November 1 – 30

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.

Gold Patron Ticket – $500

  • Recognition by name in Festival marketing materials throughout the month
  • Admission for one (1) to all Festival events, including the Crash Glass Class
  • Premium front-section seating at all Festival events
  • Complimentary signed copy of Off the Record by Sara Goodman Confino
  • Reserved seating for the Challah Bake
  • Reserved seating for The Ladies Lunch with Lynne Scheurer Foster
  • Exclusive meet-and-greet with Judy Gold
  • Exclusive meet-and-greet with Zach Sage Fox
  • Two (2) tickets to Eleanor the Great on Thursday, November 12
Gold Patron

Series Patron Ticket – $360

  • Recognition by name in Festival marketing materials throughout the month
  • Admission for one (1) to all Festival events, excluding programs marked with an asterisk (*)
  • Reserved-section seating at all Festival events
  • Complimentary signed copy of Off the Record by Sara Goodman Confino
  • Reserved seating for the Challah Bake
  • Exclusive meet-and-greet with Judy Gold
  • Exclusive meet-and-greet with Zach Sage Fox
  • Two (2) tickets to Eleanor the Great on Thursday, November 12
Series Patron

Event Patron Ticket – $180

  • Admission for one (1) to all Festival events, excluding programs marked with an asterisk (*)
Event Patron
  • Stock Market Mistress

    Stock Market Mistress

    Author – Randi Lynn Backall

    Monday, November 16 | 10:30 am
    Cost: $10
    LOCATION: Ocean City Library

    HOW MUCH WOULD YOU TRADE FOR LOVE? A light-hearted and witty rom-com debut about an affluent suburb where gossip, materialism, and social acceptance set the tone, privilege and power allow for behaving badly, and how one woman’s choices have the power to change everything.

    Leah Samuels, a single mom and successful party planner, is struggling to stay afloat in her mean-girl-infested suburb until she meets Howard Gardner, a magnetic financial powerhouse who hijacks her heart and her senses. Her friends try to warn her, but Leah is falling in love. Howard is dangling the future she dreamed of and seems too good to be true-until he implicates Leah in an insider trading case.

    After the Securities and Exchange Commission launches an investigation, Leah decides it’s time for a new career and hatches a plan to help save Howard’s business.

    Leah begins working at Arbor Financial, an old boys’ club where she is in over her head and doesn’t know whom to trust. There’s a new generation of finance bros-stock trading hot shots with snazzy clothes and big dreams-and far too few women. Except for a brilliant but washed-up musician, a sexy photojournalist, and a woman trailblazer, nobody is taking Leah seriously. She decides that if there is no seat at the table for women, she’ll make her own table.

    Leah discovers that Howard knows more than he is telling her, and she must decide if it’s worth trading integrity for love and security. When new accusations surface from an unexpected source, the stakes become dangerous, and Leah must make the most important decision of her life: to follow her heart or put the man who stole it behind bars.

    A midlife rom-com exploring friendship, secrets, greed, and a single mom’s quest for love. Echoes the notion that you’re never too old to start over or make a mistake. STOCK MARKET MISTRESS is a humorous, light-hearted romp that shines a light on women being taken more seriously in the high-stakes world of finance.

    Register

  • Playmakers

    Playmakers

    The Jew­ish Entre­pre­neurs Who Cre­at­ed the Toy Indus­try in America

    Author – Michael Kimmel

    Thursday, November 17 | 10:30 am
    Cost: $10

    Anti­semites who deplore the extent to which Jews have insin­u­at­ed their way into the nation­al imag­i­na­tion have so far failed to scru­ti­nize the savvy entre­pre­neur­ship of Jew­ish fam­i­lies in one indus­try: toys. In fact, there has only been min­i­mal schol­ar­ship on Jews’ role in form­ing the mate­r­i­al cul­ture of child­hood. This research gap has now been filled by soci­ol­o­gist Michael Kimmel’s fas­ci­nat­ing book Play­mak­ers. That Bar­bie is the stag­ger­ing­ly pop­u­lar doll for which Ruth M. Han­dler was most respon­si­ble is wide­ly known. That the ted­dy bear was an inven­tion in the Brook­lyn can­dy store of Rose and Mor­ris Mich­tom may be only slight­ly less famil­iar. Far less known is that Kim­mel is the Mich­toms’ great-great-nephew. Kim­mel intend­ed to write a fam­i­ly his­to­ry, to link his own mem­o­ries and lin­eage to a toy cor­po­ra­tion called Ide­al. Instead, the author has branched out with a bril­liant wider sur­vey of all the major fig­ures who designed, devel­oped, pack­aged, and mar­ket­ed dolls and doll­hous­es (most­ly intend­ed for girls); and sub­se­quent­ly the mod­el fight­er planes, destroy­ers, and ​“action fig­ures” (most­ly intend­ed for boys). The ted­dy bear tri­umphed in the mar­ket­place, Kim­mel spec­u­lates, because this cud­dly cub enjoyed a uni­sex appeal.

    The immi­grant fam­i­lies from which the play­mak­ers sprang were usu­al­ly too impov­er­ished to pro­vide the fun games and the children’s books that mid­dle-class par­ents could give their own off­spring. Depri­va­tion and mar­gin­al­i­ty inject­ed an edge of long­ing and ambi­tion, Kim­mel writes, to endow mil­lions of oth­er chil­dren with the imag­i­nary com­pan­ions that the Low­er East Side so con­spic­u­ous­ly lacked over a cen­tu­ry ago. Com­pa­nies like Has­bro, Louis Marx, and the Lionel Trains of Joshua Lionel Cow­an made the child­hood of mil­lions fuller and hap­pi­er — and war­rant­ed nos­tal­gia in which many of the entre­pre­neurs them­selves could not partake.

    Register

  • Crystal Sound Bowl Meditation Series

    Crystal Sound Bowl Meditation Series Rain Date

    Tuesday 11/17, 11/24 and 12/1 | 6:30 pm
    Cost: $30 Members | $35 Guests

    Back by popular demand! New to sound baths or meditation? This beginner-friendly experience is the perfect place to start. Enjoy an evening of deep relaxation, guided meditation, breath-work, Chakra healing, and the soothing sounds of crystal singing bowls. Research suggests sound healing may help reduce stress and tension while supporting focus, energy, and overall well-being.


    Participants may bring a yoga mat or sit comfortably in a chair. No experience is necessary.

    Register

  • The Seventy Shuls

    The Seventy Shuls:

    Syn­a­gogue Life and Yid­dishkeit from the Pine Bar­rens to the Boardwalk

    Author – Josh Cutler

    Tuesday, November 17 | 7:30 pm
    Cost: $15

    Hid­den among South Jersey’s farm­lands and deep with­in the Pine Bar­rens, faint echoes of a once-thriv­ing Jew­ish world still whis­per in the wind. Old train tracks cut through fields and forests, lead­ing past for­got­ten sta­tions and beyond the Atlantic City Board­walk. Along the way, traces of that lost world emerge, wait­ing to be redis­cov­ered. The Sev­en­ty Shuls is a jour­ney through time, mem­o­ry, and faith. It explores how Jew­ish life flour­ished in the Gar­den State and what remains today. For near­ly 150 years, these sev­en­ty syn­a­gogues stood as sanc­tu­ar­ies of resilience and belong­ing. They were built by pio­neers and immi­grants. They were sus­tained by farm­ers, shop­keep­ers, and lat­er revived by Holo­caust sur­vivors. These shuls anchored Jew­ish life in wood, brick, and mor­tar. Near­ly all of them have van­ished, replaced by church­es, high­ways, casi­nos, and hous­ing devel­op­ments, yet their sto­ries linger in the land­scape. Blend­ing inves­tiga­tive jour­nal­ism, cul­tur­al his­to­ry, and per­son­al reflec­tion, The Sev­en­ty Shuls uncov­ers the hid­den lega­cy of syn­a­gogues that anchored these suc­ces­sive com­mu­ni­ties in Jew­ish life. Through metic­u­lous research and inti­mate sto­ry­telling, these for­got­ten places come alive againt. This work is much more than a local sto­ry. It traces the evo­lu­tion of the synagogue’s sacred space with­in the time­line of Amer­i­can his­to­ry and how these spaces evolved in tan­dem with Amer­i­can Judaism.

    Register

  • Sex Over Sixty: A Luncheon & Conversation

    Sex Over Sixty: A Luncheon & Conversation

    Featuring Lynne Scheurer-Foster

    Thursday, November 19 | 11:30 am
    Cost: $36

    Join us for an engaging Ladies Lunch featuring Lynne Scheurer-Foster and a candid, empowering discussion inspired by Sex After 60. Over a delicious kosher-style lunch, guests will explore topics of confidence, connection, relationships, intimacy, and embracing this vibrant stage of life with humor, honesty, and an open mind.

    Come enjoy meaningful conversation, shared laughter, and a welcoming opportunity to connect with other women in our community.

    Register

  • Parsha Of The Week – November 21

    Parsha Of The Week

    Rabbi Avrohom Rapoport, Chabad at the Shore – Rabbi Cantor Jackie Menaker, Shirat Hayam – Rabbi Ephraim Epstein, Rodeph Shalom

    Friday, November 20 | 10:30 am
    Cost: FREE

    Join us for a lively and thought-provoking conversation with local clergy as they explore the Parsha of the Week and its meaning in today’s world. Hear different perspectives, ask questions, and discover new ways to connect ancient Jewish wisdom with modern life. Whether you are a longtime Torah learner or simply curious to learn more, everyone is welcome.

    Free and open to the community.

  • Rain Date – Nor’Easter Nick Pittman

    Rain Date

    Author – “Nor’Easter” Nick Pittman

    Wednesday, November 25 | 10:30 am
    Cost: $15

    Weathercaster “Nor’EasterNick” Pittman tells his heartfelt story of learning to embrace the unpredictable and turn rainy days into opportunities.  A tumultuous childhood and intense fear of thunderstorms couldn’t dampen Nick Pittman’s zeal for weather. He first gained recognition in elementary school, winning CBS 3 Philadelphia’s regional weather forecast competition. Soon after, “Nor’Easter Nick” was born, launching his career in meteorology.  By teaching himself how to forecast approaching systems, he found he could quell his weather anxiety.  Now, as founder of Norcast Media—a 24/7 streaming weather channel—he reaches millions of viewers a month, educating the public so that their weather fears, too, might be allayed. Nick helps his followers learn to embrace the seemingly unpredictable by uncovering the order in the chaos.

    Register

  • Israeli Dancing

    Israeli Dancing

    Monday, November 23 | 7:00 pm
    Cost: $10 Member | $15 Guest

    Join us for a fun and welcoming introduction to Israeli dancing. Enjoy classic and contemporary Israeli music while learning dances that engage both your body and your mind.

    Class Highlights

    • Experience a taste of Israeli culture through music and dance
    • Enjoy classic and contemporary Israeli music
    • Get in your steps with a fun form of exercise
    • Connect with others and enjoy the social side of Israeli dancing
    • Challenge your brain by learning new choreography and movement patterns
    • Learn a few Hebrew words along the way
    • No prior dance experience needed
    • No partner needed

    Come ready to move, learn, and have fun!

    Refreshments will be available thanks to a grant from the Kaskey Foundation.

    Register

  • Challah Bake

    Challah Bake

    Tuesday, November 24 | 11:00 am
    Cost: $36

    Don’t miss this hands-on Challah Bake and learn the art of creating delicious, traditional challah. Participants will mix, braid, and prepare their own challah while enjoying a warm, welcoming community experience.

    Register

  • The Literati – Susan Coll

    The Literati

    Author – Susan Coll

    Wednesday, November 25 | 10:30 am
    Cost: $10

    Is Her­ring a for­age fish, a com­put­er pass­word, the finan­cial advi­sor to a Wash­ing­ton lit­er­ary non prof­it, or all of the above? And has a curse (in Yid­dish) been placed on the Exec­u­tive Direc­tor? 

    The Literati, a mad­cap com­e­dy of man­ners fea­tur­ing clowns, a talk­ing chick­en, and a help­ing of bank fraud, aims to answer these ques­tions. Young Cle­mi leaves her posi­tion at an inde­pen­dent book­store and steps into her dream job only to find her­self in the bull’s‑eye of a finan­cial, legal, and exis­ten­tial calami­ty. The accounts have been over­drawn, the FBI is ask­ing ques­tions, and she has three days to pull off the annu­al fundrais­ing gala, a glam­orous affair filled with famous writ­ers and local literati. On the upside, Cle­mi will get to meet her all-time favorite writer, who has won the award. But her inter­ac­tions with the author and her eight-year-old son, as well as with the nonprofit’s board mem­bers, leave her won­der­ing whether cer­tain writ­ers are bet­ter on the page than in person.

    Register

  • Off the Record – Sara Goodman Confino

    Off the Record

    Author – Sara Goodman Confino

    Monday, November 30 | 1:00 pm
    Cost: $15

    In Sara Good­man Confino’s lat­est nov­el, Off the Record, it’s 1962 and pro­tag­o­nist Judy Green­berg refus­es to sit back and accept the life that soci­ety says she’s sup­posed to have — — meet a man, get mar­ried, have chil­dren, and nev­er work again. Grad­u­at­ing col­lege with a jour­nal­ism degree, Judy is deter­mined to work her way up as a reporter, even if that means start­ing in the typ­ing room. The best typ­ist in the office, Judy impress­es a young reporter, Jack Fields. How­ev­er, one day at work her boss asks her to step in as a sec­re­tary, and she winds up tak­ing a call that was def­i­nite­ly not meant for her ears. Team­ing up with Jack, Judy inves­ti­gates the mys­te­ri­ous phone call because it’s her one shot to prove her­self as a reporter.

    Off the Record cou­ples mid-cen­tu­ry fem­i­nism with a grip­ping plot, all while remain­ing unde­ni­ably Jew­ish as it por­trays anti­semitism in the work­place. Judy Green­berg, her grand­moth­er, and her boss, Miss Kel­ly, are three female char­ac­ters that defy soci­etal norms. All three are strong-willed and bold, which con­trasts with the oth­er women in the office, whose only goal is to meet­ing a future hus­band. Jack Fields is also extreme­ly sup­port­ive of Judy, often let­ting her take the lead because he believes in her tal­ent and her instincts. Judy’s Jew­ish upbring­ing plays a promi­nent role in Off the Record. Con­fi­no incor­po­rates it seam­less­ly, tak­ing care not to treat it as an after­thought; the Green­berg fam­i­ly Shab­bat din­ner scenes are per­fect­ly placed through­out the novel.

    A con­stant page-turn­er, Off the Record is an extreme­ly engag­ing read. Judy’s ener­gy jumps off the page, and her quick wit adds some light­heart­ed­ness to the nov­el. Con­fi­no has craft­ed a sto­ry that is equal parts inspir­ing and enter­tain­ing, mak­ing Off the Record a must-read for any­one who loves his­tor­i­cal fic­tion with heart.

    Register