India through the Jewish History Lens

Taj Mahal, India

Free Zoom Presentation:

The Art of Travel:  India through the Jewish History Lens – A Personal Journey

Hosted by: New City Library, NY

Date & Time: Wednesday, August 4, at 7:00 pm EST U.S.

Irene Shaland, a Jewish historian, came to see India as not just another country on her exploration list but as a place in space and time where one comes for self-discovery and personal growth. You have to know deep down why you are coming to India. If you do know why, you are bound to discover the most refined beauty and the deepest spirituality. Travelling through India, you will gradually learn – like peeling the onion, layer after layer – some very important truths about yourself and history, about people and myths they create. Something unexpected and wonderful might happen during this trip.

Hopefully, India, unique among the world civilizations with its seven thousand years of uninterrupted traditions, will forever become an integral part of your mental landscape. For Irene, a passionate Jewish history aficionado, India has changed her own understanding of Jewish identity. And this presentation will illustrate how and why this happened.

Join Irene on a virtual trip through layers of historic periods, artistic and architectural styles, and a multitude of cultural traditions and fascinating Indian Jewish stories of origin. This presentation, enriched by Alex Shaland’s photography, will transport you to Delhi, Varanasi, Khajuraho, Agra, Fatehpur Sikri, Jaipur, Udaipur, Aurangabad, Ellora and Ajanta caves, Cochin, and finally – Mumbai.

This event is free, but a reservation is required.  Please follow the link to the library website to register:

https://newcity.librarycalendar.com/events/india-through-jewish-history-lens

Phone: (845)-634-4997 ext. 139

Meet the presenter Irene Shaland.

Take a look at the schedule of our events: Schedule of Events.

Free Virtual Lecture: Travels in Jewish History – Asia

angkor watt Cambodia

Adath Shalom Synagogue Presents
Irene Shaland’s Free Virtual Lecture:

Travels in Jewish History

Date: Thursday, May 6th, 2021   Time: 7:30 PM EST

Join this event on Zoom: 

https://zoom.us/j/3393948412?pwd=QjJiVW0yUUtuV01mS0NvUzlyOU9SUT09

Meeting ID: 339 394 8412

Passcode: Israel

For more information follow this link to the announcement on the Adath Shalom website: https://www.adathshalom.net/event/travels-in-jewish-history-india-china-myanmar-cambodia-and-more.html


     Travel with Irene Shaland to the continent of Asia in search of little-known Jewish histories. In China, learn the two-fold narrative: the Jews IN China and the Jews OF China while discovering the 2,000-year history of Jewish life there. What are the Jewish secrets of the Gobi Desert and the Silk Road? What do the most anti-Semitic of Russian Tsars and a Russian-Yiddish cultural enclave in the north of China have in common?

     In India, discover the most refined beauty and the deepest spirituality of this country while learning the little-known history of the oldest continuously living Jewish community in the world, its myths of origin, and the sense of identity. Hear fascinating stories about the synagogue near the tomb of a Persian emperor, Jewish atheist’s shrine in a mosque, India’s role in the Holocaust, and Muslim youths defending the synagogue of Mumbai.

     In Burma/Myanmar, you will be transported to the ancient land of rice fields and countless golden Buddhas and pagodas to discover the little-known narrative of the once-thriving Jewish community there, which was all but decimated during World War II. Understand why this small group of immigrants throughout their history in Asia became so successful commercially and powerful politically only to disappear to almost oblivion after the 1940s and 1960s. 

     In Cambodia, you will visit a small synagogue near the Royal Palace in Phnom Penh and discover what the Rabbi’s usual day looks like in the country of Angkor Wat.

Irene Shaland is the author of a multitude of magazine articles published in the US, Canada, South Africa, Kenya, the UK, and Israel. She regularly presents at conferences, museums, universities, special-interest group events, and other venues.

Irene’s last book “The Dao of Being Jewish and Other Stories” is available on Amazon.

Join this event on Zoom: 

https://zoom.us/j/3393948412?pwd=QjJiVW0yUUtuV01mS0NvUzlyOU9SUT09

Meeting ID: 339 394 8412

Passcode: Israel

For more information follow this link to the announcement on the Adath Shalom website: https://www.adathshalom.net/event/travels-in-jewish-history-india-china-myanmar-cambodia-and-more.html

The Dao of Being Jewish and Other Stories Released

cover of Irene Shaland book the Dao of Being Jewish and Other Stories

New book of stories from Irene Shaland is now available in paperback. In The Dao of Being Jewish and Other Stories Irene Shaland presents a collective Jewish narrative from various parts of the globe. She takes the reader on a fascinating journey, both familiar and unknown, from Europe to Asia and Africa, from Vienna to Delhi and Nairobi. The fate of the brilliant Jewish community of Vienna annihilated during the Holocaust shines a disturbing light on the stories of the current rise of Antisemitism in Scandinavia and throughout Europe.

Continue reading “The Dao of Being Jewish and Other Stories Released”