Calendar
Dir. Stephane Kaas | 67 min
Documentary | Israel / Netherlands | 2018 | English and Hebrew with English subtitles
Wednesday, November 7, 7:30 PM || E Street Cinema
People from all over the world have come to love Israeli writer Etgar Keret for his surreal short stories and his hilarious live performances. As The Guardian wrote: “Spending time with him is like entering the world of his stories: suddenly, everything seems slightly off-kilter, full of comic potential.” Both Keret’s short stories and the anecdotes from his own life, share the fact that they are very relatable despite their incredible absurdities. How did Keret become such an amazing storyteller?
When two young Dutch filmmakers set out to make a film about Keret’s stories, they knew they had to make use of a lot of different techniques to truly show how his mind works. Through animations of his stories, re-enactments of his anecdotes, peeks behind the scenes and interviews with family and friends (Jonathan Safran Foer and Ira Glass among them) in Tel Aviv and New York, they try to find out why Keret’s constant storytelling has kept him alive.
Jewish Ethics: Do Torah and Morality Always Go Together?
Location: TBD
Rabbinic texts are rich in the rabbis’ ethical wrestlings with a range of topics from how to divide scarce resources, when it’s permissible to defend oneself with force, and what to do if one ox gores another. Join us in this four-part lunch and learn series in which we will dive into the rabbis’ ethical debates and shed light on our own.
The Hadar Institute is an educational institution that empowers Jews to create and sustain vibrant, practicing communities of Torah learning, prayer, and service.
Class Dates:
November 13 – Led by Rabbi Ethan Tucker
January 22 – click here to register for this class only.
March 5 – click here to register for this class only.
May 7 – click here to register for this class only.
Price:
$25 for one class and dessert and drinks
$85 for 4 class series
Bios:
Rabbi Ethan Tucker is President and Rosh Yeshiva at Mechon Hadar and chair in Jewish Law. Ethan also directs Mechon Hadar’s Center for Jewish Law and Values. Previously, Ethan was a faculty member at the Drisha Institute for Jewish Education, where he taught Talmud and Halakhah in the Scholars’ Circle. Ethan was ordained by the Chief Rabbinate of Israel and earned a doctorate in Talmud and Rabbinics from the Jewish Theological Seminary and a B.A. from Harvard College. He has been named multiple times to Newsweek’s list of the top 50 rabbis in America. A Wexner Graduate Fellow, he was a co-founder of Kehilat Hadar and a winner of the first Grinspoon Foundation Social Entrepreneur Fellowship.
Rabbi Avi Killip serves as VP of Strategy and Programs and Director of Project Zug at Mechon Hadar. Avi was ordained from Hebrew College’s pluralistic Rabbinical School in Boston. She is a Wexner Graduate Fellow and holds a Bachelors and Masters from Brandeis University in Jewish Studies and Women & Gender Studies. Avi has worked as a teacher and Jewish professional in two synagogues, an independent minyan, a mikveh, and a yeshiva.
Torah & Sexuality:
If Adam Were Eve: What does Judaism have to say about being transgender?
A partnership of GLOE – GLBTQ Outreach & Engagement at the Edlavitch DCJCC and Sixth & I, this series explores topics in Judaism relating to sexual expression and identity, presented in a contemporary queer context by rabbis and other Jewish educators. Classes are held on the second Tuesday of each month. Open to all, regardless of gender expression, sexual identity, or ability. For accommodation requests, contact gloe@edcjcc.org.
If Adam Were Eve
Jewish tradition has long engaged with gender diversity and the idea of gender beyond a binary concept, but what does Judaism have to say about being transgender today? In a class led by Rabbi Rachel Ackerman of LGBTQ-affirming synagogue Temple Shalom, explore texts and various interpretations of the first adam (human being) as a framework for discussing current transgender issues.
Each class is $18; if cost is a barrier to your participation, please email gloe@edcjcc.org.
This class is also fully inclusive of all, regardless of gender expression, sexual identity, or ability. For accommodation requests, contact gloe@edcjcc.org.
No one will be turned away from any of our classes due to lack of funds. For more information, please email gloe@edcjcc.org.
About the instructor:
Rabbi Rachel Ackerman – Senior Rabbi, Temple Shalom
Rabbi Ackerman is originally from Westfield, NJ. She attended Brandeis University as an undergraduate, and continued her studies at the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion (HUC-JIR), earning her Master of Arts in Jewish Education from the Rhea Hirsch School of Education of HUC-JIR in 2009, receiving ordination as a rabbi at the Los Angeles campus of HUC-JIR in 2011. Rabbi Ackerman has a special interest and developing expertise in issues relating to diversity, disability accessibility, and inclusion. Additionally, she is very interested in interdenominational Jewish dialogue and Jewish community efforts on issues of local global social justice.
The Kurlander Program for GLBTQ Outreach & Engagement (GLOE) is the LGBTQ outreach program of the Edlavitch DCJCC. GLOE has been recontextualizing Judaism for a contemporary queer community since its founding by Stuart S. Kurlander over ten years ago.
Sixth & I is a center for arts, entertainment, and ideas and a synagogue that reimagines how religion and community can enhance people’s everyday lives.
Dir. Tsivia Barkai Yacov | 91 min
Narrative | Israel | 2018 | Hebrew with English subtitles
Thursday, November 15, 7:30 PM || Bethesda Row Cinema
Tsivia Barkai Yacov’s auspicious debut tackles a teen girl’s sexual awakening, set against the backdrop of an East Jerusalem settlement. Benny’s mother died giving birth to her, and she grew up alone with her caring yet patriarchal father.
He is a figure of authority and a mentor for many people in their ultra-religious community, but can be overbearing at times. As Benny begins questioning her father’s utopian nationalism and strict religiosity, she’s thrown into emotional turmoil when she meets Yael, a self-confident young woman who bring out a deep-seated longing and desire in her.
Nominated for 4 Ophirs (Israel’s Academy Awards) and winner of Best Feature and Best Actress (Avigayil Kovary) at the 2018 Jerusalem Film Festival.
“You need to eat four more pieces!” . . . “Bedtime NOW” . . . “NO! I do it!” Power struggles are maddening for parents, and, it turns out, not good for children either. Putting these struggles in a developmental context, this workshop will provide strategies for how to encourage your child’s growing need to assert independence while still maintaining your control and authority. Struggles around mealtime, potty training, cooperation and others will be addressed. Led by Claire Lerner, a licensed clinical social worker and child development specialist.
Presented in partnership with Mary’s Center
Mary’s Center is dedicated to your overall wellness – including your body, mind, and spirit. Our comprehensive health care services include medical, dental, and behavioral health for all ages and income levels. Recently named a 2018 Health Center Quality Leader by HRSA, we are honored to be recognized among the top performing community health centers in the U.S. We owe this success to our Social Change Model which links health care to community-based support services while helping family members reach their education goals. To learn more about Mary’s Center visit www.maryscenter.org or call (844) 796-2797.
22nd Annual Everything But the Turkey – Young Professionals Edition
Calling all young professionals!
Join the Edlavitch DCJCC’s EntryPointDC and The Jewish Federation of Greater Washington’s Young Leadership to prepare delicious and nutritious Thanksgiving side dishes for people facing hunger and homelessness in our community.
Come chop, mix, and prepare Thanksgiving-themed dishes that will be distributed by DC Central Kitchen to those in need in the DC area. We will be preparing green beans, yams, and collard greens.
22nd Annual Everything But the Turkey
Join hundreds of volunteers over 2 days to prepare thousands of Thanksgiving meals for those in need at local community kitchens, transitional housing facilities and homeless shelters.
In partnership with DC Central Kitchen.
Dir. Shawn Snyder | 90 min
Narrative | United States | 2018 | English
Wednesday, December 5, 7:30 PM || E Street Cinema
A Hasidic cantor (Géza Röhrig, Son of Saul) from upstate New York—distraught by the untimely death of his wife—struggles to find religious solace, while secretly obsessing over how her body will decay.
As a clandestine partnership develops with Albert (Matthew Broderick), a local community college biology professor, the two embark on a darkly comic and increasingly literal undertaking into the underworld.
Join the EDCJCC and the Hadar Institute for a morning workshop focused on themes associated with Chanukah and the holiday season. The Hadar Institute is an educational institution that empowers Jews to create and sustain vibrant, practicing communities of Torah learning, prayer, and service. This program will include a panel and breakout sessions full of cross-cultural, passionate discussions open to all, regardless of a participant’s background or affiliation.
SCHEDULE
9:45am—10:00am Doors Open and Registration
10:00am—11:15am Plenary Session
11:15am—11:30am Break
11:30am—12:20pm Breakout Sessions
COST
General Admission: $18
Student Admission: $10
Co-sponsored by:
Hadar’s Winter Learning Seminar is a remarkable opportunity to immerse yourself in 3 days of Jewish study and to explore such questions as: What kind of human beings are we asked to be? What is the relationship between right actions and right intentions? Why is law necessary, but not sufficient to Judaism’s vision of a religious life? Should we assess our leaders primarily by their accomplishments or their character? This program is for adults of all ages who are looking for deep Jewish learning, and we welcome participants from across the denominational spectrum, and from all Jewish educational backgrounds. Learn with members of Hadar’s faculty, including Rabbis Shai Held, Avi Strausberg, and Ethan Tucker!
In addition, we are planning parallel programming for children, led by educators at Milton. Sign up yourself, or bring the whole family!
Co-presented by the Edlavitch DCJCC and Milton Gottesman Jewish Day School of the Nation’s Capital
The Edlavitch DCJCC embraces inclusion in all its programs and activities. We welcome and encourage the participation of all people, regardless of their background, sexual orientation, abilities, or religion, including interfaith couples and families.