2024 Speakers
Seven Blessings
Rabbi Weiner discussion
Rabbi David Weiner has served as the rabbi of Knesset Israel since 2009. He appreciates how the people of this congregation work together to bring the words of the Torah and traditions of Judaism to life and sees his role as a rabbi, teacher, and spiritual leader as nourishing a process of discovery, learning, and growth. He celebrates Jewish learning and loves to teach students of all ages, perspectives, and backgrounds. A graduate of Washington University in St. Louis and the Jewish Theological Seminary, Rabbi Weiner attended Camp Ramah in Wisconsin, where he worked for many years in its Tikvah program for teenagers with disabilities. He has also served synagogues in Sydney, Huntsville, AL, and Jacksonville, FL. In his spare time, Rabbi Weiner enjoys hiking, biking, and cooking. He and his wife, Judith, live in Pittsfield with their three teenage children.
Supernova Massacre
Jeff Robbins discussion
Jeffrey Robbins, Esq. is a trial lawyer specializing in First- Amendment rights.
In 1997, he was appointed Chief Counsel for the Minority of the US Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations and Deputy Chief Counsel for the Minority of the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee, where he represented Democratic senators in connection with an investigation into campaign fundraising practices during the 1996 presidential election.
He was twice appointed as a Special Assistant Attorney General in Massachusetts.
In 1999 and then again in 2000, he was appointed by President Clinton as a US Delegate to the United Nations Human Rights Commission in Geneva, Switzerland.
Beyond his legal practice, Jeff is a weekly columnist for the Boston Herald, writing about politics, foreign policy, and national security issues. His columns have also appeared in the Wall Street Journal, the Boston Globe, the New York Observer, the Christian Science Monitor, and the Times of Israel.
He has lectured widely throughout the United States and Canada on issues relating to the Mideast and is a Visiting Professor of the Practice of Political Science at Brown University, where he teaches courses on congressional investigations and political journalism.
Jeff is the former Chairman of the New England Board of the Anti-Defamation League and the former President of the World Affairs Council of Boston.
Jeff Robbins has recently published Notes from the Brink, a collection of columns about Policy at Home and Abroad. It is available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Apple Books and Gooogle Play .
The catskills
Jeff Cook discussion
C. Jeffrey Cook, a long-established business lawyer in Pittsfield, former President of Congregation Knesset Israel and a continuing teacher in the Hebrew School, considers himself an expert on many aspects of the area in the Catskills in New York State which became known as the “Borscht Belt”, because that is where he grew up – working in a family wholesale dairy and frozen foods business serving hundreds of resorts that he and other family members visited frequently, and then as a busboy and waiter in two well-known hotels.
Jeff is looking forward to presenting his view of what the film “The Catskills” gets right, some of things even he has learned from the film, and some of the things that got left out that he wants you to know about “ his hometown”.
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How saba kept singing
Avi Wisnia musical presentation
Avi Wisnia is an award-winning singer, songwriter, storyteller, and educator based in Philadelphia. He performs in venues around the world including the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York and The Kennedy Center in DC, with concert tours in Japan, Poland, and Brazil. Avi Wisnia most recently released his latest album of original jazz/pop compositions, titled "Catching Leaves." He has also given a TED Talk and performed with The Moth storytellers. In recent years, Avi traveled and performed with his grandfather, Holocaust Survivor Cantor David S. Wisnia.
Since his grandfather's recent passing, Avi Wisnia continues to share his grandfather's stories and songs of survival, tracing David’s harrowing life journey from young Polish singing star to Auschwitz prisoner to American liberator with the 101st Airborne. Through it all, Cantor Wisnia’s remarkable singing voice helped save his life, especially in the notorious Nazi concentration camp. The Wisnias most recently traveled together to Poland to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, as chronicled in the documentary "How Saba Kept Singing." Through sharing his grandfather’s story, Avi highlights the urgency of keeping the memory of the Holocaust alive and passing on this legacy from generation to generation.
children of peace
Eiran Gazit discussion
A ninth-generation Sabra, he moved with his wife Michele and 3 sons from Israel to the Berkshires in 2005 to be close to his wife’s family.
Together with his chef wife, he was the owner-operator of the Gateways Inn, Restaurant, Bar and Lounge in Lenox from 2012 to 2020.
During the pandemic, the family moved to Canaan CT.
Their two older sons studied at Neve Shalom for 4 years from 1997 to 2002.
unbroken
Beth Lane discussion
Beth Lane is an award-winning, multi-
hyphenate artist, second generation
Holocaust survivor, and life-long activist.
Across the breadth of Beth’s skills, her driving
force has always been service to others
through storytelling and creating spaces to
exercise our collective capacity for empathy.
Beth Lane began pre-production on
UnBroken, her first documentary feature film,
in 2017. In connection with the film and
promoting its message, Beth has been active
in various forms of community engagement,
including keynote speaking and panels at
organizations throughout the United States.
Beth hosted over 40 episodes of a weekly
Instagram Live on-camera podcast, Banter
with Beth, where she interviewed authors,
filmmakers, clergy members, activists, and
more, who share her passion for the active
pursuit of social change.
Early in her career, Beth moderated talking
circles during the height of the AIDS crisis in
New York with Northern Lights Alternatives
and created the White Plains Neonatal
Network for Parents whose children were
born prematurely and struggled for survival.
Creating avenues for storytelling and healing
was a catalyst for larger philanthropic
leadership roles and engagement in Los
Angeles where she became actively involved
with chairing galas and running committees
for Leo Baeck Temple, The Children’s Burn
Foundation and Crossroads School. Across
mediums, leadership is part and parcel to
Beth and shines through her work as a
director, producer, teacher, and activist.
Programming
Our programming includes a wide range of genres and themes, from thought-provoking documentaries to heartwarming dramas. We also feature panel discussions, Q&A sessions, and networking events.