The Bible comes to Berkeley for Oct. 17 celebration

"Bible by the Bay," a celebration of the Bible's multicultural heritage, will take place Sunday, Oct. 17, in Berkeley.

"If you're going to understand how you are part of Jewish tradition, then you need to come to this seminar," said Jehon Grist, executive director of Lehrhaus Judaica, which is sponsoring the event. "It allows you to plug into your past so you can understand your future."

With most events at Lehrhaus Judaica, Reutlinger Center, 2736 Bancroft Way, the afternoon program runs from 1-5 p.m. with about 25 different workshops. Topics include "Dating in the Bible," "Reading Ecclesiastes as a Guide to Mental Health" and "Was There an Exodus?" A vegetarian dinner is available at 5 p.m.

Workshop leaders include some of the Bay Area's best-known rabbis and Jewish educators. They include Rabbis Yair Silverman, Stuart Kelman, Chai Levy, Alan Lew and Raphael Asher, along with David Biale, Ken Cohen, Donny Inbar and Grist, among others.

Jonathan Kirsch, author of "God Against the Gods: The History of the War Between Monotheism and Polytheism," is the keynote speaker at the evening program, at 6:30 p.m. at U.C. Berkeley International House, 2299 Piedmont Ave. Kirsch, who is also the author of "The Harlot by the Side of the Road: Forbidden Tales of the Bible," will discuss "The Double-Edged Legacy of Biblical Monotheism."

The evening also includes a concert, "The Bible in Song," with the Weavers' Ronnie Gilbert, Judith-Kate Friedman, Achi Ben Shalom, Marcia Attie and others.

Program director Rachel Biale put together the inaugural event last year at the Osher Marin Jewish Community Center and returned to helm this year as well.

"We wanted to make this a Bay Area-wide institution," she said. "This allows us to because Lehrhaus Judaica is all across the region. The event will travel to a new location every year."

Said Grist: "Rachel has given us an amazing gift of learning. Her approach has allowed people to take samples of every imaginable aspect of the Bible, on a scholarly level and a personal level. You get a sense of living beings who participated in this ancient but very real biblical world."

Co-sponsors include the East Bay Council of Rabbis, the Center for Jewish Living and Learning, the Bureau of Jewish Education and other Jewish community agencies. Donors include Joseph & Eda Pell, the Goldman Fund and the Koret Foundation. Costs are $10 for students, $20 adults for the afternoon program. Dinner is $8. The evening program is $5 for students, $10 adults. Information: (510) 845-6420 or www.lehrhaus.org.