Past Events
January 2023
Project Aliyah: Family Parsha Study with Rabbi Hammerman
Join us as we delve into your child's B'nai Mitzvah parsha (Torah portion). What happens in this particular parsha, and how can you and your child start to make meaning of it and create connections? We will spend some time exploring these questions by family, while also connecting with other families in this year's Project Aliyah Cohort. Click here to register.
Find out more »July 2023
Tisha B’Av: Pre-Fast Dinner and Learning with Rabbi Arie Hasit
Join us for a dairy dinner before the Tisha B'Av fast begins. RSVP here by Monday, July 24 at noon. Rabbi Arie Hasit's teaching, Relying on God and Ourselves, will look at foundational texts to see how Tisha B'Av encourages a combination of faith and realism. Rabbi Hasit is the Associate Dean of the Schechter Rabbinical Seminary in Jerusalem, which trains rabbis and runs pluralistic programs training Jewish communal leaders across the spectrum of religious ideology.
Find out more »February 2024
Shabbat Lunch & Learn with Rabbi Jeremy Kalmanofsky
As you prepare for your B'nai Mitzvah, take some time to enjoy Shabbat together and reflect on this journey with Rabbi Kalmanofsky. Please take lunch food from the Kiddush in Hirsch Hall and bring your plates to the Multi-Purpose Room. Please consider donating $10-$15 to the AC Kiddush Fund per person who will be attending the Lunch and Learn at AnscheChesed.org/CelebratoryKiddush. RSVPs encouraged, walk-in's welcome.
Find out more »June 2024
Conversation with Tammy Gotlieb
On the second Day of Shavuot, Ansche Chesed is very fortunate to welcome Tammy Gotlieb, who will davven with us in the Sanctuary and speak after services in the Multi-Purpose Room. Please take Kiddush from Hirsch Hall and join us for the conversation. Tammy Gotlieb is a long-time path-breaker in building liberal and feminist Judaism in Israel, from her days as a combat soldier when few women took that role. Tammy is the Director of New Initiatives for our Masorti…
Find out more »Pride Month Lunch, Learn and Love: A Kiddush Conversation with Michaela Slutsky and Rabbi Yael Hammerman
Join Rabbi Yael Hammerman and Michaela Slutsky for a conversation over Kiddush in honor of Pride Month. Michaela will share from her professional and personal experience about the role and voices of LGBTQ+ individuals and community in the organized and "not-yet-organized" Jewish community, and about her work raising up marginalized Jewish voices. Michaela is the Northeast Regional Director at Repair the World, and has spent the last decade as an educator, director, and community builder. Passionate about serving marginalized communities,…
Find out more »August 2024
American-Israeli Hostage Family Visits on Shabbat
Please join us in the Multi-Purpose Room outside Hirsch Hall after services, approximately 12:30 pm, to meet Ruby and Hagit Chen, the parents of Itay Chen z'l, who was killed while serving in the IDF on October 7. Itay, a dual US-Israeli citizen, was initially believed to have been taken hostage. Subsequently, the army determined that he had been killed, and that Hamas was holding his remains. The Chens are in America to attend the Democratic convention, to advocate for…
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 »March 2025
LGBTQ+ Gathering
Transgender, non-binary, gender non-conforming and LGBTQ+ people are being targeted by the government. In these outrageous times, we need our community. All LGBTQ+ members of Ansche Chesed - adults and teens - are invited to gather for food, intergenerational solidarity, and sparks of hope. RSVP to Rachel Tiven.
Find out more »Shushan Purim Kiddush Conversation: The Rich History of Jews in the Persian-Speaking World, with Ruben Shimonov
How did Jewish communities end up east of the Land of Israel? Join us as we explore the deep-rooted history of Persian-speaking Jews, including the Jews of Iran, Central Asia, and the Caucasus. Ruben Shimonov, Educator and National Director of the American Sephardi Federation’s Sephardi House will take us on a journey spanning 2600 years. As we come together on Shushan Purim, this exploration couldn’t be more timely! Please RSVP to help us plan, walk-ins also welcome.
Find out more »June 2025
Kiddush Conversation with Yotam Polizer from IsraAID
Join us for an exclusive briefing on the humanitarian situation in Gaza, and IsraAID’s unique role as an Israeli humanitarian organization. In this Shabbat talk, Yotam Polizer, IsraAID’s Global CEO and recipient of the 2023 Bronfman Prize, will share his perspective working with the various mechanisms of distributing aid, and IsraAID’s key strategic role. Register here Walk-ins also welcome.
Find out more »September 2025
Akedat Yitzhak in Fine Art, with Lilly Kaufman
For almost 1,500 years, fine artists have grappled with the terse, complex story of the Binding of Isaac, giving us powerful visual interpretations which many of us have never seen. Following kiddush, AC member Lilly Kaufman will share selected historic and modern images, and lead a conversation about these works to help deepen our experience of this story when we hear it chanted on the second day of Rosh HaShanah. Learn More and RSVP Picture credits: Beit Alfa Synagogue, 6th…
Find out more »