Jews and Judaism: Simple, complicated, and still here
Rabbi Neal Schuster
Temple B’nai Jeshurun
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JUNE 20, 2025 | 12:00 – 1:00 PM
** online event **
Judaism is one of the oldest religions of today’s modern world, spanning 6000 years with plenty of shifts and turns in its history. Jews are in every corner of the world but are also one of the smallest religious groups with about 0.2 percent of the world’s total population. For those who are not Jewish, we often think we know enough about Judaism and our Jewish neighbors. But can we ever really know enough about any minority religious tradition and its people? Can we ever really understand looking from the outside in what it means to be Jewish in the United States, especially given the history of antisemitism?
Join us at the Interfaith Alliance of Iowa Crossroads luncheon in June as we unveil a new project, Understanding Our Neighbors, so we can all learn about and understand one another just a little bit more.
You may make your reservation to attend virtually by clicking on the "Register Now" button. This online presentation will be livestreamed on our YouTube channel.
If you have any issues registering, please email info@interfaithallianceiowa.org or call 515.279.8715.
ABOUT OUR PRESENTER | Neal Schuster is the rabbi of Temple B'nai Jeshurun, on Grand Avenue in Des Moines. Prior to joining the congregation in 2022, he spent thirteen years at the University of Kansas where he was the rabbi and Senior Jewish Educator at KU Hillel (a Jewish student organization), and a lecturer in the university's Jewish Studies Program. Before that he was the associate rabbi at Temple B'nai Jehudah in Overland Park, Kansas. Neal received his masters degrees in Jewish Education and Hebrew Letters, as well as rabbinic ordination, from Hebrew Union College in Los Angeles. He is originally from Seattle, where his family goes back generations. Neal is married to Tamara Lawson Schuster, and they have three young-adult children. In good Jewish fashion, Neal loves questions and insists that no questions are off-limits or too outrageous. Please feel free to ask him anything (just don't expect a short answer).
Understanding Our Neighbors is a new project of Interfaith Alliance of Iowa intended to help each of us listen to and understand those who differ from us. After all, if we don’t take the time to understand our neighbors, how can we ever move our world to one that is less divided? Understanding Our Neighbors may appear as a speaker at one of our luncheons (Crossroads and Intersections), a Zoom gathering, or in other ways. We invite you to come ready to learn, listen, ask questions, and find a better understanding of your neighbors.
Crossroads is a monthly gathering of the Interfaith Alliance of Iowa in Des Moines. It's an opportunity to learn, to participate in civil dialogue, and to discuss issues at the crossroads of religion and politics.