Shabbat to Save the World

January 12, 2018 - 7:15 pm - 9:30 pm

A Shabbat to Save the World
Joachim Prinz: I Shall Not Be Silent

5:30 p.m.             Oneg Shabbat
6:00 p.m.             Kabbalat Shabbat Services
7:15 p.m.              Dinner (RSVP, see below)
8:15 p.m.              Film and Conversation

Join us the Friday of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Weekend for Shabbat services, dinner and a film. In Berlin in the 1930’s, Joachim Prinz set out to restore the self-esteem of the German Jews. Knowing the Nazis were monitoring his every word, and despite repeated arrests, Prinz continued to preach about the value of Judaism. He saved many lives by encouraging Jews to emigrate from Germany. Expelled from Germany himself in 1937, he arrived in the United States, the land where democracy had supposedly triumphed over bigotry and hatred. Here, he witnessed racism against African Americans and realized the American ideal was not a reality.

As a congregational rabbi in Newark, NJ and later as President of the American Jewish Congress, Prinz became a leader of the civil rights movement. Prinz worked to organize the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, declaring, “bigotry and hatred are not the most urgent problem. The most urgent, the most disgraceful, the most shameful and the most tragic problem is silence.” Moments later, Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered his “I Have A Dream” speech.

Dinner costs $20 per person. Please reserve your place for dinner no later than Tuesday, January 9, by contacting Chris Rocha at 203-336-1858 or Chris@cbibpt.org.