Customs, food, melodies of Sephardic Chanukah celebration

On Sunday, Dec. 3, Or Emet will host a program by David Jordan Harris, artistic director of Voices of Sepharad, who will describe through word and song the customs, food and melodies that are special to a Sephardic Chanukah celebration.

The program will run from 10 a.m.-noon at the Talmud Torah of St. Paul, 768 Hamline Ave. South in St. Paul. A social time will follow. 

Harris has pursued study and performance of Sephardic music throughout North America, Greece, Israel, France, Turkey, Poland, Bosnia, Spain and Morocco. He has received numerous awards, fellowships and commissions supporting his fieldwork and performances with Voices of Sepharad, which he co-founded in 1986 with dancer Judith Brin Ingber. 

Harris was the founding executive director of Rimon: The Minnesota Jewish Arts Council, which he led until 2022 and served as cantorial soloist/music director at Shir Tikvah Congregation for 21 years.

Those who cannot attend in person may join over Zoom. Please register in advance here. 

The Sunday adult programs are free and open to the public and meet concurrently with the Jewish Cultural Sunday School. 

Or Emet is a secular congregation celebrating and honoring Jewish culture, history and values from a humanistic, inclusive perspective. 

For information about Or Emet’s Jewish Cultural Sunday School, contact JCSS director Molly Phipps at [email protected]. For information about Or Emet, email [email protected] or visit oremet.org.