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September 2024
Shirei Chesed Community Chorus
Shirei Chesed Community Chorus continues to build community through learning a rich and diverse repertoire of Jewish music, and bring harmony into the world that needs it more than ever. Our 4-part chorus brings together lovers of choral singing from both Ansche Chesed and the wider Jewish community. Our recent performances include classical programs with The Bachanalia String Orchestra, a jazz concert with The Afro-Semitic Experience ensemble, Oratorio Souls on Fire based on the book by Elie Wiesel, a celebration…
Find out more »Entering the Gates of the High Holiday Season Through Melodies, with Hazzan Natasha Hirschhorn
Join Hazzan Hirschhorn for an evening of song and reflection, as the month of Elul begins. Let's open our hearts to the music of the season, rich with memories of years past and inspiration for reconnection with God, our community and our truest selves. RSVPs requested, walk-ins welcome.
Find out more »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. Also available virtually via Zoom. This weekly class is dedicated to Rabbi Jules Harlow, a great teacher of Torah and Jewish liturgy. Click here for the Source Sheet for this week's class (updated on Friday afternoon).
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 »“Of a Certain Age”: An Elul Tale of Two Goats
Please join us to read Sheldon Lewis’ new, entertaining, thought-provoking short play about forgiveness, sacrifice, and moral accountability. A lively discussion will follow. Please RSVP online.
Find out more »Community Shabbat Dinner + “Who Knows One?” Live!
"Who Knows One?" is a hilarious live show that became a cultural hit in the Jewish community over the course of the pandemic, reuniting old friends and creating new ones with an innovative game that combines Six Degrees of Separation and Jewish Geography. This September, Micah Hart, the creator of "Who Knows One?" is bringing the experience to Ansche Chesed, over Shabbat dinner, with a new live, interactive version of the show. Come see how we're all connected to each other and share…
Find out more »Poems for our Days: Conversation with Sacred Texts, with Israeli Poetry Teacher Rachel Korazim
The calamity of October 7th and the ongoing war have left Israel and the Jewish world in shock and despair. The unimaginable became our reality, yet we find ourselves less able to talk about it. The most common expression is ein milim/no words! And yet, some struggle and do find words in poetry. Israeli poetry has always been in conversation with Torah, Midrash, prayer and other classical texts. It is not surprising that amazing new poems, all over the Israeli…
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