Happening
Vivid Jewish Art in Riverdale
The Derfner Judaica Museum has a new exhibition entitled Fantastical Realities. Featured Jewish artists Sandra Caplan, Ray Ciarrocchi and Maya Ciarocchi have created their own versions and reflections of various realities that are “intimately connected to the times and places in which they work.” Caplan’s still life paintings, Maya Ciarrocchi’s multimedia installations, and Ray Ciarrocchi’s landscapes all carry emotion for the artists, including nostalgia and joy about people and places from the past, grief for the many pains of the current world, and hope for the creation of “new, fantastical spaces.” derfner.org
In Brooklyn, Birth Justice Centering Jews of Color
The Crown Heights Birth Justice Project has created a three-part series about the maternal health crisis with a focus on Black Orthodox Jews. Recently awarded a grant by the Jews of Color Initiative, the project explores the intersections of Black and Jewish identities, surveys CDC data and analyzes the causes and impacts of various maternal birthing outcomes within this community in Crown Heights, Brooklyn. Find out more about this series on Instagram at @chbirthjustice.
MUSIC WHEN WE NEED IT
Grief in a Debut Album
Tamar Sagiv (right), an Israeli-born New York-based cellist and composer, released her debut album “Shades of Mourning.” The album includes nine original compositions, each uniquely touching on themes of grief. Inspired by the death of her grandmother, the album is both about personal and universal emotion. bit.ly/ShadesofMourning
Alba: Beyond Borders
The album “Alba: Beyond Borders” by Venezuelan-American Maria Brea and Israeli-American Dror Baital highlights the deep musical ties between Latin American and Jewish traditions. Featuring Yiddish art songs, Sephardic lullabies, and work by multiple Jewish composers, the recording highlights Jewish cultural expression across Ladino, Yiddish, and Portuguese, with themes of migration, displacement, family, and spirituality. bit.ly/AlbaBeyondBorders
A Gender Inclusive Jewish Musical Archive
Soundscape Synagogue is a website dedicated to preserving the musical legacy of Jewish communities from around the world. Adding Our Voices (AOV), a free digital archive, created by Jewish artists across different backgrounds: liturgical work, songs, recordings, and histories of Jewish musical artists, with an emphasis on being feminist and gender inclusive. The archive spans many languages and styles, including liturgy and midrashic music, folk, jazz, klezmer, and more. bit.ly/SoundscapeSynagogue
The “Only Orthodox Jew on the U.K. Comedy Circuit”
“Ultimate Jewish Mother” is a one-hour stand-up comedy set by British Jewish comedian Rachel Creeger. Her work is a 360 view of Jewish motherhood, interpersonal relationships, and Orthodox Jewish culture. Previously featured on BBC One, Amazon Prime and NextUp Comedy, Creeger recently took the stage at the Edinburgh Fringe festival, offering “yenta-tainment” and advice to audiences from near and far. To find out about Creeger’s upcoming shows visit rachelcreeger.com.
Funding Abortion Nationwide
Driven by the Jewish value of choice, the Red Tent Fund offers financial help to people seeking abortions, from all backgrounds and identities across the United States. In partnership with many synagogues and countless individuals, they have been able to fund 695 procedures in 32 states in the last year, in all U.S. regions. Red Tent is committed to remaining a resource for all amidst a rapid decline in abortion access in the U.S. Get involved or find help at redtentfund.org.
From Past Trauma into Better Parenting
Psychologist and educator Dr. Robyn Koslowitz has published a new parenting book, Post-Traumatic Parenting: Break the Cycle and Become the Parent You Always Wanted to Be (Broadleaf Books, $26.99). Using the Jewish values of tikkun olam, self-reflection and compassion, Dr. Koslowitz draws from her background in child psychology to help parents and families understand and move past trauma to raise healthy children. The book is structured like a guide, with clear suggestions and strategies for parents seeking guidance. Find it wherever you buy books.
Teaching Consent to Tweens and Teens
The Schools Consent Project sends volunteer lawyers into schools to teach 11–18 year olds about consent and related legal and ethical issues. In just two years in New York, they’ve spoken with approximately 13,000 students! As a nonprofit, they offer workshops free of charge to public school students. They also provide parent workshops taught by NY Director (and veteran family court lawyer) Kaitlin Andrews. Email Kaitlin@schoolsconsentproject.com to learn more.
WHAT TO WATCH
One Big Happy Family
Released in limited theaters on October 3rd, One Big Happy Family is a film about a mother’s brewing midlife crisis following a DNA test that reveals she is half-Jewish and not biologically related to her father. The film follows her journey to find the truth of her past as she tries to write the speech for her own daughter’s Bat Mitzvah. Linda Lavin and Lisa Brenner star as mother and daughter, both actresses being of Jewish descent themselves. bit.ly/Onebighappyfamily
Ain’t No Back to a Merry-Go-Round
Ilana Trachtman’s documentary Ain’t No Back to a Merry-Go-Round highlights a forgotten story of Black-Jewish solidarity during the Civil Rights Movement in 1960. Howard University students protesting segregation at Glen Echo Amusement Park were joined by Jewish neighbors from the Bannockburn cooperative near the park. Inspired by her father, a Jewish labor activist, Trachtman frames this act of partnership as part of a Jewish legacy of justice. aintnoback.com
A Circumcision Documentary
“Just the Tip,” by Jessie Kahnweiler, is a documentary that explores the connections between circumcision, tradition, and identity. The film wrestles with questions that often concern interfaith couples, and encourages the discussion around this often-taboo topic: What does it mean to be a “good Jew?” Can one still be a “good Jew” with their foreskin? Watch the documentary on Kahnweiler’s substack @jessiekahnweiler.
A Revival of Wedding Contracts
Canadian author Michael Shapiro, founder and CEO of Ketubah.com has a new book out entitled Ketubah Renaissance: The Artful Modern Revival of the Jewish Marriage Contract. It traces the custom of decorating ketubot and the resurgence of illustrated ketubot in recent decades. Shapiro highlights Judith Joseph, a Chicago-based artist, and her ketubah “Blue Forest” as an example of a new ketubah style. Across 60 illustrations, Shapiro shows how modern technology has encouraged the flourishing of decorated ketubot. ketubahrenaissance.com
Celebrating Women Rabbis
The Rabbinical Assembly, the Women’s League for Conservative Judaism, and the Jewish Theological Seminary are honoring the 40-year anniversary of women in the Rabbinical Assembly, the international association of Conservative Rabbis. Women Rabbis as Change Agents discusses the twentieth-century movement for women’s equality in Judaism, how the rabbinate has changed over the past 40 years, and the reshaping of halakhah (Jewish law). View the recording, and join live on November 5th and December 3rd from 7:00–8:30 pm ET. Wlcj.org/events
Compiled by Georgia Fried and Arielle Silver-Willner
