November 1 – 30

We are excited to announce the return of our 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 a $130 Savings

  • Admission for one (1) to all Festival events, excluding programs marked with an asterisk (*)
Event Patron
  • Even After Everything

    Even After Everything

    How One Hum­ble Kib­butznik Believed in Heav­en While Liv­ing Through Hell

    Author – Betsy Frischman Fischer

    Monday, November 2 | 10:30 am
    Cost: $10

    Before the dis­as­trous final hour of Israel’s Oper­a­tion Pro­tec­tive Edge (2014) — a war that shat­tered his com­mu­ni­ty, sep­a­rat­ed his fam­i­ly, claimed the lives of two of his clos­est friends, and left him a dou­ble amputee — Gadi Yarkoni had already nav­i­gat­ed a life­time of med­ical and edu­ca­tion­al chal­lenges. Yet even after everything, he emerged from tragedy with a smile and a strong desire to serve his community. His years of overcoming adversity provided him with the foundation to lead Eshkol Region­al Coun­cil, the area hard­est hit on Octo­ber 7, with strength, courage, and hope. Even After Every­thing is the inspi­ra­tional Israeli sto­ry the Jewish community needs right now. This uplifting biography shines a light on the last­ing impact of a kib­butz upbring­ing, and exam­ines life along the volatile bor­der with Gaza. It also explores what can only be described as the unique and remarkable brand of Israeli resilience. Whatever challenges readers may face, Gadi’s journey will help them gain perspective, count their blessings, and move forward. Readers might even find themselves frequently asking, “What would Gadi do?”

    Register

  • Operation Sparrow – Jason Bell

    Operation Sparrow

    The Incred­i­ble True Sto­ry of the North Amer­i­can Spies Who Tricked Hitler and Won the War

    Author – Jason Bell

    Wednesday, November 4 | 10:30 am
    Cost: $10

    In March 1944, three Amer­i­can com­man­dos para­chut­ed into Nazi-occu­pied Hun­gary on an impos­si­ble mis­sion: get cap­tured, endure inter­ro­ga­tion, and sell Hitler the biggest lie of the war. Their decep­tion would draw over a mil­lion Axis troops away from Nor­mandy, mak­ing D‑Day pos­si­ble. But Oper­a­tion Spar­row had a sec­ond pur­pose — sav­ing Hungary’s one mil­lion Jews, the last large Jew­ish com­mu­ni­ty in Nazi-aligned Europe. While Regent Mik­lόs Hor­thy had resist­ed depor­ta­tions, the Nazis were draw­ing up plans for Auschwitz. The Spar­rows car­ried Pres­i­dent Roosevelt’s secret offer: if Hun­gary switched sides and fought Ger­many, they could join the vic­tors. When the mis­sion col­lapsed into a Ger­man trap, the com­man­dos found them­selves in Gestapo cus­tody, fac­ing tor­ture and exe­cu­tion. Yet they nev­er stopped fight­ing. Mean­while, Hun­gar­i­an res­cuers like actress Katal­in Karády risked every­thing to save Jew­ish chil­dren, while pris­on­ers Rudolf Vrba and Alfred Wet­zler escaped Auschwitz to warn the world. This is the declas­si­fied true sto­ry of one of WWII’s bold­est decep­tions — and the race to pre­vent genocide.

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  • Art Gallery Reception – David London

    Art Gallery Reception

    Artist – David London

    Thursday, November 5 | 5:30 pm
    Cost: FREE

    Glass Half Full by David began as a retirement hobby and quickly became a creative passion.

    After retiring, David was looking for something to keep both his mind and his hands busy. He began tumbling rocks with his grandsons, but after realizing how long the process took, he decided to try tumbling glass instead. Before long, he had collected an assortment of beautiful pieces of tumbled glass and began looking for ways to transform them into artwork.  That’s when David created his first Tree of Life.

    What started as a simple project soon grew into a passion. As his collection of glass expanded, so did his creativity. David began creating more Trees of Life and eventually offering his artwork for sale. To his surprise and delight, people began asking him to create pieces of their own.

    And just like that, Glass Half Full by David was born.

    One of the most meaningful aspects of David’s work is creating personalized pieces with a story behind them. He has created Trees of Life using glass from treasured family heirlooms, including Depression-era glassware that once belonged to a parent. By transforming these pieces into something new, David gives the glass a second life while preserving the memories connected to it.

    David has also had the incredible honor of creating Trees of Life for wounded IDF soldiers visiting Cherry Hill. Each tree was designed around the colors and identity of the soldiers’ individual brigades. Knowing that his artwork could bring a little joy and meaning to these remarkable individuals has been especially meaningful to him.

    Today, David continues to create Trees of Life while expanding into new figures and designs. He is always looking for new ways to transform pieces of glass into something beautiful, unique and meaningful.

    What began as a way to stay busy in retirement has become a creative journey David never expected—and one he is grateful to continue every day.

  • Parsha Of The Week – November 6

    Parsha Of The Week

    Rabbi Stephen Sniderman, Beth Israel / Rabbi Yitzhak Landa, Rodeph Shalom / Jonathan Kremer, Shirat Hayam / Cantor Ralph Goren, Beth El

    Friday, November 6 | 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’re a longtime Torah learner or simply curious to learn more, everyone is welcome!

    Free and open to the community. Held in conjunction with the Board of Jewish Education of Atlantic & Cape May Counties

  • Local Author’s Panel – Lisa Bien, Lisa Gottlieb & Haleh Resnick and Melissa Goldstein

    Local Author’s Panel

    Authors – Lisa Bien, Lisa Gottlieb & Haleh Resnick and Melissa Goldstein

    Sunday, November 8 | 10:30 am
    Cost: $15

    Meet talented local authors for an engaging conversation about their books, writing journeys and the inspiration behind their stories.  Hear what it’s like to bring an idea from the page to publication, learn more about the authors’ creative processes and enjoy a lively discussion celebrating the voices and stories coming from our own community.

    Register

  • Kristallnacht Commemoration Violin Concert and Program

    Kristallnacht Commemoration Violin Concert and Program

    Tuesday, November 10 | 10:30 am
    LOCATION: Beth Israel, Northfield
    Cost: FREE

    Join the JCC and the Board of Jewish Education (BJE) for a bagel brunch and the violin talents of Dr. David Podles as we listen and learn about Jewish culture and music. A special Kristallnacht commemoration including songs, poems, and spoken word will be interspersed with the sounds of nostalgic Yiddish melodies. There is no cost to attend, but RSVP is a must.

    Register

  • The Confidante – Christopher Gorham

    The Confidante

    The Untold Sto­ry of the Woman Who Helped Win WWII and Shape Mod­ern America

    Author – Christopher Gorham

    Wednesday, November 11 | 1:00 pm
    Cost: $15

    In a pro­file in The New York Times, a reporter described his sub­ject as ​“a slip of a woman … her hair care­ful­ly dressed, her clothes chic.” As for her man­ner, ​“She radi­ates a spir­it of friend­li­ness.… Her straight­for­ward­ness inspires con­fi­dence, her infor­mal­i­ty cuts red tape.”

    The year was 1935, and the woman was Anna M. Rosen­berg, age thir­ty-three, Region­al Direc­tor for New York of Pres­i­dent Roosevelt’s New Deal agency, the NRA.

    This was only the begin­ning, how­ev­er. Rosen­berg went on to serve Roo­sevelt in var­i­ous capac­i­ties, and she con­tin­ued her ser­vice with Pres­i­dents Tru­man, Eisen­how­er (most­ly behind the scenes), Kennedy, and John­son, even­tu­al­ly reach­ing the pin­na­cle of her career as US Assis­tant Sec­re­tary of Defense.

    In 1968, after the Sel­ma march and Johnson’s deci­sion to not seek re-elec­tion, he wrote to her, “[T]here is no judg­ment I val­ue more high­ly than yours.… Bless you for being a true friend across all these years.” He could be said to have spo­ken for the many who worked with her.

    Her rise into the high­est polit­i­cal ech­e­lons was notable not only because she was a woman at a time when such roles were large­ly filled by men, but also because she was a Jew­ish immi­grant who had come to New York from Hun­gary in 1912.

    She played vital roles advis­ing pres­i­dents through the Depres­sion, World War II, the Kore­an War, the Cvil Rights move­ment, the Great Soci­ety, and more. Once a house­hold name who was reg­u­lar­ly vot­ed one of the country’s most admired women (often fol­low­ing right after her friend Eleanor Roo­sevelt), today, Anna Rosen­berg is most­ly unknown. For this author Christo­pher Gorham offers sev­er­al expla­na­tions, includ­ing the fact that she refused to write a mem­oir. She also used the tele­phone more than the let­ter or memo to com­mu­ni­cate, most­ly to avoid hav­ing a writ­ten record. She was con­tent to stay in the background.

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  • Wiseguys, Rabbis and the FBI – J.A. Schwartsman

    Wiseguys, Rabbis and the FBI

    How one man became the biggest loan­shark in New York City, went to prison and escaped

    Author – J.A. Schwartzman

    Wednesday, November 11 | 7:00 pm
    Cost: $15

    How did two Jews — a financier and a den­tist — drag the Mafia into the biggest loan­shark­ing scheme in New York? They did it with the help of a group of Long Island rab­bis who unknow­ing­ly invest­ed in a loan­shark­ing ring. This wild, true sto­ry takes read­ers on a ride through free­wheel­ing 1980s New York, and shows what can go wrong when flex­i­ble ethics and ambi­tion meet. In the 1980s, the Mafia dom­i­nat­ed New York. In that milieu, Mel Coop­er and Jesse ​“Doc” Hyman start­ed mak­ing ille­gal loans to des­per­ate busi­ness­men. They invit­ed a well-known Great Neck rab­bi to invest in their ​“new kind of loan.” With a can­tor as a go-between, cash was soon mov­ing between Man­hat­tan and Long Island. Their loan­shark­ing caught the atten­tion of then-US Attor­ney Rudy Giu­liani. In 1984, he indict­ed Coop­er, Hyman, and sev­en mafia capos from four crime fam­i­lies in one of the first RICO pros­e­cu­tions. After being found guilty, they were sen­tenced to thir­ty years in prison — from which Coop­er prompt­ly escaped. Wiseguys, Rab­bis, and the FBI is about Jew­ish crim­i­nals, but it’s also a sto­ry about ethics; how every choice, no mat­ter how small, cre­ates our destiny.

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  • Funny, You Don’t Look Like a Rabbi – Rabbi Lynnda Targan

    Funny, You Don’t Look Like a Rabbi

    A Memoir of Unorthodox Transformation

    Author – Rabbi Lynnda Targan

    Thursday, November 12 | 10:30 am
    LOCATION: Temple Beth Shalom, Brigantine, NJ
    Cost: $10

    At the age of fifty, Lynnda Targan was an accomplished public relations professional, journalist and happily married mother of two. But deep down, she felt called to a different path. The child of secular, divorced parents, she had grown up in the nurturing enclave of her grandparents’ close-knit, Orthodox Jewish community, but drifted away from the rituals of her faith. Now, as an adult, she found herself being drawn back to Judaism-and rediscovering the beauty and resonance of its history, its remarkable texts and teachings, and its powerful code for living in the modern world.

    Targan’s memoir tells the story of her surprising transformation from successful working mom to spiritual seeker and Jewish scholar, and chronicles her quest to reinvent herself in midlife to become a rabbi, a choice that for generations was open only to men. Initially met with skepticism, Targan persevered, becoming an ordained rabbi in 2003. Now a beloved leader in her community, Targan shows that it is never too late to find your true calling and step into your power-no matter what your age.

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  • The Torah is an Open Book – Caryn Broitman

    The Torah Is an Open Book

    Radical Readings for the Seeker and the Skeptic

    Author – Caryn Broitman

    Friday, November 13 | 10:30 am
    Cost: $10

    For too long, con­ser­v­a­tive or lit­er­al­ist voic­es have used the Bible to exclude, shame, and silence, lead­ing many to dis­re­gard the text alto­geth­er. But the Bible is still speak­ing to us, if we know where to look. In The Torah Is an Open Book, Rab­bi Caryn Broit­man offers a pow­er­ful alter­na­tive: a return to ancient Jew­ish tra­di­tion of Midrash—a cre­ative, ques­tion­ing, and often rad­i­cal form of inter­pre­ta­tion — to show that Scrip­ture isn’t meant to be read lit­er­al­ly or rigid­ly. It’s meant to be wres­tled with. This book invites read­ers of all back­grounds — reli­gious, sec­u­lar, spir­i­tu­al but not reli­gious — to engage with the Bible as a liv­ing con­ver­sa­tion. Draw­ing on cen­turies of Jew­ish com­men­tary and her own expe­ri­ence as a con­gre­ga­tion­al rab­bi, Broit­man shows how even the most dif­fi­cult or obscure pas­sages can become sources of insight, jus­tice, and con­nec­tion when read through the lens of midrash. The Torah isn’t a closed book hand­ed down from on high. It’s an open scroll, still unfold­ing, and you’re invit­ed to be part of the story.

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  • Comedian Judy Gold

    Comedian Judy Gold*

    Saturday, November 14 | 7:00 pm
    Cost: $65

    Judy Gold is a comedy powerhouse. She has had stand-up specials on HBO, Comedy Central and LOGO, and was one of the stars of Netflix’s Stand Out: An LGBTQ+ Celebration.She currently stars in Hulu’s Not Suitable for Work and Paramount+’s The Varnell Hill Show. She also recently appeared on  HBO’s Life, Larry, and the Pursuit of Unhappiness. She is the author of Yes I Can Say That: When They Come For The Comedians, We Are All In Trouble, a critically acclaimed book about free speech and cancel-culture which debuted as the number one comedy release on Amazon and was featured in the New York Times Book Review. It is now in its second printing.

    Judy has written and starred in three critically acclaimed Off-Broadway hit shows, the aforementioned Yes I Can Say That!, The Judy Show – My Life as a Sitcom (Outer Critics Circle Nomination), and 25 Questions for a Jewish Mother (GLAAD Media Award – Winner, Outstanding NY Theater, Drama Desk Nomination – Actor). Judy received rave reviews as Gremio in The Public Theater’s Shakespeare in the Park all-female production of The Taming of The Shrew. Recent film credits include Busted!, She Came To Me, Tripped Up, 31 Candles, and Love…Reconsidered. Judy won two Emmy awards for writing and producing The Rosie O’Donnell Show. She has had recurring roles on Better Things, City On A Hill, The First Lady, Awkwafina is Nora from Queens and Search Party. Other more recent TV appearances include Not Suitable For Work, Extrapolations, Life & Beth, Broad City, and Girls5Eva. Judy appears frequently on The View, Today, and can also be found on MSNBC, and NewsNation & CNN as a free speech advocate. She has been a guest on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert and The Tonight Show.

    Her presence also extends into documentaries with credits ranging from cult favorites such as The Aristocrats to cultural touchstones like Netflix’s Outstanding: A Comedy Revolution and Hulu’s Hysterical, XLCD: The Story of Cancel Culture, The Last Laugh, and We Met at Grossinger’s. Judy hosted HBO’s At the Multiplex with Judy Gold (1999-2009), as well as the weekly hit podcast Kill Me Now (2015-2025). She has three albums; Conduct Unbecoming, Kill Me Now, and Judith’s Roommate Had a Baby. She currently stars in Hulu’s Not Suitable for Work and Paramount+’s The Varnell Hill Show.  She is also a 2026 Out100 honoree. You can find her on social media at @JewdyGold.

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  • Saving Israel – Boaz Dvir

    Saving Israel

    Author – Boaz Dvir

    Sunday, November 15 | 10:30 am
    Cost: $15

    In 1948, the newly created State of Israel faced an imminent invasion by five well-equipped neighboring armies. Lacking weapons, Israel was in grave danger. Al Schwimmer, an American WWII veteran who feared another Holocaust, sought to break the international arms embargo to supply Israel.

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  • Hidden – The Musical

    Hidden The Musical

    Sunday, November 15 | 1:00 pm
    Cost: $15

    Holocaust survivor Ruth Kapp Hartz shares her story. Renamed Renée as a child to conceal her Jewish identity, she and her family seek refuge with the Fedou family in a French village. Amid mounting danger, the family separates for safety, sending Renée to a Catholic orphanage where silence is oppressive. Mother Superior risks all to hide Jewish children, who narrowly escape being discovered by the Nazis. Renée and her parents survive the war thanks to the bravery of their rescuers. In the present day, Ruth vows to speak out, and the cast unites in songs emphasizing resilience and hope.


    This performance is recommended for adults and for children in 4th grade and older.

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  • 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.

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  • Playmakers

    Playmakers

    The Jew­ish Entre­pre­neurs Who Cre­at­ed the Toy Indus­try in America

    Author – Michael Kimmel

    Tuesday, 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 the role of Jews 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.

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  • The Seventy Shuls

    The Seventy Shuls

    Syn­a­gogue Life and Yid­dishkeit from the Pine Bar­rens to the Boardwalk

    Author – Josh Cutler

    Tuesday, November 17 | 7:00 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.

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  • 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.

    Free and open to the community. Held in conjunction with the Board of Jewish Education of Atlantic & Cape May Counties

  • Rain Date – Nor’Easter Nick Pittman

    Rain Date

    Author – “Nor’Easter” Nick Pittman

    Sunday, November 22 | 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.

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  • 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.

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  • 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.

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The Kranzdorf Family Foundation
In memory of Norman Kranzdorf (z”l)

The Jeanne and Richard Kaskey Foundation

Marc and Elaine
Edelstein & Family

Howard & Margaret Goldberg

Gold Sponsor

Adrienne & Elliot Beinfest

Eric J. Share & Lisa J. Share, M.D.

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Marcia & Bruce Tomar

Wendy & Steve Feldman