12:30 pm: Lunch
1 pm: Presentation

Presentation by Jared Goldfarb, an independent educator and licensed tour guide who teaches the history of Judaism, Christianity and Islam, biblical geography, and the geopolitical history of Israel/Palestine. Lunch catered by Mark ‘n Mike’s/One Market Restaurant and sponsored by Monica Levin and Nancy Igdaloff. Members only. Free. Reservations required by March. 18, 10 am.

More about the presentation:

"OH MY GOD!" - A brief history of Judaism, Christianity and Islam, their overlapping narratives, and shared reverence of the same holy land

For thousands of years, our monotheistic ancestors have been telling captivating stories about their relationship to the land called Canaan, Israel, Judea and Palestine, with an emphasis on the belief that God chose to reveal Godself to humanity in a particular piece of real estate.  Each faith tradition has its own unique perspective on how the bond between believer and sacred landscape should play out - pilgrimage, conquest, prayer, statehood, and even tourism.  We'll explore the source texts that inspire these geographical covenants (and how each successive revelation builds upon the former), and understand how Jews, Christians and Muslims are forever interconnected through shared narratives and space.

Jared Goldfarb is an independent educator and licensed tourguide based in Jerusalem with more than 25 years of experience in the field.  Born and raised in New Hampshire, he lived in 6 different countries before making his home in Israel nearly 30 years ago.  Thanks to the vibrant learning community in Jerusalem, Jared fell in love with the Jewish textual tradition, spent 5 years studying in various yeshivas, and served for 8 years as the Program Director of Ta Shma: Pluralistic Jewish Learning.  Simultaneously, he graduated from the National Tourguide Course, and since 1999 has worked as a licensed guide for families, faith communities, and multi-narrative student encounters with Israel/Palestine.

Jared currently serves as a faculty member and freelance educator at many Jerusalem institutions that welcome clergy, teachers, seminarians and laypeople from around the world to study Israel/Palestine from both academic and religious perspectives, such as the Tantur Ecumenical Institute, Ecce Homo Centre for Biblical Formation, Rossing Center for Education & Dialogue, and the Arava Institute.  He also teaches biblical geography, the textual and contextual history of Judaism, Christianity and Islam, and Israeli/Palestinian geopolitics for various universities, seminaries and multifaith groups.  Jared has served as scholar-in-residence in numerous communities, including Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, New Orleans, New York, San Francisco, St. Louis and London.

Jared lives in Jerusalem, where he raised his three children, and is a passionate peace activist, zero waste advocate, hiker, pianist, genealogist, vegan chef, and proud leader of the movement toward sustainable tourism.