Shames JCC

Chanukah: 2 Candles
2019-12-23

Chanukah: 3 Candles
2019-12-24

Chanukah: 4 Candles
2019-12-25

Chanukah: 5 Candles
2019-12-26

Chanukah: 6 Candles
2019-12-27

Chanukah: 7 Candles
2019-12-28

Chanukah: 8 Candles
2019-12-29

Renard Lecture: Digital Community in the Age of Covid-19 Rabbi Ben Newman
2021-01-04 10:00 - 11:30 (America/New_York)
From weddings and bar mitzvahs to exercise classes and family Thanksgiving, how we gather together in community has changed in the age of COVID-19. Never before have we been more reliant upon the wonders of the internet and video conferencing technology. Join the Shames’ JCCs own Rabbi Ben Newman as he helps us navigate this “brave new world” of virtual social interaction, from its challenges to its promises. There will also be an opportunity to learn some practical tips and tricks for Zoom. This lecture will provide a practical and thoughtful introduction to the new age of digital community.
Please register in advance here or use the website link on the left.

Renard Lecture: “Schmooze and Musical Entertainment with Shlomo”
2021-01-11 10:00 - 11:00
Come hear American pop standards from the 1940s – 1970s, as well as some international hits. Shlomo is a versatile and accomplished singer, musician, and humorist and his delightful and exciting performance has been enjoyed by many throughout the US, Canada, and Israel.

Special MLK Day Renard Lecture: Counting Jews of Color
2021-01-18 10:30 - 11:30
Special MLK Day Renard lecture with Tamara Fish
Tamara Fish (Harvard U., AB; Union Theo. Sem., MA; Columbia U., MPhil, ABD) is one of the leading voices on Jews of Color and the immediate past president of the Jewish Multiracial Network (JMN), the immediate past president of Congregation Tehillah, Riverdale, NY, and former Assistant Director of the Office of the University Chaplain at Columbia University. She enjoys assisting Jewish communities in actively including Jews of Color and investigating internal race relations constructively.

The Oldies, Jazz, Motown and Soul with vocalist Reginald
2021-01-25 10:00 - 23:00
A super talented and exciting singer, Reginald brings you his gift in song and music. With a crisp and charming baritone voice, Reginald gets you moving and grooving to the Oldies, 40s-70s hits, Jazz standards, Soul, Motown, and Adult Contemporary. Influenced by the great Barry White, Smokey Robinson, and Luther Vandross, Reginald’s intent is to motivate and uplift your spirits through all his performances!

Memorials to Slavery, Lynching and The Holocaust: Paths to Reconciliation by the Montgomery Four
2021-02-01 10:00 - 11:30
Memorials create emotional spaces to help us acknowledge and understand the abuses of slavery, lynching and genocide. They provide opportunities to inform the present and motivation to ensure peace and justice for all. The program focuses on The National Memorial for Peace and Justice, opened a year ago in Montgomery, Alabama and the Holocaust Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe opened in 2015 in Berlin. The Montgomery Four: Linda Rousseau (ancestors owned slaves for 150 years in what is now Haiti)is a retired educator, an advocate for social justice at All Souls Unitarian Church, NYC, and a prison reform advocate in NY. Adine Usher (descendant of enslaved people) is an educational specialist, consultant, and advocate for students with disabilities and a member of the Community Unitarian Universal Congregation of White Plains, NY. Tosia McCormick (a descendant of the only Jewish family known to have escaped the Krakow ghetto intact) is a psychotherapist in private practice and co-founder of a non-profit organization promoting health literacy and safe sex for mature adults. Robert Dottin (descendant of enslaved people) is a professor of biology at Hunter College, CUNY, and a member of All Souls Unitarian Church, NYC.

Touring Westchester: Historic Treasures in Our Own Backyard with Patrick Raftery
2021-02-08 10:00 - 11:30
Historic Treasures in Our Own Backyard discusses the sites on the National Register of Historic Places in Westchester County that are open to the public. Some are well-known, such as Lyndhurst and Sunnyside, but others are not so well-known, such as the Greeley House in New Castle and the Thomas Paine Cottage in New Rochelle.” Patrick Raftery is the Associate Director and Librarian at the Westchester County Historical Society in Elmsford, NY. He is a graduate of Concordia College in Bronxville and Long Island University. He has worked at WCHS since 2006, and has written two books and several journal articles for the Society.

Latin and Caribbean Music with Manny
2021-02-22 10:00 - 11:00
Singing, conga drums, and music! Manny explains the different types of Latin and Caribbean rhythms and the music’s origins. Growing up in NY, Manny comes from the original NYC Latin Music scene and is the band leader of a fabulous Latin 10-piece Band: Boogoloo Crew. Growing as a Latino from NYC a few blocks from the Apollo Theater, Manny was exposed and interested in the smooth and upbeat rhythms that were popular

Human Evolution: The Last 250,000 Years
2021-03-01 10:00 - 11:30
With Eugene Bosche—an archeologist’s view of archaeological sites and human evolution from Africa to the Near East. How well do you know your neighbors? The appearance of modern humans.

Hissing Cousins: The Lifelong Rivalry of Eleanor Roosevelt and Alice Roosevelt Longworth with Timothy Dwyer
2021-03-08 10:00 - 11:30
Author of Hissing Cousins, Timothy Dwyer will discuss the loving but contentious relationship of Alice Roosevelt Longworth, Teddy Roosevelt’s witty and flamboyant daughter, and his niece Eleanor, who would emerge from a tragic childhood and troubled marriage to become our country’s most influential first lady. Their rivalry would persist through the Roosevelt family’s triumphs and tragedies, playing out against a backdrop of the most important events of the 20th Century. Timothy Dwyer grew up on Long Island’s Eaton’s Neck, a short distance from the Roosevelt estate of Sagamore Hill, and currently lives in Manhattan. The critically-praised Hissing Cousins is his first published work.

Jewish Image in American Film” Part II with Arthur Aldridge
2021-03-15 10:00 - 11:30
Emigration from Eastern Europe reached a peak at the same time the American motion picture industry was in its infancy. Newly-arrived Jews, with their Old World clothes and appearance were appealing subjects for movie-makers like Thomas Edison and D.W. Griffith. Their early movies helped establish and reinforce negative stereotypes. The movie image changed slowly as the emigrants acculturated and the second generation struggled to break free of traditions and join the mainstream of American society.
These films in Part 2 portray the transition: The Jazz Singer, Counsellor at Law, Marjorie Morningstar and Gentleman’s Agreement.

Birth of The Blues with music historian Michael Shamosh
2021-03-22 10:00 - 23:30
Explore the early years of one of America’s musical contributions to world culture. Using lecture and recording music we will explore where the Blues began, how different styles developed, and what they sounded like. It’s a musical journey to the depths of the nation’s soul.

CANCELLED: The Music in the Cupboard: Performance and Lecture with Dominique Hellsten and Craig Ketter
2021-04-05 10:00 - 11:30
“Music can diminish evil” Viktor Ullmann 1898 –1941 Among the many cultural victims of the Holocaust was an adventurous composer named Viktor Ullmann, who had an affinity for music that the Nazis labeled “ degenerate.” Born in a Habsburg Empire province on the eve of the new century, he lived and worked in Austria, Switzerland, Germany and Czechoslovakia, before being deported to Theresienstadt in 1942 and eventually murdered in Auschwitz on October 18th, 1944. Ullmann first studied briefly with Schönberg, and later with Zemlinsky. In 2015, Ms. Hellsten founded the Ullmann Project, in order to make Viktor Ullmann’s music more widely known. Its inaugural recital at Merkin 13
Hall was very well received by the audience and reviewers alike. Dominique Hellsten, a Swedish-born soprano, has led a successful career as a freelance opera and concert artist throughout Europe. Her engagements include appearances at the Royal Albert Hall, St Patrick’s Cathedral, Merkin Hall, and at Caramoor, NY. She is also a champion of New Music, having commissioned several works for her, notably the cantata Phèdre, by French-Lebanese composer Naji Hakim. Ms. Hellsten is a voice teacher and maintains a studio in Westchester County.
Pianist Craig Ketter has distinguished himself as a much sought-after pianist, accompanist, and vocal coach in the New York City area and beyond. As a soloist, Mr. Ketter has performed with many orchestras and symphonies and his solo concerts have taken him to Mexico, Argentina, Barbados, France, Germany, Japan, and across the United States and Canada. Mr. Ketter regularly joins forces with international singers and chamber groups. Venues include NPR’s Performance Today series, CBS Sunday Morning, Sirius Satellite Radio, Carnegie Hall, Avery Fisher Hall, the Teatro Colon in Buenos Aires, La Huaca, Atlapa in Panama City, and more.

The Rise and Fall of the Catskills and the Comedians Who Made Them Famous
2021-04-12 10:00 - 11:30
With Mort Segal. More information TBA.

When the War Came: Three Households on the Palisades Face the Civil War with Eric Nelson
2021-04-19 10:00 - 11:30
When the War Came: Three Households on the Palisades Face the Civil War with Eric Nelson
While no battles were fought in Hudson Valley, the effects of the Civil War were felt throughout the region. In the tiny riverfront settlement of Closter Landing on the New Jersey Palisades, around a dozen men from several families volunteered for the Union. Historical interpreter Eric Nelsen investigates three of these households, each headed by a widow, whose sons went off to fight. Eric Nelson has 11
been a historical interpreter for the Palisades Interstate Park in New Jersey since 1992, full time since ’98. He has been fascinated with all aspects of the Palisades and the park, and still considers it an honor to share the legacy of conservation it represents. The “Ghosts” program is a particular passion. To realize that the park was once home to several hundred families is an incredible thought. Who were these people? What became of them? And, how do stories such as theirs seem to disappear from public knowledge? Those are the questions I hope to explore with this program.

Words, Symbols, and Acts of Hate
2021-04-26 10:00 - 11:30
The 2017 Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia and the 2018 Tree of Life Synagogue Shooting were significant moments in recent United States history, as they revealed a persistence of hatred and overt discrimination that some Americans believed was a thing of the past. This presentation will focus on the recent increase in hate speech, hate symbols and hate crimes we are witnessing in our schools and communities. Issues such as First Amendment rights and limitations will be discussed as they apply to hate speech and nonverbal symbols. Julia Scallero served as a chairperson of the Social Studies department at North Salem High School for 8 years and taught in that district for 36 years. She is a recipient of the Louis Yavner Teacher Award for Teaching about the Holocaust and Other Human Rights Violations and she is a former president of the Westchester Council for the Social Studies. Ms. Scallero participated in an educator’s study trip to Germany and was a member of the HHREC’s committee which designed an interdisciplinary Holocaust curriculum for high school students. Sponsored by The Holocaust & Human Rights Education Center.

Architecture of Jewish Culture as reflected in Memorials & Museums
2021-05-03 10:00 - 11:30
Architecture of Jewish Culture as reflected in Memorials & Museums with Bruce Levy

Shem Guibbory – Violinist
2021-05-10 10:00 - 11:30
Shem Guibbory – Violinist.

An Archaeologist’s View of European Mummies
2021-05-24 10:00 - 11:30
Come learn about Europe’s mummies from 4000 B.C. to medieval times and what they reveal about past lifeways with Eugene Boesch.

LAUGHING ALL THE WAY TO FREEDOM with author Emil Draitser
2021-06-07 10:00 - 11:30
In his autobiographical trilogy, lively, evocative, and rich with humor, Hunter College Russian professor Emil Draitser describes his life as a Jew in the Soviet Union. Shush! Growing up Jewish under Stalin opens with the author’s startling discovery: many years after making his way to America from Odessa in Soviet Ukraine, every time he uttered the remark “Jewish”—even in a casual conversation—he lowered his voice.
This behavior was a natural by-product, he realized, of growing up in the anti-Semitic, post-Holocaust, Soviet Union when “Shush!” was the most frequent word he heard from his parents trying to keep a low profile. The compelling memoir provides a unique account of mid-twentieth-century existence in Russia as the young Draitser struggles to reconcile the harsh values of Soviet society with the values of his working-class Jewish family.
In the Jaws of the Crocodile covers Emil’s adult years in the Soviet Union, focusing on his work for Krokodil, a major satirical publication, which was allowed “to ridicule things the state apparatus has proved worthy of criticism.” The book explores what it means to be a satirist and a Jew in a country lacking freedom of expression. His experience provides a window into the lives of a generation of artists who could poke fun and make readers laugh, as long as they toed a narrow, state-approved line.
Farewell, Mama Odessa is devoted to the travails of Jewish emigration from the Soviet Union and adjustment to life in a different culture. Drawing on the rich tradition of Odessan humor, this autobiographical novel explores the most powerful innate motivation that drives many people to leave the country they were born and raised, about their hopes and dreams, their aspirations to achieve their full human potential.
If you’d like to purchase the book, the publisher is offering a 30% to Renard participants through the month of June with promo code: RENARD. Click here to purchase his book.
Emil also said the following, “As to the third title of the trilogy, Shush! Growing up Jewish under Stalin, by the time of my talk, the Amazon plans to offer their print-on-demand option with much reduced price.”

In Memory: An Encore Video Airing of Jewish image in American Film” with Arthur Aldrich
2021-06-14 10:00 - 11:30
Please note there will be no in-person event for this tribute. In We are so sad to have to announce that Arthur R. Aldrich, frequent Renard Series lecturer and a longtime beloved member of our community has passed away on Monday, April 12. Arthur was known for his riveting talks on Jewish Image in American Film over many eras and genres. His last lecture with us was on March 15. He will be missed by our community and we send our deepest condolences to his family. To read his obituary, please click here.
We are inviting the community to watch his last lecture. His lecture from March 15 will be posted here soon. Check back to this space.
Arthur Aldrich is a media historian and founder, editor, and publisher of “Our Town” newspaper. In the 1950s, he worked in radio and was stage manager of an off-Broadway theater and technical director of the Folksbiene Theater on the Lower East Side. He was an adjunct professor at Rockland Community College and taught more than 60 Elderhostel and adult education courses. He teaches at the Learning Collaborative in Rockland County.

Brag Party & Creative Networking
2021-06-16 09:30 - 11:30
Experience Naomi Vladeck’s Brag Party and harness your courage for transformation by sharing your accomplishments with others!
Over the past year, I’ve seen friends accomplish high wire feats of mothering, boundary setting, career-boosting, life-altering big-time change, often on multiple fronts and at the same time. (Drop mic, BAM!) But we often resist celebrating these shifts with others. When we share our hard-won (and heartfelt) accomplishments with receptive others, the potential for meaningful change multiplies for everyone. If we are to be truly free to live into our potential, we must let our light shine for others to see!
Join me and a group of 15 other participants at the Shames Jewish Community Center in Tarrytown for a supportive talking circle to lift us out of isolation and into authentic connection. Our exploration will create:
Courage to talk about our brag-worthy moments with others so that we can multiply our collective potential for transformation.
Connection to others willing to share the underlying feelings we all yearn to have met when we express our true potential.
Awareness of how authentic connection creates courage to bring big brag-worthy moments into life for everyone’s benefit!
*In order to create a safe sharing environment for the purposes of this event, we are accepting registrations only from female-identifying individuals.
Naomi Vladeck is a creativity coach who has championed the work of independent artists for over two decades. A lifelong fundraiser, non-profit manager, planner and artmaker, she has a unique ability to think creatively and practically to support the work of artists and help them articulate their vision and overcome obstacles with loving attention, humor and curiosity. Naomi works with women in mid-life and mid-career who value the creative process and also those who are moving through the grief associated with major transitions and loss to find meaning and power in their lives. www.creativitymatterscoaching.com

Improv Showcase with Improv Innovation
2021-06-17 18:00 - 19:30
Join us and Ellen Flaks of Improv Innovations (a JCC Affinity Fellow) outside for a free improv show featuring an inter-generational cast of performers along with plenty of audience participation. FUN & LAUGHTER!
This community event is made possible with an Affinity Fellows grant with the Shames JCC on the Hudson, the UJA Federation NY, and by the Dobbs Ferry Public Library.
About Ellen
Ellen Flaks is a facilitator of creativity. She is the director/owner of Improv Innovations. She is a creative drama instructor, improvisational theater specialist, a scene study, monologue and audition coach, an educational puppeteer, a director, a stage manager, a birthday party savior and a supporter of the Arts. She has worked with many of the local children’s theater companies and has taught enrichment programs in dozens of schools and senior centers in Westchester, Rockland, and NYC. Ellen creates a super safe and comfortable environment where her students have a blast “stretching their imagination muscles.” She works with all age groups from 3-103! She is currently teaching ZoomProv and providing acting and audition coaching privately online.
​Ellen holds a B.F.A. in Theater from Syracuse University, a Masters in Teaching from Manhattanville College, and has completed the Core training program at the New York School of Playback Theatre.
​For more information, email Rabbi Ben Newman at bnewman@shamesjcc.org.

How Music Works: Baroque music and beyond with Barry Weisenfeld
2021-06-21 10:00 - 11:30
“How Music Works: Baroque music and beyond”—Barry will discuss jazz from its origins in the Deep South during slavery and its migration north and evolution through various styles including big band and bebop and cool jazz.
