Beth David Synagogue’s next Shabbat Luncheon will be held on Saturday, March 8. Binghamton University’s Judaic Studies faculty member Lior Libman will speak about “The Kibbutz Passover Haggadah.” The community is invited to attend. Morning services will begin at 9:30 am, with the luncheon and program following the conclusion of services. The luncheon is free and open to the public.
“We will be ushering in Pesach in April,” organizers say, “and Professor Libman’s research is both timely and fascinating!” 
Investigating Passover haggadahs from the 15th century to the 1960s, Libman found that approximately a fifth of those printed were those of kibbutzim and their affiliated youth movements. What were the distinctive features of the kibbutz haggadah? How was the story of the Exodus and salvation imagined and interpreted by Socialist-Zionist settlers? What role did Hebrew literature and contemporary events play in modifying the traditional Jewish text? “I look forward to exploring these questions with Beth David attendees,” Libman says, “as we examine together several examples from different periods.”
Libman is associate professor of Israel studies and the director of the Center for Israel Studies at Binghamton University’s Judaic Studies Department, which she joined in 2016. She earned her undergraduate and advanced degrees at Hebrew University in Jerusalem. A literary scholar and cultural historian specializing in Modern Hebrew, and Israeli literatures and cultural studies, Libman is a member of the Executive Committee of the European Association of Israel Studies, and co-directs the Literature and Culture Section of its annual conferences.
At Binghamton University, she teaches courses that include an “Introduction to Israeli Literature,” “The Israeli Palestinian Conflict in Literature” and “The Kibbutz in Israeli Culture.” Her research interests and publications include articles on the imagery and political imagination of the kibbutz. Her book, “State of Shock: The Kibbutz in Israel from Avant-Garde to Fetish, 1948-1955,” was published in November by the University of Pennsylvania Press.
Beth David’s luncheon speaker series takes place the second Saturday of the month after Shabbat morning services, and is open to the community. There is no charge for the luncheon. Since the monthly series’ continuation depends on the generosity of contributors, Beth David welcomes and appreciates donations to the Luncheon Fund. Donations can be made in honor of or in memory of someone, or to mark a special occasion. Those wishing an acknowledgment to be sent to the person being honored, or to the family of someone being remembered, can indicate that, along with the necessary information. Donations can be sent to Beth David Synagogue, 39 Riverside Dr., Binghamton, NY 13905, Attention: Luncheon Fund.