The Cohon Memorial Lecture is held each year in memory of Rabbi Beryl D. Cohon, the founding rabbi of Temple Sinai. This special Friday evening lecture is coordinated by the Cohon Lecture Committee, chaired by Lillian Shulman, and supported by the Cohon Memorial Lecture Fund. For a history of the annual Cohon lecture, see the link below.

The 2010 Cohon lecture will be given on Friday, October 29th by Rabbi Larry Hoffman of Hebrew Union College.   His tentative subject is "Founders, Boomers, & Beyond: The Evolution of the Reform Jewish Project.” He will also join us for Shabbat morning services and a workshop with the Board and other leaders on Shabbat afternoon.

Lecturers in recent years have been equally distinguished. Our 2009 speaker was Dr. Susannah Heschel , a world-renowned Dartmouth College scholar of Jewish-Christian and Jewish-Muslim relations, the history of anti-Semitism, the history of biblical scholarship, and the American Jewish experience. Daughter of the preeminent Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, she has also published a book of his articles and speeches. Her topic was “Intrigued with Islam: Jewish Scholars, Travelers, & Converts in Modern Europe.”

In 2008, we welcomed renowned author and Jewish activist Anita Diamant. Her first work of fiction, The Red Tent, was published in 1997 and was named 2001's Booksense Book of the Year. She is the author of two other novels, Good Harbor , and The Last Days of Dogtown , a collection of essays and six non-fiction guides to contemporary Jewish life, including How to Raise a Jewish Child , The New Jewish Wedding Book , and Choosing a Jewish Life . She is also a founder and the president of Mayyim Hayyim, Living Waters Community Mikveh, and the Paula J. Brody Family Education Center. An active member of the Boston Jewish community, Anita Diamant is a committed Reform Jew.