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Jewish resources to occupy your family during social distancing – part 17

By Reporter staff

A variety of Jewish groups are offering online resources – educational and recreational – for those who are not allowed out of the house. Below is a sampling of those. The Reporter will publish additional listings as they become available. 

  • David Benkof presents a free online class about the creativity of American Jews from Broadway to TV/film, literature, art and music. In August, he will present a five-part class on “Funny Jews.” The current schedule and newsletter sign-ups are available at tinyurl.com/BenkofClasses. Previous classes are available on YouTube at www.youtube.com/user/DavidBenkof.
  • The Yiddish Book Center offers “A Musical Evening with Ruth Rubin,” two lecture-recitals: one in Yiddish (www.yiddishbookcenter.org/collections/archival-recordings/frances-brandt/fbr-1363_5358/story-yiddish-folk-songs-ruth-rubin-eugene-ornstein?utm_source=weeklyreader&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=weeklyreader), which was recorded in 1978, and the second in English (www.yiddishbookcenter.org/collections/archival-recordings/frances-brandt/fbr-659_4658/literary-musical-evening-ruth-rubin-ruth-rubin?utm_source=weeklyreader&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=weeklyreader), which was recorded in 1986. 
  • Israel 21C offers “12 Israeli songs to get you through the summer heat” that can be found at https://www.israel21c.org/12-israeli-songs-to-get-you-through-the-summer-heat/.
  • The Congress for Jewish Culture honored the Yiddish writer Boris Sandler, celebrating his recent publication of four new works entirely in Yiddish. The program, “Steps up to a Miracle: a Cause for Celebration,” can be found at www.youtube.com/watch?v=13MO2VlK5tY.
  • The HUC-JIR Summer Arts Series will hold “Rebirth After the Holocaust: The Bergen-Belsen Displaced Persons Camp, 1945-1950” with Jean Bloch Rosensaft, director of the Dr. Bernard Heller Museum, HUC-JIR/New York, on Wednesday, August 5, from 3-4 pm. To register, visit http://huc.edu/rebirth-after-holocaust-bergen-belsen-displaced-persons-camp-1945-1950-jean-bloch-rosensaft.
  • The healing service “Healing and Hope in Our Times Service with Rabbi Geela Rayzel Raphael and Rabbi Shawn Zevit” can be found on YouTube at www.youtube.com/watch?v=SZPzUhN_uKc.
  • The Israel Research Cancer Fund will hold the virtual fund-raiser “Ribbons of Hope” hosted by Jason Alexander on Wednesday, August 5, at 8 pm. For more information, visit https://www.icrfonline.org/events/icrf-ribbons-of-hope-virtual-celebration/.
  • Jewish Book Week will present “The Virus in the Age of Madness: Bernard-Henri Lévy interviewed by Mark Lawson” on Monday, August 3, from 2-3 pm. To register for the program, visit https://mailchi.mp/jewishbookweek/the-virus-in-the-age-of-madness.
  • The Center for Jewish History will hold “Out of the Box: Snapshots of a Life – Live on Zoom,” which features a story from the Archives of the Leo Baeck Institute. The program will take place on Tuesday, August 11, at 4 pm. Sarah Glover, archivist at the Center for Jewish History, will look at the life of Emil Carl Grossmann through diverse materials, including autographed playbills, photographs of zoo animals and personal ads, along with reminders of his family’s history, which come together to give a fuller picture of Grossmann and the 20th century. To sign up for the “pay what you like” program, visit https://grossmann.bpt.me/. 
  • The Hadassah-Brandeis Institute will offer the virtual event “Braided: A Journey of a Thousand Challahs” with Beth Ricanati, M.D., author of “Braided: A Journey of a Thousand Challahs” on Thursday, September 10, at 7 pm. In additional to showing how to make challah, there will be a discussion of the many attributes of challah: the mitzvah commandment hafrashat challah (separating challah), the history of challah and its variations around the world, and the bread’s power to nurture and connect. To register, visit https://blogs.brandeis.edu/freshideasfromhbi/hot-topic-of-the-week/.
  • A recording of the JCPA webinar on “Black Lives Matter: Being Jewish and Black in This Moment,” featuring Ilana Kaufman, executive director, Jews of Color Initiative; and Yavilah McCoy, CEO, Dimensions Educational Consulting; and moderated by La’Mar Walker, L.P.C, C.P.C.S., counselor, Mindful Works Counseling Services, can be found by visiting www.youtube.com and searching for “Black Lives Matter: A Conversation on Being Black and Jewish in this Moment.”
  • Ritualwell will hold “Embodied Jewish Practice for Self-Care and Wellness” led by Yoshi Silverstein on Thursdays, August 13, 20 and 27, and September 3 and 10, from 7:30-8:45 pm. The series will explore what it means to move in relationship to the environment and to others through a framework inspired by, and playing, with Jewish wisdom and tradition. For more information or to register, visit www.reconstructingjudaism.org/embodied-jewish-practice-self-care-wellness.
  • The Tikvah Fund is offering the free four-part video series “Jews: The Case for God” by Rabbi Meir Soloveichik. Each of the four episodes is under 10 minutes in length and seeks to find what Soloveichik calls “the meaning of one of the most mysterious and most thrilling manifestations of God’s hand in human affairs.” To receive the videos, register at https://www.caseforgod.org/register-1-t/.
  • Episodes of the Koren Podcast can be found at www.buzzsprout.com/1150391. Although sponsored by Koren Publishers, the podcasts do not discuss books, but offer conversations with educators, scholars and leaders about issues facing Judaism. 
  • The Museum at Eldridge Street will hold the Zoom talk “Love and Courtship” on Tuesday, August 4, from 3-4 pm. There is a small fee to attend. The talk will feature accounts from 19th- and early 20th-century novels, newspapers and a Yiddish love-letter writing manual that show how turn-of-the-20th century wooing, love and marriage was accomplished. Also included are visits to the former site of a dance hall, Seward Park and Seward Park Library, as well as streets, stoops and shops. For more information or to register, visit https://www.eldridgestreet.org/event/love-and-courtship-2/. 
  • The Jewish Foundation for the Righteous is holding an online movie series on Facebook on Mondays at 8 pm through August 24. The series will feature award-winning documentaries about Righteous Gentiles who saved Jews during the Holocaust. To view the movies, visit www.facebook.com/JewishFoundationForTheRighteous/.
  • The Forward and Urban Archive offer virtual walking tours covering a variety of subjects, including tours about the lives of Charles Solomon, the 20th century Jewish, socialist politician and judge; Lorin Maazel, a conductor and music prodigy; Kamele Weitz, the boy cantor; and David Carey, star of the Yiddish stage and Jewish LGBTQ community member. To view the tours, visit www.urbanarchive.org/jdforward.
  • ORT American will present the award-winning documentary “Complicit” on Tuesday, August 25, at 7 pm. The film tells the story of why the Roosevelt Administration denied safe haven to Jewish refugees. The event will include a question-and answer-session with Robert Krakow, the producer and director of the film. For more information, or to RSVP by phone, call 561-997-1071 or e-mail risaacson@ortamerica.org.
  • The website Alma, which features articles about Jewish identity and culture, is looking for Jewish college students to become an Alma College Writing Fellow for 2020-21. The program will be a remote program. The deadline for applications is Monday, August 10. For information or to apply, visit www.heyalma.com/apply-to-be-an-alma-college-writing-fellow/.

For additional resources, see previous issues of The Reporter on its website, www.thereportergroup.org.