The Jewish Federation Connecting with Community welcomes Dr. Avraham Horowitz who will discuss "The Extra" by Israeli novelist, A.B. Yehoshua.

Dr. Horowitz will discuss the main character, a young Israeli woman, and a musician, who returns to Israel to find, along with family and friends, that the focus is now on the individual rather than the community.

"Noga, a 42-year-old professional harpist and the headstrong, elliptical heroine of A. B. Yehoshua’s new novel, “The Extra,” doesn’t want children. Nine years earlier that refusal led to her divorce, and since then she has left Israel for a job with a Dutch orchestra and drifted into an amiable affair with a colleague. But after her father dies she returns to Jerusalem and faces the questions that loved ones and strangers just won’t stop asking. Is her childlessness a quirk, a stigma or an affliction — or does it perhaps offer her an opportunity to reset the course of her life?" (NY Times)

Dr. Horowitz, MSc and PhD in Experiential Psychology, will seek to discover these same answers in our own lives.

This free program is part of the Federation’s Connecting With Community Series and will be followed by a kosher hot lunch. Lunch is a $2 suggested donation for adults over 60 years of age or $7 for all others. Advance reservations are required for lunch and can be made by calling (413) 442-2200 before 9 a.m. on the day of the program.