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The Survivors Talmud is the amazing saga of how a set of Talmud came to be printed under the auspices of the U.S. Army for the Jews in Displaced Persons (DP) camps following the Holocaust. Jackie Ben-Efraim’s presentation will also discuss the artist who created the title page depicting a concentration camp and other anecdotes about the struggle to create religious materials for those who survived the horrors of WWII.

Amy Schwartz in conversation with Mindy Reiser will discuss the book Can Robots Be Jewish? And Other Pressing Questions of Modern Life. Amy edited the book and will discuss her adventures editing it and the Moment Magazine "Ask the Rabbis" column that the book is based on, including what it means to get ten answers to every question and to emerge with more questions than you started.

AJL, the leading authority on Judaic Librarianship is a vibrant volunteer-run, international, non-profit organization. Membership includes libraries in synagogues, Jewish Community Centers, day schools, yeshivot, universities, Holocaust and other museums, archives, national and public libraries. Besides librarians, AJL welcomes authors, publishers and all individuals interested in Jewish books and Jewish libraries. AJL gives annual awards for the best Jewish books in Fiction, Academic Works, and Children’s Literature. This class will introduce you to AJL and its many initiatives.

Brazil has a rich Jewish history, organizational structure and institutions. Recife has the oldest synagogue in the Americas and refugees from there became the first Jews to arrive in New York. We expect to learn about Brazil’s current Jewish community, its religious life and Jewish education, and its relations with Israel and the Jewish diaspora.

The Jewish community in Argentina is the largest in Latin America. With a rabbinical seminary, a cadre of Yiddish and Spanish writers, and political activists, Argentina's Jews have played a particularly influential role in Jewish life in the Spanish-speaking world.

Renee Dayan, an active leader in the Mexican Jewish community, will provide a wide-ranging overview of contemporary Mexican Jewish life and introduce us to Mexican Jewish history, the community's organizations, and its special traditions and concerns.