Past Events

In honor of Women’s History Month, please join us in hearing from Ansche Chesed member Ambassador Meryl Frank (ret), as she shares the important work that she is doing throughout the Middle East and third world countries, to support women’s leadership and political participation. Meryl Frank was appointed as the United States Representative, and subsequently, as the United States Ambassador to the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women by President Barack Obama in February 2009. Frank is currently…

Each Year, Ansche Chesed participates with Synagogues on the Upper West Side and the JCC Manhattan in the annual commemoration of Yom HaShoah, by reading from books of names of those who perished in the Shoah. The Reading of the Names will begin on the evening of Wednesday, April 7 at 10pm and continue through the night until Thursday, April 8 at 7am. Our synagogue has a designated 30-minute slot for members to read the names. Participants are also welcomed to read their…

Join Rabbi Jeremy Kalmanofsky for a roundtable discussion on the Recent Israeli Supreme Court Decision on non-Orthodox conversion, and the legal status of non-Orthodox streams in Israel. The conversation will include the legal perspective, the religious perspective as well as the personal perspective. Joining Rabbi Kalmanofsky for this program will be: Rabbi Peretz Rodman serves as head of the rabbinical court (av bet din) of the Masorti (Conservative) rabbinate in Israel. A graduate of Brandeis University and Boston’s Hebrew College, he was…

Tonight the State of Israel ushers in Yom HaZikaron, remembering its fallen heroes. Join Cantor Hirschhorn and Shirei Chesed singers for a zoom Sing Along to mark it with some of the most poignant and beloved Israeli songs. We will also include old and new favorites to celebrate Yom Ha’atzmaut, Israel’s Independence Day, as we add our voices in contemplation of the miracle of Israel's existence and love for our Jewish homeland. JOIN VIA ZOOM Meeting ID: 9830 7068 203 Passcode:…

Join us as we invite Ansche Chesed member Susan Chira to speak about her work leading The Marshall Project, a nonpartisan, nonprofit news organization that seeks to create and sustain a sense of national urgency about the U.S. criminal justice system. The Marshall Project, is a journalism organization  and does not advocate positions or policy prescriptions, but rather seeks to expose the systemic discrimination that distorts the criminal justice system. It does so by writing with care, fairness, and humanity…

Paula Weiman-Kelman’s moving documentary, Dying Doesn’t Feel Like What I’m Doing, celebrates the life of Rachel Cowan—a beloved rabbi and influential mindfulness teacher, who is diagnosed with terminal brain cancer. Living each day fully, she turned dying into an opportunity to experience gratitude. Paula will join us live from Israel for a conversation about the experience of filming this intimate portrait of Cowan’s final year, and an opportunity to reflect on Rachel Cowan, who played such an important part in  sustaining Ansche…