WEEKLY NEWS

Yigdal Service (Ages 5-8, Family or Drop Off Service): Saturday, 11am in 2 South

Big Kids Service (Ages 9-12, Kids Only): Saturday, 11am in the Mayer Cavalier Chapel

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Mazel Tov to Jonah Schwartz, his parents, Judy Margolin and Seth Schwartz, and his sister, Ayelet, on his Bar Mitzvah this Shabbat with Minyan M'at in Hirsch Hall. 

Please Take the AC Membership Survey Today!

Thank you to the hundreds of Ansche Chesed members who have already provided their feedback though our Ansche Chesed 2025 Membership Survey. If you have not yet completed the survey please do so today because WE WANT YOUR INPUT! 

Each adult member with an email address on file with us should have received an email from “jrwanschechesed@gmail.com” last week and a reminder on Sunday with an invitation link. If you did not receive it, please check your spam folder, and we hope you will take 10 minutes to complete this survey as soon as possible. 

Your response is completely anonymous and will not be connected with your name or email address. We will be reporting what we learn at the Annual Meeting on June 17th. 

If you cannot locate your invitation email, please email president@anschechesed.org with your first name and email address and we will send a new, personalized link. 

Your candid contributions will have a direct impact on our ability to serve you. Thank you, in advance, for participating!

Registration Open for Dinner Tickets and Journal Ads!

Please join us on Sunday, June 22 at 5:30pm for Ansche Chesed's 2025 Tribute Gala as we honor Patty & Seth Goldman, Marge Goldwater and Wendy & Avery Katz. Register here through May 30 for an early bird discount!

Young Professionals: Volunteer at West Side Campaign Against Hunger

Thursday, May 8 from 6 - 7pm at the Church of St. Paul & St. Andrew (263 W. 86th St.)

AC young professionals, join us for a meaningful evening of volunteering at WSCAH, who have provided NYers with access to healthy food for 45 years. We'll help by packing food and writing heartfelt cards to WSCAH customers. Register here

'Meet Your Neighbor' Mother's Day Brunch with KKGAS

Sunday, May 11 from 12 - 2pm at AC

Join us to celebrate Mother's Day as Knock Knock Give a Sock invites mothers and children living in local homeless shelters for brunch. Neighbors will meet neighbors as we dine together and share experiences of motherhood.

Programming provided for kids up to age 12. Dads and kids older than 12 will have volunteer roles with the younger kids so that the moms have a chance to relax and enjoy a break! Learn more and register

Strength and Hope in Times of Crisis

Saturday, May 17 at 6pm in 5 North

BINA: The Jewish Movement for Social Change (or as they call themselves in Hebrew "The Home of Israeli Judaism") is an extraordinary educational institute in Tel Aviv, with branches around the country and along the Asian routes popular with Israeli trekkers. Many AC kids have studied there on gap years and we have cooperated on programs for years.

We are excited to host Ayala Dekel, Head of BINA's Secular Yeshiva, explore our Jewish tradition of transforming broken pieces into something bold and new. Ayala will guide us in uncovering strength within our sacred texts and timeless traditions. Together, we'll delve into our history and contemporary experiences to discover the wellsprings of personal and communal resilience. Light refreshments will be provided. RSVPs requested, walk-ins welcome.

Israel on 5th: Celebrate Israel Parade

Sunday, May 18 meeting at 12:20pm

Join the UWS community to march for Israel's 77th anniversary! If you plan to march, please register for the UWS cluster with UJA NY Federation.

We'll meet at 53rd St. and 6th Ave. (corner across the street from the MoMA). Please arrive no earlier than 12:15pm. Contact Gali Rabin Choresh with any questions. 

The City Without Jews (Die Stadt ohne Juden): A Cine-Concert with Live Original Music

Monday, May 19 from 7:30 - 9:30pm in the Sanctuary

An unscrupulous politician uses the rising price of eggs (!) to force the National Assembly in the city of Utopia to pass an antisemitic law, forcing all Jews to leave the country. Thus begins The City Without Jews, H.K. Breslauer’s 1924 silent masterpiece, produced, tragically, shortly before the satirical events depicted in the fictional story transformed into all-too-horrific reality.

With Live Music composed and performed by world-renowned klezmer violinist Alicia Svigals and celebrated silent film pianist Donald Sosin. The evening will include a short performance of Jewish Choral music from the Weimar Republic by Shirei Chesed Community Chorus and Cantor Natasha J. Hirschhorn with guest soloists. Learn more and register

Shirei Shabbat: Musical Kabbalat Shabbat Service and Shabbat Dinner with Zemirot

Friday, May 30 at 6:30pm in the Mayer Cavalier Chapel -- Followed by Dinner

Lift your voice with us in holy harmony, b'nima kedosha. Come and hear what musical surprises Hazzan Hirschhorn, intern Marc Szechter and the Shirei Chesed Chorus have for you! Stick around after services for a delicious catered Shabbat Dinner on the Roof at about 7:45pm (weather permitting), followed by spirited zemirot! Please register here to attend the dinner.

Pride Month Shabbat: A Salute to Rabbi Sharon Kleinbaum

Friday, June 6 at 7:30pm at AC

For more than 30 years, Sharon Kleinbaum served Congregation Beth Simchat Torah, NYC's prominent LGBTQ community, providing religious, spiritual, moral and social leadership. In her new retirement - she is still CBST's Rabbi Emerita - she remains an inspiring progressive activist. Join us as Sharon reflects on the arc of her long career, the changes she has witnessed in LGBTQ Jewish life and the challenges still ahead. Learn more and register

Graduation Celebration: Aliyah and Kiddush

Saturday, June 7

Join us to celebrate all of our community's graduates -- from 8th grade, high school, college and beyond!

During the Sanctuary service, graduates of any age/stage are invited to join us for a celebratory group aliyah to the Torah. After services, stick around for Kiddush!

Please RSVP to participate in the Aliyah and/or to celebrate your graduate by sponsoring a festive kiddush.

Volunteer at SPSA's Asylum Seeker and Refugee Resource Fair

Sunday, May 18 from 1 - 3pm at the Church of St. Paul & St. Andrew (263 W. 86th St. at WEA)

Come lend a hand to our asylum seeker and refugee neighbors at Saint Paul & Saint Andrew on Sunday, May 18th from 1 - 3pm. Ansche Chesed members will help sort clothing and other essential resources for migrants in the neighborhood. Each week, SPSA runs a resource fair for asylum seekers and refugees to get necessary goods, food, discounted Metrocards and receive legal assistance. Once a month, they run a pop-up clothing store as well. If you are interested in volunteering, email Abigail Goldberg-Zelizer.

Support Asylum Seekers in NYC

As a synagogue community who recognizes the divine image of all people, is motivated by the mitzvah of welcoming the stranger, and is composed of generations of immigrants from across the world, we hope you will join us in supporting asylum seekers in our city. If you would like to hear from us about future opportunities to get involved, please join our mailing list.

Pre-Shabbat Climate Action from Jewish Climate Action Network NYC

Subscribe for weekly emails with a quick action you can take to support climate legislation, and a short reflection for Shabbat. View this week's.

Tanakh 360: JTS Beit Midrash Summer Program

Looking to deepen your connection to sacred texts? Join Tanakh 360, the new JTS Beit Midrash Summer Program. This weeklong (or more!) immersive learning experience invites participants to explore the enduring questions Jews have asked of the sacred canon and the interpretative tools used to create meaning over centuries. Each day focuses on a unique approach—Biblical Scholarship, Rabbinics, Medieval Commentary, and Jewish Thought— all taught by outstanding JTS scholars in a warm, interactive setting. It’s designed to be meaningful for learners at all levels, whether they’re seasoned students of Torah or just beginning their journey. You can find more details about Tanakh 360 here. For group discounts, please reach out to Rabbi Luciana.

Tribe of Nova Foundation Inaugural Benefit

Thursday, May 29 at 6:30pm at Sony Hall (235 W. 46th St.)

Tribe of Nova Foundation (TNF) Inaugural Benefit is a unique nightclub style event, designed to reflect the light and spirit of the Nova community. The benefit will be a night of festivity, unity, and resilience in honor of Nova festival survivors and families of the victims. Benefit proceeds will enable the TNF to continue to provide support and programming at the new permanent Beit Nova healing facility and beyond as well as to raise awareness of the October 7th massacre internationally. Learn more and register

Rabbi Jules Harlow Parshat HaShavuah Class

Saturdays, 9am in the Mayer Cavalier Chapel or on Zoom

Source Sheet (updated Friday afternoons)

Dedicated to Rabbi Jules Harlow, a great teacher of Torah and Jewish liturgy. Come before class at 8:45am for hot coffee and schmoozing!

Shirei Chesed Community Chorus

Tuesdays from 7:30 - 9pm in 5 North

Shirei Chesed builds community through a rich repertoire of Jewish music, bringing harmony to a world that needs it more than ever. Learn more or schedule an audition with Hazzan Natasha Hirschhorn.

Holy Books & Holy Time: Talmud with Rabbi Kalmanofsky

Wednesdays at 7pm in the Mayer Cavalier Chapel or via Zoom



This year we will study tractate Shabbat, Chapter 16, which addresses how to write and care for sacred texts.

Parsha Talk

Join Rabbi Kalmanofsky and his buddies Rabbis Barry Chesler and Eliot Malomet for their weekly Parsha Talk. Watch the latest episode

Misheberakh List

We invite you to add the names of your dear ones. Please re-submit them each English calendar month if you'd like us to keep davvening for them.

Need a Babysitter? From Marcia Talmage Schneider

If you or someone you know is looking for a baby sitter, you've come to the right place! Maya Raymond is a student at the Fashion Institute of Technology, and is currently based on the UWS. She has over 4 years of babysitting and camp counselor experience. She is available to babysit starting May 19: most days as well as evenings and weekends. Contact her at mayaraymond23@gmail.com or 845 3007488.