Meet the Artist: Richard Bernheimer

Save the date: Join us on Sunday, January 6th at 6:30 PM for an art reception and an opportunity to meet Richard Bernheimer. 

Mr. Bernheimer has been admiring and collecting art for 50 years, however he never thought of himself as an artist.A year ago, during a visit to a gallery, he was inspired by a piece of contemporary art and was motivated to paint something on his own.  When he began painting on a flat surface he felt constrained so he experimented with constructing painted panels on top of one another for a more dimensional feel.  He has been busy developing this construction style ever since.  He enthusiastically states that this has been wonderful personal learning process and a fulfilling creative expression starting at the age of 77.

Richard's colorful contemporary painted panels and ceramic pieces, as well as jewelry pieces, are currently on display in the KOH Library and Cultural Center through February 6, 2013.

Like Everyone Else...But Different: The Jews of Canada

Please join us on Saturday, January 12 at 7PM for program on Canadian Jews presented by Hy Kashenberg. 
 
Born and raised in Montreal, Canada, Hy will give us a unique insider's view of the complex and fascinating story of Jews in Canada.  He will speak from historical and personal perspectives to reveal how the Canadian Jewish community is a diverse and sometimes fractious group.  Yet that diversity provides the context and explanation for the successes of Canadian Jews.  Although Jews in Canada are on the leading edge of many trends in their society, their cultural traditions and religious observances have remained strong.

Like Everyone Else... But Different:  The Jews of Canada will be in the Kashenberg Ostrow Hayward Library and Cultural Center.  This wonderful venue was a vision of Hy Kashenberg who, along with the Ostrow and Hayward families, funded and created this unique library and cultural center which serves the entire community.

A fruit and dessert reception in honor of Mr. Kashenberg follows the program.  There is no admission fee although donations to help support our beautiful non-profit facility are greatly appreciated.  

Library Closure Dates

KOH Library and Cultural Center will be closed December 24, 2012 - January 1, 2013.
Looking forward to seeing you in the new year!

New Arrivals in November

November is already upon us and there is so much new in KOH in this new year!
Although we haven't posted a listing of New Arrivals since the High Holidays, we have continued to receive many excellent and varied new books and DVDs.  Please go online at www.kohlcc.org to view our entire catalog.

Here is a sampling of our newest books:

In Sunlight and in Shadow, a Novel, by Mark Helprin

Love Bomb, a Novel, by Lis Zeidner

The Middlesteins, a Novel, by Jami Attenberg

Zoo Time, a Novel, by Howard Jacobson

Hello, Gorgeous; Becoming Barbra Streisand, by William J. Mann

America's Soul in the Balance; the Holocaust, FDR's State Department and the Moral Disgrace
               of an American Aristocracy, by Gregory J. Wallace

The Book of Job; When Bad Things Happened to a Good Person, by Harold S. Kushner

Also Starring...Forty Biographical Essays on the Greatest Character Actors of Hollywood's 
               Golden Era 1930-1965, by Cynthia and Sara Brideson

KOH Annual Arts and Crafts Fair

November 4, 2012 - KOH Annual Arts and Crafts Fair - 9 a.m. - 3 p.m.
Come join us for a fun filled day with music, food, and raffles. Some of the participating artists will be Pamala Baron(watercolor prints), Carol Bassoni(Knitted items), Barbara Blue(photography), Mary Blumenstein(Handmade lace techniques), Roni Golan(Glassikal), and many others (glass art, fabric art, jewelry, custom art, etc. Invite your friends and neighbors!  For more information contact Mehrnaz Halimi at mehrnaz@kohlcc.org.

KOH Used Book Sale

Another successful used book sale. Bigger and better every year!

KOH LIBRARY OCTOBER CLOSURES

The KOH Library and Cultural Center will be closed on the following dates in October:

October 1, 7, and 8.

KOH GUEST AUTHOR

Monday, October 29, 2012 - KOH Library proudly presents guest author, Maggie Anton, who will speak about her newest book, Rav Hisda's Daughter - Book 1: Apprentice.This book is based on actual Talmud texts and populated with its Rabbis and their families, bringing the world of Talmud to life from a woman's perspective. Books will be offered for sale and will be autographed by the author. This program starts at 7 p.m. 

KOH ANNUAL USED BOOK SALE

Sunday, October 28, 2012 - KOH Library's Annual Used Book Sale!  9 a.m. - 3 p.m.  Bigger and better than ever. Hundreds of books (and some dvd's) to choose from representing all genres. Lots of bargains to be found. Please tell all of your friends and neighbors.

KOH FILM CLUB - OCTOBER

Sunday, October 21, 2012 - KOH Film Club presents "Footnote" (nominated for best foreign language film of 2011) . Hillel Damron will lead us in a discussion of the film after we view it. The film will be shown at 2 p.m.  $5 suggested donation. A short description of the film is below:

The story of a great rivalry between a father and son, both eccentric professors in the Talmud department of Hebrew University in Jerusalem. The son has an addictive dependency on the embrace and accolades that the establishment provides, while his father is a stubborn purist with a fear and profound revulsion for what the establishment stands for, yet beneath his contempt lies a desperate thirst for some kind of recognition. The Israel Prize, Israel's most prestigious national award, is the jewel that brings these two to a final, bitter confrontation.

KOH BOOK CLUB OCTOBER MEETING

Tuesday, October 16, 2012 -  KOH Fiction Book Club Meeting at 7 p.m.  This month Sharon Cohen will be leading a discussion on the book, "Drawing in the Dust" by Zoe Klein. Newcomers always welcome. 

Discussion Group

Monday, October 15, 2012 - Monthly discussion group with Rabbi Joseph Melamed at 1:30 p.m.  Newcomers always welcome.

KOH Guest Lecturer

Sunday, October 14, 2012 - Michael Hayward, recently honored for his decades long career as a broadcaster and producer for the United Nations with the entry of his oral history into the Oral History Archives at California State University, Sacramento, Department of Special Collections and University Archives, will speak about his fascinating time as a pioneer in the formative years of the United Nations and his work through the advent of radio and television. His lecture is entitled, "How I Stopped A War" and will begin at 4 p.m.

"Memory, Treatment and Respite: Health Spa Program for Holocaust Survivors"

Lisa Stein (visiting from Israel) will be speaking on "Memory, Treatment and Respite: Health Spa Program for Holocaust Survivors". Lisa will share stories about the strength of the human spirit through times of unfathomable adversity and about her relationship with Holocaust survivors as a massage therapist and generous listener at a health spa program for Holocaust survivors in Maale Hahamisha, Israel. This program will begin at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, October 3, 2012.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

The founders and staff of the KOH Library and Cultural Center want to wish all of their friends and patrons a very HAPPY, HEALTHY AND SWEET NEW YEAR! 

KOH FILM CLUB - SEPTEMBER

KOH FILM CLUB - Sunday, Sept. 23rd at 2 p.m. - "The Yankles" . A down-and-out ex-baseball player, Charlie Jones, needs to meet his community service hours as a coach. The problem is no team wants him. It takes the Yankles, an obscure orthodox yeshiva baseball team desperate for a coach, to give Charlie his second chance. A humorous match made in heaven, both Charlie and the team rise to unexpected triumphs resulting in entrance to the college world series. With the championship in reach, it seems the Yankles just might need a miracle for that ultimate grand slam victory.

KOH CLOSURES - SEPTEMBER, 2012

CLOSURES :  Sept. 2, 3, 16, 17, 26

Also - No book club meeting this month due to all the Jewish holidays.  Will resume in October.

KOH ARTIST RECEPTION - SEPT. 9th

ARTIST RECEPTION AND FASCINATING PROGRAM WITH JUDAICA RENAISSANCE WOMAN RAE GOLDREICH - Sunday, Sept. 9th at 11:00 a.m. You will not want to miss our next featured artist, Rae Goldrich. Garnering praise and honors, Rae burst on both the private and public art scenes, re-inventing Judaica as it has never been seen before. Inspired and informed by Jewish texts and history, Rae's work combines Study with Hidur Mitzva.Through reflection, meditation, and free association, she infuses her stained glass creations with symbols and interpretations beyond simplified understandings.  Rae hopes to start a dialogue and invite active art viewers to explore more of our history and traditions. Contact Mehrnaz  Halimi (916-508-4571)for more information and/or to R.S.V.P.

KOH NEW ARRIVALS - August

The following are now available for checkout in the KOH Library:

Books

The Spinoza Problem, a novel - by Irvin Yalom
The Invisible Wall, a memoir - by Harry Bernstein
Diaspora: Homelands in Exile by Frederic Brenner
Our Holocaust, a novel by Amir Gulfreund
Harry Lipkin - Private Eye, a novel - by Barry Fantoni
The Red Book, a novel - by Deborah Kogan
The Submission, a novel - by Amy Waldman
Exile, a novel - by Richard Patterson
The Underground Reporters, a memoir - by Kathy Kacer
Like Everyone Else, But Different - by Morton Weinfeld

DVD

Broken Silence (from Steven Spielberg and Survivors of the Shoah Visual History Foundation)

KOH BOOK CLUB - August 21st

The August meeting of the KOH Book Club will be held on Tuesday, August 21, 2012 at 7 p.m.  Ron Meyer will be leading us in a discussion about the book, "The Invisible Bridge" by Julie Orringer. This meeting is free and newcomers are always welcome!

KOH FILM CLUB - AUGUST 19th!

Please join us for the award winning film, "Anita" at the KOH Library on Sunday, August 19th at 2 p.m.

Anita is the story of a young woman with Down syndrome who lives a happy, routine life in Buenos Aires being cared for by her mother. One morning everything changes when Anita is left alone, confused and helpless after the nearby Argentine Israelite Mutual Association is bombed. As Anita wanders through the city, she learns not only to care for herself, but touches the lives of those around her.

Suggested donation - $5

KOH NEW ARRIVALS - JULY, 2012

Come and check out our new arrivals!  Many of the following books were recommended at the Association of Jewish Libraries convention last month:

The World Without You, a novel by Joshua Jenkin
New American Haggadah, new translation by Nathan Englander
The Great Partnership: God, Science, and the Search for Meaning by Jonathan Sacks
By Fire, By Water, a novel by Mitchell James Kaplan
Homesick, a novel by Eshkol Nevo
Quiet Americans by Erica Dreifus
Road to Valor: A True Story of World War II Italy, the Nazis, and the Cyclist Who Inspired a Nation by Aili and Andres McConnon
Hank Greenberg by Mark Kurlansky
Leon Trotsky: A Revolutionary's Life by Joshua Rubenstein
We Are Here: Memories of the Lithuanian Holocaust by Ellen Cassedy
The Accidental Anarchist by Bryna Kranzler
The Fish That Ate The Whale: The Life and Times of America's Banana King by Rich Cohen
The JPS Bible Commentary: Ruth
Striking Back: The 1972 Munich Olympics Massacre and Israel's Deadly Response by Aaron Klein
God's Jury: The Inquisition and the Making of the Modern World by Cullen Murphy
Moses Montefiore: Jewish Liberator, Imperial Hero by Abigail Green

KOH BOOK CLUB - JULY

The July meeting of the KOH Book Club has been canceled.  We will meet next August 21, 2012 when Ron Meyer will be reviewing the book, "The Invisible Bridge" by Julie Oringer. The book club meets at 7 p.m. and newcomers are always welcome.

KOH ART GALLERY

We welcome master glassworker and teacher/lecturer Robert Whitmarsh to the KOH Library on July 22, 2012.  Mr. Whitmarsh will present a program entitled," Jews & The History of Glass: Jewish History In Glass".  The program will begin at 7 p.m.  Mr. Whitmarsh's art will remain on display in the KOH Library through September 6, 2012.

For more information about this program/artist reception/exhibit, please contact Mehrnaz Halimi at mehrnas@kohlcc.org

KOH FILM CLUB - JULY 15th

This month we will be showing the film, "A Matter of Size". A Matter of Size is an Israeli comedy.  A heart-warming tale about four overweight guys who learn to love themselves through the Japanese sport of sumo wrestling.

Date:  Sunday, July 15, 2012
Time: 2 p.m.
Place: KOH Library and Cultural Center

Suggested $5 donation always appreciated!

DISCUSSION GROUP

DISCUSSION GROUP with Rabbi Joseph Melamed

Date:  Monday, July 9, 2012
Time:  1:30 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.
Place:  KOH Library

Open to all. No class fee. Ongoing. This group meets the 2nd Monday of each month. Drop ins welcome anytime

KOH NEW ARRIVALS - JUNE

KOH NEW ARRIVALS - JUNE 2012 - Come check them out!

BOOKS:

Jews Under Moroccan Skies by Raphael David Elmale
Terra Incognita, a novel by Libi Astaire
The Aleppo Codex: A True Story of Obsession, Faith, and the Pursuit of an Ancient Bible by Matti Friedman
Pledges of Jewish Allegiance: Conversion, Law, and Policymaking in Nineteenth and Twentieth Century Orthodox Responsa by David Ellenson and Daniel Gordis
Sacred Treasure: The Cairo Geniza by Rabbi Mark Glickman
Magic Words, a novel by Gerald Kolpan
A Jewish Voice from Ottoman Salonica: The Ladino Memoir of Sa'adi Besalel a-Levi
The Escape of Sigmund Freud by David Cohen
Holy Wars: 3000 Years of Battles in the Holy Land by Gary Rashba
Gentile New York: The Images of Non-Jews among Jewish Immigrants by Gil Ribak
The Seventh Gate, a novel by Richard Zimler
There is No Other by Jonathan Papernick
The Victory Gardens of Brooklyn, a novel by Merrill Joan Gerber
The Last Romanov, a novel by Dora Levy Mossanen

DVD's

Zuflucht in Shanghai: The Port of Last Resort
Anita

ASSOCIATION OF JEWISH LIBRARIES CONVENTION - 2012

GREETINGS FROM THE AJL CONVENTION - PASADENA!

Receiving our advanced accreditation certificate!  Gay Tanner, Jolie Baron, Mehrnaz Halimi, Hy Kashenberg

Tuesday, June 12th - KOH Book Club. This month Soni Meyer will lead our discussion on the book, :Sweet Like Sugar" by Wayne Hoffman. Please note we are meeting on the 2nd Tuesday of the month only for June. Newcomers are always welcome. The book club meetings start at 7 p.m.

Sunday, June 10th - KOH Film Club presents the film, "Mah Jongg: The Tiles That Bind" . Please join us for this short and entertaining documentary.  We will show the film at 2 p.m., then please stay and play mah jongg until 4:30 p.m. Bring your own mah jongg set, mah jongg card and your mah jongg friends or play with new friends. If you have an extra card table, please bring it along, too. We will provide chairs, and light refreshments. Come and join us for this fun afternoon!  $5 suggested donation.

Autism: The Jewish Connection = presented by Dr. Karl Zeff, clinical director of Mercy Behavorial Health
Sunday, June 3, 2012 at 2 p.m.

For more information and/or to r.s.v.p., contact Taliah Berger at 916=541-3720

New Arrivals in May

Come in to browse through our wonderful selection of new arrivals.  Or go online at: koh.mysurpass.net to peruse our entire collection.

Voices of Thinking Jewish Women,  compiled by Prudence Wright Holmes

A Weekend With the Rabbi, A Novel,   by Harry Kemelman

The Voices of Masada,  by David Kossoff

Jewish Marital Status - A Hadassah Study, edited by Carol Diament

The Jewish Mother's Hall of Fame

Jews Welcome Coffee - Tradition and Innovation in Early Modern Germany, by Robert Liberles

When General Grant Expelled the Jews, by Jonathan D. Sarna

Sipping From The Nile - A Memoir, by Jean Naggar

A Century of Wisdom - Lessons From the Life of Alice Herz-Sommer,  by Caroline Stoessinger

HHhH - (Himmlers Hern heiBt Heydrich), by Laurent Binet

Tower of Babel: How the United Nations Has Fueled Global Chaos, by Dore Gold

You are Not Like Other Mothers - a Novel,  by Angelika Schrobsdorff

Jezebel, A Novel,  by Irene Nemirovsky

Legacy, A Genetic History of the Jewish People,  by Harry Oster

The Torah Revolution,  by Rabbi Reuven Hammer, PhD.

Prague Winter:  A Personal Story of Remembrance, by Madeleine Albright

The Prague Cemetary, A Novel,  by Umberto Eco

Bondi's Brother, A Story of Love, Loss, Betrayal and Liberation, by Irving and Edward Roth

In Invitation, a Novel,  by Anne Cherian

No Time Like the Present, a Novel,  by Nadine Gordimer

I Am Forbidden,  A Novel, by Anouk Markovits

UnOrthodox, The Scandalous Rejection of My Hasidic Roots, A Memoir, by Deborah Feldman

KOH Film Club Sunday May 20

The Human Resources Manager

Sunday, May 20

2 PM - 4PM 

This award winning Israeli film follows the story of an unhappy Human Resources Manager of  Jerusalem's largest bakery.  When one of his employees, a foreign worker, is killed in a suicide bombing, the bakery is accused of indifference, and the HR manager is sent to the victim's hometown in Romania to make amends.  Far from home, on a mission to honor a woman he didn't even know but has somehow grown to admire, he fights to regain his company's reputation  - and possibly his own humanity.

"The Human Resources Manager" succeeds in making you laugh as often as it elicits tears.  Filmed in Hebrew with English and Romanian subtitles.  Hillel Damron will lead a discussion after the film.

Suggested donation $5 

GUEST AUTHOR!
Michael David Lukas will be discussing his book, "The Oracle of Stambul" as a part of the KOH Fiction Book Club on Tuesday, May 15, 2012 at 7 p.m.

"The Oracle of Stambul" was a finalist for the NCIBA Book of the Year Award and the California Book Award.

Michael David Lukas has been a Fulbright Scholar in Turkey, a night-shirt proofreader in Tel Aviv, and a waiter at the Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference in Vermont. A graduate of Brown University and the University of Maryland, his writing has appeared in VQR, Slate, National Geographic Traveler, and Georgia Review. He has received scholarships from the National Endowment for the Arts, New York State Summer-Writers’ Institute, and Elizabeth George Foundation. When he isn’t writing, he teaches creative writing to third- and fourth-graders.

Books will be offered for sale.  Open to the public. Contact Jolie at the KOH Library for more information.
$5 suggested donation. 
 

New Arrivals in April

Spring has arrived:  We have been showered with an abundance of terrific new books in April.  Please come in (or browse our online catalog) to see what is in bloom in the KOH Library.

Mitzvah Man, a novel by John J. Clayton
My Father, His Daughter  by Yael Dayan
A City of Promise, a novel by Beverly Swerling
The Midwife of Venice, a novel by Roberta Rich
Through Soviet Jewish Eyes: Photography, War and the Holocaust  by David Shneer
Nazis on the Run: How Hitler's Henchmen Fled Justice by Gerald Steinacher
Shattered Spaces, Encountering Jewish Ruins in Postwar Germany and Poland by Michael Meng
A Convenient Hatred:  The History of Antisemitism by Phyliss Goldstein
Alice's Piano, The Life of Alice Herz-Sommer by Melissa Muller and Reinhard Piechocki
Failure to Thrive, a novel by Jeff Oliver
Expiration Date, a novel by Sherril Jaffe
By Blood, a novel by Ellen Ullman
City of God, a novel by Beverly Swerling
1185 Park Avenue, a memoir by Anne Roiphe
Inside the Jewish Bakery  by Stanley Ginsberg and Norman Berg
The Jewish Husband, a novel by Lia Levi
Out of Egypt, a memoir by Andre Acimen
Call it Sleep  by Henry Roth
An American Type  by Henry Roth
Hedy's Folly, the Life and Breakthrough Inventions of Hedy Lamarr by Richard Rhodes
Cry of the Giraffe, Based on a True Story by Judie Oron
Berlin Cantata, a novel by Jeffrey Lewis
Crossing the Borders of Time, A True Story of War, Exile and Love Reclaimed by Leslie Maitland

Special Event on HUMAN TRAFFICKING

Monday, April 23rd

7:00 - 9:00 pm

Human Trafficking : What it is and What we can do about it

Modern day slavery exists locally as well as globally, hidden in plain sight.  Community Awareness can make the difference between bondage and freedom.  Learn how Human Trafficking occurs and how the Jewish Community can help abolish it.

Featuring:

Annie Fukushima, UC Berkeley, SAGE Organization   

Rebekah Bills, FBI Special Agent  

Panel of Service Providers,  Exhibitors' Tables and Refreshments

Presented by:

National Council of Jewish Women, Sacramento Section in cooperation with KOH Library and Cultural Center, Hadassah - Sacramento, Congregations Bet Haverim, Beth Shalom, Bnai Israel, Mosaic Law, and Or Rishon; and Sacramento Rescue and Restore Coalition 

Guest Speaker - Ed Rabin

Sunday, April 22nd 

1:00 pm to 3:00 pm

The Bible's Influence on American Political Ideals

Ed Rabin, Professor Emeritus UC Davis School of Law

Professor Rabin will speak on how political ideals held in America have been influenced by the Bible.   

Many of our American political ideals  can be traced back to two sources:  the ancient Greeks, from whom we derive our form of government - democracy; and the Ancient Hebrews, from whom we derive such concepts as dignity and individual equality, the right to equal justice under the law and the duty to protect the weak from the oppression by the strong.  By today's standards the democracy of the Ancient Greeks was flawed, and not to be emulated.  In contrast, the political ideals of the Bible remain as fresh and inspiring, centuries later.  

Edward Rabin came to UCD's School of Law in 1966.  At various times during his tenure, he served as Associate Dean or Acting Dean.  He is a graduate of Columbia College and Columbia Law School, where he was the editor of the Columbia Law Review.   For many years he taught a seminar in Jewish Law, and while teaching this course he became interested in the effect of biblical law on American political ideals. His presentation should bring fresh insight into American life today, our national ideals and the politics/laws that govern us. 

No fee - Suggested donation of $5 is appreciated

Open to the entire community

For additional information, or to RSVP, contact Taliah Berger at (916) 541-3720 or taliah@koclcc.org

KOH Film Club

KOH Film Club Presents:

ARRANGED

Friendship Has No Religion

Sunday, April 15th

2:00 pm

The story of two young teachers at a public school in Brooklyn.  Rachel is an Orthodox Jew, and Nasira is a Muslim of Syrian origin. They are both going through the process of traditional religious and cultural "arranged marriages".  With both family pressure on the one hand, and the rejection of traditional values by the outside world on the other, Rachel and Nasira rely on their friendship to pull through this challenging time in their lives.  They strive to be strong women in charge of their own happiness, while keeping their deep religious and cultural convictions.

Discussion Group with Rabbi Joseph Melamed

Monday, April 9th 

1:30 pm to 3:00 pm

All are welcome to join Rabbi Melamed in an interactive exchange of ideas on various topics from current events to the future of Judaism to the Middle East and more..
Come to KOH on the 2nd Monday of each month from 1:30 - 3:00 P.M.

Chag Pesach Samayach!

In celebration of Passover, the KOH Library and Cultural Center will be closed Friday, April 6th, Sunday, April 8th and Friday April 13th.

Please visit during our regular hours - and during the great programs and events during the rest of April.  See other blog entries for descriptions of some of our Springtime events.

KOH Book Club - April

The KOH Book Club will meet on April 17th at 7 p.m. Ron Meyer will lead us in a discussion of "In the Garden of Beasts: Love, Terror, and an American Family in Hitler's Berlin" by Erik Larson. Newcomers always welcome.

KOH APRIL Closures

The KOH Library and Cultural Center will be closed on the following days in April:

April 6
April 8
April 13

We will have regular library hours for the rest of April. Stop by and visit us soon!

KOH NEW ARRIVALS - MARCH

Please peruse our collection during regular office hours OR before and after our terrific programs, described below. 

Books:

The Wandering Gene and the Indian Princess 
   By Jeff Wheelwright
All that I Am, a novel
   By Anna Funder
Address Unknown, a novella
   By Katherine Kressman Taylor
Walter Rathenau, Weimar's Fallen Statesman
   By Shulamit Volker
What We Talk About When We Talk About Anne Frank, short stories
   By Nathan Englander
These Days Are Ours, a novel
   By Michelle Haimoff
The Challenge of Wealth
   By Meir Tamari

DVD: 

Nora's Will

KOH GUEST SPEAKER

On Sunday,March 25th we are excited to welcome special guest speaker, Professor Allison Coudert (Religious Studies, U.C. Davis) who will be giving a lecture entitled "The Jewish Kabbalah, Science, and the Enlightenment" at 6 p.m. Dr. Allison Coudert received her PhD from the Warberg Institute, University of London. Her focus of interest is on the interaction between religion and science in the west with a special emphasis on Jewish contributions to science and on women and gender issues.

Open to the entire community. For more information, please contact Taliah at (916) 485-4143

KOH CHESS TOURNAMENT!

March 25th - Second Annual Sacramento Jewish Chess Tournament at 10 a.m. All levels welcome. Trophy presented to winner. $10 entry fee to play in the tournament. Anyone free to come watch and cheer on your favorite player. To learn more or to sign up to participate in the tournament, contact Hillel Damron at shalomhd@comcast.net

KOH Book Club - March

The March meeting of the KOH Book Club will be Tuesday, March 20, 2012 at 7 p.m. We will be discussing the book, "The Cookbook Collector" by Allegra Goodman.


Emily and Jessamine Bach are opposites in every way: Twenty-eight-year-old Emily is the CEO of Veritech, twenty-three-year-old Jess is an environmental activist and graduate student in philosophy. Pragmatic Emily is making a fortune in Silicon Valley, romantic Jess works in an antiquarian bookstore. Emily is rational and driven, while Jess is dreamy and whimsical. Emily’s boyfriend, Jonathan, is fantastically successful. Jess’s boyfriends, not so much.

National Book Award finalist and New York Times bestselling author Allegra Goodman has written a delicious novel about appetite, temptation, and holding on to what is real in a virtual world: love that stays.

Newcomers always welcome.

For more information, contact Jolie at the library (916) 485-4143.

SPECIAL SPEAKER

March 18th - Special guest speaker, Professor Bob Platzner, will give a lecture on "Women in the Hebrew Bible" at 2 p.m. Dr. Platzner taught at Temple University and later at California State University, Sacramento for 36 years. He has published in the field of biblical scholarship, religious studies, and film history. He is currently working on a new book on the History of World Religions.

For more information, contact Taliah Berger at (916- 541-3720) or taliah@kohlcc.org

Special Speaker

The Jewish Experience In Small Towns: The Identity Issue - Special guest speaker, Professor Al Sokolow. Sunday, March 4th at 2pm.

Small town residence clearly has not been the dominant story of the Jewish existence in this country. We have been primarily an urban (big city and suburban) people in the United States. But there also has been a significant Jewish presence in small towns, an experience that reveals a great deal about retaining - or losing - Jewish identity. The KOH Library and Cultural Center is honored to present guest speaker Al Sokolow who will explore several aspects of small-town Jewish experi-ence. Much of this program will be audience driven and Dr. Sokolow especially wants to hear from folks who have experienced small town life as Jews, so please bring your personal stories to share. No fee and open to the community.

There is $5 suggested donation. Dr. Sokolow is a Public Policy Specialist Emeritus, University of California, Davis. He has a longstanding interest in the topic of Jews in small communities

KOH Special Exhibit

Haggadah Exhibit in the KOH Library and Cultural Center

The KOH Library and Cultural Center will be featuring a fascinating and varied exhibit of Haggadahs, on loan from personal collections, on display from February 13 through April 2nd. The exhibit can be viewed during regular KOH Library hours of operation or by appointment. Currently the library is scheduled to be open Monday, Thursday and Friday from 10:00am to 1:00pm; Wednesday from 1:00pm to 4:00pm and Sunday from 10:00am to 1:00pm. Please call before making your trip in to see the exhibit to confirm that the library hours have not been changed. For more information or to schedule a time to see the exhibit please contact Taliah Berger at 916-541-3720 or taliah@kohlcc.org.

KOH New Arrivals - February

By Fire Possessed; Dona Gracia Nasi 
     by Sandrak Toro
Jews and Booze - Becoming American in the Age of Prohibition
     by Marni Davis
A Book Forged in Hell; Spinoza's Scandalous Treatise and the Birth of the Secular Age
     by Steven Nadler
Good Living Street; Portrait of a Family, Vienna 1900
     by Tim Bonyhady

A Stranger in the Planet, a novel
     by Adam Schwartz
The House at Tyneford, a novel
      by Natasha Solomons
No One is Here Except All of Us, a novel
     by Ramona Ausubel
The Linen Queen, a novel
     by Patricia Falvey
The Flame Alphabet, a novel
     by Ben Marcus

In addition the following new receipts are related to the upcoming March 18 presentation by Dr. Robert Platzner on Women in the Bible:

Warrior, Dancer, Seductress, Queen;  Women in Judges and Biblical Israel
     by Susan Ackerman
The Voices of the Matriarchs
     by Chava Weissler
Discovering Eve; Ancient Israelite Women in Context
     by Carol Meyers
In the Wake of the Goddesses; Women, Culture, and the Biblical Transformation of Pagan Myth
     by Tikvah Frymer-Kensky
Did God Have a Wife; Archaelogy and Folk Religion in Ancient Israel
     by William G. Dever

February Happenings at KOH Library

ADDITIONAL LIBRARY HOURS STARTING FEBRUARY 1st - We will now be open Wednesday afternoons from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. and Sundays from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

KOH FILM CLUB - Sunday, February 12, 2012 at 2 p.m. "Jews and Baseball: An American Love Story". Jews and Baseball traces the Jewish involvement in the history of the sport from the earliest days, through the tumultuous was years to today's All-Star games. By bringing to life dramatic moments in this history, including Hank Greenberg's support of Jackie Robinson and how the legendary Sandy Koufax pioneered rights for the players, the film demonstrates how Jews shaped baseball, and baseball shaped them. Narrated by Dustin Hoffman. Suggested donation -$5

DISCUSSION GROUP - Discussion group with Rabbi Joseph Melamed on Monday, February 13, 2012 at 1:30-2:30 p.m. Open to everyone. Meets the second Monday of each month. No class fee.

KOH BOOK CLUB - Tuesday, February 21, 2012 at 7 p.m. Fare Foreward by Wendy Dubow Polins. In the intersection of modern science and ancient mysticism, is a story about finding the things that transcend time. Gabriella Vogel's grandfather is about to receive the Nobel Prize in Physics for his shocking proof that will change everything we take for granted. As she stands at the threshold of the beginning of everything in her own life, she knows that her future and that of the world, hangs delicately in the balance. She must decide: What are the things in life worth fighting for? Can we change our fate?

In this journey of a lifetime, Gabriella meets a mysterious, young scientist, then learns that he's been at the center of her grandfather's research for hundreds of years, met her grandmother eighty years earlier, and that he hasn't aged--at all. Inspired by theories in art and science and events in history, Gabriella's unforgettable quest for answers will reveal a secret hidden for generations by her family, and one moment--one choice, that will change everything.

HAGGADOT DISPLAY - Unique and unusual haggadot on display in the KOH Library from February 12th through March 31st,

KEEPING PASSOVER; CREATING A FAITHFUL AND PERSONAL SEDER CELEBRATION - Sunday, February 26, 2012 at 11:00 a.m. Guest speaker Ira Steingroot, one of the nation's leading Haggadah experts and author of "Keeping Passover" will be giving a lecture. Suggested donation $5.

KOH CHESS CLUB - Come to meet and play chess with others at 10 a.m. on March 4th. All levels of chess players welcome! Save the date for our 2nd annual KOH Chess Tournament on Sunday, March 25th at 10 a.m. For more information and/.or to register for the chess tournament, please contact Hillel Damron at shalomhd@comcast.net

FEBRUARY LIBRARY CLOSURES - February 5th for a private event;February 19th and 20th in observance of President's Day.

New (expanded) Hours

Our new winter hours provide two additional time periods for your visits.
Tell your friends!

Sunday:         10 a.m. - 1 p.m.
Monday:        10 a.m. - 1 p.m.
Wednesday:   1 p.m. -  4 p.m.
Thursday:      10 a.m. - 1 p.m.
Friday:           10 a.m. - 1 p.m.

KOH Film Club presents

 BRIDE FLIGHT

SUNDAY, JANUARY 29, 2012

2:00 - 4:00 pm

$5 suggested donation

Bride Flight is a lavish romantic drama that charts the lives of three women who escape the gloom of post-WWII Holland for what they hope will be a better life in New Zealand.  Ada, the shy but sensual farm girl; Marjorie, who dreams of a big family; and Esther, a Holocaust survivor who aspires to be a fashion designer, become fast friends during the long flight taking them to their waiting husbands, who have already settled in Christchurch.  On the way the women also meet Frank, a dashing young man who will play a large role in each of their lives. Upon arrival they part ways to start their new lives, but their paths continue to cross with chance meetings resulting in adultery, betrayal and near tragedy up to a reunion fifty years later.

KOH New Arrivals - January

The Sistern Secrets Michelangelo's Forbidden Messages in the Heart of Vatican by Benjamin Blech and Ray Doliner

Gretel's Story: A Young Woman's Secret War Against the Nazis by Gretel Wachtel

The False Friend by Myla Goldberg

The Novel in the Viola by Natasha Solomons

The Lost Wife by Alyson Richman

All Our Wordly Goods by Irene Nemirovosky

The Scattered Tribe: Traveling The Diaspora From Cuba To India To Tahiti & Beyond by Ben Frank

Mornings at the Stanton Street Shul: A Summer on the Lower East Side by Jonathan Boyarin

Brothers at War: Israel and the Tragedy of the Altalena by Jerold Auerbach

Chasing Shadows: A Special Agent's Lifelong Hunt To Bring A Cold War Assassin To Justice by Fred Burton

Einstein Before Israel: Zionist Icon or Iconoclast by Ze'ev Rosenkranz

Sinner on Trial: Jews and Sacrilege After The Reformation by Magida Teter

Palaces of Time: Jewish Calendar and Culture in Early Modern Europe By Elisheva Carlebach

The People of the Book: Philosemitism in England, From Cromwell to Churchill by Gertrude Himmelfarb

The God Who Hates Lies: Confronting & Rethinking Jewish Tradition by David Hartman

The Anatomy of Israel's Survival by Hirsh Goodman

The Synagogue in America: A Short History by Marc Lee Raphael

The Greening of American Orothodox Judaism: Yavneh in the 1960s by Benny Kraut

One Hundred Years of Kibbutz Life: A Century of Crises and Reinvention by Michael Palgi

Beyond The Facade: A Synagogue - Museum at Eldridge Street