WHAT’S HAPPENING – March 3 – April 11

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 3

Creating Meaningful Experiences and Moments With Grandchildren
Jewish educator, Diana Gaber, MSW, a graduate of the Wexner Heritage Foundation and a recipient of the 2008 Covenant Award for Excellence in Jewish Education, and director of Ideal 18 a non-profit bringing generations together through creative experiences, will discuss “Creating Meaningful Experiences and Moments With Grandchildren,” on March 3, 7 p.m., is the inaugural FREE event of the United Jewish Federation’s PJ Grandparents Group, hosted by United Jewish Federation of Greater Stamford and PJ Library. To register and receive Zoom link, contact sharon@ujf.org, (203) 321-1373 x109. Email questions in advance to sharon@ujf.org.

Two women talking: A rabbi and a pastor sit down for coffee
The Open MINDS Institute of Fairfield University’s Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts present “Women Who Transform Tradition: Or, What Happens When a Female Rabbi and a Female Pastor Sit Down for Coffee,” on March 3 at 1 p.m. Rabbi Sarah Marion of Congregation B’nai Israel in Bridgeport and Reverend Vanessa Rose of First Church Congregational in Fairfield, talk about about women who serve as religious leaders: their history, opportunities, and challenges. No registration is required for this FREE virtual program. For more information, visit quickcenter.com or call (203) 254-4010.

THURSDAY, MARCH 4

ALEPH presents: “Performing Judaism and Social Justice”
How to both teach and deconstruct the dominant stereotypes that Jews reinforce when teaching about Jews and Judaism is the focus of “Performing Judaism and Social Justice,” will be presented on Zoom on March 4 at 7:30 p.m., as part of the 2021 series of virtual lectures surrounding the theme of “The Jewish Roots of Social Justice.” The Zoom-theatrical performance will feature Kendell Pinkney, a Brooklyn based theater-maker, Jewish-life consultant, and JTS rabbinical student; Avi Amon, a Turkish-American composer, sound artist, and educator; and Rebecca S’manga Frank, an actor, writer, director. The performance is part of the ALEPH Institute learning initiative sponsored by the Mandell JCC and UConn Judaic Studies. For more information, visit judaicstudies.uconn.edu or mandelljcc.org.

Klezmer musician Michael Winograd & The Honorable Mentshn in concert
The Museum of Jewish Heritage – A Living Memorial to the Holocaust continues to bring live music to audiences at home through the Live from Edmond J. Safra Hall concert series, presented from its state-of-the-art theater. Next up in the series: A live performance by the celebrated klezmer musician Michael Winograd & The Honorable Mentshn on March 4 at 8 p.m.. The group will play hits from Winograd’s 2019 LP Kosher Style, classics from the golden age of Yiddish theater and Klezmer music. Winograd will lead the concert on the clarinet, joined by trombonist Daniel Blacksberg, accordionist Will Holshouser, pianist Carmen Staa, bassist Zoe Guigueno, and drummer David Licht. For more information, visit mjhnyc.org.

Short Story Coffee Break: The Wind
A Zoom discussion of the story Apple Cake by Allegra Goodman. Hosted by Congregation Beth Israel, March 4 at 11 a.m. To register and receive a copy of the next short story and a link to the Zoom discussion, email kbeyard@cbict.org.

SUNDAY, MARCH 7

Budapest and Vienna: In the Footsteps of Herzl (A Two-Part Series)
Mark Hollander will lead this two-part session exploring the achievements of the Jewish communities in these Budapest and Vienna; their complex search for identity in the 50 years leading up to World War II; the two very different stories of how anti-Jewish policies and the Shoah developed in these cities; and a discussion of Jewish life post-1945. Focus will be placed on a number of key personalities, including Theodor Herzl, Hanna Szenes, Raul Wallenberg, Sigmund Freud, Stefan Zweig and Viktor Frankl. Sessions will be held March 7 and April 11 at 1 p.m. For more information or to register, visit cbict.org/calendar.

MONDAY, MARCH 8

Voices of Hope Winter Speaker Series
Voices of Hope Winter Speaker Series: Ruth Rotkowitz author of Escaping the Whale will speak on March 8 at 7 p.m. For more information or to register, visit ctvoicesofhope.org.

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 10

The Word Mavens
A riotous virtual adventure with The Word Mavens, two Jewish women who will have you on the floor reminiscing and craving rugelach and so much more on March 10 at 7 p.m. Suggested donation of $18 for non-Sisterhood members of Congregation Beth Israel. For moer information or to register, contact Rabbi Tami Elliott Goodman at ravgoodman@icloud.com.

FRIDAY, MARCH 12

Organ Sounds Concert Series: A Tribute to J.S. Bach
Congregation Beth Israel’s monthly concert series features “A Tribute to J.S. Bach” featuring renowned organist Christa Rakich playing Beth Israel’s historic 1934 Austin 1934 organ. To be held March 12, 6:30 pm. For more information or to register, visit cbict.org/calendar.

SATURDAY, MARCH 13

The Tribe/Super Tribe Havdalah
Havdalah followed by a meet and greet for both of Tribe groups, ranging in age from 20-50. Hosted online by Congregation Beth Israel on March 13, 6:30 p.m. For more information: email Tracy Taback at tracytaback@gmail.com.

SUNDAY, MARCH 14

The legal status of the Reform Movement in Israel
Anat Hoffman, executive director of the Israel Religious Action Center (IRAC) and founder of Women of the Wall will discuss “Does the Jewish State Treat All Jews Equally? The legal status of the Reform Movement in Israel on March 14 at 11 a.m.

Hosted by Congregation Beth Israel in West Hartford, the webinar will address the challenges of having Reform conversions and weddings recognized; equal governmental funding; and the challenges facing Reform congregations win Israel. Anat was selected as “Person of the Year” by Haaretz in 2013 and chosen as one of the 50 most influential Jews by the Jerusalem Post in 2014. For more information or to register, visit cbict.org/calendar.

MONDAY, MARCH 16

Voices of Hope Winter Speaker Series
Voices of Hope Winter Speaker Series: Esther Safran Foer, author of I Want You to Know We’re Still Here. will speak on March 15 at 7 p.m. For more information or to register, visit ctvoicesofhope.org.

TUESDAY, MARCH 16

Jewish and Christian Women as Allies in Anti-Racism
15th Annual Lecture in Jewish Christian Engagement: “Lift Every Voice and Sing: Jewish and Christian Women as Allies in Anti-Racism,” with guest speaker Ann Millin, PhD, historian, Ida E King Distinguished Visiting Professor of Holocaust Studies, Richard Stockton University. A FREE webinar presented March 16 at 7:30 p.m. Co-sponsored by the Bennett Center for Judaic Studies and the Center for Catholic Studies at Fairfield University.Registration required at fairfield.edu/bennettprograms. For information: bennettcenter@fairfield.edu or (203) 254-4000 x2066.

THURSDAY, MARCH 18

Short Story Coffee Break: The Wind
A Zoom discussion of The Wind by Lauren Gross. Hosted by Congregation Beth Israel, March 18 at 11 a.m. To register and receive a copy of the next short story and a link to the Zoom discussion, email kbeyard@cbict.org.

Blacks, Jews, and Black Jews
Susannah Heschel, The Eli Black Professor of Jewish Studies at Dartmouth College, will explore the intertwined dimensions of relations between African Americans and Jewish Americans, Jewish involvement in the Civil Rights Movement, Jewish memory of the Civil Rights Movement in recent decades in light of the rise of white nationalism, and scholarship on racism and what they might contribute to our understanding of antisemitism, in her lecture “Blacks, Jews and Black Jews,” to be held on March 18 at 7:30 p.m. The lecture is part of the 2021 series of virtual lectures surrounding the theme of “The Jewish Roots of Social Justice,” presented by the ALEPH Institute learning initiative and sponsored by the Mandell JCC and UConn Judaic Studies. For more information, visit judaicstudies.uconn.edu or mandelljcc.org.

SATURDAY, MARCH 20

Virtual Tot Seder
Little ones prepare for Passover with our Tot Seder program. We’ll celebrate Shabbat through story and song and experiment with different ways to observe Passover. For more information or to register, visit cbict.org/calendar.

SUNDAY, MARCH 21

The Kosher Capones: A History of Chicago’s Jewish Gangsters
Explore the lives and criminal careers of “Zuckie the Bookie” Zuckerman, last of the West Side Jewish bosses, and Lenny Patrick, head of the Syndicate’s “Jewish Wing,” on March 21 at 5 p.m. Joe Kraus, author of The Kosher Capones: A History of Chicago’s Jewish Gangsters, will take a fascinating in-depth look inside a hidden society and the men who ran Chicago’s Jewish criminal community for more than 60 years. Joe Kraus teaches creative writing and American literature at the University of Scranton. His grandfather and great-uncles, the notorious Miller Brothers of the Jewish West Side, were among Chicago’s early Jewish gangsters. For more information on this virtual event: cbict.org.

THURSDAY, MARCH 25

Voices of Hope Winter Speaker Series
Voices of Hope Winter Speaker Series: Ewa Callahan, author of Holocaust and Film, will speak March 25 at 7 p.m. For more information or to register, visit ctvoicesofhope.org.

MONDAY, MARCH 29

“Hitler’s American Friends: The Third Reich’s Supporters in the United States”
Bradley Hart, PhD, author and associate professor, California State University, Fresno, will discuss “Hitler’s American Friends: The Third Reich’s Supporters in the United States” at a FREE webinar presented March 29 at 7:30 p.m. Co-sponsored by the Judaic Studies program and the Bennett Center for Judaic Studies at Fairfield University.Registration required at fairfield.edu/bennettprograms. For information: bennettcenter@fairfield.edu or (203) 254-4000 x2066.

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 31

Normalizing Nazism on the Internet
The Open MINDS Institute of Fairfield University’s Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts presents “Normalizing Nazism on the Internet” with guest speaker Gavriel D. Rosenfeld, PhD, on March 31 1t 1 p.m. Rosenfeld will explore the ways in which the internet offers new possibilities for educating people about the Nazi legacy, while simultaneously promoting its trivialization and “normalizing” the history of the Third Reich in contemporary culture. No registration is required for this FREE virtual program. For more information, visit quickcenter.com or call (203) 254-4010.

THURSDAY, APRIL 1

Short Story Coffee Break: The Wind
A Zoom discussion of flash fiction and short stories by the renowned Israeli writer Etgar Keret. Hosted by Congregation Beth Israeal, April 1 at 11 a.m. To register and receive a copy of the next short story and a link to the Zoom discussion, email kbeyard@cbict.org.

THURSDAY, APRIL 8

Short Story Coffee Break: A Scrap of Time
A Zoom discussion of short stories from A Scrap of Time by Polish-Israeli Holocaust survivor Ida Fink with Rabbi Andi Fliegel. Hosted by Congregation Beth Israeal, April 1 at 11 a.m. To register and receive a copy of the next short story and a link to the Zoom discussion, email kbeyard@cbict.org.

FRIDAY, APRIL 9

Organ Sounds Concert Series
Organist Scott Lamlein, director of music for St. John’s Episcopal Church in West Hartford, will perform, April 9 at 6:30 p.m.. Program will be announced. For more information or to register, visit cbict.org/calendar.

FRIDAY, APRIL 10

SUNDAY, APRIL 11

Seeking Refuge: Shanghai & Beyond
The 4th Annual Henny Simon Remembrance: “Seeking Refuge: Shanghai & Beyond” featuring guest speakers Laurence Tribe, Carl M. Loeb Professor of Constitutional Law Emeritus at Harvard Law School, and teacher Helen Elperina. This program will ex-plore the desperate search for refuge from persecution and impending death faced by Jews during the Holocaust through the experiences of Ludwig Rosenbaum z”l (father of Henny Simon), Prof.Tribe and Helen Elperina, whose stories converge in 1941. Hosted by Eastern CT chapter of Hadassah, the presentation will be held April 11 at 2 p.m. For more information and to receive the Zoom link to the program, contact Karen Bloustine at bloustinek@gmail.com.

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