Metro Briefs November 5

Metro Briefs November 5

The South Hills Jewish Community Center will present the International Yitzhak Rabin Memorial Project, a program of P2G@20, produced and developed by educators of the Dror Israel Movement, on Saturday, Nov. 7, beginning with a reception at 7 p.m. and the Rabin presentation at 7:30 p.m. This exhibit from Israel is making a stop in Pittsburgh before traveling to the Federation General Assembly in Washington, D.C. This event is free and open to the public.

Congregational partners are Ahavath Achim (The Carnegie Shul), Beth El Congregation, Beth Israel Center, Chabad of the South Hills and Temple Emanuel. Call the SHJCC at 412-278-1975 for more information.

FrameHouse & Jask Gallery will present “except for the sound of my voice” — photogravures by Leslie A. Golomb, with selections from “Wielding the Knife,” woodcuts by master Chinese printmaker Li Kang beginning with the opening reception on Saturday, Nov. 7 from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. at 100 43rd Street, Unit 107. This event is free and open to the public. The exhibition runs through Jan. 30, 2016.

Contact gallery owner Kathleen Miclot or Elizabeth Brophy, gallerist, at 412-586-4559 or framehouse@comcast.net or visit framehouseonline.com for more information.

“Etty”: A Kristallnacht Commemoration will be held on Tuesday, Nov. 10 at 7:30 p.m. at Duquesne University in the Genesius Theater. The commemoration will include a performance of Susan Stein’s one-woman play, “Etty,” based on the diaries and letters of Esther “Etty” Hillesum. Cost per ticket is $15.

Before the performance the historical context of Kristallnacht and biographical information of Hillesum will be shared by Marie Baird, Daniel Burston and Matthew Schneirov, faculty members of Duquesne’s McAnulty College and Graduate School of Liberal Arts. A reception will follow.

Contact Adam Viers at 412-396-1322 or viersa@duq.edu for more information or visit duq.edu/etty to register.

JFilm is co-presenting the Pittsburgh premiere of “What Our Fathers Did: A Nazi Legacy” at the Three Rivers Film Festival on Sunday, Nov. 8 at 2 p.m. and Thursday, Nov. 12 at 6 p.m. at the Regent Square Theater. The documentary explores the complicated friendship between two men — both sons of high-ranking Nazi officials. Human rights lawyer Philippe Sands investigates their connection, interweaving the story of his own grandfather, who escaped the same town where their fathers carried out mass killings. Sands journeys with them through Europe where they examine their fathers’ sins, revealing a unique perspective of father-son relationships.

Visit JFilmPgh.org to purchase tickets.

The Rauh Jewish History Program and Archives and the Holocaust Center of Pittsburgh will welcome Brandon Blache-Cohen for a Kristallnacht commemoration and talk entitled “Rebuilding of Lives: Post-Holocaust Life, 1945-1955” on Monday, Nov. 9 at 7 p.m. at the Senator John Heinz History Center, 1212 Smallman St.

Blache-Cohen, executive director of Amizade Global Service Learning and grandson of a survivor, is the keynote speaker. There will be a pre-program reception at 5:30 p.m. and a chance to view the “We Can Do It!” World War II exhibition. Dietary laws will be observed.

The program is free and open to the community. RSVPs must be made by Thursday, Nov. 5 to Samantha Chilton at 412-421-1500 or schilton@hcpgh.org. Contact Caroline Fitzgerald at ccfitzgerald@heinzhistorycenter.org or 412-454-6373 for more information.

The CDS Eighth-Grade Israel Trip Auction will be held Nov. 10 to Nov. 24 to help raise funds for the Community Day School Class of 2016 to travel to Israel in the spring. Available auction items include theater and sports tickets, artwork and jewelry, vacation packages, baked goods, unique experiences, gift baskets, gift certificates, top-flight wine and more. The community’s support helps make possible the two-week Israel adventure that marks the capstone of the CDS Hebrew and Jewish studies experience.

Visit comday.org to bid in this online auction.

Men’s Night Out With Henry Winkler, presented by the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh Men’s Philanthropy, will be held on Wednesday, Nov. 11 at 7 p.m. at the Circuit Center Ballroom at 5 Hot Metal St. on the South Side. The evening will feature heavy hors d’oeuvres, dessert and an open bar. There is a $150 per person charge.

The event co-chairs are Peter Gordon, Grant Mason and Michael Silverman. Contact Stacy Skiavo at sskiavo@jfedpgh.org or 412-992-5223 for more information.

Temple Emanuel of South Hills invites the community to a free concert with Rick Recht on Saturday, Nov. 14 at 7 p.m. at 1250 Bower Hill Road.  Recht is widely recognized as a pioneer of the Jewish rock music genre.

The Rabbi William Sajowitz Endowment Fund sponsors the family friendly concert. Contact 412-279-7600 or templeemanuel@templeemanuelpgh.org for more information.

The Melton Mini-School graduates are celebrating 20 years of the Florence Melton School of Adult Jewish Learning on Sunday, Nov. 15 from 9:15 a.m. to 11 a.m. at the Jewish Community Center, Katz Auditorium in Squirrel Hill.

As part of the Global Day of Jewish Learning, Rabbi Danny Schiff will hold a study session on Loving & Waiting: A Talmudic Perspective on Relationships.

There is no charge for this presentation by the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh. RSVP to Patti Dziekan at 412-992-5221 or register at jfedpgh.org/meltonat20 by Nov. 13.

The next concert of the Music at Rodef Shalom Series will feature pianist George Li on Monday, Nov. 16 at 8 p.m. in Levy Hall. According to the Washington Post, Li combines “staggering technical prowess, a sense of command and depth of expression” with brilliant virtuosity and effortless grace far beyond his years.

The concert is open to the community at no charge. A reception follows the performance to provide an opportunity to meet and to converse with Li. Refreshments will be served and the Temple Gift Shop will be open before and after the concert.

Contact Rodef Shalom at 412-621-6566 or visit rodefshalom.org for more information.

The Community Day School Parent Association Speaker Series will hold the next event on Thursday, Nov. 19 from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. with clinical psychologist and parent coach Sue Berman speaking on “How to Raise a Mensch: Practical Strategies.” The talk is free and open to the community.

In addition, free child ­­­care is available that evening by contacting Jackie Braslawsce at jackieb7@gmail.com. Community Day School is located at 6424 Forward Ave. in Squirrel Hill.

Prior to the discussion, the CDS Scholastic Book Fair will be available from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Chabad of Squirrel Hill will hold its second annual Evening of Inspiration, at Congregation Beth Shalom, on Monday, Nov. 23, beginning at 7 p.m. with a reception of gourmet wines and cheeses, and at 7:30 p.m., there will be a program featuring guest speaker Ruth Wisse, who will talk on the topic of “No Joke: Making Jewish Humor.”

Wisse taught Yiddish literature and comparative literature at Harvard University from 1993-2014, and before that at McGill University in Montreal. She is senior fellow at the Tikvah Fund. Her books include “Jews and Power,” “The Modern Jewish Canon” and “No Joke: Making Jewish Humor” published in 2013.

Visit chabadpgh.com to RSVP and for more information.

HaZamir Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh’s chapter of HaZamir: The International Jewish High School Choir, has formally opened its 2015-16 and 10th season in Pittsburgh with new musical director and conductor Doug Levine.

Levine has taught and performed music across the greater Pittsburgh community for m­ore than a decade, working with organizations including Alumni Theater Company, the University of Pittsburgh and Playhouse Conservatory Company.

HaZamir, an international network of Jewish high school choirs, meets weekly to learn a common musical repertoire and performs this repertoire at regional, national and international events. HaZamir is a program of the New York-based Zamir Choral Foundation and was created by founder and director Matthew Lazar to give teens a unique experience and to foster a lifelong commitment to Jewish culture and music.

HaZamir Pittsburgh is open to eighth- through 12th-grade students. The group meets weekly at the Jewish Community Center of Greater Pittsburgh. In addition to rehearsals, HaZamir Pittsburgh performs locally in concerts each year and has performed in the past at the Pittsburgh Jewish Music Festival.

HaZamir Pittsburgh teens perform each spring with other HaZamir chapters from around the world at the International HaZamir Festival in New York City, to be held this year from Thursday, March 31 to Sunday, April 3, 2016. Singers from 27 HaZamir chapters around the world will join together for a Shabbaton at the Hudson Valley Resort.

All chapters will then perform together in the Gala Concert at the Carnegie Music Hall on Sunday, April 3.

HaZamir Pittsburgh will also host and perform in Pittsburgh with a visiting chapter from Karmiel/Misgav, Pittsburgh’s Partnership2Gether region, before the festival in March.

Coordinated locally by the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh and supported by the Federation’s Annual Campaign, P2G is a joint program of the Jewish Agency for Israel and the Jewish Federations of North America. HaZamir Pittsburgh is a program of the Jewish Community Center of Greater Pittsburgh. New members are welcome at any time.

Contact Carolyn Gerecht, director of Teen Learning at the JCC, at 412-339-5400 or cgerecht@jccpgh.org for more information or to visit a rehearsal.

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