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Shabbat Chayei Sarah
November 7, 2026 / 27 Cheshvan 5787
| | Kabbalat Shabbat Service: Friday, 5:30pm in the Mayer Cavalier Chapel | | Minyan M'at Morning Services: 10am in 5 North | | Mishpacha Family Service: 11am in 2 North | | Yigdal Family Service: 11am in 2 South | | Bnai Chesed Family Service: 11am in the Mayer Cavalier Chapel | | Saturday, after services: Welcoming & Aware Shabbat (info below) | Sunday, 10:30am - 12:30pm: Celebrate Bill Meyers' New Book, Civics in 5 North | | Monday, 7 - 8:15pm: Maimonides & the Merchants in 5 North (Register) | | Tuesday, 12pm: Registration deadline to join the Scholar in Residence Dinner (Register) | | Wednesday, 7pm: Meet Peace Activists Maoz Inon and Aziz Abu Sarah at B'nai Jeshurun (257 W. 88th St.) (RSVP) | | Morning Minyan: Monday - Tuesday, Thursday - Friday at 7:30am, Sunday & Wednesday (Veterans Day) at 8:30am in the Mayer Cavalier Chapel or on Zoom | | Have a birth, marriage, or other family simcha you'd like to share? Send us your good news! | | |
Welcoming and Aware Shabbat
Saturday, November 7
We invite the whole Ansche Chesed community to come together in the sanctuary at the end of our respective services for a special program on security and Jewish values. We will explain new security features and how to use them in case of emergency. Following this introduction, and throughout a joint Kiddush, members of the Welcoming and Aware Team will be available to take smaller groups through the building to show the standard features on each floor. The walk-through will not take long (15-20 min), and we encourage everyone to take advantage of it. Many members in our community participate in events on the 2nd and 5th floors, as well as in the chapel and Hirsch Hall, so these areas are especially worth seeing. We hope you’ll join us for this important Shabbat to help strengthen our shared commitment to making Ansche Chesed a safe, welcoming community for all.
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No Talmud Class This Week
Our weekly Talmud Class will not meet this Wednesday, November 11, as AC joins other organizations to meet peace activists Maoz Inon and Aziz Abu Sarah at B'nai Jeshurun. Details below.
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Support Our Weekly Kiddush Lunches
AC is one of the few shuls that provide a light lunch after Shabbat services, but we need your help to provide enough food - in quantity and variety - for everyone, every week. You can donate to the Kiddush Fund online, and even occasional small contributions greatly help. If you have questions, please contact a member of the Kiddush Committee (Sara Krulwich, Gail Goodman or Rachel Fremmer) or the office.
In addition, we are bringing back the Celebratory Kiddush - once a month or once every two months, depending on the shul schedule. If you have a birthday, an anniversary, the joy of a birth or other milestone or even to commemorate a Yahrzeit, please make a contribution and participate in our community Celebratory Shabbat!
| | NEXT SHABBAT: SCHOLAR IN RESIDENCE | | |
Rabbi Nathalie Lastreger
Next Shabbat, November 13 and 14
Friday Night Dinner: Liberal Judaism in Israel After the Elections
Saturday Lunch: Being a Zionist Jew Today
Join us to learn with Rabbi Nathalie Lastreger, President of the Rabbinical Assembly in Israel, a brilliant and brave teacher whose journey has taken her from ultra-Orthodoxy to the Masorti rabbinate. Rabbi Lastreger has served several congregations in Israel, most recently as rabbi of the Masorti community in Kfar Vradim in the Galilee for ten years, accompanying her community through three very difficult years on Israel's northern front line. For many years she has been active on issues of religion and state, and on the status of women in Jewish law and in the rabbinic courts. A human rights activist, educator and lecturer, she is a passionate advocate for religious pluralism and Masorti Judaism.
Register here by this Tuesday, November 10 at 12pm to join the dinner.
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Shirei Shabbat Musical Kabbalat Shabbat Service
Friday, November 13 at 5:30pm
Please join us to welcome Shabbat with an evening of song and prayer, led by Hazzan Hirschhorn and Choral Intern Leo Dworsky, as we support and elevate the voice of our community with rich harmonies. Come hear our special musical surprise!
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Celebrate Bill Meyers' New Book of Photographs, Civics
Sunday, November 8 from 10:30am - 12:30pm at AC
Join the community as longtime member Bill Meyers discusses his new book Civics over brunch, in conversation with symphony composer and former synagogue member Dan Asia. Bill and Dan are old friends and after Bill explains why civic life was a natural subject, how his long-term experiences influenced his photography, and why he works in black and white, they are likely to touch on the astonishing role of Jews in photography, the state of the arts in America – and more.
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Maimonides and the Merchants: Jewish Law and Society in the Medieval Islamic World
Next on Monday, November 9 from 7-8:15pm in 5 North
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Join AC and Minyan M’at member, Mark R. Cohen, Professor Emeritus from Princeton, for a fascinating journey to Medieval Egypt. Exploring Maimonides’ writings, Islamic law, and texts from the famed Cairo Geniza, we will see how Rambam developed legal tools that enabled Jews to adapt Halakha to the realities of the contemporary marketplace. Learn more and register
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The Future is Peace: Meet Peace Activists Maoz Inon and Aziz Abu Sarah
Wednesday, November 11 at 7pm at B'nai Jeshurun (257 W. 88th St.)
Join the New Israel Fund in partnership with AC, Congregation B'nai Jeshrun, and SAJ to hear from renowned activists Maoz Inon and Aziz Abu Sarah. Both Aziz and Maoz carry profound personal loss from the conflict. In the face of unimaginable grief, each made the extraordinary choice to reject vengeance and dedicate their lives to peacebuilding. The event will celebrate their relentless pursuit of justice and peace for Israelis and Palestinians, and the publication of their new book, The Future is Peace. Learn more and RSVP
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Reflections Through Painting & Collage: Workshop with Amy Tenenouser
First on Sunday, November 15 from 10:30am-12:30pm in 5 North
In this painting and collage workshop series led by member and artist Amy Tenenouser, participants will be introduced to a range of artists and art historical periods while exploring painting and collage through memory, reflection, and Jewish spiritual ideas and culture. Drawing inspiration from still life set-ups and themes that spark imagination and personal life stories, participants will begin to build the foundation for their own unique form of creative expression. Register here
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Intergenerational Mitzvah Knitting Group
Sunday, November 15 from 10-11:30am in the Mayer Cavalier Chapel
Knitters needed! Experienced and new knitters of all ages welcome: bubbies, bring your grandkids; kids – bring your parents. Please RSVP by emailing Emily.
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AC Book Group
Wednesdays, 6 - 7pm at AC
Next Meeting: December 2: An Odyssey: A Father, a Son, and an Epic by Daniel Mendelsohn
Join our in-person book group for literary conversation rooted in Jewish themes and storytelling. We’ll rotate facilitators (voluntary), and our discussions will be warm, thoughtful, and welcoming. All are welcome—members and non-members alike. Learn more and RSVP
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Avre Tu Puerta Cerrada: A Poetical Exploration of Love and Longing, with Ronnie Perelis
Saturday, December 5 at 7pm in Hirsch Hall
From the enclosed gardens of the Song of Songs to the alluring gateways of Andalusian courtyards, the gate and the door have served as powerful images for poems of divine and human love. Join Ronnie Perelis as we follow this image from its Biblical roots into its audacious reimagining by the poets of medieval Spain and its creative echoes in the sweet singers of Ladino ballads and contemporary Hebrew music. RSVP here
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Hineni: The Transcendent Song of the Shofar
Sunday, December 13 at 7pm in the Sanctuary
For thousands of years, the shofar has sounded in synagogues as a Jewish call to prayer, reflection and repentance. On December 13 at Ansche Chesed, it will be heard in a very different way: as a melodic instrument, capable of producing intricate musical passages rather than the familiar ritual blasts. Bar Zemach, a shofar-soloist whose playing has been described as defying “the laws of physics,” will appear with renowned pianist Jascha Nemtsov. Together with the Cassatt String Quartet and Cantor-Composers Gerald Cohen and Natasha Hirschhorn, they will present an exciting program highlighting the New York premiere of Cohen’s Hineni (Here Am I), composed specifically for Zemach’s reimagined vision of the shofar. Learn more and register
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Book Drive for PS 145
Sunday, December 6 from 11am - 1pm
B'nai Jeshurun Community House (270 W. 89th St.)
Does your family have children’s books you’re ready to pass along? This Chanukah, AC is partnering with B’nai Jeshurun to collect new and gently used children’s books for the PS 145 Community Bookshelf, where students “shop” (at no cost) for books to take home, keep, and enjoy. We welcome books for preschoolers through fifth grade, including picture books, board books, early readers, nonfiction and graphic novels. Please refer to the detailed book donation guidelines; donors will be asked to take any books back home that do not meet these criteria.
Note: All books must be brought to the B’nai Jeshurun Community House, 270 West 89th St. between Broadway and West End Ave., on December 6, 11:00 AM - 1:00 PM.. Please DO NOT drop off books at Ansche Chesed or at the B’nai Jeshurun Sanctuary building.
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Volunteers Needed
Please consider signing up for a volunteer shift at the reopened shelter. Volunteer shifts are easy, with step-by-step procedures and an on-call volunteer to answer questions that come up. Learn more and sign up
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Weekly Talmud Class with Rabbi Jeremy Kalmanofsky
Wednesdays from 7-8pm in the Mayer Cavalier Chapel or on Zoom
Our Talmud class will celebrate our 25th anniversary this year, our Silver Jubilee! Please join us -- in person or via Zoom -- to study the 4th chapter of Berakhot, about prayer. This year, we will also bring material from the "other" Talmud, from the Land of Israel, and hope to enjoy seeing where the two works are converge or diverge. Learn more and RSVP
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Shirei Chesed Community Chorus
Wednesdays, 7:30 - 9pm in 5 North
Shirei Chesed Community Chorus continues to build community through learning a rich and diverse repertoire of Jewish music, bringing harmony to a world that needs it more than ever. Our 4-part chorus brings together lovers of choral singing from both AC and the wider Jewish community. Our recent performances include classical programs with The Bachanalia String Orchestra, a jazz concert with The Afro-Semitic Experience ensemble and Oratorio Souls on Fire based on the book by Elie Wiesel.
For more information or to schedule an audition, email Cantor Natasha Hirschhorn.
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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!
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Caregivers' Circle, with DOROT Social Worker
Biweekly Wednesdays from 12 - 1:15pm at AC or on Zoom
This group is facilitated by DOROT social worker Jane Blumenstein, LCSW, to provide a supportive community where caregivers can connect and find strength. Whether caring for a spouse, parent, or another loved one, we're here to support you. Learn More and Register
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Parsha Talk
Join Rabbi Kalmanofsky and his buddies Rabbis Barry Chesler and Eliot Malomet for their weekly Parsha Talk. Watch the latest episode
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Weekday Morning Minyan
Mondays - Fridays at 7:30am
Sundays and Civil Holidays at 8:30am
in the Mayer Cavalier Chapel or on Zoom
Note: Minyan will begin at 8:30am on Wednesday, November 11 for Veterans Day.
Join our WhatsApp group, which we'll post to when we need people.
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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.
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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.
| | Want to stay updated on Ansche Chesed's family programs and services? Subscribe to our "Family Programs" email list or see our Family Calendar. | | |
Demystifying Solar for Your Co-op or Condo, with JCAN NYC
Tuesday, November 10 from 7 - 8:30pm at the Marlene Meyerson JCC Manhattan or virtually
Hear from Noah Ginsburg, executive director of NY Solar Energy Industries Association about the power and possibility of solar on NYC buildings. Hosted by the Jewish Climate Action Network NYC, Noah and other experts will explain the incredible progress that has been made to install solar on our rooftops, and talk about solar installation and potential savings for you and your building. RSVP here
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Film Screening of In the Path of Peace, with the Marlene Meyerson JCC Manhattan and Director Brad Rothschild
Tuesday, December 1, from 6 - 8pm at the Marlene Meyerson JCC Manhattan (334 Amsterdam Ave)
Born in 1930s Europe in response to rising fascism, Krav Maga landed in Palestine and ultimately became a uniquely Israeli form of self-defense. As antisemitism surges around the world in the aftermath of October 7, Jews are increasingly turning to Krav. In the Path of Peace follows students as they learn to defend themselves. Instructors, historians, and experts in Israel and beyond place their stories in a longer history of Jewish survival, and ask what it means to be strong and what it costs. Screening followed by Q&A with director Brad Rothschild. Register here
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DOROT's Aging Alone Together® in collaboration with Synagogue Partners
6 sessions on Zoom, 10:30am - 12pm
January 5, 12, 19, 26, February 2, 9
Join us for Aging Alone Together®, DOROT's flagship program for solo agers — individuals who, by choice or circumstance, expect to age independently. This virtual six-week series explores tools, strategies and support to help you prepare for the future through interactive presentations and group discussions. Each week covers key topics such as building community, preparing for future medical decisions, considering financial and legal matters, and exploring how to age at home or make a move. Whether you're aging without family, feeling alone, or seeking meaningful connections, we welcome you. This program is offered at no cost and in partnership with DOROT’s Synagogue Partners. Learn more and register
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Housekeeper/Caretaker Seeking Employment, from Corinne Boren
I am recommending my friend Anila who is seeking employment as a housekeeper, caretaker or companion. Anila is very experienced and caring. She helped me take care of my mother for over four years and truly enhanced her quality of life until my mother passed in 2020. Should you wish further information please feel free to contact me at my email address co18bo@aol.com or by phone 212-864-8163.
| | Members may email us Shuk postings, sending a brief blurb including a member's contact info. Must be received by Tuesday at 3pm. Posts run for two weeks. | | Despite our best efforts and extensive proofreading, we apologize for any errors or omissions. | | | | |
