Alan Barrish to speak on March 26

February 18, 2010

On Friday night, March 26, at Erev Shabbat Services we will have a very special guest speaker. Alan Barrish is an expert on the “borscht belt” and the old Jewish hotels in Sullivan County. Alan’s been quoted in the New York Times, featured on MTV, and has been in a documentary on the subject. His talk will be a historical feast as he illuminates this now bye-gone world. While there may be a joke or two, this talk will reveal deep insights into this important cultural area.

Alan Barrish happens to be a close family friend of Havurah Shalom member Emily Simon who will be leading the services, with Barbara Slader leading the music. Come and enjoy exploring a different world (and definitely not mitzrayim) as we pay homage to our ancestral roots. While this event a little closer than usually celebrated (with the next week at Pesach) we believe it will be a treat.

Alan is a co-founder and present secretary of the Catskills Institute: An Organization to Promote Research and Education on the Significance of the Catskill Mountains for American Jewish Life and the Director of the Ethelbert B. Crawford Public Library in Monticello, New York Last year, he wrote a review of David Stradling’s book, “Making Mountains: New York City and the Catskills” for the Business History Review.