AISH Center

The 1st Annual Upper West Side Spelling Bee

Tina — Thu, 13 Jun 2013 21:05:13 +0000

Fancy yourself a good speller? Or perhaps you prefer to watch others battle for the grand title? Come join us for the first ever Annual Upper West Side Spelling Bee! Gear up for laughs, cutthroat competition, and good times at this special event, hosted by comedian David Tuchman and writer Elissa Goldstein.

It’s going to be A-W-E-S-O-M-E.

Prize: $25 gift card at Strand Booksellers
Dress code: Bookish

CLICK TO REGISTER!

Where: Aish Center, 313 W 83rd Street (West End & Riverside)
When: Wednesday, August 7th
Sign up: 7.15
Spelling bee: 7.30
Cost : $10 in advance, $15 at the door*
*Beer & Refreshments served

Edible Art: Cupcake Decorating Class and Contest

Tina — Thu, 13 Jun 2013 20:55:09 +0000

Make your sweetest dreams come true at our cupcake decorating class and contest! Led by local cupcake whiz Alisa Weinberger, you’ll learn how to master the art of truly beautiful cupcakes. You’ll also the get the chance to enter your unique sweet treat into our very super-special cupcake contest!

Who will leave with the grand cupcake title?

CLICK TO REGISTER!

WHEN: Wednesday, July 10th @ 7.30pm
WHERE: Aish Center, 313 W 83rd Street (West End and Riverside)
COST: $18 in advance, $25 at the door

Pre-register soon – places are limited!

Tisha B’Av 2013 – Longing for Dawn

Tina — Thu, 13 Jun 2013 20:22:26 +0000

Longing for Dawn
THE 9TH OF AV 2013 – Inspired films, talks and readings on the opportunity of Jewish suffering, tragedy and exile.

To sponsor, visit aishcenter.com/donate or email ajacobs@aish.com

Schedule:

Monday, July 15

8:00pm – Pre-fast “Mourner’s Meal” (eggs, bread + ashes)
8:26pm – Fast begins
8:30pm – Intro to Evening Service/Reading of Eicha (lamentations)
9:15pm – Talk: Light in the Darkest Place Rabbi Mike Stern (Rabbi Without Walls, Boca Raton, FL)

Tuesday, July 16

9:30-12pm – Morning Service and Inspiring Readings
12:20pm – Talk: My experience with Hurricane Katrina Rabbi Stuart Shiff
1:30-2:15pm – Afternoon Service
6:30pm – Creative Writing Workshop Craig Dershowitz, artists 4 israel
8:00pm – Virtual Live Panel: Transcending tragedy
9:00pm – Evening Service
9:15pm – Fast Ends/Complimentary Break-fast meal

films:

2:30pm – Iranium: Alarming documentary exploring Iran’s quest for nuclear power
3:30pm – Genicide: The heart-wrenching, heroic story of the millions who fell victim to Hitler’s Final Solution
5:30pm – The Last Days: Following the lives of five Hungarian Holocaust survivers during the final days of WWII

talks:

2:30pm – TBA
5:30pm – The Miracle of Modern Israel: From Ashes to Redemption Steve Eisenberg
6:30pm – Daniel Simkin – Executive Director of HopeBook Inc.
7:00pm – Suffering is an Art Rabbi Adam Jacobs

From the Sublime to the Delicious – A Week in the Life of the Aish Center

Esther — Fri, 07 Jun 2013 16:40:55 +0000

It’s a super rainy and quiet Friday today in New York City, but it’s a nicely mellow end to a pretty exciting week at our Center.

This past Monday was Week 5 of our newest series – the University of Jewish Learning. UJL has been going really well – each Monday, our space is buzzing; there are classes on every floor, people mingling and shmoozing, learning circles, and delicious food. There’s a really wonderful energy and openness that fills the entire center and we really enjoy it!

In addition to that, we try to give every week a really special feature. This past week, we tried something new – a musical mediation. Yitzchak Schwartz specializes in what he calls Jewish Transcendence Meditation.

His guided sessions are musical, so that the exercises and meditations are underlined by beautiful musical to relax and inspire the participants.

The focus of his meditations is the idea of transcending whatever prevents us from feeling connected and close to our purpose, each other, and G-d. All these things are easy to lose sight of – we work and live in one of the craziest cities in the world, and it takes effort to remember what should be driving us. Yitzchak’s session was a special opportunity to realign with whatever is truly important to us.

And on a slightly less esoteric note – a quick mention of Wednesday night’s awesome Brats + Brew event. This had been in the works for a while, actually. Grow and Behold are a pretty singular Kosher company – they produce organic meat products from healthy, pasture-raised, hormone and antibiotic free animals. For those who keep Kosher, but also want to eat ethically, Grow and Behold is a pretty delicious solution. Giving them a chance to promote their work was also great! They provided 8 super taste types of gourmet sausages for the event, and they went FAST.

Paired with these sumptuous dogs was a selection of ice-cold beers from Shmaltz Brewing Company, another really great local producer of super-fine fare. And thus went our gourmet sausage and beer tasting. Needless to say, we had a full house, and we were glad to get a chance to fill stomachs, while promoting great products that stand for something really important.

And there we have it – one week in the life of the Aish Center, spanning spirituality, environmental consciousness, and good times. We hope to see you all again soon! Join us at the 6th UJL for a special health-focused evening. Our buffet will be extra wholesome and nutritious, and our special speaker is Michele Adelson-Gavrieli – a woman who’s passionate about people taking good care of themselves. Find out why on Monday night, from 7 – 9pm!

Shabbat Shalom!

The Other Side: Storytelling Night

Tina — Wed, 05 Jun 2013 16:32:28 +0000

Have a story to share? Perform a five-minute story about getting a glimpse of the other side to a live audience! Being out of your element, walking in someone else’s shoes, ending up in interesting places, or just seeing the other side of a story – we want to hear it all. And of course, for those who prefer to just listen – we want a great audience as well.

CLICK TO REGISTER

Cost: $5 in advance; $10 at the door
Refreshments will be served

How to tell a story
(storytelling guidelines lovingly borrowed from themoth.org)
How it Works
7:45 Sign up to tell a story, volunteer to be on a judging team or just sit back and listen.
8:00 We’ll pick the first name and the show will begin.
Each teller will have 5 minutes to tell his or her tale. After each story, the judges confer and give a score. The teller
with the highest score becomes our winner.
Rules:
*We are looking for TRUE STORIES. OK, there won’t be a fact-checker there, and the FBI probably won’t dig into your files to verify the names and dates and places, but please know, the intent and spirit of the event is for TRUE stories.
*No readings; no notes, papers, or cheat sheets allowed.
*Contestants are judged on sticking to the five-minute time frame, sticking to the theme and having a story that
sticks–one that has a conflict and a resolution.

Story Tips:
*Steer clear of meandering endings.
*Your last line should be clear in your head.
*Start in the action and set up the stakes.

Meet our MC – Julia Gazdag
Julia Gazdag is a writer, photographer, blogger and breakfast taco enthusiast. She hails from Budapest and has lived in New York, LA, Austin and Portland, currently residing in Brooklyn.

Coming to UJL: Pop Chassid’s Elad Nehorai

Esther — Tue, 14 May 2013 17:44:13 +0000

Pop Chassid’s Elad Nehorai with his daughter

Last night marked the 3rd week of the University of Jewish Learning – our new Monday night program. It’s been really wonderful so far – new faces, a room full of people participating in One-on-One learning, people shmoozing and eating delicious food, really great classes and workshops which have been getting such great responses. Between the two class slots, we had a real treat – live jazz, and it added such a lovely dimension to the evening. This particular slot is one of the funnest parts of UJL, please each week, it’s totally different. This coming week, we’ve invited Elad Nehorai – the writer behind Pop Chassid, to come and speak. I caught up with Elad to find out a bit more about him, his excellent blog and his plans for the future.

Hi Elad! How are you?
Thank G-d, I’m good!

You’re the dude behind Pop Chassid, a pretty compelling blog. How did the blog come about?
Funny you should ask. The idea actually started when my wife and I were on a layover on a flight from Israel and we watched Mary Poppins. I spent the whole time talking about all these Jewish ideas the movie reminded me about, and all of a sudden I had this idea to do a blog analyzing movies from a Jewish perspective. Funny thing was that the more I wrote the blog, the more I eventually veered away from writing about movies. I guess it was worth it to get the ball rolling on my writing in the public sphere.

The title of the blog is pretty catchy, and does seem pretty self-explanatory. Is Pop Chassid also a persona of yours? Does it express an idea about a way of living or being?
You know, it’s funny. Again, it started off as just a way to describe my idea of combining movies and Judaism. But interestingly, as the blog evolved, it did kind of take on its own meaning. I suppose now it means something like… I try to be a chassid but I also relate to the mainstream. I dunno. I guess the truth is that I let my readers make those decisions.

Your style of writing stands out in the sea of Jewish bloggers. Is this something you’re very mindful of?
You know, I don’t really set out to be different. My goal is to be honest, and if that makes my writing stand out, great.

Pop Chassid also has a Facebook group, and your posts generate a lot of dialogue. Do you feel a Pop Chassid community emerging? If so, is it one that could translate to real life community?
There are already communities that reflect that sort of thing. Because of all the baal teshuvas (those who’ve embraced Jewish observance in their adult years) making their way into the religious community, and the religious community becoming increasingly open to a creative culture in their ranks, I’ve seen more and more official (and not so official) “Pop Chassid”-type communities popping up.

And what are your thoughts about creating change within Jewish communities via blogging/social media platforms?
I talk about change a lot on my blog. I think change is a tricky thing. Lots of bloggers, writers, artists, whatever, like to think that they can create change just by having a big audience. I don’t think that’s how it works. I think real change happens by changing people from the inside. Turning their guts inside out and making them look at the world from a different angle. And that happens slowly, like the drop of water Rabbi Akiva saw transform a rock. That’s the only way change really happens. I’d like to create change. I’d like to transform the way people look at things… but I’m not interested in a revolution or in changing the outside world. I want to change people.

How does your readership affect how you write and what you write about?
You know, when I first started writing for places like Chabad.org, and even when Pop Chassid originally started, I tried to keep the audience out of my mind. I thought that it would affect my integrity or something. But I think the real reason Pop Chassid started to succeed was because I realize that a blog, at the end of the day, is a community. It’s not a magazine or a diary or anything else. It’s a place where the community is just as much a part of the blog as the writer. Maybe even more so.

On a practical level, that means that my audience has started to really affect the way I write. I try to listen to what engages them, what moves them. And I try to use it. I heard that Phish plays music by responding to their audience. I try to employ that idea in my blogging.

Are you working on anything exciting at the moment? We’d love to hear about some of your plans for the future!
Hmm. Lots of things, actually! I’m working on a memoir that’s taking me way too long to finish. I’m writing a book proposal for another idea I have. I’m also working full time at a start-up whose goal will be to help charities reach their fundraising goals. Lots of fun things happening, thank G-d.

Any thoughts about blogging and commerce? Can you make a living from blogging, and if so, can you retain your own voice while employing advertising?
Oy. Honestly, I am the worst with money. I just wish I could write and write and money would flow into my pocket, but I guess it doesn’t work that way. I just put ads up on my site for the first time a few weeks ago, but besides that I have no idea how to make money from blogging. Maybe I’ll know one day.

My advice to people looking to make money from blogging: do it because you love it, not because of money. There are a lot smarter ways to make money than by writing or blogging. If it makes you money somehow, awesome.

What can we look forward to hearing you speak about when you come to UJL?
I’m gonna try to give over my idea of living a life with a mission. I want to shake people up and get them thinking about why exactly they were put on this earth. I hope it helps!

Come here Elad speak at UJL on Monday May 20 at 7.45 – 8.15pm. The University of Jewish Learning is a weekly project of the Aish Center, featuring food, entertainment, and a whole range of learning opportunities, including One-on-One mentoring and learning, for a suggested donation of $10. Read more about the UJL schedule here and if you’ve got any questions or suggestions, feel free to contact us at center@aish.com.

Meeting Yosef Abramowitz: A (Renewable) Light Unto The Nations

Esther — Mon, 13 May 2013 19:06:03 +0000

Yosef shows a young friend of the Aish Center how solar energy works.

“The purpose of the Jewish people, and, by extension, of the Jewish state,” says Yosef Abramowitz, “is to be an on-going, distinctive catalyst for the advancement and evolution of morality in civilization. And a catalyst needs to show leadership by example, even a small one.”

These are big words, with implications of even bigger ambitions. But coming from Abramowitz – CEO, activist, solar energy pioneer, 3-time Nobel Peace Prize nominee, educator, father, husband, and proud Jew – you can begin to understand how one might begin to embody the very crux of this idea.

Last Wednesday night, with the help of Aish Center supporter Seth Horowitz, we held a cocktail party to honor Yosef, and got to hear, first-hand, about the amazing and meaningful work he does. Based with his family on a kibbutz in Israel, Yosef is the founder and CEO of Energiya Global, a company that strives to help developing nations run on safe, clean and renewable energy.

We all know that fossil fuels are harmful, but in many developing countries, they also come hand-in-hand with companies who are corrupt, and unethical. Conducting business safely and ethically, in addition to doing what’s environmentally sustainable, is extremely important to Abramowitz.

Yosef Abramowitz with Aish Center director, Rabbi Adam Jacobs.

He mentioned a project involving a youth village, populated by orphans left after the Rwandan Genocide, and how creating a solar field next to the village wouldn’t just power the village, but it would also create revenue that would help support that village. All of this while wearing a kippah – because he believes that helping people, no matter who or where they are, is a uniquely Jewish responsibility.

Because, isn’t it? Judaism is full of practices and ideas that have a common subtext – be better. Rules and obligations aren’t something that we should feel burdened by. Rather, the idea underlying them is that no matter where we are, or what we’re doing, we can always aim higher. Yosef mentioned the Mishnaic adage – “you’re not obligated to finish the task, but you’re also not permitted to free yourself from it“. All the work Yosef has under his belt, and very humbly so – solar energy activism, Jewish education, fighting for the release of imprisoned members of Soviet Jewry, starting his company – points to a steadfast commitment to his own idea of being an on-going and distinctive force of good.

Wednesday night’s event was inspiring, and his message was clear. When you stumble upon an opportunity to be an agent of positive change, it’s your responsibility to give it a shot. Don’t feel daunted by tasks and challenges; rather, see them as something to aspire to. Thanks for joining us, Yosef, and we wish you complete success in all of your endeavors! You are a true inspiration.

Check out our photos from the event here, and a happy Shavuot to everybody!

Noaj Sauer Gallery Show

Tina — Thu, 09 May 2013 17:25:17 +0000

Join us on Monday, May 20 for the opening of Buenos Aires artist Noaj Sauer’s show at the Aish Center gallery. Five Months in New York is a collection of paintings of modern Jewish art inspired by the city of Manhattan. The opening will run as part of our regular Monday University of Jewish Learning (UJL) programming! Enjoy beautiful and inspiring art, drinks, and food between a great assortment of classes.

Click Here for the full UJL program

Coming to UJL: Commentary Magazine’s Bethany Mandel

Esther — Fri, 03 May 2013 16:13:11 +0000

This past Monday saw the launch of the University of Jewish Learning – our newest weekly event here at the Aish Center!

UJL runs from 7-9pm, features an array of classes to choose from, opportunities to learn any topic you’d like in a one-on-one learning setting, personal mentoring, delicious food, and a lounge where you can hang out and shmooze with fellow UJL-niks. The launch was great – the entire center was buzzing with old and new faces, going from class to class, enjoying beers and burgers and the company of each other. Between classes, we heard from Craig Dershowitz – founder of Artists 4 Israel – one of the most creative and compelling pro-Israel activist groups around.

This Monday will be UJL Week #2 and our guest speaker will be Bethany Mandel. Bethany is a pretty impressive lady; the social media editor of Commentary Magazine, political blogger, fundraiser, activist, world traveler and proud NYC-based Orthodox Jew. I checked in with Bethany to find out a little bit more about what she does!

Bethany Mandel

Hey Bethany! You’re pretty active on Twitter. Do you have a favorite/most exciting/cool and famous follower?
I have a lot of really cool followers and I’ve made an incredible amount of friends on the medium. It’s even landed me my last two jobs, at The Heritage Foundation and here at Commentary. My coolest follower (with whom I’ve never interacted) is SNL’s Seth Myers. I almost accidentally tweet him whenever I mention my husband Seth, which I’m anticipating will happen at some point. I watch Weekend Update somewhat fearfully since he started following me last year, afraid something stupid I’ve said will end up on national TV.

What led you to Commentary? Was that an obvious platform for you to gravitate towards?

Luck mostly. They were looking for a social media person and my editor, John Podhoretz, happened to follow me on Twitter and asked if I knew anyone who might be good for the job. I suggested myself, naturally. They were looking for someone with an active following who was also conservative and had a familiarity with Jewish issues. There’s not too many of us out there. I’ve been really blessed to work with our editors and writers. It’s quite humbling.

In your words, what makes Commentary stand out from other online publications?

My in-laws are all now subscribers to the magazine and it’s funny to see what they’re all interested in, everyone turns to a different section. My mother-in-law and sister-in-laws like the culture stuff, my father-in-law and brother-in-laws love the political, and everyone enjoys the monthly joke and the book reviews. Online we’re one of the only serious publications that tackles political and foreign policy from a conservative perspective. We’re not out for traffic and buzz, we’re interested in providing insightful and original looks at what’s going on in the world. We have some pretty incredible voices on the blog in addition to Jonathan Tobin and Seth Mandel (my husband). It’s also a great place to get a slice of Jewish-oriented news, we do a lot of work on Israel and Jewish issues.

As a journalist who’s also vocal about religion and politics – both issues that get pretty personal – how do you draw the line between public and private sectors of your life?

It’s not easy, when I worked in just politics it was easier to have opinions about religious issues without being afraid of offending people and when I worked totally outside the public sphere I could tweet about anything I wanted. Now that I’m a bit more public, I usually tweet things that are related to either Judaism or politics most of the time, with personal jokes and observations sprinkled in. I work at a conservative publication that is opinion-based, so thankfully I am free to be as opinionated as I want. I like to think that I express those opinions with some tact and respect for both my friends and my foes.

And finally, can you tell us about something exciting that you’re working on or are involved with currently?

I’m currently in the process of producing a new human being, I’m about 5 months pregnant with our first child. I haven’t talked about that yet on social media, trying to learn how to restrain my tendency to over-share now that my oversharing could impact a new person. My husband is a very private person and I’m trying to keep in my that our child might be one as well, so I want to respect that until he or she is old enough to voice if they’re okay with my tweeting cute stories or pictures. That has to be the most interesting and exciting thing in my life at the moment, anything else pales in comparison.

That’s wonderful news! Thanks for your time, Bethany. We wish you all the very best and look forward to seeing you at UJL!

Come here Bethany speak this Monday night (May 6th) at UJL. She’ll be speaking about fundraising for North Korean refugees, among other topics. Our first set of classes run from 7-7.45, Bethany speakers from 7.45-8.15, and our second set of classes run from 8.15-9m! We’ll also be serving beer and a delicious Middle Eastern buffet. Suggest donation for the evening is $10. Feel free to contact us with any questions.

It Takes Two (A 6-Session Workshop for Couples)

Tina — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 15:05:37 +0000

This is a hands-on workshop for couples who already have a good relationship and now want to take it to the next level. We will frankly discuss real-life scenarios, gain invaluable insights into the dynamics of marriages (and interpersonal relationships in general), role-play and custom-craft growth programs for each couple. Your marriage is your single most important relationship–make a lasting investment in your future!

testimonials:
“These classes are very helpful, down to earth and actionable.” – Annie and Ron
“We feel your classes have been immeasurably valuable to us- things you’ve said in your classes would continuously prove useful for us often even in the week immediately following the class itself.” – Janet and Vlad
“We have been finding your input very helpful.” – Linda and Phil

To register for the full six session workshop, Click Here
To register for individual sessions, click links on schedule below.

Dates:
May 29 – The Purpose of Marriage
June 5 – Listening, Patience and Empathy
June 12 – The Best Way to Fight
June 19 – Intimacy
June 26 – Responsibility and Personal Growth
July 3 – Kids