Speaker series set at temple

Staff report

youngstown

Congregation Rodef Sholom, 1119 Elm St., will present “Lishmoa v’Lilmod: To Listen and Learn," a Shabbat speaker series.

The series will begin with attorney Dan Roth, editor of “The Great Depression: A Diary.” The Youngstown native is a past president of Rodef Sholom. He earned a juris doctor degree from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland and served in the U.S. Air Force. Roth is chairman of Roth, Blair, Roberts, Strasfeld and Lodge and is chairman of McDonald Steel Corp.

James Ledbetter and Roth spent a year editing a handwritten seven-volume diary of the Great Depression by his father, Benjamin Roth.

Roth will speak at 10:30 a.m. Sept. 25 in the sanctuary; reservations are due by Sept. 20.

Sarah Weiss, executive director of the Center for Holocaust and Humanity Education in Cincinnati, will speak at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 5 in the sanctuary.

Weiss, a native of Youngstown, is a graduate of the Teaching the Holocaust and Antisemitism course at the Yad Vashern International School for Holocaust Studies. She also graduated from the University of Cincinnati.

A granddaughter of Holocaust survivors, she will explore the topic, “When the Last Survivor is Gone.”

Bruce Lev, national vice president of Jewish Council for Public Affairs, will speak at 10:30 a.m. Dec. 4 in Tamarkin Chapel. His topic will be “Jewish Current Events, Issues and World Affairs.” It will cover how the Jewish Council of Public Affairs has become a leading Jewish advocacy group.

Lev is a graduate of Regis College in Denver and worked in his father’s construction company. In 1974, he started Titan Construction and specializes in moderate- to low-income housing. He is a past president of Jewish Community Relations Council and Commission for Jewish Education.

In 2011, speakers will be March 12, William Lawson, director of Mahoning Valley Historical Society, on “Jewish History in the Mahoning Valley;” April 2, Dr. Louis Zona, executive director of Butler Institute of American Art, on “Jews in American Art;” and May 7, Jesse McClain, Holocaust educator, Boardman Center Middle School.

Luncheon will be provided by the Dr. Sidney M. Berkowitz Fund. Reservations are required.

Call 330-744-5001 or send e-mail to rodefsholom@sbcglobal.net.