Glasgow Women’s Library

To Build a Home

What makes a home? Scottish visual artist Martha Orbach reflects on this question in her latest show, which draws inspiration from Jewish history and personal memories. To Build a Home comprises drawings, prints, sculptures and storytelling that explore the artist’s environmentalist upbringing, heritage and role as a mother.

Until 31 March

G40 1PB. 0141 550 2267. www.womenslibrary.org.uk

Sunday 22 February

Jewish Languages and Book Culture

Judith Olszowy-Schlanger and César Merchán-Hamann discuss the linguistic richness of Judaism and the way in which different dialects were used within literature in their recent book. Jewish Languages and Book Culture journeys through Cairo, Europe, North Africa and the Middle East looking at how Jews have used Aramaic, Judeo-Arabic, Judeo-French, Judeo-Italian, Yiddish and Ladino in everyday life, but used Hebrew letters to write these languages down.

7.30pm. £10. ONLINE & Edinburgh location provided upon booking. www.ejls.org

Sunday 22 March

An Unbreakable Bond: The Targu Mures Holocaust Survivors and Their Scottish Saviours - A Story That Had to be Told

Sharon Mail’s 2024 book uncovers the history of Targu Mures, a Transylvanian town that housed a ghetto for over 7,500 Jews before deporting them to Auschwitz, where fewer than 1,200 survived. It was discovered by a Glaswegian Jew who went on to set up the Targu Mures Trust, which provided long-term support to those who had suffered. Mail discusses why she wrote An Unbreakable Bond: The Targu Mures Holocaust Survivors and Their Scottish Saviours, how the camp was found and how the survivors and their saviours developed a beautiful friendship in the aftermath.

7.30pm. £10. ONLINE & Edinburgh location provided upon booking. www.ejls.org

Wednesday 25 March

The Upward Spiral of Time

Prayer leader and academic Mark Creeger explore how our lives can be enriched by using Jewish concepts and commandments. He discusses how meaningful and positive opportunities can reach ourselves, neighbours and wider communities.

7.30pm. FREE. ONLINE & 52 Granby Road, Edinburgh, EH16 5PZ. www.jcc.scot

Available indefinitely

Garnethill Refugee Trail

A self-guided walking tour that traces the lives of the hundreds of Jewish refugees who arrived in Scotland before World War II. Created by the Scottish Jewish Heritage Centre, this tour includes sites such as Scotland’s oldest synagogue and ‘the house on the hill’, where refugees would meet alongside native Glaswegians to discuss politics and culture. The trail is free and available to download or from the SJHC in person. Read more about the Garnethill Refugee Trail in the Spring issue of JR.

FREE. www.sjhc.org.uk

Sunday 15 February

West End Project

Discover the ancient and modern tales of the Glasgow’s diverse West End and find Jewish connections in unexpected places.

11am. FREE. Glasgow location provided upon booking. www.westendproject.org.uk

Sunday 8 March

Dr Gertrude Herzfeld Prize Award Ceremony

Professor Rachel Yehuda PhD, who is primarily based in New York, is awarded the Dr Gertrude Herzfeld Prize, which honours the achievements of Jewish women in medical science. Yehuda founded Mount Sinai Hospital’s Traumatic Stress Studies Division in 1991, and more recently, The Parsons Research Center for Psychedelic Healing. She also directs the Center for Psychedelic Therapy and is the former director of mental health. Followed by a bagel lunch.

12pm. FREE. Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh, EH8 9DW. www.jcc.scot