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Please join Rabbi Martin Lawson, the Rabbi Emeritus of Temple Emanu-El in San Diego, for this timely and thought-provoking discussion. We at Beth Israel are fortunate to profit from Rabbi Lawson’s scholarship and wisdom not only from this evening’s lecture but also from his participation in Beth Israel’s Torah Study rotation on Shabbat mornings.
Rabbi Lawson will explore questions about the new intellectual technologies as well as the fears, uncertainties, and hope that AI evokes. We can now build machines, creatures and features that transcend or supersede elements of our humanity. What does Judaism say about these challenges?
The Men’s Club monthly Speaker’s Forum & Dinner is held in the Feuerstein Family Activity Center, with dinner from 6:30 to 7:00 pm followed by the presentation and discussion from 7:00 to 8:00 pm.
ALL ADULT MEMBERS of the congregation are welcome! The fee is $20 to attend in person and enjoy the deli buffet dinner.
Please RSVP by Friday, April 10, and pay online using the button below. If you need help with online payment please contact Valentina Sharabi at (858) 900-2512.
We ask that all those attending in person to share the cost and enjoy the meal. If you prefer to “listen only” please join remotely (at no charge) via Zoom.
Rabbi Martin Lawson served Temple Emanu-El as rabbi for 36 years before retiring in June 2012. Born in Muskegon, Michigan and raised in Miami Beach, Rabbi Lawson and his late wife, Anita Satlof-Lawson z”l, are the parents of Bethami and Joshua, and the proud grandparents of Zoe and Talia Lawson.
He served as assistant rabbi at The Temple in Atlanta until 1976 when he moved to Temple Emanu-El to serve as Assistant Rabbi, then promoted to Senior Rabbi in 1978. Rabbi Lawson was a founder and instructor at the San Diego Academy of Jewish Studies, now known as the Community Jewish High. He was also a founder and former Director of the San Diego Jewish Academy. He chaired the UJF’s San Diego Task Force on Holocaust Commemoration, was the first Chairperson of the UJF Synagogue-Federation Committee, and served on the National Rabbinic Council of the United Jewish Communities
In May 1999 Rabbi Lawson was awarded the Doctor of Divinity degree, Honoris Causa, from the HUC-JIR. A past President of the Pacific Association of Reform Rabbis, he has also served three times as President of the San Diego Rabbinical Association and received the first award for Rabbinic Leadership from the UJF of San Diego County. Most recently he served as National President of the National Association of Retired Reform Rabbis.
Rabbi Lawson’s retirement is filled with travel, study teaching and, most importantly, visiting his children and grandchildren in Los Angeles.
PLEASE BRING Art Supplies to Send to Israel Preschools!
For a second year, the Men’s Club is supporting an ongoing project with the Bill & Sid Rubin Preschool to send much-needed art supplies to preschools in Israel. Filled suitcases will be delivered by preschool families traveling to Israel. Gently used suitcase donations are welcome.
Please bring preschool-safe, easy-to-ship art supplies (no liquids or permanent markers) to this Speaker’s Forum, future Men’s Club events, or the preschool office. Suggested items: washable markers, crayons, stickers, safety scissors, colored pencils, glue sticks, colored tape or ribbon, construction paper, modeling clay or Play-Doh, and pipe cleaners.