Carl & Dorothy Bennett Center for Judaic Studies
The Carl and Dorothy Bennett Center for Judaic Studies was founded in 1994 with an initial endowment from Carl and Dorothy Bennett of Greenwich, Connecticut. Its goal is to enrich the intellectual, cultural, and spiritual life of Fairfield University through lectures, programs, and other special events; enhancement of the university library's Judaic collection; monthly Shabbat services and dinners (co-sponsored with the Office of Mission and Identity), and ongoing support of the College of Arts and Sciences' undergraduate interdisciplinary program in Judaic Studies. Bennett Center events are open to the University and greater Bridgeport/Fairfield communities.
Since its inception, Dr. Ellen M. Umansky has served as both the Carl and Dorothy Bennett Professor of Judaic Studies (a faculty position within the university's Department of Religious Studies) and the Director of the Carl and Dorothy Bennett Center for Judaic Studies. The Center has received support from numerous individuals and foundations, including the Carl and Dorothy Bennett Foundation, the Adoph and Ruth Schnurmacher Foundation, the Samuel and Bettie Roberts Endowment in Jewish Art, David and Edith Chaifetz, and the Frank Jacoby Foundation. Through these gifts, the Bennett Center has brought many world-renowned lecturers to the University, including New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof; Gen. Wesley Clark (ret.), former NATO Supreme Allied Commander; author Elie Wiesel; actress and activist Mia Farrow, Ruth Messinger; President of American Jewish World Service; and Deborah Lipstadt, author and Professor of Modern Jewish and Holocaust Studies at Emory University.
Particularly successful has been Ellen Umansky's Lunch and Learn series, an annual 10 week course that attracts more than 75 participants from the greater Fairfield/Bridgeport communities. The series tackles academically challenging themes, such as Jewish Identity in a Changing World, Jewish Concepts of the Messiah, and Textually Speaking: Modern Jewish Perspectives on Judaism and Jewish-Identity.
From the establishment and retention of the Chair in Judaic Studies to monthly Shabbat services and an annual service in remembrance of the Holocaust, Hebrew workshops open to the university community, and its comprehensive resources and outreach programs, the Carl and Dorothy Bennett Center for Judaic Studies has established a permanent and growing reputation in the Fairfield County community - reaching out to its 70,000 Jewish residents and neighbors effectively and prolifically - as well as to many others. Through the Center, Fairfield University continues to be committed to building a bridge of understanding between the Jewish and Jesuit traditions.
KADIMA is Fairfield University's undergraduate Jewish cultural organization, headed by its President, Aidan Wildes (class of 2014). Dr. Ellen Umansky serves as the group's faculty advisor.
Friday evening Kabbalat services take place three times a semester and are followed by a traditional Shabbat dinner, which is available for students at no charge.
Contact
Phone: (203) 254-4000 ext. 2065
E-mail: eumansky@fairfield.edu; bennettcenter@fairfield.edu
Events
Morning Edition with Philip Eliasoph:
Jewish Art + Culture + Ideas
Thursdays, October 27-December 15 at 7:30 a.m.
For those with ongoing questions about the blurry intersection between American culture and Jewish thinking and those big questions - between Maimonides, Milton Berle's comedy, anti-semitism in TV's "Mad Men," or the latest perplexing exhibit at MoMA - this is an open forum.
Required reading: a weekly issue of "The Jewish Forward" - offering rich insights and opinions into how Jews have been shaped by and continue to contribute to contemporary American culture. Meets in the Faculty Dining Commons of the Barone Campus Center.
Co-Sponsored by Congregation B'nai Israel, Bridgeport and The Carl and Dorothy Bennett Center for Judaic Studies.