Events List Navigation
March 2021
Cinema Chats: Barry Levinson’s “Avalon”
Join us with Eric Goldman on exploring Barry Levinson’s “Avalon”: A Window into the Contemporary American Jewish Story. Join us with Dr. Eric Goldman in a talk about Barry Levinson’s film, Avalon (1990). Inspired by a true story, the film follows the Krichinsky Family as they settle in Baltimore during the early 20th century, where they go through generational and cultural challenges in assimilating to life in America. The program will be followed by a Q&A moderated by Lucy Shahar.…
April 2021
Introduction to Jewish Mysticism
Adult Education Mysticism has been a part of Judaism since antiquity. Why did Jews write about ascending to heaven to see God and the angels? How did the Jews at Qumran understand the role of the Temple and the sacrifices? How are mystical ideas reflected in both classical rabbinic literature as well as contemporary Jewish prayer books? We will explore these questions by analyzing excerpts from a variety of diverse texts of Jewish mysticism as we study their impact over…
From Freedom to Slavery and Back Again: The Biblical Book of Exodus
Adult Education The exodus of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt is the most important event in the Bible, and it became a powerful model for other liberation narratives. With expert instructor Dr. Regina Stein, you will read the story carefully, analyzing the way it unfolds, its characters and their motives, as you try to answer the simple question: what is the Torah trying to tell us and why? This course is a continuation from last year. We welcome new…
EGG CREAM: Film Screening & Talk About the Iconic Soda Drink
“A warm-hearted plunge into the alchemical swirl of chocolate syrup, milk, and seltzer that is the egg cream.” – Road Food “A warm-hearted plunge into the alchemical swirl of chocolate syrup, milk, and seltzer that is the egg cream.” – Road Food Nora Claire Miller, Peter Miller & Amy Linton | 15 minutes | 2020 What do we know about the beloved chocolate soda drink born on the Jewish Lower East Side? The egg cream contained neither eggs nor cream—it…
Introduction to Jewish Mysticism
Adult Education Mysticism has been a part of Judaism since antiquity. Why did Jews write about ascending to heaven to see God and the angels? How did the Jews at Qumran understand the role of the Temple and the sacrifices? How are mystical ideas reflected in both classical rabbinic literature as well as contemporary Jewish prayer books? We will explore these questions by analyzing excerpts from a variety of diverse texts of Jewish mysticism as we study their impact over…
The Lost World of African-American Cantors 1915-1953
Join us for a new program with Henry Sapoznik about the lost world of African-American Cantors from 1915-1953. The history of Black-Jewish cultural interaction primarily focuses on how Jews adopted and adapted Black vernacular music — ragtime, jazz, swing, R&B and blues, etc. — as performers, promoters, managers, club owners and record labels. However, what has never before been explored were the African-Americans who performed Yiddish and cantorial music in and for the Jewish community, in theaters on record, radio…
From Freedom to Slavery and Back Again: The Biblical Book of Exodus
Adult Education The exodus of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt is the most important event in the Bible, and it became a powerful model for other liberation narratives. With expert instructor Dr. Regina Stein, you will read the story carefully, analyzing the way it unfolds, its characters and their motives, as you try to answer the simple question: what is the Torah trying to tell us and why? This course is a continuation from last year. We welcome new…
Lower East Side Walking Tour
Explore important sites of the neighborhood and piece together what life was in the Jewish Lower East Side at the turn of the 20th century. A century ago, New York’s Lower East Side was home to the world’s largest Jewish community. Hundreds of thousands of Jewish immigrants lived, worked, played, here; all while struggling to survive. Today, much of this neighborhood has changed as new generations of immigrants make the Lower East Side part of their own story. But if…
Introduction to Jewish Mysticism
Adult Education Mysticism has been a part of Judaism since antiquity. Why did Jews write about ascending to heaven to see God and the angels? How did the Jews at Qumran understand the role of the Temple and the sacrifices? How are mystical ideas reflected in both classical rabbinic literature as well as contemporary Jewish prayer books? We will explore these questions by analyzing excerpts from a variety of diverse texts of Jewish mysticism as we study their impact over…
From Freedom to Slavery and Back Again: The Biblical Book of Exodus
Adult Education The exodus of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt is the most important event in the Bible, and it became a powerful model for other liberation narratives. With expert instructor Dr. Regina Stein, you will read the story carefully, analyzing the way it unfolds, its characters and their motives, as you try to answer the simple question: what is the Torah trying to tell us and why? This course is a continuation from last year. We welcome new…
