Вебинар - Нет насилия в духовном
2020-11-29 09:00 - 10:00 (America/New_York)
Нет насилия в духовном. Это значит, что если творение желает какого-то состояния – оно и осуществится. Поэтому, мы всегда находимся в том состоянии, которое соответствует нашему желанию, и что хотели, то и получаем. То, что свет не воздействует на нас (согласно нашему же желанию), и в результате мы чувствуем себя несчастными – так это уже следствие, из нашего же решения.

Какое желание ты хочешь осуществить – там и находишься. Творец не вмешивается в наши желания и не меняет их без нашей просьбы. Это и означает, что в духовном – нет принуждения.

Вебинар - Не ставь препятствий перед слепым
2020-12-06 09:00 - 10:00
Как маленькие дети не могут воспринять находящийся перед ними мир, который выше их понимания, так и человек, не понимающий законы природы, не воспринимает ничего выше своего уровня.
Вот почему, находясь в этом мире и изучив почти все его материальные законы, мы все же не знаем его духовных законов. Мы будто потеряли способность управлять своей жизнью: семьей, страной, народом, миром, человеческими взаимоотношениями, финансами, торговлей. Происходит что-то странное, с каждым днем становящееся все более непонятным и неведомым.
И весь мир начинает понимать, что в нашей жизни действуют новые законы, новые условия, которые мы не умеем правильно организовывать. Постижение высшей силы по ее действиям становится в наше время насущно необходимым даже для самого простого материального существования.

United For Protection
2020-12-06 18:30 - 19:30
Anticipation is building for the Siyum of the Miracle Sefer Torah.
Hundreds of thousands of Jews across the world united in its creation, now we will unite in celebrating its completion. Just added to the musical program is Lipa Schmeltzer…
To watch the siyum live, log on to unitedforprotection.com on Sunday, December 6th, 6:30 PM.

The Empire Shoots Back: From Survival Labor to Political Action in Mizrahi Feminist Video Art
2020-12-10 09:00 - 10:00
The Empire Shoots Back: From Survival Labor to Political Action in Mizrahi Feminist Video Art
Thursday, December 10, 2020
9:00 – 10:00 AM EST
Via Zoom
Register

Join us and Vered Nissim, in conversation with Dr. Sivan Rajuan Shtang, in the second Studio Israel: Conversation Series.
Vered Nissim is an Israeli based visual artist, mostly focused on photography and video installations. The home and family sphere is her primary source material, showing an insider point of view on immigration, social mobility, and capitalist myths, in particular ones that relate to the perception of femininity.
Dr. Sivan Rajuan Shtang is a visual culture scholar interested in the various modes of intersection between the axis of race, class, gender, and sexuality in Israeli and Zionist art and visual culture.

A pilot partnership between the Schusterman Center, Hadassah-Brandeis Institute, and the Jewish Arts Collaborative, and chaired by artist Caron Tabb, this group will bring together leaders across artforms and backgrounds to understand how Israeli art represents the swath of cultural opportunities and challenges that face Israel currently. With a focus on female artists of diverse Israeli backgrounds, we’ll dive deep into what Israel is today.
Series made possible with generous support from CJP Arts & Culture.

The next events in the series will take place 9:00 – 10:00 AM EST:

Thursday, February 11, 2021
Thursday, April 8, 2021

Questions? Email Amy Powell.

Playground of the Autocrats
2020-12-10 17:30 - 18:30
Playground of the Autocrats: Zoom Conversation with Artist Anne Bobroff-Hajal
Thursday, December 10, 2020, 5:30 – 6:30 pm
Join us for our first creator conversation with painter and historian Anne Bobroff-Hajal, whose show, Playground of the Autocrats, is on view at the Museum of Russian Icons untill January 24.
Anne Bobroff-Hajal draws from the visual languages of iconography and graphic art to create large-scale paintings that feature satirical commentaries on Russian socio-political history. On view at the Museum of Russian Icons in Clinton, MA through January 24, 2021, Playground of the Autocrats presents stunningly complex triptychs and polyptychs that represent a secular art tradition directly influenced by orthodox iconography, animation, political cartoons and graphic novels–all of which tell stories in pictures and words. Video visit of the show >.
Our event offers the opportunity to hear the artist speak about her unique creative process and converse with her about the images and ideas that informed the works. The Zoom call, moderated by BRAI Executive Director, Anna Winestein, will begin with a brief presentation by Anne Bobroff-Hajal, and feature mostly interactive discussion allowing participants to engage the artist and each other. Registration is FREE, but required. Sign up here >
The Zoom link will be emailed through Eventbrite to registered attendees 24 hours and 2 hours before the start time of 5:30 pm. Additionally, all registered attendees will receive the link for a special video recorded just for BRAI, featuring Anne explaining the conception and execution of one an in-progress polyptych. Sign up at autocrats.eventbrite.com
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Anne Bobroff-Hajal has drawn on animation techniques, icons, and formats such as graphic novels to tell stories of Russian geography and history from Ivan the Terrible and Peter the Great to Stalin and Putin. Satirical commentaries on how Russia’s ruling elites have historically taken advantage of their unique geographic situation to amass and maintain power, she means for her art to honor and serve the dispossessed and forgotten.
Says Bobroff-Hajal of her work, “My extensively researched satirical polyptychs about Russia…revel in the crazy-quilt intersection of art with academic history and geography.”
A resident of Westchester, NY, Bobroff-Hajal has a Ph.D. in Russian history and is the author of the scholarly volume Working Women in Russia Under the Hunger Tsars. Her artwork has been widely exhibited and is held in private collections internationally. Most recently, Columbia University’s Harriman Institute for Russian, Eurasian, and East European Studies had a solo exhibit of her art about Russia titled “Peasants, Clans, and Effervescent Absolutists!”
Sign up for FREE to join the conversation with Anne at autocrats.eventbrite.com
Sign Up

Вебинар - Каждый судит в меру своей испорченности
2020-12-13 09:00 - 10:00
Самое главное в каббале – это те противоречия, которые раскрываются между человеком и его эгоизмом, то есть между правой и левой линией, между действительным и желаемым. Когда я вижу в другом неприятные мне качества, то должен понимать, что это – во мне. Как сказано: «Каждый судит в меру своей испорченности».
Это против нашей природы до тех пор, пока мы не привлечем к себе высший свет, и он таким образом не настроит нас.

Вебинар - Не хлебом единым жив человек
2020-12-20 09:00 - 10:00
«Ведь не хлебом единым жив человек, а всем, что исходит из уст Творца». Это означает, что жизненная сила приходит к человеку не только от приближения к Творцу и вхождения в духовное, но также вследствие выхода из духовного, то есть благодаря отдалению от Творца.

В этом заключается наш путь: нам все время дают всевозможные соблазны материальной жизни, чтобы запутать нас, а мы должны, не отказываясь от них, понижать их уровень. Нам не следует быть ни аскетами, ни отшельниками, ведь мы должны использовать все, что есть в нашем мире, но только в разумных пределах для нормального, рационального существования. А все, что не ради необходимости поддержания себя, устремлять в духовное. Эти два аспекта необходимо уравновесить.

Вебинар - Нет худа без добра
2020-12-27 09:00 - 10:00
Все творение состоит из двух противоположных частей, систем, сил, и поэтому именно из противоположности мы понимаем всё. Потому мы и находимся в нашем мире, поскольку он полностью противоположен духовному – Высшему миру.
И именно из противопоставления между этими двумя мирами мы начинаем всё постигать. Ведь все наши органы чувств воспринимают только то, что отличается друг от друга. Чем больше существует отличий объектов и явлений по различным параметрам, тем глубже наше ощущение.

Встреча с главным Дедом Морозом Украины
2020-12-27 12:00 - 13:00
У ваших детей есть вопросы к Деду Морозу?
Очень удачно! Мы как раз готовим встречу с главным Дедом Морозом Украины.
Присылайте вопросы заранее по адресу info@centermakor@org. Автор лучшего вопроса получит подарок!
Смотрите в прямом эфире
в воскресенье, 27 декабря в 12:00
на нашем канале на YouTube.

Смотрите на YouTube

Введение в каббалу - 10 недель
2021-01-06
Курс дает представление о происхождении и развитии мира, причине и цели существования человека.
Вы научитесь ориентироваться в книгах по каббале и практически применять полученные знания.
Программа курса
– Основы каббалы
– Восприятие реальности
– История каббалы
– Развитие желаний
– Строение мироздания
– Единственность Творца
– Душа и тело
– Свобода выбора и окружение
– Три фактора духовного развития
– Итоговый урок

3GNY Stories Live: WEDU Wednesdays Featuring Jenna Polivy
2021-01-06 20:00 - 21:00
3GNY Stories Live: WEDU Wednesdays
From Darkness to Light
Featuring Guest Speaker Jenna Polivy
Wednesday, January 6, 2021 | 8:00 pm ET | Virtual Event on Zoom

Jenna Polivy, a granddaughter of two Holocaust survivors, was fortunate enough to spend much of her childhood with her loving grandparents. Her grandmother, Dina, was on the second transport of Jewish women to Auschwitz, where she miraculously survived for over three years. Her grandfather, Elias, escaped from a Dutch labor camp and spent the war in his native Amsterdam under a false identity, narrowly escaping capture multiple times.
Jenna will focus on Grandma Dina’s story. Grandma Dina preferred to discuss her idyllic childhood in Poland rather than her experiences during the war. Although Jenna knew that Grandma Dina had been in a concentration camp during the war, she didn’t fully appreciate the horrors that Dina had to endure until she read a book (Rena’s Promise: A Story of Sisters in Auschwitz) authored by Grandma Dina’s sister, and heard Grandma Dina’s video testimony, which Jenna discovered by chance during a visit to the Museum of Jewish Heritage in New York City.
Jenna Polivy
Jenna became a 3GNY speaker in 2016 to share the lessons she learned from her grandparents about resilience, perspective, the importance of family, and the significance of small acts of kindness.
Jenna lives in Manhattan with her husband, who is also a 3G. She has a B.A. from Hamilton College and a J.D. from the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law. She is currently a Business Development Manager at a large law firm in Manhattan.
Register

Вебинар - Хорошо там, где нас нет
2021-01-10 09:00 - 10:00
Возможность подняться над своим эгоизмом является новым средством связи, общения в отношениях между людьми и с окружающим нас миром. Это средство должно быть всегда в руках человека и никогда нельзя пренебрегать им.

В отношениях между товарищами человек может видеть достоинства товарища, но наша эгоистическая природа противоположна такому отношению к людям и миру, нам хочется всегда видеть недостатки товарища, а не его достоинства. Поэтому, несмотря на то, что мы обычно считаем другого неправым, необходимо всегда стараться оправдать его, а это возможно только оценивая товарища выше нашего эгоизма. То есть, несмотря на то, что разум не может оправдать товарища, человек может оправдать его выше своего разума, внося поправку на свое искаженное видение мира.

3GNY Stories Live: WEDU Wednesdays Featuring Alison Berg
2021-01-20 20:00 - 21:00
3GNY Stories Live: WEDU Wednesdays
From a Hungarian Matzo Factory to a Nazi Airplane Factory
Featuring Guest Speaker Alison Berg
Wednesday, January 20, 2021 | 8:00 pm ET | Virtual Event on Zoom

Alison will share the story of her maternal grandmother, Anna Kohn, who grew up in Hungary and worked in the small matzo factory her family owned, which was right next to their home. Anna learned the mechanics of the factory and worked there while attending higher-level schooling in the nearby city as she studied to become a surgeon.
Late into the war, Anna was separated from her mother and taken from her home. She was held in a ghetto and transported to Auschwitz before being sent to Sachsenhausen to work at a Nazi airplane factory. With instincts, faith, and a strong will, she was able to not only survive, but rebel in small but lifesaving ways.
Alison Berg
Alison Berg is the granddaughter of two Holocaust survivors, and grew up in New Jersey minutes away from the chicken farm her grandparents owned upon arriving in America. She graduated from the University of Michigan with degrees in Communications and Political Science, and now works as a director at a communications firm specializing in nonprofit clients — using storytelling to advocate for meaningful causes and enhance their impact.
After hearing stories in pieces over the years, Alison joined WEDU in January 2019 and put the full narrative of her grandmother’s life together to share with students. Her participation in the program was inspired by a conversation with her little sister in the BIg Brothers BIg Sisters program, who was shocked to learn she was just one degree of separation from a real survivor, and that someone from that historical period could still be alive.
Alison hopes her participation in 3GNY helps students more easily connect to the not-so-ancient history, realizing what hate and intolerance is capable of destroying, and what faith and love is capable of surviving.
Register

Russian Film Week
2021-01-23 12:00 - 2021-01-27 20:00
Russian Film Week in New York (RFWNY) was co-founded and successfully re-launched by the 501(c) (3) non-profit arts organization, Cherry Orchard Festival Foundation (USA) and Rock Studio Films (Russia) in 2018. This partnership aims to develop a multi-state, annual week-long showcase, in an effort to present independent, commercial, documentary and arthouse Russian films with subtitles to mainstream US audiences.
Over 18 events were presented during the first Russian Film Week in December of 2018, including free and paid screenings, movie premieres, screenings and events for kids, free community events, panels, Q&A discussions with artists and directors, press events, and opening/closing night private/semi-private receptions. In June of 2019, Russian Film Week in New York started a new initiative to promote Russian movies: we presented free screenings of two Russian films (with subtitles) at New York’s Wolfe’s Pond Park in Staten Island, as part of the NY City Council’s Cultural Initiative, supported by New York City Councilman Joseph C. Borelli (district 51).
Visit russianfilmweekusa.com to learn more, view festival program, and buy tickets.
Tickets

Вебинар - В тихом омуте черти водятся
2021-01-24 09:00 - 10:00
Коммуникативные навыки крайне необходимы. Мы видим, насколько их отсутствие в каждом человеке ведет нас к непониманию друг друга, к уединению. Коммуникация – это практически всё.
Дело в том, что все мы, изначально созданные эгоистами, считаем, что можем спокойно прожить с нашим эго, и нам вообще никто не нужен. А если кто-то и нужен, то только тот, кого я в какой-то мере могу переносить и использовать. Но это неверно. Объединяясь с близкими по духу людьми, у которых есть одна общая цель в жизни, человек может развиваться до абсолютно бесконечных состояний.

“Украденный поцелуй” – Жан Оноре Фрагонар
2021-01-24 19:00 - 20:30
Artworks with Liliya Varon представляет
“Украденный поцелуй” – Жан Оноре Фрагонар
Невинный поцелуй, пылающая страсть, азарт любовной интриги и всё пронизывающая фривольность века рококо… Слова не опишут, а вот картины… 4 картины Фрагонара проведут Вас по тропинкам интриг 18 века, где любовь – это игра по правилам и без, победитель не прочь поменяться местами с побеждённым, а на кону – репутация и сама жизнь.
Как зайти на лекцию:
1. Оплатить 15 $ через Venmo (@Liliya_Varon) / Zelle (varonliliya@gmail.com or 774-331-7067).
2. Нажать на Zoom link:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85403821718…
Meeting ID: 854 0382 1718
Passcode: [REDACTED]

Preserving the Memory of Auschwitz Survivors
2021-01-27 20:00 - 21:00
Join 3Gs Across the United States and Israel
on International Holocaust Remembrance Day

Register

MIGRATION and MEMORY: Songs and Romances at Faneuil Hall
2021-01-31 18:00 - 20:00
Virtual Concert by Tanya Bertier, Mezzo-soprano & Sima Kustanovich, Piano
Sunday January 31, 2021, 6 pm (premiere), 7 pm (Zoom conversation)
Available on demand January 31 – February 7
Join us for our first concert of 2021, in a series being recorded at Faneuil Hall! The program explores emigres from the Russian empire who settled in the US, UK, France and Israel, and the music they wrote about their original as well adopted homelands. Register to watch >>
Migration and Memory: Songs and Romances features music by IRVING BERLIN, SASHA ARGOV, MORDECHAI ZE’IRA, ARNOLD PERLMUTTER, as well as RACHMANINOFF, GLAZUNOV and PROKOFIEV, among a total of 12 composers, who lived in 6 different countries (complete program on Eventbrite >>). This series is the product of BRAI’s new collaboration with the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company of Massachusetts (established in 1638). The performance, recorded live earlier this month, lasts an hour. The premiere on the 31st will be immediately followed by a real-time Zoom conversation with the musicians and other viewers. Learn more at migrationmemory.eventbrite.com >>
Links to the unlisted Youtube page for the concert video as well as the Zoom Q&A will be emailed to registered attendees both 24 hours and 2 hours before the premiere starts. The video will remain available for a week and registration for on-demand viewing after the 31st will stay open. Sign up to watch >>
Ticket purchases and donations are shared by BRAI and the artists, with BRAI’s portion supporting the maintenance and restoration of the piano. Free registration is available.
Tickets

TANYA BERTIER started her musical training in Krivoi Rog, Ukraine before earning a Bachelor’s in Vocal Performance at the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance followed by a Master’s at the Buchmann-Mehta School of Music in Tel Aviv. Initially a lyrical mezzo soprano, she performed as a soloist of Women Vocalise Ensemble, and took on operatic roles such as Carmen (Carmen) and Polina (Dame de Pique). With time and experience, her voice has evolved to full dramatic mezzo. Ms. Bertier commenced her US career with two productions of Hansel und Gretel at the New York Opera Forum and the New York Lyric Opera (interpreting the roles of the Witch and Gertrude, respectively). Other roles followed, including Santuzza (Cavalleria Rusticana), La Zia Principessa (Suor Angelica), Amneris (Aida), Azucena (Il Trovatore), Madame de la Haltiere (Cendrillon), and of course Waltraute (Götterdämmerung) Erda (Das Rheingold) and Fricka (Die Walküre) from the Wagnerian repertoire. Ms. Bertier recently made her Carnegie Hall debut in the Opera Showcase program and was chosen as a finalist of the Wagner, Strauss and Mahler International Vocal Competition.

SIMA KUSTANOVICH is one of the Northeast’s most sought after pianists. Hailed by the Worcester Telegram & Gazette for the “extraordinary intensity and brilliance of her playing,” she has performed in acclaimed international venues, including France’s Courchevel Chamber Music Festival, New York City’s BargeMusic, Toronto’s Royal Conservatory Chamber Music Series, Niagara on the Lake Music Festival, Summit Festival, Sweden’s St. Jacob’s Cathedral, Hungary’s Matthias Cathedral, Prague’s Hlahol and major cities of Russia, Austria, Italy and Estonia. Currently on the faculties of Clark University, where she is a Distinguished Artist, and Walnut Hill School for Performing Arts, she previously had appointments at the St. Petersburg Conservatory and the famed Leningrad Opera and Ballet Theater.

HISTORIC VENUE + HISTORIC GIFT
THE ANCIENT AND HONORABLE ARTILLERY COMPANY is a service organization preserving historic and civic traditions of Boston, Massachusetts, and the United States. The oldest chartered military organization in the western hemisphere, the Ancients have had their headquarters and Museum on the fourth floor of historic Faneuil Hall since 1742. Historically, members of this Company have served in every Massachusetts colonial war and national conflict since the company’s founding in 1638. Today they participate in national holiday celebrations, add a measure of pomp and pageantry to the great events of our city and the Commonwealth and turn out for special commemorations. Learn more about the Ancients >>
This collaboration is possible thanks to the generous gift of a 1926 Steinway Model M baby grand from Bliss I. Rand, MD. BRAI’s instrument has been placed in the AHAC Museum at Faneuil Hall to enable live concerts to be held by both organizations. The virtual format is currently a necessity, but we look forward to holding in-person concerts when the building reopens to the public. If you would like to support the restoration and ongoing maintenance of the piano, you can do so through our Piano Fund campaign >>.
Tickets

Леонид Спивак. Бостон в русской культуре
2021-02-03 19:00 - 20:00
Уникальная бесплатная online лекция
Леонид Спивак
Бостон в русской культуре
Старейшее русское игровое пособие в коллекции Гарварда. Русский ленд-лиз XVIII века. Создавал ли Пушкин вестерн? Как бостонский «Кофейный дом» повлиял на Гоголя?

Лекция организована факультетом иностранных языков и кафедрой русского языка Бостонского университета. На русском языке.
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Maxim D. Shrayer and Tatiana Rebecca Shrayer
2021-02-11 19:00 - 20:00
Join us to hear the daughter-and-father team of Tatiana Rebecca Shrayer and Maxim D. Shrayer as they read from and discuss their new books!
Click here to register for this Zoom webinar: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/8416053015193/WN_yF3D8u22Ske4gc7Nmr3xFg

Free Quilling Online Class
2021-02-14 16:00 - 17:00
Free
Quilling Online Class
from almaoriginalart.com
An introductory class for beginners.
All you need to know to start quilling
in just one hour!
Want to try quilling during class and get immediate feedback?
Want to be able to ask any questions in real-time?
You got it!!!
A list of recommended tools and materials will be sent with sign-in confirmation.
Sunday – Feb 14,2021 – 4pm
Register now!

Carved Sticks and Honey Stones: Zionism in Yiddish Children’s Literature After the Holocaust
2021-02-18 12:00 - 13:00
Carved Sticks and Honey Stones: Zionism in Yiddish Children’s Literature After the Holocaust
February 18, 2021
12:00 – 1:00 PM EST

Register
Miriam Udel is Associate Professor of German Studies and Jewish Studies at Emory University, where her teaching focuses on Yiddish language, literature, and culture. She holds an AB in Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations from Harvard University, as well as a PhD in Comparative Literature from the same institution. She was ordained in 2019 as part of the first cohort of the Executive Ordination Track at Yeshivat Maharat, a program designed to bring qualified mid-career women into the Orthodox rabbinate.
Udel’s academic research interests include 20th century Yiddish literature and culture, Jewish children’s literature, and American-Jewish literature. She is the author of “Never Better!: The Modern Jewish Picaresque” (University of Michigan Press), winner of the 2017 National Jewish Book Award in Modern Jewish Thought and Experience. She’s the editor and translator of “Honey on the Page: A Treasury of Yiddish Children’s Literature” appeared in October with New York University Press. It is the first comprehensive anthology of Yiddish children’s literature in English.
More events from Schusterman Center for Israel Studies

Mini TRIVIA игра для всех!
2021-02-24 19:30
Центр Макор, Silver Studio, Limmud Mini-me и Нетривиальная представляют
Mini TRIVIA игра для всех!
К самому весёлому еврейскому празднику Пурим
24 февраля в 7:30 p.m.
Смотрите в прямом эфире!
Участвуйте и выигрывайте призы от нашего спонсора!
Информация и регистрация команд – limmudminime.org

The Cherry Orchard: A New Media Workshop
2021-02-26 20:00 - 21:00
Baryshnikov Arts Center and Cherry Orchard Festival Foundation Co-Present
Arlekin Players Theatre’s
The Cherry Orchard: A New Media Workshop
An Interactive Online Theater Experience Starring Jessica Hecht with Anna Baryshnikov, Darya Denisova, Jeffrey Hayenga, Melanie Moore, Nael Nacer, Mark Nelson, and special guest Mikhail Baryshnikov
February 26, 2021 at 8PM – Special Event
FEBRUARY 16, 2021 – New York, NY – Baryshnikov Arts Center and Cherry Orchard Festival Foundation co-present an interactive new media experiment, adapted from Anton Chekhov’s The Cherry Orchard, created by Boston’s award-winning Arlekin Players Theatre and their newly-established Zero Gravity (zero-G) Virtual Performance Lab. The Cherry Orchard: A New Media Workshop will debut online Friday, February 26, 2021 at 8PM ET as part of Baryshnikov Arts Center (BAC)’s Digital Spring 2021 Season. Registration for this free event is required at BACNYC.ORG. This presentation is not open for review.

The Cherry Orchard: A New Media Workshop is an experiment in development by Arlekin Players Theatre’s founder and director Igor Golyak, who has been a leading innovator of virtual theater since the start of the pandemic. His recent State vs. Natasha Banina was a Critic’s Pick in The New York Times by Maya Phillips who declared “The verdict is in: Zoom can, in fact, be an effective new stage for theater.” Golyak’s latest work fuses film, theater, and video game technology to create a new medium where viewers are able to interact with the performers. Drawing from the original text of Anton Chekhov’s The Cherry Orchard, scenes from the play, and recordings of Chekhov’s letters and dreams, the online event accesses Chekhov’s desktop computer, where viewers discover six of his classic characters living in a virtual space, searching for happiness.

The cast comprises a cadre of well-known stage, television, and film actors including Tony-Nominee Jessica Hecht, who performs the iconic role of Ranevskaya. Hecht says, “I have been longing to explore The Cherry Orchard with Igor and our company in a way that gives us the most intimate and relatable portrait of a family in crisis. I believe we can create something raw and modern, without losing an authenticity to Chekhov’s vision.”
The presentation also features other celebrated performers, including Anna Baryshnikov (Apple TV+’s Dickinson) as Varya; Arlekin’s Darya Denisova as Tramp/Guide; Jeffrey Hayenga (The Elephant Man) as Fiers; Melanie Moore (Finding Neverland, So You Think You Can Dance) as Anya; Mark Nelson (Angels in America, The Invention of Love) as Gaev; and acclaimed Boston-based actor Nael Nacer as Lopakhin. BAC’s Founder and Artistic Director Mikhail Baryshnikov makes a special appearance in the role of Anton Chekhov. The work was developed and filmed, in part, at BAC in January with strict adherence to COVID health and safety protocols.
This project is the first phase of a larger New Media Cherry Orchard Project that Arlekin plans to develop into a hybrid production featuring new media, online, and live elements, with aspirations for a New York run in the 2021-22 season. “The Post-pandemic theater has to reexamine and reimagine itself. Through this experiment we are finding out how humankind can find each other in the virtual while continuing to treasure the in-person encounter, which makes for a new kind of site-specific theater,” says Golyak. “And I find myself in constant dialogue with The Cherry Orchard—during a time of loss and recovery, it helps us explore connection, transition, loss, and the human yearning for happiness.”
An international team of designers, new software usage, and technical engineers has collaborated with Golyak both virtually and onsite in Arlekin’s new Zero Gravity (zero-G) Virtual Performance Lab in Needham, MA for several months to create the functionality and online environment for this project, which includes software support from Aximmetry Technologies Ltd., the official software provider for Arlekin’s Zero Gravity Lab; a new platform called “The Soft Layer” from Will Brierly of Snowrunner Productions; and back-end/design work from Vladimir Gusev, Anna Fedorova, and Anton Nikolaev.

The Cherry Orchard: A New Media Workshop marks the second collaboration for Cherry Orchard Festival Foundation and Baryshnikov Arts Center, who co-presented Arlekin’s State vs. Natasha Banina during BAC’s Digital Fall 2020 Season. The evening offers an immersive experience as Arlekin shares their new proof of concept, followed by a live talkback with members of the cast and creative team.

The Cherry Orchard: A New Media Workshop, co-presented by Baryshnikov Arts Center and Cherry Orchard Festival Foundation, is made possible with generous additional support from ArtsEmerson, Fooksman Family Foundation, ZiphyCare, BroadBand Collaborative, Meghan Coleman, Robin Hanley, and Aximmetry Technologies Ltd., the official software provider for Arlekin’s Zero Gravity Lab.

FULL PROGRAM CREDITS
The Baryshnikov Arts Center & Cherry Orchard Festival Foundation Co-present
Arlekin Players Theatre
The Cherry Orchard: A New Media Workshop
Adapted from The Cherry Orchard by Anton Chekhov
Conceived and Directed by Igor Golyak
Produced by Igor Golyak, Arlekin Players and Sara Stackhouse, BroadBand Collaborative
Virtual Performance Technical Director: Vladimir Gusev
Game Engine & Interaction Design: Will Brierly, Snowrunner Productions
Live Production Technicians: Anton Nikolaev and Igor Golyak
Virtual Set & Environment Designer: Anna Fedorova
Web Developer: Anatoly Krivonos
Composer: Jakov Jakoulov
Assistant Director: Blair Cadden
Properties Assistant: Irina Vilenchik
Platform: The Soft Layer by Snowrunner Productions
Director of Photography: Guillermo Cameo
Associate Producer: Joshua A. Friedman
2nd Camera and Editor: Anton Nikolaev
Sound: Sebastian Holst
Gaffer: Sashank Sana
Assistant Editor: Anna Gruman
Production Assistant: Violet de Besche

Cast
Ranevskaya Jessica Hecht
Gaev Mark Nelson
Varya Anna Baryshnikov
Anya Melanie Moore
Lopakhin Nael Nacer
Fiers Jeffrey Hayenga
Tramp/Guide Darya Denisova
And Mikhail Baryshnikov as Anton Chekhov

Arlekin Players Theatre, founded by Artistic Director Igor Golyak, was created in Boston in 2009 and has since toured to New York, Chicago, and Hartford, as well as to international festivals in Russia, Armenia, Ukraine, and Monaco. It’s production of State vs Natasha Banina has received world-wide acclaim, including the New York Times Critics’ Pick. Arlekin has received multiple awards for its work including four 2020 Elliot Norton Awards from the Boston Theater Critics Association for its recent productions of The Stone and The Seagull. Arlekin takes strong pride in their emphasis on self-identity; they are a company of immigrants performing works that play on the ideas of cross-culture, home, and traditions, challenging the idea of nationality, and finding common themes that unite us all. In 2020, Arlekin launched it’s Zero Gravity (zero-G) Virtual Theater Lab to explore new theater possibilities for a new time. The company makes its home in Needham, MA. For more information, visit www.arlekinplayers.com.
Baryshnikov Arts Center (BAC) is the realization of a long-held vision by artistic director Mikhail Baryshnikov who sought to build an arts center in Manhattan that would serve as a gathering place for artists from all disciplines. BAC’s opening in 2005 heralded the launch of this mission, establishing a thriving creative laboratory and performance space for artists from around the world. BAC’s activities encompass a robust residency program augmented by a range of professional services, including commissions of new work, as well as the presentation of performances by artists at varying stages of their careers. In tandem with its commitment to supporting artists, BAC is dedicated to building audiences for the arts by presenting contemporary, innovative work at affordable ticket prices. For more information visit bacnyc.org.
Cherry Orchard Festival (CherryOrchardFestival.org), a registered 501c) (3) arts organization, is a leading independent international arts organization with a solid reputation for presenting musical performances, theatrical productions, multidisciplinary performing and visual arts attractions by a stunning array of global artists to audiences in the US. Founded by executive producer Maria Shclover and artistic director Irina Shabshis in 2012, the festival has presented over 60 unique world class events, concerts, and theatrical performances to over 150,000 audience members across the US. The presentation of “Cherry Orchard” at the Baryshnikov Arts Center will be the second collaboration between the Festival and Arlekin Theatre, after the successful online run of The State Vs. Natasha Banina in 2020. The ongoing mission of the Cherry Orchard Festival is to introduce and promote global cultural activity and exchange of ideas, aiming to enlighten and engage audiences through educational entertainment programs and events. For more information about the festival, please visit cherryorchardfestival.org.
Baryshnikov Arts Center Press Contact: Kristen Miles, kmiles@bacnyc.org, 646-285-7694

FORBIDDEN FRUIT: Cello and Piano Concert from Faneuil Hall
2021-02-28 18:00 - 2021-03-10 23:55
BRAI and the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company present a virtual concert by cellist Mickey Katz and pianist Jane Hua. Streaming Now!

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About this Event
Forbidden fruit tastes the sweetest is an adage that refers in part to love and in part to the attractions of things that are proscribed. This program explores both aspects. It features one composition inspired by a vibrant and doomed love affair, and another that was a wedding present, while also including numerous works explicitly banned or more subtly buried by Soviet authorities for many decades.
BSO cellist Mickey Katz and pianist Jane Hua perform music by FRANCK, RACHMANINOFF, LIGETI, WEINBERG and SHOSTAKOVICH. Their performance, recorded live earlier this month, will premiere on February 28 at 6pm, followed at 7 by a virtual Q&A with the musicians on Zoom, where you can ask questions and converse with them as well as other listeners. After the premiere, you can still register to watch the concert on-demand through March 10th.
Recorded in the fourth floor Armory of Faneuil Hall, FORBIDDEN FRUIT is part of the In Honorable Company series of virtual concerts presented by Ballets Russes Arts Initiative in collaboration with the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company of Massachusetts (est. 1638).
César FRANCK (1822 – 1890) 1st movement of Sonata for Violin and Piano (1886)
György Sándor LIGETI (1923-2006) Sonata for Solo Cello (1948-1953)
Mieczyslaw WEINBERG (1919-1996) Selections from 24 Preludes for Solo Cello, op. 100 (1968)
Dmitri SHOSTAKOVICH (1906-1975) Cello Sonata in D minor, Op. 40 (1934)
Sergey RACHMANINOFF (1873-1943) Vocalise (1915), from 14 Romances, op. 34 no.14, Transcribed for cello and piano
The cello sonata by Shostakovich encapsulates both the romantic and prohibited aspects of the program. It was written in August 1934, while the composer was having an affair that led to a short-lived divorce (he remarried his first wife Nina in 1935 after it turned out she was pregnant with their daughter), and conveys the emotional turmoil he was experiencing. Just over a year later, in early 1936, Pravda published two article denouncing Shostakovich’s recent operas and ballets after Stalin was displeased with them, which effectively buried the composers early works from performance and forced him to shift his musical style in order to avoid arrest. György Ligeti’s solo cello sonata, by contrast, was banned without being premiered or published. It was completed in 1953, when Hungary had entered the Eastern Bloc, and all music had to be scrutinized by the Communist-controlled Composers’ Union. It would not be performed publicly until 1979, gradually gaining recognition throughout the 80s and 90s. Meanwhile, Weinberg’s 24 Preludes, though not actively prohibited, lay dormant for almost 30 years between their composition in 1967 (for Mstislav Rostropovich) and premiere in 1995 (by Yosif Feigelson).
Your ticket purchases and donations are shared by BRAI and the artists. Free registration ends on the 28th, but a donation of any amount can allow you to watch the concert after that.
MICKEY KATZ has been a cellist with the Boston Symphony Orchestra since 2004. A native of Israel, he has distinguished himself as a solo performer, chamber musician, and contemporary music specialist. He received the Presser Music Award in Boston, the Karl Zeise Prize as a Tanglewood Music Center Fellow, and won first prizes at the Hudson Valley Philharmonic Competition and the Rubin Academy Competition in Tel Aviv. A graduate of the New England Conservatory in Boston, Mickey is now a faculty member there, as well at the Tanglewood Music Center and the Boston University Tanglewood Institute.
As soloist, he has performed with several Israeli orchestras and locally with the Civic Symphony of Boston, Symphony Pro Musica, and the Hudson Valley Philharmonic. As a chamber musician, Mickey has appeared in such venues as Weill Hall at Carnegie Hall and Alice Tully Hall in New York, Jordan Hall in Boston, the Gallerie dell’Accademia in Venice, Italy, and Salle Gaveau in Paris, as well as all the major venues of Israel. He participated in the Marlboro Festival and was invited to take part in the Musicians from Marlboro tour. He has collaborated with distinguished players such as violinists Pinkhas Zukerman and Gil Shaham, violists Tabea Zimmermann and Kim Kashkashian, members of the Juilliard and Guarneri string quartets, and pianist Gilbert Kalish. Mickey is a passionate interpreter of new music, making several American and Boston premieres of Elliott Carter’s music, and also working with composers György Kurtág, John Corigliano, Leon Kirchner, and John Harbison in performing their music.
HUA YE (JANE) is a pianist born and raised in Urumqi, China. After earning a bachelor’s degree in journalism at Hong Kong Baptist University, she moved to the U. S. to pursue her dream of classical music. Studying on full scholarship, Jane earned two M.M. degrees in Piano Performance and Collaborative Piano at Kansas State University and the UMass Amherst, respectively. She now performs as a solo and chamber musician in the Boston area while working as a piano teacher at several schools. Recent appearances in the Greater Boston audience include the Boston Public Library, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Longwood Cricket Club, 2Life Communities Brighton Campus, Belmont-Watertown United Methodist Church, Carriage House Violins Masterclass Series, and Groupmuse salon concerts. She teaches at the Brookline Chinese School, Note-Worthy Experience Music Studio, and the Cambridge Center for Adult Education and is Marketing and Fundraising Associate at the Cambridge Chamber Ensemble.
BALLETS RUSSES ARTS INITIATIVE is a Boston-based non-profit cultural organization that fosters international creative exchange in the visual and performing arts and film, and connects communities in the US and Eurasia. BRAI carries out public programs throughout Massachusetts, the East Coast and internationally, and BR360 Member programs in the Boston area. www.ballets-russes.com
THE ANCIENT AND HONORABLE ARTILLERY COMPANY is a service organization preserving historic and civic traditions of Boston, Massachusetts, and the United States. The oldest chartered military organization in the western hemisphere, the Ancients have had their headquarters and Museum on the fourth floor of historic Faneuil Hall since 1742. Historically, members of this Company have served in every Massachusetts colonial war and national conflict since the company’s founding in 1638. Today they participate in national holiday celebrations, add a measure of pomp and pageantry to the great events of our city and the Commonwealth and turn out for special commemorations. www.ahac.us.com
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18th Annual Connie Spear Birnbaum Memorial Lecture and Chai Anniversary Celebration
2021-03-02 12:30 - 13:30
18th Annual Connie Spear Birnbaum Memorial Lecture and Chai Anniversary Celebration
Sunday, May 2, 2021
12:30 pm EDT
from the comfort of your own home
The Synagogue Council of Massachusetts is honored to join lecture founder, Dr. Herbert Birnbaum and the Birnbaum family, in presenting the Connie Spear Birnbaum Memorial Lecture. This year’s program features noted journalist and author, Yossi Klein HaLevi in conversation with Benjamin Birnbaum addressing the important and provocative topic, “Holding the Jewish Center”. An award-winning journalist, Ben is also Connie and Herb’s son.
Yossi Klein Halevi is a senior fellow at the Shalom Hartman Institute in Jerusalem. Together with Imam Abdullah Antepli of Duke University, he co-directs the Institute’s Muslim Leadership Initiative (MLI), which teaches emerging young Muslim American leaders about Judaism, Jewish identity and Israel.
Halevi’s 2013 book, Like Dreamers, won the Jewish Book Council’s Everett Book of the Year Award. His latest book, Letters to My Palestinian Neighbor, is a New York Times bestseller. He writes for leading op-ed pages in the US, including the Times and the Wall Street Journal, and is a former contributing editor to the New Republic.
His 2001 book, At the Entrance to the Garden of Eden: A Jew’s Search for God with Christians and Muslims in the Holy Land, will be reissued in 2019 by HarperCollins.
His first book, Memoirs of a Jewish Extremist, tells the story of his teenage years as a follower of the militant rightwing rabbi Meir Kahane, and his subsequent disillusionment with Jewish radicalism. The New York Times called it “a book of burning importance.”
Born in Brooklyn, he moved to Israel in 1982, and lives in Jerusalem with wife, Sarah, who helps run a center for Jewish meditation. They have three children.
www.yossikleinhalevi.com/bio

Connie Spear Birnbaum& Dr. Herbert Birnbaum
Connie Spear Birnbaum z”l
In the late 1980’s, when the growing divide between the denominations of Judaism threatened the integrity of a single and unified Klal Yisrael (Jewish people), The Synagogue Council instituted the Unity Mission to bridge the gaps by bringing together young leaders from across the denominational spectrum to help shape the community’s future. To head this initiative, Synagogue Council’s Executive Director, Alan Teperow, targeted an extraordinary Jewish communal professional, Connie Spear Birnbaum. Connie had the magnetism and passion for people in general, and her people in particular, to galvanize these forces and bring creativity to the process. The importance of community and the need to operate out of the box, values driven home by the pandemic, are precisely the elements which defined Connie as an inspiring and impactful leader. Upon her untimely passing in January 2003, the Connie Spear Birnbaum Memorial Lecture emerged to continue her legacy as a partnership of the Birnbaum family and The
Synagogue Council.
May the memory of Connie Spear Birnbaum be for a blessing.

The lecture is free and open to the public and made possible through the generosity of the Birnbaum family and friends, and all those who choose to honor Connie’s legacy by donating.
We hope you will consider a targeted donation to the Connie Spear Birnbaum Memorial Lecture.
To donate online, please click here.
To donate by check, please make your check payable to The Synagogue Council of Massachusetts, write “Connie Lecture” on the memo line, and mail your check to:
The Synagogue Council of Massachusetts
1320 Centre St., Suite. 306
Newton Centre, MA 02459
www.synagoguecouncil.org

Recovering the Land: Jewish-Israeli Settlers’ Agricultural and Environmental Pursuits in the Israeli South
2021-03-04 12:00 - 13:00
Photo Credit: Liron Shani
Recovering the Land: Jewish-Israeli Settlers’ Agricultural and Environmental Pursuits in the Israeli South
March 4, 2021
12:00 – 1:00 PM EST

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Shai M. Dromi is a Lecturer on Sociology at Harvard University. His research looks at how moral beliefs affect political and organizational dynamics. His recent book, “Above the Fray: The Red Cross and the Making of the Humanitarian NGO Sector,” (University of Chicago Press, 2020), examined the role of religion in international aid organizations. He has also published and researched on the Jewish-Israeli settler movement during and after the Israeli withdrawal from Gaza. His articles appeared in Sociological Theory, Theory and Society, Rural Sociology, and other journals. Dromi holds a Ph.D. in Sociology from Yale University.
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Donning Costumes Through the Ages: Deciphering “Jewish” Clothing
2021-03-04 19:00 - 20:00
Dear fellow RSJ educators and engagers,
I am reaching out on the recommendation of our dear Olga Markus to share the information about JPA Platinum – a series of free online events for the Russian-speaking 60+ audience. Last spring, JPA resolved to make a positive difference in the lives of our parents’ and grandparents’ generations; those who found themselves most vulnerable and isolated during the COVID pandemic.
Following the mission and strengths of our organization, we’ve created a series of virtual classes/lectures/events with gripping Jewish themes and presented in Russian language.
This year we were able to revive this initiative with the generous support of the Genesis Philanthropy Group. Past JPA Platinum included a lecture about Yiddish literature presented by Professor Anna Shternshis and a virtual tour of Paris which followed the footsteps of Russian-Jews who lived in that city in the first half of the 20th century. This lecture was presented by one of the most popular Parisian guides – Polina Fomina. The Zoom lectures are open to all registered at no cost and are always engaging and high quality. The very appreciative audience of the last lecture consisted of about 150 participants from 13 states.
We invite you to utilize this program as a resource for your community and will be happy to see the representatives of your communities in our next meetings. Please feel free to share directly with the target audience or with their children and grandchildren who can assist in installing Zoom and passing on the information.
The next meeting will take place on March 4th. Please see the details below and share as you find appropriate.
Please note that while we are working on making the last lecture’s video available through our website, other lectures are only accessible in real time with registration.
Yelena Pogorelsky
JPA Program Director
www.jpacademy.org

347-885-5571
We are excited to announce that the next lecture will be Thursday, March 4th on the topic of: Donning Costumes Through the Ages: Deciphering “Jewish” Clothing. Please find more information below and register for free to receive the event details. The event is targeted for Russian-speaking people age 60+.
Free Registration here
TOPIC: Donning Costumes Through the Ages: Deciphering “Jewish” Clothing
Переодеваясь через эпохи: как читать еврейский костюм?
Многовековая история еврейского гардероба превратила одежду в особый язык, помогающий не только «читать», но и «толковать» высказывания её носителя. А мода меняющегося мира продолжает «дописывать» эти смыслы и сегодня.
DATE: Thursday, March 4th
TIME: 7:00pm EST (New York)
6:00pm Chicago
4:00pm California
LANGUAGE: Russian
LOCATION: Online via ZOOM
JPA Platinum has been made possible with the generous support of Genesis Philanthropy Group.

Passover Instant Pot Cooking with Paula Shoyer
2021-03-14 10:00 - 11:30
Passover Instant Pot Cooking with Paula Shoyer
Get out your Instant Pot and prepare for Passover with famed cook and author, Paula Shoyer
About this Event
Please join us for a wonderful morning of cooking with famed cook and author, Paula Shoyer, as she helps us find ways to use our Instant Pots for Passover and cook delicious dishes from her new cookbook, “The Instant Pot Kosher Cookbook.” Paula has a French pastry degree from Paris and has taught more than hundred virtual cooking events all around the world. Paula will take the fear out of this amazing appliance and help us all make Passover a little less stressful this year.
Whether cooking for one or a few more, the Instant Pot can make everything from chicken soup to dessert and all dishes in between and cuts down cooking time by hours. You can purchase an Instant Pot and Paula’s new cookbook at various local and online vendors.
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With Us More Than Ever: Making the Absent Rebbe Present in Messianic Chabad
2021-03-18 12:00 - 13:00
Photo Credit: Menahem Rosenberg
With Us More Than Ever: Making the Absent Rebbe Present in Messianic Chabad
March 18, 2021
12:00 – 1:00 PM EST

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Yoram Bilu is Professor (emeritus) of Anthropology and Psychology at Hebrew University. Focusing on Israeli society and Jewish traditional culture, his research interests include the anthropology of religion, culture and mental health, the sanctification of space in Israel, and Maghrebi Jewish culture. In 2013 he received the Israel Prize in sociology and anthropology. In 2015 he was elected to the Israeli Academy of Sciences and Humanities. His main publications are: “Without Bounds: The Life and Death of Rabbi Ya’aqov Wazana,” (Wayne State University Press, 2000); “The Saints’ Impresarios” (Academic Studies Press, 2010); “With Us More than Ever Before: Making the Absent Rebbe Present in Messianic Chabad” (Stanford University Press, 2020).
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