News & Events - Feb. 24

NEWS & EVENTS

Feb. 24, 2026

Topics and programs subject to change. Please check the calendar or latest newsletter!

FRIDAY

NIGHT,

FEB. 27, 6:30PM

Join us for hamantaschen and other delights as we celebrate the holiday with a short Purimspiel and good company and a rousing game of PUB TRIVIA!

WEAR A COSTUME OR FUNNY HAT!

ALL ARE WELCOME!

NO CHARGE!

✦ Fridays, March 6 & 13, 7PM

▶︎ RABBI FALICK WILL DELIVER A 2-PART PRESENTATION

HOW HATRED ADAPTS: JEWISH PERSECUTION—THEN AND NOW

In this two-part Friday night presentation, Rabbi Falick will explore the long and complex history of hostility toward Jews, with special attention to how Jew-hatred has repeatedly changed its form across different eras.

Drawing on ancient sources, religious history, and modern political developments, the talks will examine three major manifestations of Jewish persecution: theological hostility rooted in religious doctrine, modern racial and ethnic antisemitism, and the contemporary phenomenon of antizionism as a vehicle for delegitimizing Jewish peoplehood.

Together, these sessions aim to provide historical clarity and conceptual tools for understanding why Jew-hatred persists—and why it so often appears in new and unsettling guises.

▶︎ Each talk is freestanding and can be attended independently. Both sessions will be live-streamed, recorded, and made available afterward on our YouTube channel for those unable to attend in person or who wish to watch later.

✦ Friday, March 20, 7PM

▶︎ ASK OUR RABBI!

From Rabbi Falick:

Over the years one of my most requested programs—and one I have somehow never actually presented—has been an open Ask the Rabbi session. At this Shabbat service you'll have the opportunity to ask anything you wish ... within appropriate limits, of course!

Join us to explore questions about anything related to Jewish history, culture, ethics, and practices, and more. Questions can be serious, practical, philosophical, historical, or even just something you have always wondered but never had the right setting to ask.

For example, have you ever wondered...

• How Jewish traditions developed over time?

• What our texts really have to offer Humanistic Jews?

• What Judaism has said about doubt, disagreement, and change?

• What the most important events in Jewish history are?

This is your opportunity to ask your “I’ve always wondered…” questions!

✦ Friday, March 27, 7PM

▶︎ RABBI FALICK WILL SPEAK: THE EVOLUTION & SIGNIFICANCE OF PASSOVER

Rabbi Falick will get us ready for Passover as he explores the holiday's development across more than two thousand years and considers what it has come to say about freedom, responsibility, and Jewish identity itself.

Along the way he will ask significant questions:

Does the Exodus tale represent an actual event? If not, how did the story take shape and why has it endured with such power for thousands of years?

As he points to some highlights of the Seder itself, he will also explore how and why Passover continues to resonate as each generation reinterprets the holiday while still preserving its recognizable form and most central messages.

SPECIAL EVENT!

NORMAN ROCKWELL

ART, COURAGE & PUBLIC CONSCIENCE

An Illustrated Lecture

Presented by:

WENDY EVANS

Art Historian

Norman Rockwell, a 20th-century American illustrator and painter, is often remembered for warm scenes of small-town America. That is only part of his story. Using his talent to shed light on universal human values—dignity and unity—Rockwell’s work moved beyond nostalgia and into moments of public consequence.

From his iconic Four Freedoms to the powerful civil rights painting The Problem We All Live With, Rockwell used art not simply to reflect America, but to challenge it. At a pivotal moment in his career, he stepped away from commercially successful illustration and began addressing issues of race, justice, and public conscience. His choices earned admiration—and death threats. He could have remained comfortable. Instead, he chose conviction.

Join art historian Wendy Evans as she explores Rockwell’s moral evolution. The risks he took and why his work feels especially urgent in a moment when speech, justice, and civic responsibility are being actively debated—and tested.

Hosted by CHJ's Social Justice Committee

SUNDAY, MARCH 15

10:30AM:

Pre-Lecture Brunch with Wendy Evans

for CHJ Members Only

$20, Brunch + Lecture

Payable at Door

Brunch RSVP Required:

office@chj-detroit.org or 248.477.1410

NOON:

Lecture by Wendy Evans

$10, Members | $20, Guests

Payable at Door

NOON ON MONDAYS

THE AMERICAN JEWISH EXPERIENCE CLASS

Upcoming Classes: EVERY MONDAY IN MARCH

In person or on Zoom (members only):

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81445899010

Visit THIS LINK to watch previous sessions!

Sunday, March 8

Lunch Making Tzedakah Project is BACK!

CHJ Members of all ages are invited to participate in our lunch making project for the N.O.A.H. Soup Kitchen.

Workers are needed for the assembly lines on the afternoon of Sunday, March 8. Volunteers are also needed to deliver and help serve on the morning of Monday, March 9.

We also need donations of lunch-packable desserts!!

PLEASE RSVP NOW to ... Audrey Pleasant at: audreypleasant@gmail.com!

NEW FOR 2026!

COLLECTING FOR CAMP CASEY

In conjunction with the Lunch Making, we are planning a collection project / supply drive for Camp Casey, a wonderful program—directed by CHJ member Molly Reeser—that provides horse experiences for children with cancer and other life-endangering illnesses.

Scan the QR code below or shop at a merchant of your choice!

SOUPER SUPPER COOKBOOKS ON SALE!

Copies of the 10th anniversary Souper Supper for Charity recipe book are still available. Contact office@chj-detroit.org to pay and pick up. (Or contact Audrey Pleasant, audreypleasant@gmail.com, for arrangements.

NEXT SJC MEETING

Sat., March 14, 11AM, on Zoom:

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82417709465

Come help us plan!

For more information and meeting password, contact Audrey Pleasant (audreypleasant@gmail.com).

COLLECTIONS CONTINUE!

We are continuing to collect food and other needed items (e.g. diapers--especially large sized, feminine hygiene items, cleaning products, toiletries) for local charities. When you come to our building for an activity or are just in the neighborhood, you can drop some off.

To learn of additional efforts—current and planned—contact Audrey or come to an SJC meeting. All are invited.

Success depends on the help of many people.

For more information, contact Audrey (audreypleasant@gmail.com).