November 1 – 25
The Marjorie & Lewis Katz Jewish Community Center (JCC) is excited to announce the return of its annual Arts, Books and Culture Festival, taking place throughout November. With a rich tradition of inspiring creativity and engaging the community, this year’s festival promises a dynamic lineup of thought-provoking events, captivating authors, and diverse cultural experiences that offer something for every taste and interest. In total, the festival will feature 26 exciting events throughout the month.
Gold Patron Ticket – $500
- Name recognized in all Festival marketing materials distributed throughout the month
- Admission for one to all Festival events, including Crash Glass Class
- Front-section seating at all Festival events
- Complimentary signed copy of Behind Every Good Man by Sara Goodman Confino
- Reserved seating for the Babka-Making Program
- Special reception with the Dueling Pianos performers
- Complimentary bottle of wine from the Daniel Solway Israeli Wine Tasting
- Two tickets to The Goldman Case on Tuesday, November 25
Series Patron Ticket – $360
- Name recognized in all Festival marketing materials distributed throughout the month
- Admission for one to all Festival events (excludes programs marked with an *)
- Reserved-section seating at all Festival events
- Complimentary signed copy of Behind Every Good Man by Sara Goodman Confino
- Reserved seating for the Babka-Making Program
- Special reception with the Dueling Pianos performers
- Two tickets to The Goldman Case on Tuesday, November 25
Event Patron Ticket – $180
- General admission for one to all Festival events (excludes Saturday nite events and certain programs marked with an *)
- Dueling Pianos
Saturday, Nov. 1 | 7:00 pm
Get ready for a high-energy, no-rules night where you control the playlist! Two talented pianists face off on baby grands, taking your song requests and turning them into a nonstop party. Sing along to crowd favorites, laugh at the playful banter, and watch the room come alive as the pianists try to outplay—and outwit—each other.
From classic rock and pop hits to today’s chart-toppers, it’s part concert, part comedy show, and 100% good vibes. Grab your friends, raise a glass, and get ready to clap, cheer, and sing at the top of your lungs.
Ticket: $45
- Local Authors Panel
Sunday, November 2 | 11:00 am
Celebrate the art of storytelling with three accomplished voices from our community: Louis Greenstein, Rhonda Fink-Whitman, and Rabbi Lynnda Targan.
These talented authors will share the inspirations behind their books, discuss their writing journeys, and answer your questions in a lively conversation about creativity, culture, and the power of the written word. Whether you’re an avid reader, an aspiring writer, or simply love a good story, this engaging panel promises insight, laughter, and plenty of inspiration.
Ticket: $15
- Becoming Caitlin Clark
Wednesday, November 5 | 6:30 pm
A multifaceted portrait of Caitlin Clark’s game-changing superstardom and the cultural foundation it was built upon. Caitlin Clark has established herself as one of the global faces of the WNBA and has ignited popular interest in women’s sports. Her ascent to dominance and international celebrity represents the continuation of a surprisingly deep lineage for women’s basketball in the state of Iowa where Clark was born and raised, and where she wrote her name throughout the NCAA history books as a Hawkeye. Becoming Caitlin Clark traces the arc between the revered women who played the wildly popular game of 6‑on‑6 basketball in the 1920s and Clark in the 2020s, examining her fame and style of play in the context of her predecessors, while telling the story of the basketball-loving community that rallied behind her in college and beyond. Megdal’s storytelling incorporates conversations with Clark and vital figures in the growth of Iowa basketball. From rural auditoriums to the Indiana Fever’s Gainbridge Fieldhouse, this intimate yet kaleidoscopic perspective on the modern game and its newest icon makes this an essential read for WNBA and college basketball fans.
Ticket: $20
- Dog
Thursday, November 6 | 6:30 pm
Dog by Yishay Ishi Ron is a poignant exploration of trauma, addiction, and the arduous path to redemption. Set against the backdrop of a rain-soaked Tel-Aviv winter, the novel introduces Geller, a former combat officer haunted by his experiences in Gaza.
Struggling with PTSD and a debilitating heroin addiction, Geller’s daily ritual involves attempting to bend a silver spoon with his mind — a metaphor for his desire to overcome his dire circumstances. Sharing a dilapidated shelter with a former history teacher and a Georgia ex-soldier, from the Chechen wars, Geller’s existence is bleak and unchanging until the arrival of a battered stray dog.
This unexpected companion stirs suppressed memories and emotions, compelling Geller to confront his past and the demons that plague him. Through his bond with the dog, Geller embarks on a journey toward healing, finding solace and a renewed sense of purpose. Ron masterfully delves into the complexities of PTSD, the struggle for self-forgiveness, and the transformative power of unconditional love in this compelling narrative.Ticket: $15
- We Would Never
Friday, November 7 | 10:30 am
Inspired by a true scandal, Tova Mirvis’ latest novel reveals how a contentious divorce spirals into a nightmarish murder case. The book alternates between the aftermath — a murky, anxious present where the victim’s wife, Haley, and daughter, Maya, are in hiding — and the past, rewinding to show how a nice upper-middle-class Florida family became a tabloid headline.
The family at the novel’s center is Jewish, though loosely practicing. The most overtly “Jewish” aspect of the novel may be its overbearing matriarch, Sherry, who is refreshingly portrayed as more than a stereotype or a veneration-tinged punchline akin to the job interview response: “I just work too hard!” — in this case, “I just love too much!”
Instead, We Would Never forces us to look so closely at this kind of smother-love that we cringe. We wince at the neediness, selfishness, and self-delusion fueling it — or, kindlier, at the wounds, as the novel reminds us. Mirvis stirs empathy for her least redeemable characters by alluding to unfillable voids left by upbringings, offering some of her most effective prose (when Sherry becomes an empty nester, the house feels “desiccated”).
Ticket: $10
- My Childhood in Pieces
Saturday, November 8 | 7:00 pm
In his memoir, My Childhood in Pieces: A Stand-Up Comedy, a Skokie Elegy, acclaimed poet and scholar Edward Hirsch presents his early life in Chicago in “microchapters.” The form — quick, deadpan — embodies the Jewish culture that Hirsch was raised in: each chapter is devoid of sentiment yet concentrated with life. Perhaps the microchapter that best serves as an ars poetica is “Conversation with My Mother”: “My mother was heating a can of chicken soup on the stove. ‘You really shouldn’t make fun of me,’ I said, ‘you’re my mother.’ She barely turned her head. ‘Don’t be so sure, kid.’” Like the mother, the microchapters don’t acknowledge pain, nor provide comfort. They instead teach a different kind of survival practiced by many midcentury Jewish descendants of Holocaust survivors: just try to keep up.
Ticket: $25
- Fear No Pharaoh
Sunday November 9 | 10:30 am
In the concluding chapter of this highly readable book, Richard Kreitner decries the dualistic thinking that underlies many contemporary reckonings with the role of Jews in the racial history of the United States. All we seem to care about is “whether Jews ought to be classed primarily as victims or as oppressors.” The cause of responsible historical inquiry, not to mention common sense, demands better of us. Southern Jewish slave owners who read the Haggadah at their Passover seders, for example, didn’t automatically consider themselves to be stand-ins for Pharaoh. Fear No Pharaoh helps us to understand why Jews who witnessed and participated in the Civil War spoke and acted as they did.
For most of their history preceding the Civil War, the white citizens of the United States, including white Jews, tied themselves in knots over the practice of slavery. Their failure to address its fundamental injustice resulted in a devastating war. Even when they were deeply religious, the positions that Americans took had more to do with where they lived than with what they believed. When the war broke out, the majority of Southern Jews sympathized with the Confederacy, and about three thousand fought in its army. Northern Jews, who were highly concentrated in a more urbanized, immigrant-receptive region, acted similarly: they aligned themselves with their neighbors, and seven thousand or so served in the Union Army as enlisted men and officers. Though slavery was undoubtedly the cause of the Civil War, Jews, feeling unassured of their own status in the majority Christian milieu of North America, generally kept their views about it to themselves.
Ticket: $15
- The Catskills
Sunday, November 9 | 1:00 pm
With a trove of lost-and-found archival footage and a cast of characters endowed with the gift of gab, The Catskills journeys into the storied mountain getaway north of New York City that served as refuge for Jewish immigrants fleeing poverty as well as a lavish playground for affluent Jewish families. As bungalow colony proprietors, guests, waiters, comedians, hoteliers, and beauticians share colorful tales of Catskill farms, boarding houses, and luxury resorts, they paint a picture of vibrant American Jewish life and culture in the 20th century.
Tickets: $15
- Sharing Shalom
Tuesday, November 11 | 10:30 am
Sharing Shalom by Danielle Sharkan and Selina Alko is based on the vandalizing of a synagogue that took place in Skokie, Illinois in 1990. The book is told from the perspective of Leila, a child whose Hebrew school attendance is disrupted by this hateful act. Rendered with sensitivity and colorful, dramatic images, this is a cautionary tale about antisemitism, and a hopeful one about community support.
Leila loves Hebrew school. Great Jewish heroes and heroines, Bible stories, and the Hebrew language all excite her. She is so engrossed in her learning that the “ravaging floods and toppling towers” of her lessons take visual form in her mind. A blue-robed Queen Esther sits calmly on her throne, while pairs of animals walk up a ramp to Noah’s ark. A full-page portrait of Leila shows her clutching her machberet (notebook), where she collects the words that form the core of her studies.
At the end of the book, Leila is invited to participate in show-and-tell at her school. Wearing deep blue, her Star of David necklace prominently displayed, she is now both a student and teacher. She writes shalom in Hebrew in front of her classmates, who are smiling and supportive.
Tickets: FREE
- Israeli Wine Tasting
Tuesday, November 11 | 6:00 pm
Daniel Solway is a Philadelphia-based sommelier and owner of Santé LLC. Santé is an events business focused on wine tastings, dinners, and collaborative events. Daniel has worked in almost every part of the wine industry, from floor sommelier to wine retail, wine sales, to working on vineyards in Champagne, Austria and Germany. Dan has worked at acclaimed restaurants including Lord’s, Oxalis, and The Finch. Daniel is WSET 3 Certified.
Ticket: $36
- NYC Day Trip – Buena Vista Social Club
Wednesday, November 12 | 8:00 am
The Broadway musical Buena Vista Social Club™ is an exuberant show inspired by the iconic 1997 Grammy-winning album, telling the story of the legendary Cuban musicians who recorded it. Set in two timelines, it follows the artists from their youth in 1950s Havana through their rediscovery and reunion for the album in the 1990s, against the backdrop of the Cuban Revolution.
Tickets: $200 Member | $225 Guest
- Yonina
Wednesday, November 12 | 6:30 pm
Yoni and Nina Tokayer, also known as Yonina, are an Israeli musical duo acclaimed for their weekly home videos, which have reached millions of viewers worldwide.
They have released two original albums and have been performing for the past nine years throughout Israel and abroad.Yoni and Nina have been singing together since they met, have been married for ten years, and have four sweet children who occasionally make guest appearances in their videos. Known for their uplifting music and soft harmonies, Yonina blends Jewish, Israeli, and international music.
Since October 7th, Yoni has served over 300 days in the reserves as a commander in a counterterror unit in the Shomron. During his months of service, Nina has been home with their children, writing songs inspired by these challenging times. Together, their music has become a source of hope, unity, strength, and connection.
Ticket: $36
- Mainland Drama Club presents – Diary of Anne Frank
Thursday, Nov. 13 | 7:00 pm
The Diary of a Young Girl, is a personal account of a Jewish teenager hiding from the Nazis during the Holocaust in the Netherlands. Written in Dutch, the diary details Anne’s life, thoughts, and experiences in the “Secret Annex” before her family was arrested in 1944. Watch as the talented students of Mainland Regional High School perform their incredible adaptation of the book.
Ticket: $25
- Parsha of the Week – Cantor Goren & Rabbi Feshbach
Friday, November 14 | 10:30 am
Join us for an engaging look at the weekly Torah portion, exploring timeless stories and themes that connect to today’s world. No prior knowledge needed – just curiosity!
Ticket: FREE
Held in conjuction with:
- Lea Kalisch presents Shtetl Cabaret
Saturday, November 15 | 7:00 pm
Enjoy a night of Jewish entertainment and Yiddishkayt, delivered with young, zestful, sexy energy. Lea gives tradition a face lift. Yiddish Theater, forgotten melodies, original songs and mashups- from Rap to Rumba, Folk to Feminism, Lea blends styles and languages like a smoothie. She slips into different characters to make you laugh with one eye and cry with the other. You will meet her alter ego REBBETZIN LEA, so if you need a matchmaker, you better be there!
Ticket: $45
- Mosaic Crash Glass Class with Jill Snyder
Sunday, November 16 | 9:00 am
Smash, sparkle, and create! In this one-day workshop, artist Jill Snyder guides you through the exciting technique of crash glass mosaic art. Learn how to safely break and arrange glass pieces into a dazzling design to take home.
Ticket: $160 Member | $185 Guest
- Mahjong Dinner
Monday, November 17 | 4:30 pm
Join us for a delightful afternoon of strategic, gameplay, vibrant conversations, and delectable treats at our Mahjong & Canasta Brunch! This game day promises a perfect blend of socializing, competition and indulgence.
Ticket: $30 Member | $35 Guest
- The See-You-Soon Spice Box
Tuesday, November 18 | 10:30 am
Preschooler Silas loves facetiming with his great-grandmother Faye. They always sign off with a silly rhyme like “See You Soon, Macaroon” or “See You Soon, Green Balloon.” One day, when she shows him the special spice box that his great-grandfather made for her, they decide to celebrate Havdalah together online. Great-grandmother Faye explains that she likes that Shabbat comes “every seven days no matter what” and that she always says good-bye to Shabbat “in exactly the same way.”
While Silas is able to find a kiddush cup and braided candle in his house, he doesn’t have a spice box, so he decides to make one himself, just like his great-grandfather did. He celebrates Havdalah with his great-grandmother online and then, at the end of the story, they get to celebrate in person when she comes for a visit.
Ticket: FREE
- The Lost Masterpiece
Tuesday, November 18 | 6:30 pm
A.Shapiro is well known for her books about the art world, such as The Muralist and The Art Forger. Each of these books features a heroine who solves a mystery involving a painting or paintings. The Lost Masterpiece follows this same pattern, and is sure to become another favorite with readers.
The story is told by four narrators: Berthe Morisot, a contemporary of Manet and, in the story, his lover; Aimée, her daughter; Colette, Aimée’s daughter; and Tamara, their present-day descendant. Tamara receives news that she has inherited a newly discovered Manet, Party on the Seine. When she takes possession of the painting, strange things begin to happen. She is also sued for the painting by a relative of Manet’s. The book covers the stories of the four women over time, with most of the book focusing on Berthe’s career as an artist, and Tamara’s struggle to keep the painting and find out its true provenance.
Ticket: $15
- Babka Making with Tova Rapoport
Wednesday, November 19 | 11:00 am
Celebrate Jewish culinary tradition with a hands-on Babka Making workshop led by acclaimed baker Tova Rapoport. Discover the secrets behind this beloved sweet bread and take home your beautifully braided creation.
Ticket: $36
- The Incorruptibles: A True Story of Kingpins, Crime Busters, and the Birth of the American Underworld
Wednesday, November 19 | 6:30 pm
Dan Slater’s The Incorruptibles takes us back to the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, when Jews were prominent in crime. This was true in Great Britain, East Europe, Argentina, Brazil, South Africa, and especially the United States. There were important Jewish criminals and Jewish gangs in virtually every major American city, but their presence was especially heavy in the Jewish New York City neighborhoods of the Lower East Side in Manhattan and Brownsville – East New York in Brooklyn. Allen Street, in the heart of the Lower East Side ghetto, was famous for its many brothels.
Jews, whether individually or in gangs, were involved in prostitution, racketeering, robbery, and, in the case of Murder, Inc., even homicide. Jews were particularly prominent in bootlegging during Prohibition. Charles King Solomon (Boston), Longy Zwillman (Newark), Waxey Gordon (Philadelphia), Solly Weissman (Kansas City), and Moe Dalitz (Cleveland) dominated the liquor trade in their cities. Crime was an avenue of upward social mobility for American Jewish males, just as it had been for Irish and German Americans and would in the future be for Black and Latino Americans.
Ticket: $15
- Counting Backwards
Thursday, November 20 | 10:30 am
New York, 2022. Jessa Gidney is trying to have it all – a high-powered legal career, a meaningful marriage, and hopefully, one day, a child. But when her professional ambitions come up short and Jessa finds herself at a turning point, she leans into her family’s history of activism by taking on pro bono work at a nearby detention center. There she meets Isobel Perez – a young mother fighting to stay with her daughter – but as she gets to know Isobel, an unsettling revelation about Isobel’s health leads Jessa to uncover a horrifying pattern of medical malpractice within the detention facility. One that shockingly has ties to her own family.
Virginia, 1927. Carrie Buck is an ordinary young woman in the center of an extraordinary legal battle at the forefront of the American eugenics conversation. From a poor family, she was only six years old when she first became a ward of the state. Uneducated and without any support, she spends her youth dreaming about a different future – one separate from her exploitative foster family – unknowing of the ripples her small, country life will have on an entire nation.
As Jessa works to assemble a case against the prison and the crimes she believes are being committed there, she discovers the landmark Supreme Court case involving Carrie Buck with shockingly similar implications to the one before her now. Her connection to the case, however, is deeper and much more personal than she ever knew – sending her down new paths that will leave her forever changed and determined to fight for these women, no matter the cost.
Ticket: $10
- Soul Mission
Thursday, November 20 | 6:30 pm
A midlife crisis is hardly unique — unless it involves time travel and multiple reincarnations.
Ephraim stresses over his teaching job, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and his less-than-stellar role as a husband and father. Isn’t there more to life?
He’s about to find out, but it will take traveling to past lives to rectify wrongs from previous eras.
His sanity teeters between day-to-day life struggles and treacherous events of the past, including a face-off with Spain’s Grand Inquisitor, laboring in a sweatshop, and forging a relationship with Miss America of 1945, among others.
Ephraim wants to quit but is compelled by a force from somewhere deep inside — and Above. His last mission could bring redemption to the entire world, if the past doesn’t kill him first.Ticket: $15
- Parsha of the Week – Rabbi Kremer, Rabbi/Cantor Menaker & Rabbi Rapoport
Friday, November 21 | 10:30 am
Experience the Torah as living literature. In this Parsha of the Week session, we unpack narrative, character, and moral insight from the week’s reading—perfect for lovers of great stories
Ticket: FREE
Held in conjuction with:
- Behind Every Good Man
Monday, November 24 | 10:30 am
A wronged wife goes toe to toe with her cheating husband at the polls in this hilarious and heart-lifting novel by the bestselling author of Don’t Forget to Write.
It’s a doozy of a bad day for Beverly Diamond when she catches her husband, Larry, in a compromising position with his secretary. What’s a DC suburban wife to do with a soon-to-be ex, two young kids, and no degree or financial support in 1962? Beat the louse at his own game, that’s what.
Larry runs the Maryland senatorial campaign for the incumbent candidate projected to win against his younger underdog opponent, Michael Landau. But Beverly has the pluck, political savvy, and sheer drive to push Landau’s campaign in a successful new direction, even if he already has a campaign manager who is less than pleased she has inserted herself into the race. Now it’s rival against rival.
Ticket: $15
- Dinner & A Movie – The Goldman Case
Tuesday, November 25 | 5:30 pm
Enjoy dinner and an incredible film. The Goldman Case is a 2023 French film directed by Cédric Kahn, starring Arieh Worthalter, which recounts the 1975 trial of controversial leftist activist Pierre Goldman for a double murder. Described as a gripping procedural, the film delves into the political and racial tensions of 1970s France and was well-received, winning the César Award for Best Actor for Worthalter’s performance.
Tickets: $15 Member | $20 Guest
Event Sponsor
The Jeanne and Richard
Kaskey Foundation
Silver Sponsors
The Kranzdorf Family Foundation
In memory of Norman Kranzdorf (z”l)
Bronze Sponsors
Marc and Elaine Edelstein & Family
Friends of the Festival
Flaster Greenberg/Doug Stanger