There are so many wonderful cultural learning opportunities within our thriving Greater Buffalo Jewish Community. We've posted links here to the happenings in our community to keep you informed. If you have an announcement that you would like to see included, please email it to us!
Let's Come Together to Help Our Friends in Texas
The City of Good Neighbors Campaign
If any community knows about the devastating impact of severe weather, it is those of us in Buffalo. We have weathered many storms and earned the proud title City of Good Neighbors, because we are always here for each other. Last week, our friends in Texas experienced one of the most severe storms in their history – living without power during freezing temperatures, some with no running water, and homes now in ruin from bursting pipes. People are burning furniture to stay warm.
We know how to battle the cold and if we could, we’d open our doors to keep our neighbors in Texas warm. But since that isn’t possible, we’re opening our wallets instead.
Join us this week – and give generously to the City of Good Neighbors Campaign. Every dollar donated will be sent to our friends in the three Texas communities that are part of our Partnership2Gether consortium: Austin, San Antonio and Ft. Worth.
Our goal is to raise $18,000 before Shabbat begins this Friday.
Buffalo – the City of Good Neighbors...
Are YOU up for this challenge?
If any community knows about the devastating impact of severe weather, it is those of us in Buffalo. We have weathered many storms and earned the proud title City of Good Neighbors, because we are always here for each other. Last week, our friends in Texas experienced one of the most severe storms in their history – living without power during freezing temperatures, some with no running water, and homes now in ruin from bursting pipes. People are burning furniture to stay warm.
We know how to battle the cold and if we could, we’d open our doors to keep our neighbors in Texas warm. But since that isn’t possible, we’re opening our wallets instead.
Join us this week – and give generously to the City of Good Neighbors Campaign. Every dollar donated will be sent to our friends in the three Texas communities that are part of our Partnership2Gether consortium: Austin, San Antonio and Ft. Worth.
Our goal is to raise $18,000 before Shabbat begins this Friday.
Buffalo – the City of Good Neighbors...
Are YOU up for this challenge?
Jewish Repertory Presents 'Beau Jest' by James Sherman
https://jewishrepertorytheatre.com/
Meet Beau Jest playwright James Sherman
Thursday, March 4, 7:30 pm
In the summer of 2006, James Sherman wrote and directed the movie of his play, BEAU JEST, starring Lainie Kazan, Seymour Cassel, and Robyn Cohen.
Learn behind the scenes secrets and more!
Thursday, March 4, 7:30 pm
In the summer of 2006, James Sherman wrote and directed the movie of his play, BEAU JEST, starring Lainie Kazan, Seymour Cassel, and Robyn Cohen.
Learn behind the scenes secrets and more!
JEWISH REPERTORY THEATRE OF WNY PRESENTS:
BEAU JEST, by James Sherman
March 11-31, 2021
What's a nice Jewish girl to do when her parents expect her to marry a nice Jewish doctor even though she’s already in love with another man?
Hiring an actor to play her imaginary beau in front of the family seemed like a good idea until the “hired” boyfriend begins to capture her heart.
Don't miss this hilarious production starring:
Arin Lee Dandes, Darleen Pickering Hummert, Steve Jakiel, Patrick Cameron, Nick Stevens and Adam Yellen. Directed by Steve Vaughan.
BEAU JEST, by James Sherman
March 11-31, 2021
What's a nice Jewish girl to do when her parents expect her to marry a nice Jewish doctor even though she’s already in love with another man?
Hiring an actor to play her imaginary beau in front of the family seemed like a good idea until the “hired” boyfriend begins to capture her heart.
Don't miss this hilarious production starring:
Arin Lee Dandes, Darleen Pickering Hummert, Steve Jakiel, Patrick Cameron, Nick Stevens and Adam Yellen. Directed by Steve Vaughan.
Winter Roots Series at the JCC
https://buffalojewishfederation.org/event/winter-roots-series
WEED AND FEED: SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 21 | 12 – 1 PM
We’ll discuss Ukraine today featuring Rabbi Julia Gris of Congregation Shirat ha-Yam in Odessa and her daughter Izolde. Hosted by Jim Lodge, Senior Development Officer, ORT America.
EAT AND ENJOY: TUESDAY, MARCH 9 | 5 – 6 PM
We’ll explore Eastern European food and culture with a number of special guests.
Beets, carrots, parsnips and turnips are among those vegetables commonly know as root crops. They offer a prolonged harvest season, a long storage life, produce a large amount of food in a small amount of space, and are staples in an Eastern European diet.
The Buffalo Jewish Federation’s Winter ROOTS Series pays homage to these staples, appreciating the sustenance they bring during a long winter season. In that spirit, ROOTS co-chairs, Leslie Shuman Kramer and Rise’ Kulick, invite you to join them for three engaging virtual sessions with the goal to connect Jewish Buffalonians with their genealogical roots in Eastern Europe. And, each session takes their inspiration from the root crop cycle: We first prep the soil, then nurture the crop, and finally harvest, eat and enjoy!
We’ll discuss Ukraine today featuring Rabbi Julia Gris of Congregation Shirat ha-Yam in Odessa and her daughter Izolde. Hosted by Jim Lodge, Senior Development Officer, ORT America.
EAT AND ENJOY: TUESDAY, MARCH 9 | 5 – 6 PM
We’ll explore Eastern European food and culture with a number of special guests.
Beets, carrots, parsnips and turnips are among those vegetables commonly know as root crops. They offer a prolonged harvest season, a long storage life, produce a large amount of food in a small amount of space, and are staples in an Eastern European diet.
The Buffalo Jewish Federation’s Winter ROOTS Series pays homage to these staples, appreciating the sustenance they bring during a long winter season. In that spirit, ROOTS co-chairs, Leslie Shuman Kramer and Rise’ Kulick, invite you to join them for three engaging virtual sessions with the goal to connect Jewish Buffalonians with their genealogical roots in Eastern Europe. And, each session takes their inspiration from the root crop cycle: We first prep the soil, then nurture the crop, and finally harvest, eat and enjoy!
Jewish Poetry Reading Series 2
https://www.jccbuffalo.org/event/poetry2
Monday, March 15 | 7:00 pm
We hope you’ll join us for a free online poetry reading featuring David Caplan, Charlene Fix, and Julia Knobloch.
A brief Q & A session will follow the readings.
We hope you’ll join us for a free online poetry reading featuring David Caplan, Charlene Fix, and Julia Knobloch.
A brief Q & A session will follow the readings.
Cooking Series with Chef Marshall Goldstein
https://www.jccbuffalo.org/event/cooking-series1/
Meet Toby aka Paul Lieberstein from "The Office"
https://www.tfaforms.com/4881713
Ujima Theater Company Comes to Buffalo on Zoom
Passover the Food Board: A Modern Take on the Seder Plate
https://www.jccbuffalo.org/event/passover-food-board-seder-plate/
Yom HaShoah--Holocaust Remembrance Day
https://www.jccbuffalo.org/event/yom-hashoah-holocaust-remembrance-day/
Photography of the Holocaust – The Lodz Ghetto Photographs of Henryk Ross
JCC Online Event
April 6 | 2:00 pm
In commemorating the six million Jews who perished in the Holocaust, and the heroism of survivors join Galicia Jewish Museum Chief Curator Tomasz Strug, Robert Hirsch artist, curator, educator, historian, and Dr. Shawn Kelley, Professor of Philosophy/Religious Studies, Department Chair, Daemen College to discuss the photography of the Holocaust, specifically focusing on The Lodz Ghetto Photographs of Henryk Ross. From 1940 to 1944, Ross documented life inside the Lodz Ghetto. Officially, Ross worked for the ghetto’s Jewish Administration’s Statistics department, photographing the Jewish ghetto’s inhabitants for identification cards and for Nazi propaganda images. When Ross was not working in his bureaucratic capacity, he risked his life to photograph the reality of daily ghetto life. Ross understood the importance of photographically documenting the Nazi genocide to repudiate those who would not believe or who would deny it happened. The event will conclude with a Q&A. Free Event, Registration Required (see below)
This is an online event and will be streamed through YouTube live. A link will be emailed after registration, please check your spam folders.
This event is presented by the JCC of Buffalo in partnership with the Holocaust Resource Center of Buffalo, Jewish Community Relations Council, CEPA Gallery, Daemen College and the Galicia Jewish Museum.
April 6 | 2:00 pm
In commemorating the six million Jews who perished in the Holocaust, and the heroism of survivors join Galicia Jewish Museum Chief Curator Tomasz Strug, Robert Hirsch artist, curator, educator, historian, and Dr. Shawn Kelley, Professor of Philosophy/Religious Studies, Department Chair, Daemen College to discuss the photography of the Holocaust, specifically focusing on The Lodz Ghetto Photographs of Henryk Ross. From 1940 to 1944, Ross documented life inside the Lodz Ghetto. Officially, Ross worked for the ghetto’s Jewish Administration’s Statistics department, photographing the Jewish ghetto’s inhabitants for identification cards and for Nazi propaganda images. When Ross was not working in his bureaucratic capacity, he risked his life to photograph the reality of daily ghetto life. Ross understood the importance of photographically documenting the Nazi genocide to repudiate those who would not believe or who would deny it happened. The event will conclude with a Q&A. Free Event, Registration Required (see below)
This is an online event and will be streamed through YouTube live. A link will be emailed after registration, please check your spam folders.
This event is presented by the JCC of Buffalo in partnership with the Holocaust Resource Center of Buffalo, Jewish Community Relations Council, CEPA Gallery, Daemen College and the Galicia Jewish Museum.
Jewish Art Exhibits to See this Winter
https://momentmag.com/art-moments
Click on the images below to experience some of the best Jewish art exhibits to see this winter....
New Novella by Howard Wolfe
https://www.amazon.com/Echoes-Loss-Belonging-Duet
Trajectory Press (Frankfort, Kentucky) is pleased to announce the collaborative publication of two novellas -- Chris Helvey’s Behind The Eight Ball and Howard R. Wolf’s Of Two Lives On The Lower Golan -- as one volume: ECHOES OF LOSS AND BELONGING.
This innovative publication brings together two authors with vastly different backgrounds whose two novellas reveal deep and shared perceptions about the quest for “belonging.”
Their protagonists – Earl Turner and Ludwig Fried, the former a Kentucky police officer, the later a displaced Manhattanite – both look for a place to belong in communities where they are outsiders.
Behind The Eight Ball is true Southern Grit-Lit –
honest, darkly humorous, and relentlessly realistic.
Of Two Lives On The Lower Golan is a story at once antic and
tender in a land both antique and armed, a balanced tale of love and survival.
A quest for belonging endows this unique creative duet of literary voices with a sense of unity. Life in Kentucky and Israel echo each other as Earl and Ludwig try to integrate their origins and possible destinations.
AVAILABLE VIA AMAZON IN PRINT AND KINDLE
This innovative publication brings together two authors with vastly different backgrounds whose two novellas reveal deep and shared perceptions about the quest for “belonging.”
Their protagonists – Earl Turner and Ludwig Fried, the former a Kentucky police officer, the later a displaced Manhattanite – both look for a place to belong in communities where they are outsiders.
Behind The Eight Ball is true Southern Grit-Lit –
honest, darkly humorous, and relentlessly realistic.
Of Two Lives On The Lower Golan is a story at once antic and
tender in a land both antique and armed, a balanced tale of love and survival.
A quest for belonging endows this unique creative duet of literary voices with a sense of unity. Life in Kentucky and Israel echo each other as Earl and Ludwig try to integrate their origins and possible destinations.
AVAILABLE VIA AMAZON IN PRINT AND KINDLE
New Program Helps WNY Jewish Teens Fight Anti-Semitism
https://news.wbfo.org/post/new-program
A new educational initiative of the Buffalo Jewish Federation is facilitating conversations between Jewish teenagers and their non-Jewish high school peers in an effort to promote understanding and fight anti-Semitism.
The program, called Student to Student, was originally developed by the Jewish Federation of St. Louis more than 10 years ago, but its replication in Western New York couldn’t be more timely: Hate crimes motivated by religion rose about 7% in 2019, according to the latest FBI statistics, and 60% of crimes in that category targeted Jews—far more than any other religious group. There’s also a closely documented link between anti-Semitism and a wide range of extremist groups in the U.S.
The program, called Student to Student, was originally developed by the Jewish Federation of St. Louis more than 10 years ago, but its replication in Western New York couldn’t be more timely: Hate crimes motivated by religion rose about 7% in 2019, according to the latest FBI statistics, and 60% of crimes in that category targeted Jews—far more than any other religious group. There’s also a closely documented link between anti-Semitism and a wide range of extremist groups in the U.S.
JFS Covid Relief Fundraiser
https://www.jfsbuffalo.org/jfs-good-nature-plant-sale/
Children, families, and seniors are feeling the impacts of COVID-19: physically, emotionally, and financially.
The good news is you can help. Support your must vulnerable neighbors by participating in the JFS Good Nature Plant Sale Fundraiser as a Plant Ambassador!
Being a Plant Ambassador is Easy.
Plant Ambassadors are people like you who want to help the members of our community struggling from the effects of COVID-19. The roles of a Plant Ambassador are simple and include the following:
100% of the sale's net proceeds will support JFS' life-changing and lifesaving programs! Thank you!
The good news is you can help. Support your must vulnerable neighbors by participating in the JFS Good Nature Plant Sale Fundraiser as a Plant Ambassador!
Being a Plant Ambassador is Easy.
Plant Ambassadors are people like you who want to help the members of our community struggling from the effects of COVID-19. The roles of a Plant Ambassador are simple and include the following:
- Sell at least five house plants
- Spread the word about the sale to your coworkers, friends and family
- Help facilitate their orders (super low key)
100% of the sale's net proceeds will support JFS' life-changing and lifesaving programs! Thank you!
Kosher Food Pantry of WNY Offers Pick-ups
https://www.jewishbuffalo.com/kosherfoodpantry
The Kosher Food Pantry of WNY, is our area's first and only Food Pantry dedicated for Kosher food.
Our mission is to help eliminate hunger for our community members who need help putting food on the table. We will provide kosher food and other essentials for children, adults and seniors in need in the Western New York area.
The Kosher Food Pantry is located at 757 Hopkins Road, in the Jewish Discovery Center.
Our mission is to help eliminate hunger for our community members who need help putting food on the table. We will provide kosher food and other essentials for children, adults and seniors in need in the Western New York area.
The Kosher Food Pantry is located at 757 Hopkins Road, in the Jewish Discovery Center.
Join Virtual Tours of Israel with Jewish National Fund
https://www.jnf.org/visit-israel
Visit Israel LIVE from Your Living Room
on a Virtual TourCan’t get to Israel? Let Israel come to you. JNF is bringing hundreds of people to Israel—RIGHT NOW! Pack your bags and take a trip without leaving the comfort of your own home.
See a side of Israel you have never seen with JNF. Join a "busload" of participants and experience biblical and modern Israel, famous tourist attractions, off the beaten path sites, Jewish National Fund projects and places, and hidden gems—all from the comfort of your own home. See sites like the Old City of Jerusalem, the Ayalon Institute, Rosh Ha'Nikra, Akko, JNF's Sderot Indoor Recreation Center, Be'er Sheva, Timna Park, and more without even leaving your house! It's the next best thing.
Cost
Your $50 registration fee per Zoom spot includes a week of touring. Invite your household to come along on the journey.
How It Works
For one week, join us for one hour a day (Monday through Thursday) for live touring of Israel. After a short break, log back in for a one hour social dinner/cocktail hour. Friday will feature a one hour pre-Shabbat experience.
on a Virtual TourCan’t get to Israel? Let Israel come to you. JNF is bringing hundreds of people to Israel—RIGHT NOW! Pack your bags and take a trip without leaving the comfort of your own home.
See a side of Israel you have never seen with JNF. Join a "busload" of participants and experience biblical and modern Israel, famous tourist attractions, off the beaten path sites, Jewish National Fund projects and places, and hidden gems—all from the comfort of your own home. See sites like the Old City of Jerusalem, the Ayalon Institute, Rosh Ha'Nikra, Akko, JNF's Sderot Indoor Recreation Center, Be'er Sheva, Timna Park, and more without even leaving your house! It's the next best thing.
Cost
Your $50 registration fee per Zoom spot includes a week of touring. Invite your household to come along on the journey.
How It Works
For one week, join us for one hour a day (Monday through Thursday) for live touring of Israel. After a short break, log back in for a one hour social dinner/cocktail hour. Friday will feature a one hour pre-Shabbat experience.
JCC Virtual Adult Learning Winter Class Schedule
https://www.jccbuffalo.org/events-at-jcc/
https://www.jccbuffalo.org/events-at-jcc/
Jewish Living and Learning Experiences for You
https://www.jccbuffalo.org/events-at-jcc/
Community Compassion Fund |
Help Create the JCC Virtual Covid-19 Time Capsule
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The Buffalo Jewish Federation and The Foundation for Jewish Philanthropies have created a Community Compassion Fund to help our community through the COVID-19 crisis.
Every dollar raised will go to support individuals and families. Distributions will be administered by Jewish Family Services enabling them to support essential services to our most vulnerable populations so their basic needs can be met including mental health and wellness counseling, as well as funds for food, prescriptions, rent subsidies and other essentials. So far, the Community Compassion Fund has provided financial support to furloughed Jewish communal workers, helped to underwrite the Seder in a Box program through Kosher Meals on Wheels, and assisted families with burial arrangements. Together, we can do more! Your gift today will help the people of Jewish Buffalo tomorrow. |
We each have experiences to share about coping, growing and learning from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. You are invited to reflect, and join us to create a “virtual time capsule” of photographs and words. The process will be easy and enjoyable, using PixStori, a new social media platform to add brief audio reflections to photos you provide.
Please contact Katie Wzontek with questions kwzontek@jccbuffalo.org. Share your Pixstori Today, everyone is welcome and encouraged to join! |
