By Alana Shultz

With the holidays behind us and a new year upon us, I’d like to call upon everyone to help me make this year full of relevant and exciting events. I appreciate your ideas and enthusiasm, your attendance, and your social prowess – please tell your friends about our many wonderful programs at the
Shearith Israel. Invite them to join us; the wider community is always welcome. In this way, we can create a vibrant cultural and educational atmosphere at
the synagogue together.
September was full of new programs, including a High Holiday Health Seminar which taught us about proper posture and nutritional health. These
classes were very successful; I hope to hold similar ones in the future. We also held our first event of the Authors Series. This program which merges literature with a range of Jewish topics will continue throughout the year.
I’d like to thank all of our little artists and their parents for decorating a very creative and lovely outdoor Succah.
November programming begins with another spectacular concert of the St. Luke's Orchestra in our Main Sanctuary, on Tuesday, November 5th. All proceeds from the concert will go to the Synagogue’s Youth Programming and to our PTTS Religious School. Tickets are $35 (VIP - $100), and can be
purchased by calling the office at 212-873-0300 x221.
Friday, November 7th, we will host our first Shabbat Hospitality Dinner of the season. These dinners are a wonderful way to spend a meaningful Shabbat with friends and family, and meet your fellow congregants. We invite you to
bring friends so they can experience the warmth of our synagogue. The food will be delicious, the lecture will be enlightening and company will be enjoyable. Dinner will begin directly after services. Childcare is available all
evening. To reserve your spot, call Diana at x221. December 5th will be our second dinner of the season. The following Friday, December 12th, we will
host an International young professionals Shabbat Dinner with JICNY. All Shearith Israel members in their 20s and 30s are welcome.
Tuesday, November 11th, 7:30pm, we will hold a Relationship Class for dating, engaged and newly married couples – and anyone else who would like to gain some Jewish relationship wisdom. Dr. Gavin Samuels will speak on
the mystical and practical approach to love and relationships, including communication, halakhah, and responsibility based on the teachings of Rabbi Dr. Akiva Tatz.
Saturday night, November 15th, the children will go on another joint UWS Synagogue adventure – Laser Tag!
Monday, November 17th, Tuesday, November 25th, and Tuesday, December 2nd, we will host 3 more authors as part of our Authors Series. Beginning with Diana Spechler, she will read from her new novel Who By Fire, which goes between Israel and America, Orthodox and Secular life, and the family members caught in between as they try to save one another and deal with
their family’s past. We will then host Lisa Alcalay Klug – comedian, journalist, and author of Cool Jew : The Ultimate Guide for Every Member of the Tribe. This book serves as field manual for the 21st century Jew. It decodes contemporary Judaism and its hippest forms of cultural and creative expression, covering everything from identity, rituals, clothing and cuisine, to holidays, spirituality, diversity, and language. It is an updated combination
of the beloved Jewish Catalogue meets the Joys of Yiddish with a hip-hop spin. This program will be co-sponsored with Birthright NEXT and The Jewish International Connection of NY - JICNY. And…our final author, Frances
Dinkelspiel, will speak on her book, Towers of Gold: How One Jewish Immigrant Named Isaias Hellman Created California. This book is a
biography of the author’s greatgrandfather, and tells of the Jewish financier’s role in the creation of California. It discusses the overall immigrant experience of Jews and their share in the economical development of the West. All events
are free, and the books will be sold at a discount.
Hanukkah arrives on Sunday December 21st. That afternoon we will hold our
annual children’s Hanukkah Party! And a few days later, on Tuesday, December 23rd, the city-wide Sephardic Music Festival comes to Shearith
Israel for the fourth year in a row. Celebrate Hanukkah with festive Ladino music and Spanish guitar! On another note, we’d like to send our College kids a Hanukkah gift from Shearith Israel. If your child is away at school, please
send me his or her mailing address.
Youth programming on Shabbat continues as usual with either Junior Congregation or Shabbat Club Youth Groups. Toddler childcare and Tot
Shabbat is every week.
As always, if you have any ideas, questions, or comments, please share your thoughts with me. I can be reached at alana.shultz@shearithisrael.org or 212-873-0300 x209.