Center for Jewish Living and Learning Brochure Spring 2012

Summer/Spring 2012

T l i te ra tu re fi l m art music d a n ce l ea r n i n g

submerge yourself in the 8th annual houston jewish film festival MARCH 6 - 18

8th Annual

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HOUSTON JEWISH FILM FESTIVAL

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elcome to the 8th Annual Houston Jewish Film Festival, a collaboration between the ERJCC of Houston and the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, with Holocaust Museum Houston as a longstanding venue.

A big thanks to our dedicated film committee volunteers, who spend dozens of hours screening films to select the best ones from around the world that tell stories of Jewish significance, with poignancy and creativity, and reflect the values that shape Jewish life. This year we are pleased to have three filmmakers and one actor to introduce their films and lead post-screening discussions.

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We are grateful to our underwriters, sponsors, community partners, and patrons for their generous support. Enjoy the Festival and spread the word!

Barbara Bronstein, Chair Doreen Joffe and Sharon Kagan, Honorary Chairs

2012 FILM COMMITTEE: Karen Aptekar Neil Aussenberg Margie Beegle Nada Chandler John Dreyfus Justine Fanarof Sue Goott Patti Hanfling Diane Lee David Mendel Miriam Pacht Paula Siegel Stefani Twyford Helen Wils

HJFF STAFF:

Ariela Emery, ERJCC Marian Luntz, MFAH Tamara Savage, HMH

COMMUNITY PARTNERS:

Alexander Institute for Inclusion, a Division of JFS Department of Disability Services The American Israel Public Affairs Committee Anti-Defamation League Congregation Beth Israel Holocaust Museum Houston L’Chaim Center NCJW – Greater Houston Section United Orthodox Synagogues

Throughout HJFF we will be accepting donations of gently used children’s books.

Designated book drop-off screenings are Deaf Jam on March 6, Young Abraham on March 11, and Nicky’s Family on March 16.

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OPENING NIGHT

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MARCH 6 – 18

FREE EVENT DESIGNATED USED CHILDREN’S BOOKS DROP-OFF FILM

KADDISH FOR A FRIEND (KADDISCH FÜR EINEN FREUND) Tuesday, March 6 • 7:30 PM • ERJCC Friday, March 9 • 1:00 PM • ERJCC Directed by Leo Khasin Germany, 2011, 94 min.

Arabic, German, Russian with English Subtitles Drama Alexander, an 84 year old widowed Russian Jewish war veteran living alone in Berlin, wants to maintain his independence despite pressures from social workers to move into a nursing home. A Palestinian family from Lebanon occupies a downstairs flat. Ali, the teenage son in the family, together with his friends, vandalize and ransack Alexander’s flat and destroy some of his most treasured possessions. In order to avoid deportation, Ali’s family insists he repair the damage. Slowly, the mutual disdain each feels for the other turns to understanding and ultimately friendship in this coming-of-age film inspired by two real people.

Sponsored by June & Leonard Goldberg

DEAF JAM Wednesday, March 7 • 1:00 PM • ERJCC Directed by Judy Lieff USA, 2011, 70 min.

English and American Sign Language with English Subtitles Documentary Aneta Brodski, a deaf Israeli teen, attends a school for the deaf in Queens, N.Y. where she explores slam poetry using American Sign Language. Proud of her deafness but aware of the isolation it brings, Aneta utilizes her unique experiences to create a powerful poetic art form. When Aneta meets Tahani, a hearing Palestinian slam poet, the two create a deaf/hearing duet in which they explore their shared and personal experiences and generate a new form of slam poetry which speaks to the deaf as well as the hearing.

CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM Wednesday, March 7 Studio Movie Grill at CityCentre 6:00 - 7:30 PM Happy Hour at the Cinema Bar • 7:30 PM Screening Created by Larry David USA, Three 30 min. episodes English TV Series, Comedy In this largely improvised series starring himself, Seinfeld co-creator Larry David shamelessly takes issue with frustrating and frivolous social conventions. Always landing himself in awkward situations, David must negotiate how to get out of them…or decide that they aren’t so awkward after all. The three episodes featured at HJFF will get you laughing at David, at the convoluted yet familiar scenarios, and most importantly, at yourself.

Seating opens at 7:10 PM and is firstcome, first-served.

Holy Mordechai! Dress up like your favorite Curb character for Purim. Best costume wins a special prize!

Patron Sponsors: Helen Wils & Leonard Goldstein Paula & Irving Pozmantier

LUNCH AND A

MORDECAI RICHLER: THE LAST OF THE WILD JEWS Wednesday, March 7 • 7:30 PM • 14 Pews Wednesday, March 14 • 5:00 PM • ERJCC Directed by Francine Pelletier Canada, 2010, 52 min.

English and French with English Subtitles Documentary Canadian novelist Mordecai Richler was one of the Jewish writers who dominated the literary landscape in the latter half of the twentieth century. Richler, born to immigrant parents and raised on Talmud, comic books, and tales of the old world, explored the Jewish immigrant experience in the new world. His best known novels, The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz and Barney’s Version, were made into award winning films.

This documentary features conversations with other outstanding literary voices, and captures the personality of the man known as contrary and unpredictable, one of the outstanding Jewish voices of the 20th century.

MOVIE

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FEATURING: Deaf Jam and Nicky’s Family $8 Member/$10 Public RSVP required w/ 24 hr. notice Call Esther Bethke at 713.729.3299 ext. 3258

SPECIAL PRICES APPLY

FOR 14 PEWS SCREENINGS See erjcchouston.org/filmfest for details.

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MARCH 6 – 18 RECOMMENDED FOR AGES 5 - 10

DIRECTOR APPEARANCE PAUL GOODMAN CHANGED MY LIFE

JOANNA

Thursday, March 8 • 7:00 PM • MFAH

Thursday, March 8 • 7:30 PM • ERJCC Tuesday, March 13 • 5:00 PM • ERJCC Directed by Feliks Falk Poland, 2010, 105 min.

Polish with English Subtitles Drama

Introduced by Filmmaker Jonathan Lee

Sunday, March 11 • 1:00 PM • MFAH Introduced by UH Professor Tony Hoagland

Directed by Jonathan Lee USA, 2011, 89 min.

English Documentary Author of the legendary bestseller Growing Up Absurd, Paul Goodman (1911–1972) was also a bisexual poet, family man, pacifist, visionary, cofounder of Gestalt therapy and a moral compass for many in the burgeoning counterculture of the 1960s. Paul Goodman Changed My Life immerses audiences in an era of high intellect, when New York was peaking culturally and artistically. Using a treasure trove of archival multimedia, director/ producer Jonathan Lee and producer/ editor Kimberly Reed (Prodigal Sons) have woven together a rich portrait of an intellectual heavyweight whose ideas are long overdue for rediscovery.

In this tense and compelling film, Joanna, a Polish piano teacher living in Warsaw during the Nazi occupation, waits in vain to hear from her husband on the front line when she discovers a young Jewish girl hiding in a church after a round-up of Jews. At tremendous risk to her own safety, Joanna hides Roza in her home. Amidst the suspicions of neighbors and Nazi officers, Joanna faces difficult decisions and moral choices if Roza is to survive.

YOUNG ABRAHAM: FROM THE ANCIENT STORIES OF THE ISRAELITES Sunday, March 11 • 11:00 AM • ERJCC $4/person, $20 family max Directed by Todd Shaffer Canada, 2011, 48 min.

English Animation Written by two Chabad-Lubavitch rabbis, this cutting-edge animated film relates the story of Abraham and his quest to prove that God is much more than just stone idols. Spanning the first 75 years of the Jewish patriarch’s life, Young Abraham is the perfect way to teach children K-5 of the midrashim that describe who Abraham was before he is introduced to us in the Torah.

DESIGNATED USED CHILDREN’S BOOKS DROP-OFF FILM

MY BEST ENEMY (MEIN BESTER FEIND)

© Aicholzer Film Production GMBTT/Petro Domenigg

Saturday, March 10 • 8:00 PM • MFAH Directed by Wolfgang Murnberger Austria, Luxembourg, 2011, 109 min.

German with English Subtitles Thriller

Vienna, 1939: Jewish art dealer Victor and newly minted SS officer Rudi are childhood friends who find themselves on opposite sides of the coming storm. With an international incident over a hidden original Michelangelo print at stake, Rudi, who has appropriated Victor’s family estate and fiancée, must also secure Victor’s cooperation to ensure his own survival. Action-packed, full of twists, turns, and reversals of fortune, My Best Enemy is a much welcomed first course that will have audiences on the edge of their seats wanting more. —Philadelphia Jewish Film Festival

Did you know?

Every movie ticket at the MFAH gets you 10% off at Café Express in the Museum. Make it ‘dinner and a movie’ on Saturday nights!

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MARCH 6 – 18

MARY LOU (TAMID OTO CHALOM)

SURVIVING HITLER: A LOVE STORY

OTTO FRANK, FATHER OF ANNE

Sunday, March 11 • 3:00 PM • MFAH Directed by Eytan Fox Israel, 2010, 150 min.

Hebrew with English Subtitles Mini-Series, Musical

Sunday, March 11 • 7:30 PM • HMH Directed by John-Keith Wasson USA, 2010, 65 min.

English Documentary

Monday, March 12 • 7:30 PM • ERJCC Directed by David De Jongh Netherlands, 2010, 75 min.

Dutch, English, German with English Subtitles Documentary

Following the trend of contemporary musicals like Glee, the made-for-Israeli-TV series Mary Lou features a soundtrack

by Israeli pop star Svika Pick (who appears as himself). Acclaimed director Eytan Fox (The Bubble, Walk on Water) tells the story of a boy’s (Ido Rosenberg) search for his wayward mother (Maya Dagan, The Matchmaker) that eventually leads him to a new identity in Tel Aviv: as a drag queen named Mary Lou. The TV series won Israel’s national award for Best Miniseries in 2010.

Jutta Cords is a high school student in Nazi Germany when she learns that her maternal grandparents had converted from Judaism to Christianity. Accordingly, Jutta is considered Jewish, and as such, is denied every opportunity of a future. Jutta reconnects with her childhood friend, Helmuth, who, upon his return from the German front, becomes involved in the Valkyrie plot to assassinate Hitler. Jutta and Helmuth do their best to maintain a romance while they fight in the resistance alongside Jutta’s parents who use their home as a safe house. The documentary is narrated by Jutta herself with original 8 mm footage shot by Helmuth.

Dutch director David De Jongh’s documentary draws upon archival footage and interviews to create a complex portrait of Otto Frank, the father of Anne Frank and the only family member to survive the Holocaust. The film explores Otto’s early years as an assimilated German Jew, his obsession with maintaining Anne’s memory, his correspondence with young readers, and the zeal to promote her diaries. De Jongh does not ignore the controversies and questions surrounding editorial tinkering with Anne’s diaries and their Hollywood and Broadway adaptations in this wellrounded portrait of a man whose grief and pride inform his life’s work.

FREE MEN (LES HOMMES LIBRES) Tuesday, March 13 • 7:30 PM • ERJCC Directed by Ismaël Ferroukhi France, 2011, 99 min.

French with English Subtitles Thriller Set in 1942 in German-occupied Paris, Younes, a young Algerian immigrant, makes his living on the black market. Tracked down by the German occupation forces, and desirous of avoiding a jail sentence, he agrees to spy at the Paris Mosque, a meeting ground for Muslim Resistance fighters whose activities include rescuing North African Jews, providing false identity papers, and assassinating Vichy government informers. There he befriends an Algerian cabaret singer involved in the Paris underground whom he later discovers is a Jew. Slowly, Younes is transformed from a politically ignorant black marketeer to a full-fledged freedom fighter.

Patron Sponsors: Graciela & Albert Handy

Patti & Dan Steiner

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MARCH 6 – 18

ACTOR APPEARANCE LITTLE ROSE (RÓYŽCZKA)

SRUGIM

NICKY’S FAMILY

Wednesday, March 14 • 7:30 PM • ERJCC Directed by Jan Kidawa-Bło`nski Poland, 2010, 118 min.

Polish with English Subtitles Thriller

Thursday, March 15 • 7:30 PM • ERJCC Actor Amos Tamam in Attendance Created by Eliezer (Laizy) Shapiro and Chana Divon Israel, Three 35 min. episodes from Season 1 (2008) Hebrew with English Subtitles TV Series, Dramedy

Friday, March 16 • 1:00 PM • ERJCC Directed by Matej Mináˇc Czech Republic/Slovak Republic, 2011, 96 min.

English Documentary

1967 was the Summer of Love in the United States; in the Soviet Bloc, the yearnings for democracy played out against political repression and heavyhanded attempts to discourage such yearnings. Once again, Jews were scapegoats. In this thriller, Roman Rožek, a Polish Security Service officer, enlists his naïve girlfriend, code name “Little Rose,” to spy upon and become the lover of Warczewski, a professor, writer, and intellectual believed to be a Zionist. Little Rose begins to enjoy her role as a spy and the refined experiences she enjoys with Warczewski as opposed to the crude pleasures of Rožek. As she starts questioning her role and her loyalties, the love triangle becomes ever more dangerous: the totalitarian regime will go to any lengths to protect its interests.

Just wrapping up its third season, Srugim is one of Israel’s most popular TV shows. Named after the knitted kippah worn by Modern Orthodox men in Israel, the series follows the lives of five observant Jewish single men and women in the Katamon neighborhood of Jerusalem. This well-educated, professionally ambitious group of friends struggles to find its place within the existing religious frameworks, as the pressures of love, marriage, and career are often at odds.

Sponsored by the Consulate General of Israel to the Southwest

In 1938, Nicholas Winton, a 20 year old London stockbroker visiting Prague, organized a rescue of 669 Jewish children in danger of deportation and arranged for seven rail-sea transports of the children. For more than half a century, Winton did not speak of these events.

Had not his wife found a suitcase in their attic filled with documents and transport plans, the story would have remained locked away. The children, now grown and living all over the world, relate their memories of the period to a background of newsreel footage, archival photos, and dramatic re-enactments of events of the era. Sir Winton, now 102 years old, was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II and nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize for his humanitarian work.

DESIGNATED USED CHILDREN’S BOOKS DROP-OFF FILM

DOLPHIN BOY

DIRECTOR APPEARANCE

Thursday, March 15 • 5:00 PM • ERJCC Director Dani Menkin in Attendance Directed by Dani Menkin and Yonatan Nir Israel, 2011, 72 min.

Hebrew with English Subtitles Documentary

$5@5:00!

ALL FIVE O’CLOCK MOVIES ARE ONLY FIVE DOLLARS!

Dolphin Boy is a four-year study of Morad, an Arab teenager who is beaten and left for dead by his assailants. Israeli psychologist, Ilan Kutz, an expert in post-traumatic disassociation, agrees to take on his case. When Morad awakens, he is unable to speak, communicate or focus. His father quits his job and vows to devote himself to bringing Morad back from the near dead. As a last resort, Dr. Kutz decides to relocate Morad to the Eilat Dolphin Habitat where Morad begins to swim, play and spend time with dolphins. Initially non-responsive, as the months pass, we watch as Morad slowly emerges from the abyss as he responds to the healing powers of nature and love.

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MARCH 6 – 18

PRODUCER APPEARANCE RESTORATION (BOKER TOV ADON FIDELMAN)

BEYOND THE BOUNDARIES

FRACTURE

Sunday, March 18 • 1:00 PM • ERJCC Saturday, March 17 • 8:00 PM • MFAH Directed by Joseph Madmony Israel, 2011, 105 min.

Hebrew with English subtitles Drama

Producer Nina Hawn Zale in Attendance

Sunday, March 18 • 3:00 PM • ERJCC Directed by Alain Tasma France, 2011, 115 min.

French with English Subtitles Drama

Seventy-year-old Yaakov Fidelman (The Band’s Visit’s Sasson Gabai) is thrown into turmoil after the sudden death of his long-time partner in a Tel Aviv antiques restoration workshop. Just as his ambitious son Noah pressures him to sell the business and build an apartment complex on the site, a talented new assistant shows up, giving him hope. Anton has many secrets, yet he forms a bond with Yaakov that Noah finds as threatening as the flirtation between his very pregnant wife and Anton. A complex character study that also displays great reverence for a very traditional profession, the film’s title resonates on several levels without providing easy answers.

For years photographer Nina Hawn Zale has been volunteering her services for Golshim L’Chaim-Ski to Live, and in 2011 she engineered the making of a documentary about the organization’s work. Beyond the Boundaries follows several injured Israeli veterans—some of whom are amputees— who were invited by Golshim L’Chaim for rehabilitative skiing in Aspen. Directed by award winning Yonatan Nir (co-director of Dolphin Boy) with Highlight Films Israel, the film outlines the universal message of hope, overcoming life’s challenges, and how adversity opens the door for human potential.

Directed by Yonatan Nir USA, 2011, 60 min.

English and Hebrew with English Subtitles Documentary

Patron Sponsors: Linda & Jerry Rubenstein

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IN YOUR CHANCE TO W

Anna, an idealistic young Jewish teacher, embarks on her career at a junior high school in a poor, immigrant, Parisian neighborhood. Her students are angry about their lack of opportunity, uninterested in education, belligerent, and beset with financial, medical, and social problems. One of her once-promising students, Lakdar, is a talented artist left without the use of his hand as a result of a bungled medical procedure. His anger is further fueled by his older brother, a radicalized Muslim, who encourages Lakdar to take revenge. Anna herself is the victim of anti-Semitic slurs, and in such an environment, her enthusiasm and idealism begin to wane in this grim but realistic chronicle of alienated immigrant youth.

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Each ticket purchase enters you into a raffle to win a gift card from Sun & Ski Sports.

THE FLOOD (MABUL) Sunday, March 18 • 7:30 PM • ERJCC Directed by Guy Nattiv Israel, 2010, 100 min.

Hebrew with English Subtitles Drama The already dysfunctional Roshko household is thrown into further disarray when their autistic son and brother Tomer is sent home from the suddenly closed institution in which he has been living. Miri, Tomer’s mother, is a preschool teacher having an affair with the father of one of her students. Gidi, Tomer’s father, is a crop-duster who has been grounded for getting stoned. Yoni, Tomer’s brother, who resents Tomer’s reappearance in the household, is selling his services completing homework assignments for his not so intellectually gifted classmates while studying for his Bar Mitzvah portion—the story of Noah and the flood. Family pressures mount as secrets emerge and impact the lives of family and community in this touching and sometimes comic film.

Closing Night Reception courtesy of Fleischer Wines

Monday

CLOSING NIGHT

7:30 PM The Flood

3:00 PM Fracture

1:00 PM Beyond the Boundaries with producer

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7:30 PM Surviving Hitler: A Love Story

3:00 PM Mary Lou

1:00 PM Paul Goodman Changed My LIfe

11:00 AM Young Abraham

11 7:30 PM Otto Frank, Father of Anne

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HMH, HERZSTEIN THEATER

14 PEWS

MFAH, BROWN AUDITORIUM THEATER

STUDIO MOVIE GRILL AT CITYCENTRE

ERJCC, KAPLAN THEATRE

LEGEND

Sunday

8th Annual

MAKER

FILM

ADOPT A

7:30 PM Free Men

5:00 PM Joanna

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7:30 PM Little Rose

5:00 PM Mordecai Richler: The Last of the Wild Jews

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7:30 PM Mordecai Richler: The Last of the Wild Jews

7:30 PM Curb Your Enthusiasm

1:00 PM Deaf Jam

7:30 PM Srugim with actor

5:00 PM Dolphin Boy with director

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7:30 PM Joanna

7:00 PM Paul Goodman Changed My Life with director

1:00 PM Nicky’s Family

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1:00 PM Kaddish for a Friend

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Friday

8:00 PM Restoration

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8:00 PM My Best Enemy

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Saturday

2012

This year’s HJFF has four filmmakers visiting, and we’d like to show them some Southern hospitality. Grab some friends and sponsor the visitor of your choice for $1000 — and have the added bonus of getting to know the filmmaker over dinner. Email aemery@erjcchouston.org for details.

7:30 PM Kaddish for a Friend

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Thursday

Wednesday

Tuesday

MARCH 6 – 18

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MARCH 6 – 18

SUPPORTERS Official Hotel of the ERJCC

Lillian Kaiser Lewis Foundation

The Consulate General of Israel to the Southwest Fleischer Wines The Jewish Herald-Voice June & Leonard Goldberg Sun & Ski Sports

TICKETS INDIVIDUAL TICKETS: All 5:00 PM Movies are $5.00 $8 ERJCC Member/Patron of the Arts & MFAH Member $10 Public $1 discount for students and seniors FESTIVAL PASS Free for MFAH Film Buffs and ERJCC Patrons of the Arts who elect the Jewish Film Series $50 ERJCC Member/Patron of the Arts & MFAH Member $70 Public $5 discount for students and seniors

wanna step it up?

BECOME A REEL FAN OR CINEMATOGRAPHER

REEL FAN: $150 includes Festival Pass CINEMATOGRAPHER: $250 includes Festival Pass erjcchouston.org/filmfest

VENUES Evelyn Rubenstein Jewish Community Center of Houston 5601 South Braeswood Houston, TX 77096 713.551.7255 erjcchouston.org

The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston 1001 Bissonnet Street Houston, TX 77005 713.639.7515 mfah.org/film

Holocaust Museum Houston Morgan Family Center 5401 Caroline Street Houston, TX 77004 713.942.8000 hmh.org

Studio Movie Grill at CityCentre 805 Town and Country Ln., Houston, TX 77024 713.461.4449 studiomoviegrill.com

14 Pews 800 Aurora St., Houston, TX 77009 281.888.9677 14pews.com

Eat at Café at the J during HJFF! The Café is open until 7:30 PM every night of an ERJCC screening.

erjcchouston.org/filmfest

DR. STEPHEN BERK

LECTURES

Center for Jewish Living and Learning Scholar Series The Last Century that Shattered the World and Transformed the Jewish People Dr. Stephen Berk is the Henry and Sally Schaffer Chair in Holocaust and Jewish Studies at Union College in Schenectady, NY. Dr. Berk has published and lectured extensively on the intersection of Judaism and modernity, particularly in the fields of Holocaust Studies, antiSemitism, the American Jewish experience, Soviet and Eastern European Jewry and Jewish/ African-American relations. He has been a visiting professor at Williams College, Bennington College, and the State University of New York. $10 Member / $15 Public (per lecture) $27 Member / $36 Public (series pass)

THE LAST CENTURY THAT SHATTERED THE WORLD AND TRANSFORMED THE JEWISH PEOPLE

Maimonides on the Issues of Our Times Instructor: Amy D. Goldstein Four Wednesdays Beginning May 9 7:30 PM – 8:30 PM $36 Member/$45 Public One of Judaism’s greatest thinkers, Moses Maimonides, addressed the most pressing issues of his own times for Jews - many of which reflect concerns today.

His life experience and writings included addressing the challenge of radical Islam, conversion, women’s issues, anti-Semitism, interfaith relations, secular versus religious education, Jewish communal responsibility and medical ethics. We will explore these and other related topics in Maimonides’ writings such as his Mishneh Torah, Guide for the Perplexed, various letters and other writings.

Amy D. Goldstein holds a Masters in Jewish Cultural History specializing in Sephardic Jewry from the Jewish Theological Seminary, where she pursued her doctoral studies. For more than 20 years she applied this knowledge while working for such organizations as Hadassah, AIPAC, the Anti-Defamation League and B’nai B’rith International - all the while teaching about the history and culture of the Jewish people.

Roosevelt and the Jews Thursday, March 29 • 7:30 PM This lecture will explore the motivations behind Roosevelt’s policies during the Second World War and how his action or inaction affected the Jewish community during this dark time in human history.

Three Who Made Israel: Weizmann, Ben Gurion and Begin Thursday, Apr. 26 • 7:30 PM This lecture will consider how these early statesmen both created the first modern, Jewish state and changed the socio-political reality of the Middle East and the world post the Second World War. Steven Spielberg in History Thursday, May 24 • 7:30 PM This lecture will explore how three of Spielberg’s films: Schindler’s List, Amistad and Saving Private Ryan can be used as a valuable window into modern history and how these films changed the world’s perception of the modern Jewish experience.

THESE LECTURES ARE MADE POSSIBLE IN PART BY A GRANT FROM HUMANITIES TEXAS, A STATE PARTNER OF THE NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE HUMANITIES.

NURTURE: Stories of New Midlife Mothers Curated by Cyma Shapiro Feb. 28 – Apr. 18 Cyma Shapiro collected stories from women across the country who chose motherhood after 40. Comprised of dramatic black and white photographs and transcribed words, Nurture celebrates the lives of women who became new older mothers through IVF, natural childbirth, adoption, fostering, guardianship, surrogacy and blending stepfamilies. Shapiro’s website, www.MidlifeMothers.org, is dedicated to promoting the advancement of new midlife mothers through voice, face and forum. This exhibit is the first of its kind in the country.

Photographs were taken by Shana Sureck and Tracy Cianflone.

Motherhood after 40: A Conversation Thursday, March 22 7:30 PM FREE Join Elizabeth Gregory, author of Ready: Why Women Are Embracing the New Later Motherhood and UH professor, as she moderates a panel of midlife mothers. Whether through adoption, surrogacy, or natural conception, these women are part of a growing trend of becoming mothers at a later age. Hear firsthand about their experiences and how their lives redefine the traditional patterns of motherhood and women’s work.

For further information or to register for classes, lectures and programs contact Nomi Barancik at 713.729.3200, ext. 3288 or at nbarancik@erjcchouston.org

The Menorah at the Alamo? Unlocking the Myths and Secrets of Jewish Identities in the Americas Instructor: Dr. Marie-Theresa Hernandez Two Wednesdays, April 25 and May 2 7:30 – 8:30 PM $18 Members/$22 Public The idea of secret Jews in the southwest United States is an intriguing subject that has captivated readers for the past two decades. In this course, narratives surrounding the idea of hidden Jews that came to the Americas from Spain after 1492 will be discussed and analyzed, including a story about two menorahs located in the Alamo museum. The Mexican colonial period will be presented as well as present day explorations of American families who attest to having a secret Jewish heritage that dates to Sephardic Spain.

Marie-Theresa Hernandez is Chair of the University of Houston Jewish Studies Initiative, as well as undergraduate director of the World Cultures and Literatures Program.

This two part series is in collaboration with the Jewish Studies Initiative of the University of Houston.

J Teen Art Scene: Showcase for e(art)h Sunday, Apr. 22 3rd Annual Teen Visual Art Exhibition April 22 – June 1 For the 3rd year, the ERJCC Deutser Art Gallery will exhibit original works by local Jewish teenagers. This year, the exhibit will open with the J Teen Art Scene: Showcase for (e)ART(H), an all-day arts festival showcasing teenage artistic talents across many platforms.

Now accepting submissions in several arts categories until Monday, March 19.

For more information visit jtas.weebly.com.

The Book was Better: Jewish Literature from Stage to Screen Instructor: Dr. Melissa Weininger, PostDoctoral Fellow in the Jewish Studies Program at Rice University Five Mondays Beginning March 19 7:00 PM – 8:30 PM $45 Member/$60 Public Since the inception of modern cinema, literature has always been a potent source of ideas, stories, and themes for the big screen. Jewish literature in all its varieties has also spawned many cinematic adaptations. In this course we will take a closer look at five different works of Jewish literature – originally written in Yiddish, Hebrew, and English – and their film versions. We will discuss both the themes and ideas raised by the literature itself and the similarities and differences between the texts and the films; with special attention to the way that historical context affects cultural productions.

Melissa Weininger is currently a Postdoctoral Fellow in Jewish Studies at Rice University. She received her Ph.D. in 2010 from The University of Chicago.

Her areas of scholarly interest include modern Hebrew and Yiddish literature, gender studies, and Jewish nationalism.

Purim Flour Frenzy Sunday, March 4 • 3:00 PM Advance: $10 ERJCC Member Family / $12 Public Family At the Door: $12 ERJCC Member Family / $14 Public Family Why dirty your kitchen when you can have fun in ours? Join us to make hamantachen from scratch and decorate your own Purim Megillah for the upcoming holiday. Flour will be everywhere, but your family will take home a dozen hand-made hamantaschen that just need a few minutes in the oven.

TRAVEL Cuba: A Jewish Mission March 7 – 15, 2012 $2999 per person (double occupancy)* Join us on this extraordinary mission to Cuba and bring support and aid to the Cuban Jewish community. Meet the children of the ORT Sunday School and advance Jewish practices, ideals and education. Learn first-hand about today’s Jewish community and share their dreams for the future. The spirit of the Jewish community will open your eyes, heart and mind.

Chai Cotton: Jewish Life in Mississippi Thursday, May 3 – Sunday, May 6 On this four-day, three-night trip, cosponsored by the Texas Jewish Historical Society and the Evelyn Rubenstein Jewish Community Center, you will learn about the history of Jews in this deepest of southern states. We will visit Mississippi’s oldest Jewish congregation in Natchez, touring its beautiful and historic synagogue, spending Shabbat with a small congregation in the Mississippi Delta region, birthplace of the blues. We will also visit the state’s largest Jewish community, Jackson, and receive a guided tour of Jewish sites in the city. In addition, we will also explore the history of the Civil War, the Civil Rights Movement, the state-of-the-art B.B. King Blues Museum in Indianola, the Civil War Battlefield in Vicksburg, as well as antebellum plantation homes in Natchez.

Led by Dr. Stuart Rockoff, director of the History Department at the Goldring/ Woldenberg Institute of Southern Jewish Life.

CLOSING NIGHT

OPENING NIGHT 8th Annual

KADDISH FOR A FRIEND (KADDISCH FÜR EINEN FREUND)

MARCH 6 - 18

Tuesday, March 6 • 7:30 PM • ERJCC Friday, March 9 • 1:00 PM • ERJCC Directed by Leo Khasin Germany, 2011, 94 min.

Arabic, German, Russian with English Subtitles Drama

EVELYN RUBENSTEIN JEWISH COMMUNITY CENTER 5601 S. Braeswood | Houston, TX 77096 erjcchouston.org

Nonprofit Org. U.S. Postage

PAID

Houston, Texas Permit No. 6217

THE FLOOD (MABUL) Sunday, March 18 • 7:30 PM • ERJCC Directed by Guy Nattiv Israel, 2010, 100 min.

Hebrew with English Subtitles Drama

Summer/Spring 2012

literature film ar t music dance learning

submerge yourself in the 8th annual houston jewish film festival

MARCH 6 - 18

8th Annual