The Midwest Area Cooperative of Hadassah will host two simultaneous institutes on Feb. 23-25 in St. Louis.

The first event is a Young Women’s Institute focusing on women age 45 and under.

In this institute, participants will network, learn and empower themselves with a variety of sessions to benefit mind and/or body.

Keynote speakers for the upcoming event will include Karen Kalish, founder and president of Kalish Communications, who will discuss successful methods of networking and communications.

Another speaker will be Brenda Janowitz, and author and attorney who will read a few selections from her newest book of short stories and pursue dream exploration with interested attendees.

The second event is a new initiative targeted to women ages 46 and up.

All events for the Midwest Area Cooperative conferences will be held at the Hilton Frontenac Hotel (at Lindbergh and Interstate 64).

For information on either conference, please contact the St. Louis Hadassah Chapter office at 314-991-0434.

Lecture Series set to begin this month

The 24th Annual Interfaith Lecture Series will center on the issue of the needs of the community or “the many” versus the needs of the individual or “the one”. Speakers will present both Christian and Jewish ideas that may question individual rights and will discuss of communal responsibility versus autonomy. The Rev. Dr. John Kavanaugh, SJ, will present the keynote address. Father Kavanaugh is a professor of philosophy at St. Louis University.

The response will be given by Jane Sherwin Shapiro, founder of Jane Shapiro Associates, a consulting firm for Jewish education and curriculum design.

The series begins at 7:30 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 25, at Congregation Temple Israel. Related topics will be discussed Wednesdays, Feb. 28, Mar. 7 and Mar. 14. Each of these sessions will start at 11:45 a.m. at Temple Israel. Registration for the entire series, including the keynote address, three afternoon sessions including a catered kosher lunch is $45 per person. Registration for Sunday night’s keynote address only is $10 per person. The cost of any individual afternoon session with the provided lunch is $15 per person; if you choose to bring your own lunch, the cost is $6 per person. For further information or to receive a registration form, contact The American Jewish Committee, 7730 Carondelet, Suite 417, St. Louis, Mo. 63105 or call 314-721-8866 or e-mail [email protected].

Holocaust Museum screens area premiere of ‘Fateless’

The Holocaust Museum and Learning Center monthly film series will feature Fateless on Sunday, Feb. 25, at 2 p.m. at the Jewish Federation Kopolow Building. This St. Louis premiere, based on the autobiographical novel by Imre Kertesz, tells the powerful story of a 14-year-old boy who is swept up in the cataclysmic events of the Shoah in Budapest in 1944. The film is directed by Lajos Koltai and done in Hungarian and German with English subtitles.

Pier Marton, filmmaker and senior lecturer in the Film and Media Studies Program at Washington University, will present introductory remarks and facilitate a discussion following the film.

This program is free; reservations are not required.

The 2007 Film Series is generously sponsored by Sandra and Mendel Rosenberg.

For additional information, call 314-442-3714.

Registration is open for summer Israel trip

Chabad on Campus will facilite a trip to Israel this summer break for college students and their peers. This program is free to qualifying applicants and is a gift of Taglit-birthright israel and organized by Mayanot. Registration is open at www.mayanotisrael.com.

The tentative itinerary includes a visit to the Western Wall in Jerusalem, the Holocaust memorial museum, and a trip to St. Louis’ Partnership 2000 sister-city, Yokneam Megiddo. Educational touring and social events will round out the packed schedule. The trip is offered to all Jewish young adults between the ages of 18 and 26 who have never been to Israel on an organized peer trip. The program includes airfare from New York, all hotels and tours, and most meals. Participants need to provide a $250 deposit to reserve a space. The deposit will be refunded after the trip. For more information visit www.ChabadonCampus.org/israel.