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January 2026
Learner’s Minyan
The more comfortable you feel in synagogue, the more comforted you can feel in synagogue. Our rabbis and JTS interns -- Rabbi Hammerman, Rabbi Kalmanofsky, Toby Banks and Abigail Goldberg-Zelizer -- will rotate as leaders. You will become more familiar with the literary, spiritual, and musical highlights of the Saturday morning service. After the 45-minute sessions, we will rejoin the wider community in the Sanctuary. 9 Shabbat morning sessions, January 10 - March 7. RSVP here, walk-ins welcome!
Find out more »Shabbatones at AC
We are delighted to welcome the Shabbatones to AC for Shabbat! The Shabbatones will perform in Hirsch Hall during Kiddush, and will also add their voices to Sanctuary services and children’s tefillah. For more than 20 years, the Shabbatones, the University of Pennsylvania’s premier Jewish a cappella group, have brought joyful, high-energy Jewish music to communities across the country. Founded in 2001, they blend contemporary American pop, Israeli hits, and beloved Jewish choral pieces into dynamic, engaging performances for audiences of…
Find out more »Farewell Kiddush Celebrating Tony Vicioso
Join us to honor and say farewell to our longtime Maintenance Supervisor, Tony Vicioso. Tony has been part of the AC community for more than thirty years (!), doing crucial work -- often behind-the-scenes -- that has kept our many programs and services running smoothly. Let us take some time to thank him for his years of dedicated service and say a heartfelt goodbye before he retires later in the month. Please alo consider making a donation to the Kiddush…
Find out more »Shabbat Dinner & Discussion: Shared Streets, Shared Words: Jews, Blacks, and the Ghetto
The word ghetto began with Jewish history, yet by the late 20th century it was more commonly associated with Black urban life in America. That shift echoed a familiar urban pattern: neighborhoods once densely Jewish became overwhelmingly Black, and the term ghetto moved with them. What happens when a word so marked by one group’s past is taken up by another? How do shared words shape solidarity—or strain it? And what anxieties surface when communities feel their histories are being eclipsed, appropriated, or misunderstood?…
Find out more »Potluck Kiddush Conversation with Scholar-In-Residence Daniel Schwartz
Join us for a Kiddush and talk from Scholar-In-Residence Professor Daniel Schwartz: World of Their Children (and Grandchildren, Great Grandchildren): The Making of the Jewish Upper West Side When Irving Howe published World of Our Fathers in 1976, he offered both an elegy for the immigrant Yiddishkeit of the Lower East Side and a critique of what followed: the “world of their children,” whose Jewishness seemed thinner, flatter, and more conventional by comparison. Yet the Upper West Side unsettled that judgment and…
Find out more »Shabbat Connections: Member-Led Potluck Dinner
Shabbat dinner is sweeter with friends! Join us for Kabbalat Shabbat, and then stay to connect with other AC members, ages 40+, over a warm, casual potluck Shabbat dinner to deepen community ties. RSVP here by Tuesday, January 20
Find out more »Harvesting Our Hope: Tu B’Shevat Meditation
Meditation is the bridge and space we all need in these complex times. Join AC members and meditation teachers Sheila and Sheldon Lewis as we draw from Jewish texts and Torah and teach practices to bring calm to overwhelm, energy, and focus to a busy week. We also draw from the upcoming Jewish holiday, Tu B'Shevat, to guide our meditation. Following the meditation session, we will also be holding Havdala. All are welcome, no meditation experience needed. Learn more and RSVP
Find out more »February 2026
“A Map Won’t Help”: Exhibit of Paintings, Collages, Works on Paper by Amy Tenenouser
AC members and Painting/Collage Workshop participants are invited to join AC member and artist Amy Tenenouser for a free tour of her exhibit and to talk about her work. Please RSVP to amytenenouser@gmail.com. Show will be held at: El Barrio's Art Space 215 E. 99th St. Lower Level NY, NY 10029
Find out more »Tu B’Shevat Winter Tree Walk in Central Park
Celebrate Tu B'Shevat with Ansche Chesed in a new way this year! Join "AC alum" Levi O'Brien on a walk in Central Park to explore tree diversity in our own neighborhood. He will guide us in winter tree identification and discuss the ecology, historical and cultural relevance of the species encountered. Why should fall foliage and spring blossoms get all the glory?! This Tu B'Shevat, we will learn to appreciate our beautiful, backyard winter bounty! RSVP here Wear your winter…
Find out more »Ansche Chesed Book Group
Join our in-person book group for literary conversation rooted in Jewish themes and storytelling. We meet in the Mayer Cavalier Chapel at Ansche Chesed (251 W. 100th St.). We’ll rotate facilitators (voluntary), and our discussions will be warm, thoughtful, and welcoming. All are welcome—members and non-members alike. We will meet on the following Wednesdays: 📅 February 11 📖 Songs for the Brokenhearted by Ayelet Tsabari 📅 April 15 📖 Signal Fires by Dani Shapiro 📅 June 10 📖 Flash by David Szalay Learn more and RSVP
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