Fairfield University's Carl and Dorothy Bennett Center for Judaic Studies has announced its fall 2013 season of public events.

The exciting and diverse schedule includes a Daniel Pearl World Music Day Concert with multi-instrumentalist Alicia Jo Rabins, and a theatrical performance by the award-winning Spanish playwright Juan Mayorga. Damien Echols, one of the "West Memphis Three" who served nearly 19 years on Death Row, and Rabbi Eric Yoffie, the past president of the Union of Reform Judaism, are among the compelling speakers.

The events speak to the Bennett Center's mission to enrich the intellectual, cultural, and spiritual life of the campus and greater community. It is directed by Ellen M. Umansky, Ph.D., who has served as both the Carl and Dorothy Bennett Professor of Judaic Studies at Fairfield and the director of the Bennett Center since its inception in 1994.

For more information, visit www.fairfield.edu/judaicstudies or call (203) 254-4000, ext. 2066.

The schedule is as follows:

Theatrical performance: "Way to Heaven"
Sunday, September 29, 2013, 2 p.m.; Additional performances September 25th-28th at 8 p.m.
Written by Juan Mayorga, the plot deals with Red Cross observations of Nazi concentration camps, particularly Theresienstadt camp. Discussion led by Dr. Ellen Umansky to follow performance.
Regina A. Quick Center Wien Theater
Tickets Required . Seating limited to 120. Cost: $20. Call the Quick Center Box Office at (203) 254-4010 or toll-free at 1-877-ARTS-396 (1-877-278-7396).
Co-sponsored with the Department of Modern Languages & Literatures, Humanities Institute of the College of Arts and Sciences, and others.

Rabbi and Author Lawrence Kushner - 2013 Scholar in Residence:
"Tales of the Mystical God: When the Sacred Appears Within the Everyday"
Monday, October 7, 2013, 7:30 p.m.
Scholar in residence at Congregation Emanu-El in San Francisco, Calif.
Dolan School of Business Dining Room
Complimentary Admission. Limited seating. Call the Bennett Center to reserve a seat at (203) 254-4000, ext. 2066.

Daniel Pearl World Music Days Concert - "Girls in Trouble"
Tuesday, October 15, 2013, 8 p.m.
Multi-instrumentalist and composer, Alicia Jo Rabins, with bassist Aaron Hartman, fuses American folk music and underground rock with stories of biblical women.
Regina A. Quick Center Wien Theater
Reservations Required . Seating limited to 120. Call the Bennett Center at (203) 254-4000, ext. 2066 to reserve a seat. Co-sponsor: Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts

Rabbi Eric Yoffie - Adolph and Ruth Schnurmacher Lecture:
"American Jews Look at a Changing Israel: Peace, Prosperity, and Religious Pluralism"
Tuesday, October 29, 2013, 7:30 p.m.
Author and past president of the Union of Reform Judaism.
Dolan School of Business Dining Room
Complimentary Admission. Limited seating. Call the Bennett Center to reserve a seat at (203) 254-4000, ext. 2066.

Damien Echols and Lorri Davis - Jacoby-Lunin Humanitarian Lecture:
"The Long Fight for Freedom"
Monday, November 18, 2013, 8 p.m.
After serving nearly 19 years on Death Row, Damien Echols, one of the 'West Memphis Three,' a trio of teenagers wrongfully convicted of killing three boys, left an Arkansas prison as a free man. His wife, Lorri Davis, joins him for the conversation.
Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts, Kelley Theater
Tickets required . Cost: $45. Call Quick Center Box Office at (203) 254-4010 or toll-free at 1-877-ARTS-396 (1-877-278-7396). Visit http://www.fairfield.edu/arts/qc_forum_echols.html .
Co-sponsor: Open VISIONS Forum

Lee Shai Weissbach, Professor, University of Louisville - Bennett Center Lecture: "The Jewish History of Small Town America"
Thursday, December 5, 2013, 7:30 p.m.
Dolan School of Business Dining Room
Complimentary Admission. Limited seating, Call the Bennett Center to reserve a seat at (203) 254-4000, ext. 2066.

Posted On: 07-10-2013 11:07 AM

Volume: 46 Number: 1