Genealogy is often approached as the study of the lives of others: when they lived, where they lived, what they did, who they were. In fact Jewish genealogy is the study of who you are. In encountering our past, we encounter ourselves and express a central Jewish concern of the past several thousand years: bringing the past to bear on the present in order to shape our self-understanding.

This Sunday, Rabbi Josh Rose lectures on “We Know Why Mormons Do Genealogy, Why Do Jews?” at the monthly meeting of the Jewish Genealogical Society of Colorado. This talk will be about the cultural and personal function of Jewish genealogy and discuss what we discover about ourselves from its practice.

This event is open to the public, and there is no fee to attend. This lecture will be held on Sunday, September 26th, 10 am-noon, at Congregation Har HaShem, 3950 Baseline Road, Boulder (South Building).

Rabbi Joshua Rose is the Senior Rabbi of Boulder’s Congregation Har HaShem. He guides people in this diverse Congregation in their discovery – or rediscovery – of Jewish tradition and learning. His path to the rabbinate wandered through Harvard Divinity School, the Reform movement’s social justice office in Washington DC (where he was the Movement’s liaison to its congregations nationally), India and Nepal for months of trekking and meditating, and a high school in Portland, where he was a teacher. His own genealogical research led him to share a Shabbat service with a growing community in what had been his great-grandfather’s shul on the lower east side of New York. He lives in Boulder with his wife Channah, a lawyer, and their two sons.

The Jewish Genealogical Society of Colorado is a nonprofit organization run by volunteers. Meetings are held monthly in Boulder and in Denver providing lectures and workshops on relevant topics and research tools. More information at www.JGSCO.org or info@JGSCO.org. Let us help you trace your family history.