Jewish Community Day and Evening of Learning:

Sunday, March 7 at 2 p.m. and Wednesday, March 10 at 7 p.m.

The 5th Annual Jewish Community Relations Council Day of Learning will be a virtual Day and Evening of Learning this year. “It’s Chai Time to Visit Jewish Neighbors” is the theme for Sunday, March 7, when speakers will “take” us to three Jewish communities. During this interesting and uplifting afternoon, Cantor Donna Azu, Dr. Ron Duncan Hart and Dr. Steven Derfler will tell us about Crypto Jews as well as communities in Persia and China.

Cantor Donna Azu received a Bachelor of Music degree in Opera Performance and Music Education from California State University, attended the Debbie Friedman School of Sacred Music in New York City, taught both music and theater, and sang professionally. Having earned a master’s degreein Sacred Music from the HebrewUnion College in 2009 and her Cantorial Ordination in 2010, Cantor Azu has served as co-clergy at Temple Shalom in Naples, Florida since 2010

Cantor Donna Azu

Ron Duncan Hart, Ph.D. is a cultural anthropologist and the Director of the Jewish Learning Channel, which provides educational film on Jewish life. He is the former President of the Jewish Federation of New Mexico, has received numerous awards and served as the Program Director of the New Mexico Jewish Historical Society.

Hart is an invited lecturer and has written a number of books on Jewish life and cultural history, the more recent of which are, “Crypto-Jews: The Long Journey,” “Jews and the Arab World: Intertwined Legacies,” “Judaism,” and “Sephardic Jews: History, Religion and People.” He is co-author/editor of the award-winning book “Fractured Faiths: Spanish Judaism, the Inquisition and New World Identities.”

Ron Duncan Hart, Ph.D.

Dr. Steven L. Derfler is an international educational consultant, archaeologist, historian and researcher, teacher and author. Dr. Derfler has been uncovering the histories of ancient civilizations for 45 years and brings insight to current political and social events. Throughout his career, he has worked aggressively to bring the community together for education and celebration of ethnic and cultural diversity. Dr. Derfler recently retired from the University of Wisconsin and has lectured in a wide variety of venues. He also served as the Minnesota Area Executive Director of the American Jewish Committee. As part of his commitment to diversity and international awareness, Dr. Derfler has directed academic study tours to Israel and Jordan, Egypt, Morocco, Greece and Turkey.

Dr. Steven L. Derfler

Evening Event This year, nearly a year into the pandemic, individuals were curious about how clergy navigated this new world. To satisfy their curiosity, JCRC will present an added Evening of Learning, titled “Keeping the Faith and So Much More During the Pandemic.”

Local clergy scheduled to participate are Rabbi Miller from Temple Shalom, Pastor Lonnie Mills from Macedonia Baptist Church, Reverend Edward Gleason from Naples United Church of Christ and Fr. Hugh McGuigan from our Lady of Light Catholic Church in Estero. The panel may answer questions about how they dealt with life cycle events, how they tried to bring comfort and faith when their buildings were closed, and what new approaches they developed.

The Day of Learning will be available on Zoom on Sunday, March 7, beginning at 2 p.m. The Evening of Learning will be available on Zoom on Wednesday, March 10, at 7 p.m. To join the community for these special programs, register at www.jewishnaples.org