The Israel Film Festival has shown more than 800 features films, documentaries, television dramas and short films to roughly 900,000 film enthusiasts. What makes this annual event so unique is that is plays in Los Angeles, New York and Miami—a rarity on the film festival circuit. Since debuting in 1981 with just half a dozen movies, the festival has become one of the nation's leading foreign film festivals and the largest showcase for Israeli films in the United States as well as a launching pad for several notable U.S. premieres.
The extraordinary collection of stylish cinema, gripping dramas, thought-provoking documentaries and offbeat comedies, including all seven Israeli films that have been nominated for Academy Awards, appeal to everyone from the most discerning film critic to family audiences. Festival-goers are treated to a bird's eye view of spotlight premieres in post-screening Q&As with the filmmakers.
For a complete list of films and schedule, click here.
When: December 5-13, 2009
Where: SVA Theaters, 333 W. 23rd St, off 8th Avenue.
Join Rabbi Dan and members of The New Shul at Limmud NY on January 15-18, 2010 (MLK Weekend) at the Hudson Valley Resort. Limmud NY is a marketplace of all things Jewish. Come celebrate the rich diversity of Jewish life, culture, ideas and perspectives with Jews of all ages and backgrounds.
Choose from 300+ sessions, including text study with Rabbi Dan, poetry with Alana Joblin Ain, a parenting class by member Susan Berger and much more, including: art, music, film, yoga, and nature walks. Or just hang out, relax, eat, meet new friends and grow your Jewish world.
Payment plans and scholarships are available. To register, click here or call 212-284-6968.
In honor of Ellen Gould's performance of BubbeMeises, Bubbe Stories last June, the Museum of Jewish Heritage has invited all New Shulers as their guest to attend "Sexually Speaking: Questions and Answers from Dr. Ruth" featuring Dr. Ruth Westheimer. Tickets are free for New Shul members - contact The New Shul office by phone or email to receive the password.
A special tour of the museum's latest exhibition "The Morgenthaus: A Legacy of Service" will be available prior to the program for those interested. We will meet at the entrance of the museum at 5:30pm. Where: Museum of Jewish Heritage, 36 Battery Place When: Wednesday, December 9th at 7 PM
The New Shul is partnering up with the Pajama Program, a non-profit organization that provides new pajamas and books to needy children throughout the US and all over the world. They provide these essentials to children from ages newborn through 17 years, some of whom have never owned a pair of pjs.
Since 2001, they have provided 350,000 pairs of pajamas and 140,000 books for needy children nationwide. Please help make these children's nights warmer and happier with a new pair of pajamas and a new book this holiday season.
We are collecting pjs and books at Rishonim from 4-6pm on the following dates: 11/30, 12/1, 12/3, 12/8, 12/10 and 12/17. Thank you so much for your generous donation during this very important time of year.
In class this past week, we wrote scripts imagining what the first conversation between Isaac and Rebecca was like when they were first introduced, already destined to be married.Here are some of the scripts our class came up with!
Alex and Lokae:
Together: STRAIGHT FROM THE BIBLE!
Isaac: Hey Eliezer, that better be my future wife.
Rebecca: Yes, I am.
Isaac: Cool… um… can’t think of anything to say…
Rebecca: Well, this is awkward.
Isaac: Well, I like your sweatshirt!
Rebecca: Yeah, uhh… I like your sneakers.
Isaac: Yeah, they were custom made.
Rebecca: Yeah.
Isaac: Yep.
Rebecca: So what do you do?
Isaac: Well, I’m a Sheppard.
Rebecca: That’s fantabulous! I totally love animals!
Isaac: I have an elephant and turtle farm down in Canaan!
Rebecca: Okay, that's really weird
Isaac: So are you prepared to spend the rest of your life with me?
Rebecca: Yeah, lets go.
Isaac: Okay!
Hazel and Aja:
Directors note: Parentheses indicates thoughts in the character's head.
Isaac: (hmmm… Eliezer did a good job, I hope?) Why hello there young lady.
Rebecca: Hi! So aren’t we getting married? (Awkward.)
Isaac: Why yes, I believe so.Well, hi, I’m Isaac.
Rebecca: Oh yeah, Rebecca.
Isaac: It’s a pleasure to meet you. (I think.)
Rebecca: Me too. (I think.) So, do you like animals?
Isaac: Why yes, I spent most of my years with sheep. Amazing animals. Sheep. I work with them (Ugh!).
Rebecca: Oh so you’re a Sheperd? (Maybe this guy’s not so bad…)
Isaac: Oh, uh, yeah, yeah.
Rebecca: You know, I like donating to charities. Do you ever do anything like that?
Isaac: Oh Sure! I LOVE charities! (charities?)
Rebecca: That’s great!
Isaac: You know, I think we could get along very well.
Rebecca: Yeah, me too (I hope the wedding has flowers) I love flowers.Oops did I say that out loud?
Isaac: Um… yeah, you did.
Rebecca: Oh, well, we could definitely get along.
Isaac:O course, I’m looking forward to having you as my wife! (I hope the wedding has sheep as bridesmaids.) I love brodesmaids, I mean sheep! Yeahhh... sheep…
Rebecca: Yeah me too. (I’m starting to like this guys)
THEY WALK INTO THE SUNSET TOGETHER HAND IN HAND.
Asher, Olivia and Lily
Isaac: Um….
Rebecca: Uh….
Isaac: Who is this?
Eliezer: This is your future wife, Rebecca!
Iaac: WWWHHHAAAATTTTT!?!??!?!?!?!
Rebecca: Problem?
Isaac: Uh… YES! Eliezer, is this a joke?
Eliezer: No, remember you asked me to find you a wife?
Isaac: Hmmm…. (Isaac checks Rebecca out while Rebecca stands there dumbstruck.)
Isaac: Okay she’s cool.
Eliezer: AWWWW! I wanted her! No fair! (Runs off stage crying.)
Isaac: Come on Rebecca, my future beautiful (accent) wife.
Rebecca: OK!
To see our first Torah Teen Blogger entry, click here.
Celebrate the season! Help us build a Chanukah Light Sculpture in Washington Square Park.
Help The New Shul create a public Light Sculpture in the heart of Greenwich Village that will shine a light on the miracle of Chanukah and send a message of hope and peace to our community and the world. Dance to the music of THE SHUK, sing some Chanukah songs, keep warm with a cup of steaming hot chocolate and taste tradition with a delicious potato latke! This is a free event.
Bring your family and friends—all are welcome!
Where:Near the Washington Square Park Fountain (rain location: 272 W. 10th Street, b/w Greenwich and Washington Sts)
Member Oren Moverman's movie The Messenger opens this weekend. Oren will be doing some Q&A's at the theaters this weekend; it is opening at the Angelica and Lincoln Plaza.
From the review in this week's New Yorker:
In “The Messenger,” Captain Tony Stone (Woody Harrelson), an Army lifer with a shaved head and a face like a cement block, and Staff Sergeant Will Montgomery (Ben Foster), a coiled, secretive Iraq-war hero, work together in one of the most difficult jobs in the armed services: informing parents and spouses that a loved one has been killed. They tell them immediately, hard upon the death, before the news can appear on the Internet or in the local paper. Messengers? For the families, the sternly polite men, arriving at the door in bemedalled uniforms and tilted berets, seem to be death itself. There’s an excruciatingly obvious but unavoidable irony here: “The Messenger” has also taken on the unwelcome task of telling its audience what it doesn’t much want to hear—how families are devastated by war. Yet the film is neither dutiful nor solemn. This is a fully felt, morally alert, marvellously acted piece of work. Despite the grim subject, it’s a sweet-tempered movie, with moments of explosive humor—an entertainment.
The picture was written not by Americans but by two foreign-born men working in Hollywood—Alessandro Camon, an Italian, and Oren Moverman, the director, who is a four-year veteran of the Israeli military. If these two missed certain shades of American colloquial speech, my ear didn’t detect it. The movie is by turns loquacious and raptly silent, and Moverman, directing for the first time, is tremendously talented at handling actors; he gives them the time and the space to work out characters who have layers and corners and shadows. We get to know these men well, yet we still think of them as mysterious.
At Club Shabbat, we'll get into the Shabbat groove with the help of Raz and David (plus his guitar!). Open to children of all ages!
Pizza, challah and grape juice will be served.
When: Friday, November 13 Time: 6:15-7pm Where: VCS
Parents are invited to join in the fun or to check out our main service in the auditorium. Club Shabbat will continue with children programming until the main service is finished. Spread the word - all are invited.
College students that are members of NYU's Iranian Jewish Club have teamed up with the Modeling Club to host their 2nd Annual Benefit Fashion Show!! Please join these neighbors of ours for an elegant and exciting evening showcasing some of NYC's finest designers on Saturday night, November 14th from 8:00pm till 11:00pm. The event will be at 60 Washington Square South in NYU's Kimmel Center, 10th floor Rosenthall Pavillion. Enjoy exquisite desserts, pleasant music, and most importantly, chic, sophisticated fashion. Celebrate the Persian Jewish culture and help them reach their goal of $10,000 for Save a Child's Heart! For more information about the event, please www.icjny.com
There's also a pre-party! Join Arts on the Move and the Iranian Jewish Club at New York University on Thursday, November 12th from 7:30pm till 9:30pm at The Bronfman Center (7 East 10th Street) for a pre-fashion show extravaganza of wine, cheese, and live jazz music as we showcase the opening photography gallery exhibit of Save a Child's Heart.
All proceeds from these events go to Save a Child's Heart (http://www.saveachildsheart.org/). Save a Child’s Heart is an organization that supports the implementation of medical treatment centers in developing countries to ensure that every child receives proper medical treatment regardless of race, nationality, religion, or financial situation. $10,000 is the amount of money needed to cover the entire cost of transportation, surgery, and care of a child in need of life-saving cardiac surgery. Please help save ONE child's heart by coming to the gallery event and the fashion show or by visiting the donation page.
For more information, please visit the facebook page or contact Natan Edelsburg at 646-528-7202 or natan@nyu.edu.
A group of us gathered together this past Saturday to spend time at Chelsea's Kids' Club, organizing games and activities for kids in need.
We started our day outside jumping rope, playing Trust games, and getting to know each other.
We them moved inside for a story and an art project about magic. Working in teams we drew beautiful pictures about things that can help protect us, while getting to know each other on an even deeper level.
Our partnership continues with four more sessions throughout the fall and winter moths. Join us if you want to meet the amazing children and help the Chelsea community in a positive way.
Mark your calendar: 12/5, 1/23, 3/6, and 4/17. We meet from 11am-2pm.
In this week's Torah portion, Vayeira, Abraham is given his tenth and final test, referred to as the Akeidah (the binding of Isaac). The above video actually talks about a different, less known, part of this Torah portion.
"You want to do everything you can to protect your children form suffering -- but this is the growing-up process," notes Evan Wolkstein, the narrator of this video. "Could you have become the person you are without the suffering you've gone through?" Do we need to suffer greatly in order to become great? How do each of our experiences - the big ones, and the small ones - mold us into the people that we become?
Let us know your thoughts on these questions or add your own questions to the comment section. Wishing you all a Shabbat Shalom!
Acclaimed city writers Susan Shapiro and Amy Sohn will join Rabbi Dan for a discussion about sex, relationships, obsessions and Torah on Friday, November 20 at 7 pm at Honey, located at 243 West 14th Street (b/w 7-8th Aves).
“Having intimate relations on Shabbat counts as a double mitzvah, according to Jewish law,” said Rabbi Dan. “Together with writers Susan Shapiro and Amy Sohn, two chroniclers of the sex lives of New Yorkers, we’ll explore how this actually plays itself out in the city.”
The event, which is open to the public, is part of Shabbat on Tap, a new Shabbat-in-a-Bar series for New Yorkers that tackles big questions over cold beer.
About the Writers
Susan Shapiro is co-editor of Food for the Soul and author of the nonfiction books Only as Good as Your Word, Lighting Up, Secrets of a Fix-Up Fanatic, and Five Men Who Broke My Heart, which was optioned for a feature film. She written for TheNew York Times, Washington Post, L.A. Times, Newsweek, Salon.com, Daily Beast, The Forward, Village Voice, People, More, Glamour, and Cosmopolitan. She recently sold two novels, Overexposed and Speed Shrinking. Sue lives with her husband, a TV/film writer, in Greenwich Village, where she teaches her own "instant gratification takes too long" writing method at the New School, NYU and in private workshops and seminars.
Amy Sohn is the author of the new novel Prospect Park West (Simon & Schuster) as well as Run Catch Kiss and My Old Man. For six years she was a contributing editor at New York magazine, where she wrote the columns “Naked City,” “Mating,” and “Breeding.” She has also been a columnist at the New York Post and England’s Grazia magazine.Amy authored the two tie-in books to the hit TV show, Sex and the City: Kiss and Tell and Sex and the City: The Movie, both New York Times bestsellers. Her initiation into the Manhattan media world was her “Female Trouble” column in New York Press, a dating chronicle that elicited loads of invective from readers and shamed her parents at cocktail parties. She has also written for Harper's Bazaar, Playboy, The Nation and The New York Times. She co-created, wrote, and starred in the Oxygen series "Avenue Amy." She has written television pilots for ABC, Fox, Lifetime and HBO. Amy is a Phi Beta Kappa, magna cum laude graduate of Brown University. She lives in Brooklyn with her husband and daughter.
You may also want to check out our Rebbe's Table happening on Sunday, November 22nd at City Winery (155 Varick Street) .
As part of our B'naiMtizvah Academy 6th grade program, our students are studying the weekly Torah portion through plays, debate, journal writing and more. We will be posting some of the students work throughout the year. Check back regularly.
GOD Anonymous God. Creator, Destroyer, The rich, The poor, The great, The bad, Here, There, Everywhere, Is with us, Is without us, Our friend, Our savior, God.
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By Lokae Harmon
I think that covenants and promises are the base of all humanity. People make oaths (promises) to themselves and others everyday without even realizing that they are.
No wedding planned, but we do have a little list of gifts we're hoping for -- and it will keep growing and changing all year. Whatever you give is needed, appreciated and tax-deductible. Give now -- it's easy.
Check out The New Shul's Battle of the Briskets Featured on:
Recommended by member Erica Sigmon.
