Arts  & Culture Mondays

7:00 - 8:30 pm
Throughout the year, many individual evening programs are offered. There is something for everyone! Each event focuses on a particular issue of import for the Jewish community in general, and our lives in particular. Registration is not necessary. All are welcome.

Avodah Dance Ensemble: Preparing for the High Holy Days
September 19

Avodah Dance Ensemble will lead a workshop using movement to explore the tradition of the Jewish holiday of Selichot . Participants in the workshop are guided to gain new perspectives through interpreting text and cultural rituals through movement and dance. No dance experience is required and all ages welcome.

Jewish Views of the Afterlife
November 14

"It is essential that man should be constantly reminded that with death there is not a complete end of him.. ." Moses Mendelssohn. As human beings, we naturally ask the most difficult, unknowable questions regarding life, death, and existence. As Jews, we may not be clear what our faith tells us about souls and the hereafter. Join members of your Shaaray Tefila clergy as they explore different Jewish ideas of life, immortality, and afterlife throughout our history and tradition.

The Poetry of Rachel: Writings of Israel , Love & Loss
December 12
Rabbi Ilyse Glickman

Rachel Bluwstein, known by her pen name, Rachel, was born on September 20, 1890, in Saratov , a little town in northern Russia . Her poetry is set in the pastoral countryside of Eretz Yisrael , although her personal struggles add a sad and nostalgic mood to their reading. Many of her poems were set to music both during her lifetime and thereafter. She died on April 16, 1931, at the age of 41, and was buried in the kibbutz Kinneret cemetery by the sea she celebrated. Many of her poems deal with aspects of love, her longing for happiness, and with her illness and poverty. Though her poems express rare moments of happiness, they mainly reflect despair, desperation, and nostalgia for those long ago days when she worked on the land in Israel . In this session, Rabbi Glickman will lead us as we read, dissect and appreciate Rachel's poetry as linguistically simple and clear, her descriptions deep and emotional.

Seeing the World through Jewish Eyes: An Artist Looks at his Tradition
January 23
Tobi Kahn

Well-known Judaica artist, Tobi Kahn, writes, "Although Judaism has emphasized text and commentary, I have found the visual elements of the tradition equally illuminating. For me, the life of the spirit is integrally bound to the beauty of the world. Like language, what we see can be a benediction.. This special evening will allow Tobi Kahn to share his inspirations, ideas, and techniques with our congregants. We will have an opportunity to learn much from him regarding what constitutes Jewish art, and how Jewish tradition affects artistic vision.

Tobi Kahn is a painter and sculptor whose work has been shown in over 40 solo exhibitions and over 60 museum and group shows since he was selected as one of nine artists to be included in the 1985 Guggenheim Museum exhibition, New Horizons in American Art. Among his recent traveling solo museum exhibitions are Tobi Kahn: Metamorphoses, an exhibition of over a decade of his paintings and sculpture curated by Peter Selz that traveled to eight museums from 1997 to 1999; and Avoda: Objects of the Spirit , an exhibition of his Jewish ceremonial art that opened in 1999 and is continuing to travel to museums around the country. Objects of the Spirit: Ritual and the Art of Tobi Kahn , a book about Kahn's ceremonial art, was published in June 2004. Kahn was the recipient of the National Foundation for Jewish Culture's Cultural Achievement Award in the Visual Arts.

A Tour of NYC Jewish Cuisine
February 27

Join us for a whirlwind tour of New York's Jewish eateries, and you don't even have to leave 79th and Second! We have invited chefs from the Upper East Side and other neighborhoods to share their wares and, even perhaps, some of their secrets. It promises to be a real taste sensation! Please register in advance with the Clergy Office at (212) 535-8008, ext. 264.

The Long Way Home: A Film about Displaced Persons
April 10, 6:30 pm (note special time)

In preparation for the observance of Yom HaShoah, Holocaust Remembrance Day, we will screen The Long Way Home, which examines the critical post-World War II period between 1945-1948 and the struggle of the tens of thousands of displaced Jewish refugees who left one camp and found themselves in another. Learn about their efforts to find dignity and renewal in the aftermath of the Holocaust.

Israel & Me: An Interactive Evening
May 8

In honor of Shaaray Tefila's recent trip to Israel, and all of our assorted experiences over the years, we invite you to share your very own stories of encounters with Eretz Yisrael . This evening's program will be a night of storytelling, show & tell, and sharing, all created by you! Please feel free to bring photographs, jewelry, artifacts, and other mementos of your travels. You may also want to submit a written story in advance for future publication. Whether you visit Israel often, or have never been, the program will be filled with myriad stories of all varieties. Please watch your Messenger for more information in the coming months.