2024-2025 Adult Engagement Brochure by Temple Sinai of Roslyn

adult engageme nt

After much discussion about topics ranging from democracy to resilience, the Adult Engagement Committee decided that the overarching theme of our 2024-25 program year will be Jewish Pride. Undeniably, Jewish Pride is at the core of what we do here at Temple Sinai, but in the wake of the war in Israel and the unprecedented rise in antisemitism, it feels more important than ever to articulate this. As ever, there will be lots of opportunities to learn together and deepen our sense of Jewish community.

Our upcoming programs include a tour of the Hofstra University Museum of Art exhibition Yonia Fain: Tracing History, a talk by Jewish Book Council author Margalit Fox about her latest book, The Talented Mrs. Mandelbaum: The Rise and Fall of an American Organized-Crime Boss, and a series of Sinai Cinema programs that will begin in early November with What Is Democracy? We are honored to be welcoming Ido Aharoni Aronoff, a 25-year veteran of Israel’s Foreign Service and Israel’s longest-serving Consul General in New York, later in November.

Continuing this Israel-centric programmatic arc, in December, we will host Rabbi Josh Weinberg, Vice President of the URJ for Israel and Reform Zionism and the Executive Director of ARZA, the Association of Reform Zionists of America. As always, our incomparable clergy are offering new and diverse classes and musical programs this year.

After another successful year of Sinai Tribes, we are adding additional Tribes now. As a reminder, Sinai Tribes are congregant-led small groups of no more than 12 people brought together by stage of life or by shared passion area. Stay tuned for more information, and please reach out to me if you would like to get involved, either as a Tribe leader or participant.

Please also keep an eye out for information about intergenerational programming throughout the year, including iGive: Israel Intergenerational Giving Circle.

I look forward to sharing another year of meaningful and engaging experiences with you.

Warmly,

Adrianne Rubin

learning

sip, schmooze, and study

with Rabbi Michael White SCoTCH and SACRED TEXT

Hosted by Brotherhood, this award-winning program takes place four times a year.

We know you’ll find both the stimulating discussion on Torah and the camaraderie to be most worthwhile.

Tuesdays at 7:30pm September 17 November 19 March 18 May 13

Locations to be announced

From the comfort of your home, go on a Jewish journey that is sure to inspire!

During each session, Rabbi White will discuss a different topic from a Jewish perspective.

Pour your favorite cocktail, iced tea, coffee, or other drink of choice and join the conversation.

THURSDAYS AT 5:30PM VIA ZOOM

SEPTEMBER 12 • DECEMBER 12

MARCH 20 • MAY 1

Beyond the Matriarchs: legends about women you’ve never heard of and the rituals that will change your life

Thursdays at 7:00pm in the Library

December 19 • January 16

January 30 • March 6

April 10 • May 8 June 12

Join Rabbi Schachter [and Sinai’s own, Amy Pepper] on a spirited and spiritual adventure, as we immerse in storytelling, history, and hands-on Jewish rituals about and for women.

wine, women wisdom

&

led by Cantor-Educator Elena Schwartz

Wednesdays at 7:00pm November 20 • February 26

Now in its tenth year, this popular series, presented by Friend of a Friend/Chaverot, features Cantor-Educator Elena Schwartz leading interactive discussions on the wisdom of Jewish teachings. The sessions give women the opportunity to learn, laugh, and connect over a glass of wine while gaining insights into sacred texts.

events

Yonia Fain: Tracing History

(1913-2013)

Friday, October 25 11:00am

Yonia Fain’s artistic journey is deeply intertwined with his Jewish heritage, and the theme of displacement echoes prominently in his work. Having experienced the tumultuous events of the 20th century, including fleeing his home during World War II, Fain’s art becomes a poignant reflection of the hardship he experienced during the Russian Revolution, Nazi invasion of Poland, and World War II. His compositions often bear traces of this history, or memories of those he encountered along the way.

Biography plays a crucial role in the story of the artist. Several European countries, followed by Japan and China, and much later Mexico and New York, served as both his home and refuge, adding layers to his rich blend of geographical inspirations. This fusion of Jewish identity and the universal human experience of seeking refuge amplifies the emotional resonance of Fain’s art, offering viewers a glimpse into the layers of his personal narrative. The power of storytelling, particularly from those who knew him, offers valuable insight and new discoveries, enriching our understanding of his impact as an artist, educator, and mentor.

$10 per person Registration limited to 15 participants.

Yonia Fain, (American, born Russia [now Ukraine], 1913-2013), Untitled, no date, Oil on board, 21.75 x 16 in., Hofstra University Museum of Art, Gift of Estate of Yonia Fain, HU2015.49

© Hofstra University Museum of Art, Hempstead, NY

WHAT IS DEMOCRACY?

A FILM BY ASTRA TAYLOR

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 3 • 2:00pm at Temple Sinai

Coming at a moment of profound political and social crisis, What Is Democracy? reflects on a word we too often take for granted.

Director Astra Taylor’s idiosyncratic, philosophical journey spans millennia and continents: from ancient Athens’ groundbreaking experiment in self-government to capitalism’s roots in medieval Italy; from modern-day Greece grappling with financial collapse and a mounting refugee crisis to the United States reckoning with its racist past and the growing gap between rich and poor.

Featuring a diverse cast—including celebrated theorists, trauma surgeons, activists, factory workers, asylum seekers, and former prime ministers—this urgent film connects the past and the present, the emotional and the intellectual, the personal and the political, in order to provoke and inspire. If we want to live in democracy, we must first ask what the word even means.

co-sponsored by Friend of a Friend

Margalit Fox

Thursday, November 14 • 7:30pm in the Simcha Room

America’s first great mob boss was a nice Jewish mother.

In 1850, an impoverished twenty-five-year-old named Fredericka Mandelbaum came to New York in steerage and worked as a peddler on the streets of Lower Manhattan. By the 1870s she was a fixture of high society and an admired philanthropist. How was she able to ascend from tenement poverty to vast wealth?

Combining deep historical research with the narrative flair for which she is celebrated, Margalit Fox tells the unforgettable true story of a once-famous heroine whose life exemplifies America’s cherished rags-to-riches narrative while simultaneously upending it entirely.

AMBASSADOR

IDO AHARONI ARONOFF Israel After October 7: Risks and Opportunities

Thursday, November 21 • 7:30pm • in the Sanctuary

Ido Aharoni Aronoff, a distinguished Israeli diplomat and public figure, boasts a 25-year career in Israel’s Foreign Service. The Ambassador served as Israel’s longest-serving Consul-General in New York from 2010-2016. He is a trusted advisor to global companies, a public speaker, university lecturer, writer, investor, and the host of TAU Unbound, the official English language podcast of Tel Aviv University.

Tuesday, November 26

7:30pm • in the Simcha Room An ADL

The Current State of Antisemitism with David White

ADL NY/NJ Associate Regional Director

David White returns to Temple Sinai to discuss the current landscape of antisemitism, what the ADL is doing to help combat this, and what communities can be doing to support these efforts. This program is co-sponsored by Adult Engagement and Teen Engagement. Register at mysinai.org/adlupdate2024

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 17 • 7:30PM

WITH RABBI JOSH WEINBERG

Vice President of the URJ for Israel & Reform Zionism, and Executive Director of ARZA, the Association of Reform Zionists of America

Zionism is the national liberation movement of the Jewish People. It was the movement founded in the 19th century that led to the creation of the Modern State of Israel in 1948. Zionism was never a monolithic idea; it spans a diverse ideological spectrum, resulting in the term meaning many different and potentially completely contradictory things. For some, Zionism represents the fulfillment of the dream of being a free people in our Land, and for others, it may have negative connotations, including representing the policies of the current Israeli government.

We will explore a brief history and background of Zionism as an idea and reflect on how we as North American Reform Jews can think about Zionism in different ways as we explore life in a post-October 7th world.

SINAI CINEMA

HELLO GIRLS THE

a documentary directed by

James Theres

Sunday, January 5 • 2:00pm at Temple Sinai

In 1918, the U.S. Army Signal Corps sent 223 women to France as telephone operators to help win the Great War. They were intrepid, united in a common cause, and like Joan of Arc before them, they wanted to save France.

Told through 100-year-old letters, photos, rare archival footage, and interviews with family and historians, this documentary brings to life a story that was almost entirely unknown.

Hello Girls operating switchboards at general headquarters in Chaumont, France (November 5, 1918) Register at mysinai.org/hellogirls

SINAI CINEMA

IT IS NO DREAM

The Life of Theodor Herzl

Narrated by Sir Ben Kingsley

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 2 • 1:00PM AT TEMPLE

SINAI

It Is No Dream: The Life of Theodor Herzl explores the life and times of Theodor Herzl, father of the modern state of Israel. Narrated by Academy Award®-winner, Sir Ben Kingsley and starring Academy Award®-winner Christoph Waltz as the voice of Theodor Herzl. The film examines how Herzl, a well-known journalist and playwright, an assimilated, Budapest-born Jew, horrified by the Dreyfus trial in Paris and the antisemitism he saw spreading across Europe, took upon himself the task of attempting to create a Jewish homeland in Palestine against all odds.

Over the span of eight years, Herzl organized and led a worldwide political movement that within fifty years led to the establishment of the state of Israel. The film follows Herzl as he meets with Kings, Prime Ministers, Ambassadors, a Sultan, a Pope and government ministers from Constantinople to St. Petersburg, from Paris to Berlin, from Vienna to Vilna in his quest to build a Jewish nation.

Adult Engagement Committee

Barbara Klein & Lynn Fishkind Co-Chairs

Adrianne Rubin, Ph.D.

Director of Membership & Engagement

Barbara Blatte

Amy Braunstein

Charlotte Hollander

Ann Karmin

Abbie Laskey

Temple Sinai of Roslyn

425 Roslyn Road, Roslyn Heights, NY 11577 516.621.6800 mysinai.org

Affiliated with the Union for Reform Judaism

Ronna Niederman

Barbara Wallach

Adam Weinschel

Leslie Wollin