Music: PFFR Night: Members of PFFR, creators of Wonder Showzen and Xavier: Renegade Angel, will present a selection of their video work, from music videos to clips from shows.
New York City Opera‘s new General Manager and Artistic Director George Steel is opening his first season there with Hugo Weisgall’s final opera, Esther. Esther was a Jewish prophet and queen of the Persian Empire in the Hebrew Bible, and heroine of the Biblical Book of Esther which is named after her. In a podcast here, Charles Kondek, librettist of Esther, talks with New York City Opera about the origins and roots of the operatic piece.
For further deconstruction, on Sunday, Oct 25, New York City Opera and 92YTribeca will join together for an afternoon with spiritual leaders, scholars and creative and performing artists for an afternoon discussion, multimedia, and exploration of Hugo Weisgall’s Esther. Tickets can be purchased online here.
On Oct 22 at 92YTribeca, Kritzler will be on hand to reveal the Jewish pirates, conquistadors and merchant adventurers who battled the Inquisition and initiated international trade.
Talk: Toxic Friends: Gender expert Susan Shapiro Barash explores the intricacies of women’s friendships and shares insights on how women can extricate themselves from damaging friendships to create more fulfilling ones.
Film: Streetwise FREE. with a 16mm film print from the archive of the New York Public Library, and director Martin Bell and photographer Mary Ellen Mark in person for Q&A. Read more on the 92Y Blog.
Moon Saloon: An open-mic session led by luminaries of the NYC poetry and music circles. FREE. Part of the Live at 92YTribeca Cafe series.
Film: Short Slam #1: Bring your under-twelve-minute film (on DVD only), get it shown and pad the house with your friends–audience vote determines the winner.
Talks: Boulevard of Dreams: The Bronx’s Grand Concourse: Constance Rosenblum unearths the colorful history of the grand street, its interlinked neighborhoods and landmarks.
Walking Tours: Tribeca: New Diversity from an Industrial Past: Illuminating the vast changes that have defined this historic neighborhood, joyce Gold explores the history of the streets around 92YTribeca.
Talks: Honeybee: Talk and Tasting : Find out everything you need to know about bees—arguably nature’s most perfect creatures—and taste the variety in the fruits of their labor.
Film: All the Way from Michigan Not Mars: Often raising more questions than answers, the film is a lyrical examination of Rosie Thomas’ quest for an expression of truth and her unique brand of performance. Thomas will appear in person for post-screening Q&A and to perform some songs.
Food: SoHo Chocolate Tour with Francine Segan. Visit SoHo’s most innovative chocolate shops, taste samples and learn about the fascinating world of chocolate.
High Holidays at 92YTribeca: Something To Talk About
Video: Amanda Soled sings a Bonnie Raitt classic with The Class Notes
Join the 92YTribeca community as we experience the High Holidays through friendly, spiritual services drawing from many streams of Judaism. Rosh Hashanah marks the beginning of the Jewish New Year and Yom Kippur is the holiest day on the Jewish calendar—two very special times for contemplation and renewal.
Our services this year will explore the three crucial components of the High Holiday experience: Tefillah (Prayer), Teshuvah (Repentance) and Tzedakah (Charity). By examining the High Holidays through these perspectives, we hope you’ll learn new insights into longstanding Jewish liturgy and traditions. In the midst of family, friends and new acquaintances, you’ll find countless moments for self-reflection, meditation and expression. Whether you attend Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur or both, we look forward to seeing you!
92YTribeca High Holiday services will be led by rabbinic intern Hayley Siegel and cantorial soloist Amanda Soled. Hayley is entering into her fourth year at the Academy for Jewish Religion, a pluralistic seminary located in Riverdale, New York. Check out Amanda in the video above as she sings the lead in the Bonnie Raitt hit “Something To Talk About” with The Class Notes, Cornell University’s original co-ed a cappella group.
Jester Journal was at Ronna & Beverly’s All Jew Revue: Shavuot Edition show at 92YTribeca. It was “a constant laugh riot from start to finish” and Jester Journal recalled that “Bev relates wanting to have some ‘upper middle age love’ with her contractor.” Who doesn’t relate to that, right? We’re all practically middle aged now anyways, if you consider we’ll move on after 70 years or so. So bring on the middle aged love!
You can read the full review here, and see a full set of photos from the show at Mark W Sutton’s Flickr. If you only click through the photos to see the fashions, that’s reason enough.
Upcoming events at 92YTribeca:
Visioneers: A special screening of the new comedy starring Zach Galifianakis.: Jun 3
The Found Footage Festival Presents Bad Movie Night: Computer Beach Party: Jun 5, 6
A Frenchman, a German, and a Jew are Walking Through the Desert…
This week’s New York Magazinecover story is on Woody Allen’s latest movie, Whatever Works. The screenplay, they note, calls to mind “a brand of Jewish humor that has, in recent years, been all but scrubbed out—neurotic, depressive, abrasive, excluded.” With that, the magazine proceeded to celebrate this humor with a PDF displaying the evolution of a Jewish joke, and a piece on OldJewsTellingJokes.com:
The site, for which he filmed family members and friends telling 30-second-to-three-minute stories...A quarter of the site’s visitors are under 35. “For them, it’s comfort food,” says Hoffman. “It’s a visit with Uncle Steve, who isn’t around anymore. And it channels an element of the culture that isn’t religion but still makes them feel connected.” It’s also a window to a world where certain topics never went out of style: food, sex, aging, analysis, misdiagnosis, couples who hate each other, eating while dying, eating while shtupping, shtupping while dying.
Rebecca Rubin, a young Jewish Russian immigrant girl living on Manhattan’s Lower East Side in 1914, is the latest addition to the lineup of historical character dolls from American Girl. Commenting on the doll’s immaculate appearance, Jewlicious poked fun at the attempted historical accuracy, writing: “apparently the tenements in 1914 had meticulous hairdressers and Jews that were easily distinguishable from their goy brethren by the Ethnic Shawl.” The dolls come with a series of books that tell their story, and apparently the dream of young people in New York City in 1914 was no different then the dream still carried by many today, as Rebecca dreams of becoming an actress.
The goal of the company, wrote the New York Times, is “that no one be offended and that Jewish and non-Jewish little girls alike will want to play tenement house with their new toy, which costs $95 — plus more for accessories like a sideboard with a challah resting on it.” So it should be noted that not only was executive director of the Anti-Defamation League Abe Foxman not offended, but seemed pleased: “It’s sensitive,” he said. It seems American Girl has succeeded in their effort not to offend, even though some people can’t resist having a little fun with the news. Twitter user thedcc thought some current realities might also serve a purpose in Rebecca’s story, adding that: “it would be better if the granddaughter of the AmericanGirl doll moves to the LES & pays too much for a small room.” We’d like to hear the Tenement Museum’s take on all this.
On April 16 at 92YTribeca, the “Young Friends” of the Elie Wiesel Foundation for Humanity held their first event, a benefit cocktail party where Mr. Wiesel presented and honored Natalie Portman with an award for her work and support on behalf of the Foundation, which was established soon after he was awarded the 1986 Nobel Prize for Peace. The Foundation’s mission, rooted in the memory of the Holocaust, is to combat indifference, intolerance and injustice through international dialogue and youth-focused programs that promote acceptance, understanding and equality.
Last September, Heeb magazine raved about Arie Kaplan’s From Krakow to Krypton: Jews and Comic Books, a 2008 National Jewish Book Award Finalist and 2009 Sophie Brody Honor Book. They called it “essential for any comic book nerd, but is also a good read for anyone who is interested in the Jewish role in the creation of American popular culture.” Arie definitely has comic chops. In addition to being a MAD Magazine writer, his credits include the comic book miniseries Speed Racer: Chronicles of the Racer, the DC title Cartoon Network Action Pack, the Bongo Comics anthology Simpsons Winter Wingding and the Papercutz series Tales From the Crypt. Heeb followed up with an interview, excerpted below:
Which Jewish comic book legends did you interview for your book? A number of them—Stan Lee, Art Spiegelman, Joe Kubert, Will Eisner, Al Jaffee, Chris Claremont (who many don’t realize is Jewish), Trina Robbins, Drew Friedman—I tried to cover different ages and genres.
Was it intimidating talking to some of these people? Not really, mainly because I’d already done some work writing for tv and film, and I’d learned not to be intimidated by big names. Once, when I was driving with my father, I got a call from Stan Lee, when it was done, and I told him who it was, he looked like a deer caught in the headlight, saying ‘But you were so nonchalant with him.’ I told him: ‘Dad, he’s a person, he wants to be treated like one.’ But I will say when I started writing for Mad, and I went to the Christmas party in this distinguished old social club, the Society of Illustrators, and there’s Mort Drucker and Al Jaffee, that was intimidating. Those guys had such an influence on me—this wasn’t like interviewing NSYNC for Bop Magazine—which I did. These guys mattered to me.
Lots more media coverage of the book can be found here, here and here. But if you’re looking for Arie Kaplan, you can find him here (as in 92YTribeca here) this Friday for Shabbat dinner where he’ll be talking about the book, latest trends within the comic book industry and giving away great comic book swag.
This picture of Matt Selman, who has written for Seinfeld and The Simpsons, dressed as “Jewverine” for Halloween has been making the rounds on the Internet since he published it last fall on Time magazine’s Nerd World blog. On the Wolverine parody, he writes:
Dudes loved the costume. No explanation necessary. “JEWVERINE!!!” “Menorah claws!!!” Triumph. Full joke Halloween costume.
...
Girls, not as much.
“Hey, it’s Super Jew!”
“No – it’s Jewverine!”
“Who?”
“Jewish Wolverine!!!”
“Who?”
“Forget it. Happy Halloween.”
Jews and comic book characters are something we’ve covered before with “The Jewish Origins of Superman” and now we’re super-excited that Arie Kaplan, comedian and MAD Magazine writer, is coming to 92YTribeca for Shabbat Dinner on May 22. His new book, From Krakow to Krypton: Jews and Comic Books, is a 2008 National Jewish Book Award Finalist and 2009 Sophie Brody Honor Book. After dinner, he’ll be talking about the book, the latest trends within the comic book industry and his creation of the comic book miniseries Speed Racer: Chronicles of the Racer. Great comic book swag and delicious desserts included!
Hayley Siegel: Blogging About Topics That Make You Smarter
92Y Tribeca’s very own Hayley Siegel is blogging for Jewcy! Hayley is the rabbinic intern at 92YTribeca, where she runs all of the Jewish Life programming, including Shabbat dinners, holidays and Jewish learning. In her first post at Jewcy, Passover Lessons from the Women of the Exodus Generation, Hayley writes:
If we look into the first book of Exodus, we will see that the Jewish women of this generation were a miraculous bunch powered by an endless supply of chutzpah and bravery. Yocheved, Moses’ mother, and Miriam, Moses’ older sister, were the founding members of this group. Both Yocheved and Miriam refused to submit to Pharaoh’s decree calling for all Hebrew slaves to throw their newborn baby sons into the Nile. Yocheved, helped by Miriam’s watchful eye, defies Pharaoh and his genocidal proclamations by successfully guiding Moses to safety. During this make or break moment, the women “network” with a most unlikely connection, the daughter of Pharaoh and princess of Egypt, called Batya by our rabbis. As it reads in our Torah, Pharaoh’s daughter becomes Moses’ adoptive mother during his early childhood. Without Yocheved, Miriam, and Batya’s efforts, it is doubtful that Moses, the eventual redeemer of the Jewish people, would have survived.Another renegade faction of the Exodus generation was Shiprah and Puah, the midwives who appear in the early parts of Exodus. These daring women enabled other Hebrew women to save their babies and protected the Hebrew women from Pharaoh’s retribution. We witness the women’s crafty manipulation of Pharaoh during their conversation with an irate Pharaoh, who is baffled by the high survival rates of the Jewish babies. The midwives put their lives on the line by taking the blame for the new births in the Hebrew community, “And the midwives said to Pharaoh, Because the Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women, for they are skilled as midwives; when the midwife has not yet come to them, they have already given birth” (EX 1:19). Interestingly, the rabbis of our Jewish tradition speculate that Shiprah and Puah were really Yocheved and Miriam.
See? The whole post is a lesson in being learned about women in the Exodus generation. You’ll be smarter when you finish reading it.
Speaking of Jewish women, this April 23 the 92nd Street Y will be hosting Rabbi Danya Ruttenberg, Jen Taylor Friedman, Dr. Tamar Kamionkowski and Dr. Judith Plaskow for a talk entitled Jewish Women, God and the Next Generation, where they ask what does God mean to Jewish women today? How does our contemporary moment—gendered and generational—affect our understanding of and connection to, the Divine?
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1) Break-Fast is on us! (see what we did there?)
Rebecca Rubin, a young Jewish Russian immigrant girl living on Manhattan’s Lower East Side in 1914, is the latest addition to the lineup of historical character dolls from 
92Y Tribeca’s very own Hayley Siegel is blogging for Jewcy! Hayley is the rabbinic intern at 
