Shabbat Dinner & Discussion: Shared Streets, Shared Words: Jews, Blacks, and the Ghetto

The word ghetto began with Jewish history, yet by the late 20th century it was more commonly associated with Black urban life in America. That shift echoed a familiar urban pattern: neighborhoods once densely Jewish became overwhelmingly Black, and the term ghetto moved with them. What happens when a word so marked by one group’s past is taken up by another? How do shared words shape solidarity—or strain it? And what anxieties surface when communities feel their histories are being eclipsed, appropriated, or misunderstood? This talk explores the shifting meanings of ghetto and the ethical challenges that arise when different groups frame their experiences through the same vocabulary.

Please register here by Tuesday, January 13 at noon.

Kabbalat Shabbat service will be held at 5:30pm, followed by Shabbat dinner around 6:30pm and the discussion around 7:30pm.