Who’s ever heard of Cora Wilburn, the first Jewish novelist in America? At nineteen, she’d traveled the world and disdained its corruption. Clawing her way out of poverty as the Civil War divided the United States, she traded her needle for a pen, fighting for women’s rights, abolition, and her own freedom to rejoin the Jewish people. Hear from Jonathan D. Sarna as he shares the life and literature of this extraordinary woman, whose newly-discovered diary contains some poignant words in Yiddish.

6:30 pm - Reception

7:30 pm - Lecture

Supported by the generosity of the Naomi Foundation.

Jonathan D. Sarna is University Professor and the Joseph H. & Belle R. Braun Professor of American Jewish History at Brandeis University, where he directs the Schusterman Center for Israel Studies. He is also the Chief Historian of the National Museum of American Jewish history in Philadelphia and chair of the Academic Advisory and Editorial Board of the American Jewish Archives in Cincinnati. His many books include AMERICAN JUDAISM: A HISTORY, soon to appear in a second edition.

The Naomi Prawer Kadar Annual Memorial Lecture provides an opportunity for the public to explore topics of Yiddish language and linguistics, the history of Yiddish, Yiddish children’s literature and education. The lecture is supported by the Naomi Prawer Kadar Foundation, Inc., which is dedicated to reimagining education. The Naomi Foundation champions Yiddish, Naomi’s lifelong passion, as a vibrant, rich, and contemporary language. The Naomi Foundation advances the teaching and learning of Yiddish, particularly in academic and scholarly settings.