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September 2019
Ethical Wills: A Values Vault for Future Generations©
Ethical wills, sometimes called spiritual or legacy letters, are resources Jews have used for centuries to articulate and pass on deeply held values and beliefs. Historically, they were letters written by parents to children; now they often address a wider circle of friends and family, and can come in audio, video, or other creative formats. No matter the format, they contain a person’s moral legacy, including stories, life lessons, and blessings for the future. There are many reasons to make…
Find out more »September 2023
Confession, Repentance, and the High Holidays
To American Jewish ears, confession can sound so .... Catholic. And yet, in Jewish law and spirituality, the practice of confessing your sins, or vidui, is indispensable to the process of personal change. Join Rabbi Kalmanofsky to explore the Yom Kippur confession liturgy and the themes it reflects. What experiences might confession awaken in us? How can it help us make teshuva, and turn towards becoming our best selves?
Find out more »September 2024
Rabbi Jules Harlow Parshat HaShavuah Class
Join us for our weekly Parashat HaShavua class before the start of Shabbat morning services in the Chapel. Come at 8:45am for hot coffee and a chance to schmooze before the 9am class. This weekly class is dedicated to Rabbi Jules Harlow, a great teacher of Torah and Jewish liturgy. Note that the class will not be held virtually this Shabbat, July 26.
Find out more »Jewish Daughters Poured Out Their Hearts Yiddish Women’s Prayers for Elul
Ashkenazi women traditionally had limited knowledge of Hebrew and were excluded from formal communal prayer and study. Still, they developed a rich array of texts and customs rooted in their vernacular: Yiddish. Please join us to study women's tkhines, "supplicatory prayers," particularly those for the month of Elul including the practice of measuring graves with wicks to make candles for Yom Kippur Eve. Taught by AC member Prof. Cecile Kuznitz, Bard College. Please enjoy communal Kiddush food, then join us in the Multipurpose…
Find out more »Alan Mintz Memorial Study Session, with Minyan M’at
Join Minyan M'at for a teaching session in memory of our dear friend Alan Mintz, a longtime member of Ansche Chesed and Minyan M’at and one of the preeminent scholars of modern Hebrew literature. This annual series brings friends and colleagues of Alan’s to teach something appropriate to Alan’s many scholarly and personal interests. Teaching this year's session will be Alan’s friend and fellow Agnon scholar Dr. Anne Golomb Hoffman, Professor Emerita of English and Comparative Literature/Fordham University and a…
Find out more »“Questions You’ll Be Asked in Heaven” with Rabbi Yael Hammerman
Elul is a month of self-reflection - a time to prepare yourself for the Yamim Noraim. But, what exactly should you reflect on? Join Rabbi Yael Hammerman in exploring the “Questions You’ll Be Asked in Heaven” - at least, according to the Talmud (Shabbat 31a). In truth, no one has ever come back to verify this... Nonetheless, we’ll look at what the rabbis proposed to get our minds, hearts and spirits warmed up for Tishrei. No Hebrew or Talmud skills…
Find out more »Time-Machine Teshuva, with Rabbi Jeremy Kalmanofsky
"The past is never dead," William Faulkner wrote. "It's not even past." OK, Faulker was probably not talking about Jewish concepts of penitence. But he could have been. One of our deepest teachings is that teshuva today today transforms both tomorrow and yesterday. Let's talk with sages through the ages to reflect on how reshaping the future reshapes the past. Please RSVP online. Walk-ins also welcome.
Find out more »Heading to the Polls: American Jewish Civics in a Post-October 7 World
With neighboring synagogues, AC is co-sponsoring a 3-part series to explore the implications of this defining moment on Jewish civic identity. Join us at B'nai Jeshurun, Ansche Chesed, and Rodeph Shalom to hear from Shalom Hartman Institute scholars Yehuda Kurtzer, Elana Stein Hain, and Tamara Mann Tweel. The first session, Retreat & Reenter: A Model for American Jewish Civic Commitment, will be taught by Tamara Mann Tweel and held at B'nai Jeshurun (257 W. 88th St.) Learn More and Register
Find out more »October 2024
Lunch and Learn: Why is That in the Bible?
Working remotely? Retired? Stay-at-home parents? Taking a day off? Please join Rabbi Kalmanofsky for a monthly lunch-and-learn program to study some of the stranger passages in the Hebrew Bible. You'll meet giants and sea monsters, psychedelic visionaries and stone-cold killers. We'll retell the Torah's dirty jokes, sexy poems and gruesome horror stories. Some of this material will raise important religious or moral questions. Most will be fun and funny. Bring your lunch, according to the AC Kashrut policy, and we…
Find out more »Heading to the Polls: American Jewish Civics in a Post-October 7 World
The second session, Good for the Jews, Good for America?, will be taught by Elana Stein Hain and held at Ansche Chesed. Enlightened self-interest is the ethical concept that serving oneself can serve others and vice versa. Given the challenges confronting both Israel and American democracy today, and the very real emerging partisanship around Israel in U.S. politics, what might an American-Jewish version of enlightened self-interest look like? How do solidarity with and advocacy on behalf of Israel align with…
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