Jewish historian Benjamin Gampel will be the featured speaker at the Morris and Fannie Jick Kallah Scholar-in-Residence Shabbat on Sept. 23 and 24 at Congregation B’nai Amoona.

Gampel is the Dina and Eli Field Family Chair in Jewish History at the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York.  He is an expert on medieval and early modern world Jewish history.

The weekend starts “A year of JEWbilation” — B’nai Amoona’s theme for the next 12 months. 

On Friday, Sept. 23, following a Kabbalat Shabbat dinner, Gampel will discuss “Jews, Judaism and the Rise of Islam.” On Saturday morning, he will deliver a special sermon: “Sephardic Jews Come of Age: How Golden Was It.” 

At 8:30 p.m. Saturday evening, Gampel will deliver the Dr. Morris Alex Jewish Ethics lecture on “Sex, Food and the Lush Garden: Religious Piety Confronts Sensual Pleasure.”

The weekend program ends with the congregation’s Selichot service at 9:30 p.m. 

The scholar-in-residence weekend is supported by the Jick, Alex and Schuval families, and the Hereld Institute for Jewish Studies of JTS.

For more information, visit bnaiamoona.com/weekend-to-welcome-5777 or contact Barbara Shechter at 314- 576-9990, extension 126, or [email protected].