Concert, symposium among Leifer memorial events

The program honors the memory of Rabbi Daniel Leifer, who was director of the Hillel Foundation at the University for 32 years and organizer of the annual Latke-Hammentasch Symposium. Leifer died last March. Known for his quick wit, fine teaching and love of Jewish learning, Leifer gathered together faculty members and students for regular discussions that gave Hillel the reputation of being the most intellectual Hillel in the country.

The acclaimed Israeli musical group Esta will open the weekend by performing their singular blend of Balkan, African, Asian and Celtic music at 8 p.m. today at Rockefeller Memorial Chapel. Tickets are $12, $7 for students, and may be purchased at Newberger Hillel Center, 5715 S. Woodlawn.

The symposium "Fundamentalism in Judaism, Christianity and Islam: Is There Any Role for Tolerance and Pluralism?" will be held at 2 p.m., Sunday, April 6, in Max Palevsky Cinema. Panelists will include Martin Marty, the Fairfax M. Cone Distinguished Service Professor in the Divinity School; Marvin Zonis, Professor in the Graduate School of Business and the College; Laith Kubba, director of the Al-Khoei Institute in London; and Samuel Heilman, Professor at Queens College in New York. The event is free and open to the public.

Other memorial weekend events, all to be held at the Newberger Hillel Center, include:

_ Shabbat dinner at 6:30 p.m., Friday, April 4. Tickets are $7.

_ Shabbat speaker at 8:30 p.m., Friday, April 4. Free. Rabbi Max Ticktin, Leifer's predecessor and friend, will give the talk "Voices of the Bible in Modern Hebrew Poetry."

_ Shabbat lunch and speaker at 12:30 p.m., Saturday, April 5. Free. The Rev. Sam Portaro, Episcopal minister and Bible-study partner of Leifer, will give the talk "Breaking the Word."

_ Brunch at 11 a.m., Sunday, April 6. Tickets are $5, $3 students.

For more information about any of the events, call 752-1127.