Lunch and Learn // Last Messages from the Dying // May 15, 2025
May 15, 2025 @ 12:00 pm - 1:15 pm
Please Register Here to Help Us Plan
The dying process is daunting and brings forth a plethora of emotions that are felt by all. While there are signs that indicate when someone has reached the end stages of the dying process, the most moving indicator is called “abstract speech.” Often overlooked, abstract speech offers an opportunity for a final connection with the departing person. Join Sarah Villanueva, who is both Director of Beth Jacob Synagogue and an End of Life Doula, as she explores this phenomenon.
About OZ’s Lunch and Learns:
In-Person in the Ohavi Zedek’s Social Hall. No Zoom unless conditions change, but a number of Lunch & Learns will be filmed by CCTV for posting 2 to 3 weeks after the event on the cctv.org web site — when on their site search for “Ohavi Zedek”.
Speakers cover a wide range of topics. A delicious lunch will be offered, which is served promptly at NOON. The talks begin at about 12:15pm and end no later than 1:15pm (including some time for Q&A).
Suggested cash contribution of $10 for food can be paid on the registration form or collected at the event — but feel free to give more or less. Please also consider sponsoring one or more Lunch & Learn to help cover expenses. Information on this is on the registration page.
Please Register Here to Help Us Plan
2024-2025 Series of Lunch and Learn Talks:
- Thursday, September 26, 2024: A Storytelling Lunch Hour. Readings by Lenny Levine & David Schein
- Thursday, November 21, 2024: The Challenges Facing Caregivers. A talk by caregiver and author Alan Rubel.
- Thursday, December 19, 2024: Bridges of Hope: Learning about Mental Health. A presentation by staff & volunteers with NAMI-Vermont
- Thursday, January 16, 2025: Volunteering to Stop Human Trafficking in Vietnam. A talk by OZ member Sue Schein
- Thursday, February 20, 2025: Jewish Life & Antisemitism in Today’s Germany. A talk by UVM Professor of History & Holocaust Studies Alan Steinweis
- Thursday, March 20, 2025: Artists & the Holocaust: Documentation, Memory, Elegy. A visual presentation by former UVM Fleming Museum Director Janie Cohen
- Thursday, April 24, 2025: The Music of Terezin. A talk, with music, by composer Michael Schachter
- Thursday, May 15, 2025: Last Messages from the Dying. An exploration with End of Life Doula Sarah Villanueva
Download Our Lunch & Learn Brochure with Details on Each Talk
Lunch and Learn // A Storytelling Lunch Hour // Sept. 26, 2024
Ohavi Zedek Synagogue 188 North Prospect Street, Burlington, VT, United StatesPlease Register Here to Help Us Plan Lenny Levine's stories have been widely published in literary magazines and journals, and he received a Pushcart Prize nomination for short fiction. His... Read More
Lunch and Learn // The Challenges Facing Caregivers // Nov. 21, 2024
Ohavi Zedek Synagogue 188 North Prospect Street, Burlington, VT, United StatesPlease Register Here to Help Us Plan Alan E. Rubel is a co-author/editor of a powerful collection of 43 stories about the reality of being an unpaid caregiver. The book,... Read More
Lunch and Learn // Bridges of Hope: Learning about Mental Health // Dec. 19, 2024
Ohavi Zedek Synagogue 188 North Prospect Street, Burlington, VT, United StatesPlease Register Here to Help Us Plan One in 5 U.S. adults experiences a mental illness each year, but many of us know little about mental health conditions. Without meaning... Read More
Lunch and Learn // Volunteering to Stop Human Trafficking in Vietnam // Jan. 16, 2025
Ohavi Zedek Synagogue 188 North Prospect Street, Burlington, VT, United StatesPlease Register Here to Help Us Plan Tight up against the Chinese border in northern Vietnam is a mountainous, tribal area from which, almost daily, Hmong girls are tricked, drugged,... Read More
Lunch and Learn // Jewish Life & Antisemitism in Today’s Germany // Feb. 20, 2025
Ohavi Zedek Synagogue 188 North Prospect Street, Burlington, VT, United StatesPlease Register Here to Help Us Plan Germany is today home to about 120,000 people who identify as Jews: less than one percent of the world's Jews and to less than... Read More
Lunch and Learn // Artists & the Holocaust: Documentation, Memory, Elegy // Mar. 20, 2025
Ohavi Zedek Synagogue 188 North Prospect Street, Burlington, VT, United StatesPlease Register Here to Help Us Plan Janie Cohen, past Director of UVM’s Fleming Museum, will provide an illustrated talk about the work of several artists who experienced the Holocaust... Read More
Lunch and Learn // The Music of Terezin // Apr. 24, 2025
Ohavi Zedek Synagogue 188 North Prospect Street, Burlington, VT, United StatesPlease Register Here to Help Us Plan In this talk with music, composer, writer, and pianist Michael Schachter will explore his forthcoming music-theatrical project based on the history of the... Read More
Lunch and Learn // Last Messages from the Dying // May 15, 2025
Ohavi Zedek Synagogue 188 North Prospect Street, Burlington, VT, United StatesPlease Register Here to Help Us Plan The dying process is daunting and brings forth a plethora of emotions that are felt by all. While there are signs that indicate... Read More
