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February 2019
Love, Sex, and Relationships: Shabbat Potluck Lunch
Jewish Values in Contemporary America
After services, we will break into small group discussions over lunch. Each table will address different issues regarding intimate relationships, including sources drawn from Jewish tradition and the news. High school students will have their own table for their own conversation.
April 2019
“Yes You Can!” Workshops for Jewish Living
SUN, September 23; TUE, December 4; SUN, TUE, April 16 Every mitzvah you perform can be a poetic and spiritual moment for you, your friends and family, and community. Join Rabbi Kalmanofsky, Rabbi Hammerman, and Hazzan Hirschhorn for a series of ritual workshops throughout the year to expand your repertoire of the mitzvot you feel comfortable performing at home and in synagogue. A great way to learn how to make kiddush and havdalah, wear tallit and tefillin, enrich your seder,…
Find out more »July 2019
DOROT Lunch and Learn
Bring your lunch, and come and meet DOROT’s Action Reconciliation Service for Peace (ARSP) volunteer, Lukas Baur, as he talks about his journey from Germany to the United States for a year of volunteering with DOROT. RSVP to Yael Kornfeld at 917-441-3705 or at ykornfeld@dorotusa.org
Find out more »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
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
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