By Reporter staff
A variety of Jewish groups are offering educational and recreational online resources. Below is a sampling of those. The Reporter will publish additional listings as they become available.
The Milken Archive of Jewish Music is holding the virtual exhibit “Jewish Art Song in America: A Composer’s Perspective” at this link.
Reboot is celebrating the 100th anniversary of “The Golem” by cutting up the classic film into eight parts, creating an episodic series with new scores and commentary by scholars, composers and film historians discussing the significance of the film and its music. For more information or to view the episodes, visit this page.
The Yiddish Book Center announced information about the 2022 Great Jewish Books Club. There is no fee and people can join anytime during the year. The books will be announced during the year and copies will no longer be sent to people, but they will be available at the Yiddish Book Center’s online and on-site stores, and elsewhere. For more information about the club and sign up for e-mails, click here.
The Vilna Shul will hold the virtual program “Navigating the Current Climate Through Judaism” with author Sarah Hurwitz in conversation with Rav Tiferet Berenbaum on Thursday, December 2, at 7 pm. The cost is $18 and registration is required. Hurwitz, author of “Here All Along: Finding Meaning, Spirituality, and a Deeper Connection to Life – in Judaism (After Finally Choosing to Look There),” was a White House speechwriter from 2009-17. Berenbaum is rabbi of Congregational Learning and Programming at Temple Beth Zion in Brookline, MA. For more information or to register, follow this link.
Ofek Hub will hold the virtual course “Love in a Postcard; the Holocaust Survival story of a Kindertransport Child” for children in grades four-six. There will be two chances to take the five-part course; five sessions will begin on Tuesdays, January 25 and February 1, 8, 15 and 22; or Tuesdays, March 22 and 29, and April 5, 12 and 26. Each class is 45 minutes in duration. The cost for the course is $65. For more information, visit this page.
The interfaith group 18 Doors will hold the virtual event “2021 Ignite the Light Celebration” on Tuesday, December 7, at 7:30 pm. The event will feature speakers, a complimentary drink recipe for to make at home, giveaways and photos and stories from interfaith families. For more information or to register, visit here.
Pardes will hold a virtual “Winter Break: A Learning Intensive for Students and Young Professionals” from Monday-Wednesday, January 3-5. No previous text-study experience is necessary; multiple levels are available. More information here.
Hadar’s will hold a Rising Song Intensive in partnership with B’nai Jeshurun on Wednesday-Thursday, December 22-23, with in-person and virtual options. It is designed for all backgrounds to create a space for musical expression, learning and community. The virtual sessions will take place from 9:30 am-12:30 pm both days. Included in the reservation will be one complimentary ticket to Joey Weisenberg and the Hadar Ensemble live in concert on December 23 at 7:30 pm, which will be available in-person or on Zoom. For more information or to register, click here.
The YIVO Institute for Jewish Research will present a virtual book talk about “When I Grow Up,” a graphic nonfiction work that explores interwar teenage Jewish life, on Tuesday, November 23, at 3 pm. Cartoonist Ken Krimstein will be in conversation with scholar Jeffrey Shandler. Krimstein’s work is based on six of the hundreds of autobiographies of Eastern European Jewish teens collected by YIVO on the brink of World War II. The event is free. For more information or to register, see this page.
American Jewish Libraries has started a podcast, “Nice Jewish Books,” that focuses on adult Jewish fiction. For more information or to listen to the podcast, click here.
The Jewish Telegraphic Agency is offering a new e-mail newsletter showcasing Jewish communities on every continent. For more information or to sign up for the e-mail, follow this link.
The Shalom Hartman Institute will offer Hartman at Home virtual courses this fall/winter, including “Pluralism, Exclusivism, and the Boundaries of Biblical Theology” (Wednesdays, December 1, 8, 15 and 22, from 7-8:30 pm), and “Old Jew, New Jew, Israeli Jew: A Fresh Look at the Jews of Zion” (Tuesdays, January 25 and February 1 and 8, from noon-1:30 pm). For more information about these and other courses, see their agenda here.
The American Jewish University will hold the virtual program “A New Reading of Hannukah: Text Study for the Holiday” on Tuesday, November 30, from 5-6 pm. Rabbi Lydia Medwin will guide students through text study, providing tools to help students to find meaning in the holiday. For more information or to register, click here.
The Jewish Studio Project will hold the virtual class “Have You Made Art About It Yet? Hanukkah Edition!” on Thursday, December 2, from 9-10:30 am. The session will explore the power of art making in a virtual community as a tool for personal and collective renewal. For more information or to register, visit here.
Brandies University will hold the virtual program “Who is a Convert? The Law of Return and the Legality of Reform and Conservative Conversions in Israel” on Thursday, December 2, at 12:15 pm. The speaker will be David Ellenson, past director of the Schusterman Center for Israel Studies, professor emeritus of Near Eastern and Judaic Studies at Brandeis University, and chancellor emeritus and former president of Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion. For more information or to register, visit this page.
New Lehrhaus will hold the program “Jews of Color – Inside and Out” on Wednesday, December 8, from 10-11:30 pm. Prof. Bruce Haynes will speak about the lived experiences – now and historically – of Jews of Color. Prof. Bruce Phillips will talk about the Pew studies of 2013 and 2020, and other studies, and how they identified JOC. For more information or to register, follow the link.
The Center for Jewish History will hold the virtual program “Family History Today: Jewish Dress and Cultural History – What You Can Learn from Grandma’s Photos,” featuring Eric Silverman, on Tuesday, November 30, at 5 pm. Silverman, research professor of anthropology at Wheelock College and author of “A Cultural History of Jewish Dress,” will demonstrate how we can “read” the clothing in old family photos for clues about the wider historical processes that shaped our ancestors’ lives, aspirations and struggles. For more information or to register, click here.
The New York Public Library offers “LGBTQ+ Jewish,” a guide that covers LGBTQ+ Jewish research from scholarly, communal and personal perspectives. For more information, visit see link.
One Book, One Hadassah will hold a virtual interview with Francine Prose about her latest novel, “The Vixen,” on Thursday, December 9, at 7 pm. Hadassah Magazine Executive Editor Lisa Hostein will conduct the interview. For more information or register for the event, visit here.
The Skirball Center will hold online programs for Hanukkah, including a virtual “Hanukkiah Happy Hour” on Saturday, December 4, at 9 pm, during which Skirball President and CEO Jessie Kornberg will share stories with Rob Eshman, national editor of the Forward, about the Skirball’s Hanukkah lamp collection (more information here); and “Cooking with ArtBites; Hanukkah and the Jelly Doughnut” on Sunday, December 5, from 1-2 pm (program here).
The Z3 Project will hold the hybrid program “Z3 2021: Futures Workshop” on Sunday, December 5, at noon. The interactive simulation will ask speakers and participants to take part in a plausible futuristic scenario that will impact the relationship between Israel and Diaspora Jewry. Through this experiment, it will explore potential ways for those communities to come together and ensure a continued sense of peoplehood and mutuality. For more information or to register, see here.
The Yiddish Book Center will hold two virtual events in December: “The Rich History of Jewish Papercuts,” with Deborah Ugoretz on Thursday, December 2, at 7 pm; and “Yiddish and Social Justice” on Thursday, December 16, at 7 pm. To learn more or to register, visit their program calander.
The Lower East Side Jewish Conservancy will hold the virtual program “New York, The Greatest Jewish City in the World,” a three-part presentation. Session I on “History” will be held on Monday, November 29, from 7-8:30 pm (information on part 1 here). Session II on “Culture” will be held on Monday, December 13, from 7-8:30 pm (part 2). The third session will be held in 2022. Participants can attend one or all sessions.
Sefaria is offering four social justice and shemitah-themed e-mails over the course of four weeks. Each e-mail will include texts from the Sefaria library, additional resources to deepen learning and “food for thought” sections. For more information or to sign up for the e-mails, click here.
The Hadassah-Brandeis Institute will hold several virtual events: “In Search of Late Ottoman Sephardi Women’s Lives” on Monday, November 22, from 12:30-1:30 pm; “Navigating the Current Climate Through Judaism,” with author Sarah Hurwitz in conversation with Rav Tiferet Berenbaum on Thursday, December 2, at 7 pm; Rabbi Haviva Ner-David speaking about her book “Hope Valley” on Wednesday, December 8, from 12:30-1:30 pm; “Studio Israel” on Thursday, December 9, from noon-1 pm, which will look at the work of Israeli singer and visual artist Neta Elkayam; and Carole S. Kessner, Ph.D., speaking about “Marie Syrkin: Values Beyond the Self” on Wednesday, December 15, from 12:30-1:30 pm. More information here.
Lilith Magazine will hold a virtual happy hour to celebrate the fall issue of the magazine on Wednesday, December 1, at 8 pm. Attendees are asked to have their hannukiahs ready to light. For more information and to register, visit this link.
The Mussar Institute will hold several virtual programs for Hanukkah. For more information or to register, see this page.
The Kripke Institute (Center for Relational Judaism) is offering information for a Hanukkah Homecoming Weekend December 3-5. The site lists more than 100 events (virtual or in-person) that are taking place that weekend. For more information, visit this link.
The Nosher is offering a free e-book called “8 Latke Recipes for 8 Nights of Hanukkah.” For information about the e-book, visit here.
The Center for Jewish History will hold the virtual program “Under Jerusalem: The Buried History of the World’s Most Contested City” with author Andrew Lawler on Wednesday, December 8, at 6:30 pm. Lawler will discuss the tombs, tunnels and trenches of the Holy City. For more information or to register, follow this link.
The Nosher will hold three virtual Hanukkah cooking classes on Sunday, November 21, Monday, November 22, and Tuesday, November 23. All will begin at 7:30 pm. For more information or to register, visit click here.
For additional resources, see previous issues of The Reporter or our other Jewish Online Resources here.