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33rd Board of
Governors Opens with Song and Story
The songs were in Ladino, English, Arabic, and Yiddish, captivating
the audience. And characterizing them, too.
The occasion was the festive Opening Ceremony of the 33rd Board of
Governors Meeting.
But the evening was also in celebration of another milestone: the
50th anniversary of the Dov Noy Israel Folktale Archives, which are
ensconced in the University of Haifa.
The multilingual event of songs and stories, “And the songs flowed
with the stream,” originated in this rich collection of folktales,
23,000 in number and growing. “The largest reservoir of Jewish
imagination”—that is how the Head of the IFA, Assoc. Prof. Chaya
Bar-Itzhak of the Dept. of Hebrew and Comparative Literature,
describes it.
The singer-narrator was Etty Ben-Zaken, who told the members of the
Board and other guests who came to enjoy the evening that when she
came upon the IFA, “it felt like entering a cave of treasures.”
Her opening narrative from this treasure trove involved a story from
Ethiopia. That was followed by a song in Ladino, then a story from
Egypt. A 2nd-year undergraduate student sang a song in Arabic, and
Ben-Zaken followed that up with a song from Morocco. Stories and
songs in different languages reflected the Jewish communities of
Eastern Europe. She summed up the evening by referring to a medley
with, among others, a Yiddish wedding song and a Ladino children’s
song as “the Israeli melting pot.”
Etty Ben-Zaken adapted the IFA tales for her performance. Original
musical arrangements for her songs were the work of two members of
the University’s Dept. of Music, Prof. Oded Zehavi and Dr. Eitan
Steinberg.
Bar-Itzhak revealed that some 400 stories a year were being added to
the collection at the University. Her students are involved in two
large-scale projects recording tales in Beersheva in the south and
Shlomi on the Lebanese border in the north.
Another project will ensure that all these folktales are available
for many generations to come—the entire archive is being digitized.
She would like to publish a yearly anthology from the collection,
which includes stories from all of Israel’s communities, Druze,
Muslim, Christian, Circassian, as well as Jewish, Ashkenazic and
Sephardic.
The tales and songs gladdening the hearts and souls of the audience
that packed the Hecht Museum Auditorium for the festive Board of
Governors opening gave impetus to University President Aaron Ben-Ze’ev’s
message earlier in the evening. Speaking about both Israel and the
University, he emphasized the mutual, self-fulfilling expectations
of hope and optimism that he felt should and could permeate the
general society, as well as this particular academic society. A
window of opportunity had now opened in Israel, he stated.
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In
This Issue:
The University Becomes a Little Like
Annapolis (and West Point)
Supported Academic Learning Aids Students
with Problems
Synagogue/Church Controversy and a
Digestive Amulet
Mark University’s Dig at Hippos-Sussita
Golumbic Elected Israel’s 1st European
Fellow
Prof. Asher Koriat Is 1st Recipient of
Prestigious German Award
Intelligence Corps Wisely Chooses the
University
Sweating Before an Audience—Working to
Control a Phobia
Michael Wainer—University’s First Vice
President for Finance
and Business Development
Prof. Eli Salzberger Elected Next Dean of Law Faculty
University Responds to Tulane Students'
Needs
A Look Back at Graduation 2005
33rd Board of Governors Opens with Song
and Story
University Honors Five with Honorary
Doctorate
First Egyptian to Conduct in Israel Adds Highlight to Ceremony
Social Responsibility Reflected in a Wide
Pool
New Recanati Lab Dedicated
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