Conversations event in the Main Sanctuary will feature Ambassador Ido Aharoni, who will be giving an update on the state of Israel and the broader region. Ambassador Aharoni is consul general of Israel in New York, representing the state of Israel to communities throughout the tristate area. He has been a member of Israel’s Foreign Service since the summer of 1991. Aharoni held two overseas positions, in Los Angeles and New York, during his tenure in Israel’s diplomatic corps. While serving as consul for media and public affairs in New York, he became familiar with nation-branding methods, which he later introduced to his superiors in Jerusalem. His efforts in this area, which continue today, have brought about a paradigm shift in Israel’s public image by Israeli officials in Israel and the United States.
A dessert reception will follow in the Main Lobby. This event is open to the entire community. The Great Neck Synagogue is located at 26 Old Mill Rd. For more information, call 516-487-6100.
—Submitted by the Great Neck Synagogue
