Noam Zion will be scholar-in-residence May 18 and 19

Israeli scholar Noam Zion returns to Greater Cleveland May 18 and 19, Shavuot weekend, for a scholar-in-residence event co-hosted by, and taking place at, two synagogues, Beth El-The Heights Synagogue (BE-THS) and B’nai Jeshurun.

Zion will teach Friday night and Saturday morning and afternoon at BE–THS, then walk the five miles to B’nai Jeshurun, where he’ll be the keynote speaker at its annual Tikkun Leyl Shavuot, spearheading a roster of rabbis and educators from at least 16 shuls and institutions.

Zion has taught in Cleveland many times, beginning as far back as 1989. He has taught at the Shalom Hartman Institute in Jerusalem for more than 30 years, and is the author of best-selling haggadot, A Different Night, A Night to Remember, and A Day Apart: Shabbat at Home.

On Friday night at BE-THS, Kabbalat Shabbat services will begin at 6:30 p.m. Zion will teach during the services and after dinner on “Gender and Generosity: Mar Ukba versus Ms. Ukba - The Ethic of Dignity versus the Ethic of Hospitality.” The topic is taken from his recently published nine-book series on Talmudic Marital Dramas. Saturday’s topic will be “The Troubling Family Triangle of Abraham, Sarah and Hagar, and its National and Religious Legacy: From Bible to Midrash to Modern Poetry.“ Zion will speak both during the service and after lunch. For the BE-THS sessions and meals, the cost is $40 for both or $25 for a single event. Register at the synagogue’s website, www.bethelheights.org. The synagogue is located at 3246 Desota Ave. in Cleveland Heights.

On Saturday evening, Zion will speak at B’nai Jeshurun on “A Tale of Two Cities: David’s Jerusalem and George’s Washington.” He will teach at 10:15 p.m., just after Ma’ariv brings in Shavuot. The evening will start with Mincha at 6 p.m., followed by a meal, followed by teaching all night, leading up to a dawn Shacharit service. The entire event is free, but reservations are helpful; make them at www.bnaijeshurun.org/tikkun2018. The synagogue is located at 27501 Fairmount Blvd. in Pepper Pike.