Seder for Artists

Pratt Area Synagogue Presents
Second Annual Seder for Artist
Join a creative community for an interactive and time sensitive seder.

Monday March 25th 8pm
Rohr Jewish Centre
541 Myrtle Ave
Clinton Hill/ Bed Study

Hand made shmurah matzah, The 4 cups, festive dinner, Everybody welcome no charge
RSVP rabbi@pratt.edu

A new painting series by Elke Reva Sudin

Come view A new painting series by Elke Reva Sudin curated by Joshua H Stulman.

Presented at the HADAS GALLERY
41 Myrtle Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11205
Opening reception: January 13th 2013 4pm till 8pm

The Rohr Jewish Centre is a cultural and educational organization servicing the Pratt community New York

Nationwide Book Launch: The Case for Children: Why Parenthood Makes Your World Better

Recently released U.S. population census shows population growth at its lowest level since the Great Depression. As young men and women are doing everything during their reproductive years except reproduce! Never before in human history have birth rates intentionally fallen so far, and so fast, and in so many places.

This groundbreaking book explores the overwhelming benefits that parenthood brings to individuals and society and provides strong expert statistical evidence that contradicts many modern myths of parenthood. The book is intended to be a candid, honest exploration of why young people aren’t having children. Fathers are scolded for bringing new little consumers and polluters into the world, and mothers in particular get grief for choosing childbearing over careers.

Simcha Weinstein’s uncompromisingly sensible solutions fly in the face of traditional ideas. Showing how having more children can actually be a boon to your bottom line without necessarily increasing your carbon footprint. As the subject of demography and declining birthrates in the West (and the impact this phenomenon is having on gender roles) has recently become a controversial topic, by reading this book, you may even wonder why you waited so long to have children!

Talking Points:
• Too Cool for Kids? Why People Are Putting Off Parenthood
• From Population Boom to Bust: How Shrinking Families Are Destroying Our Planet
• Million-Dollar Babies: The Real Cost of Having Kids
• Parenthood and Happiness: All “Oy” and No Joy?
• Saving the Planet: Are Babies Bad for the Environment?

SIMCHA WEINSTEIN is an internationally known speaker and the best-selling author of Up, Up, and Oy Vey: How Jewish History, Culture, and Values Shaped the Comic Book Superhero and Shtick Shift: Jewish Humor in the 21st Century. He has appeared on CNN and NPR and has been profiled in leading publications, including the New York Times, Miami Herald, and London Guardian. A syndicated columnist, he writes for the Jerusalem Post, JTA (Jewish Telegraphic Agency), the Royal Shakespeare Company, Condé Nast, and many other agencies. He chairs the Religious Affairs Committee at Pratt Institute, the renowned New York art school. He was recently voted
“New York’s Hippest Rabbi” by PBS affiliate Channel 13.

Author Residence: Brooklyn, NY
Marketing and Publicity Information: Print, radio, television, and
Internet campaign; International book tour by author, an experienced
commentator and internationally syndicated columnist.
Author: www.rabbisimcha.com / rabbi@pratt.edu

Barricade Books
Publicist: Suzanne Henry
(201) 944-7600
Email: suzanne@barricadebooks.com

ISBN-13: 978-1569804742
Price: $15.95
Format: Paperback
Category: Parenting/Self-Help
Ship date: December 2012
Publication: date: January 2013

No Gelt, No Glory

Welcome to “Extreme Sports: Jewish Style.” I’ll leave the suicidal skateboarding to the kids. Being a rabbi, I’m more of a dreidel blackbelt!

While they aren’t as transformative as the Kabbalah or as lucrative as a lottery win, I’m uniquely qualified to reveal to you another very powerful secret of the universe: the Upside Down Dreidel Spin.

This is the bubbie of all spins, but in the spirit of Chanukah, remember: just as the oil in the temple burned for eight days, a great dreidel player must cultivate patience and perseverance in order to master this move.

Step 1

Despite what the song says, most dreidels aren’t “made out of clay.” That’s the good news, because when it comes to dreidels, materials matter.

Start with a good quality dreidel, not one of the cheap plastic ones. The ideal dreidel is made of wood and measure about 1-inch square.

Here’s the key: make sure the very top of the handle is smooth, without any nicks or cracks.

Step 2

You also need a hard, smooth surface to spin on. Based on my extensive experience, I highly recommend the underside of a challah board.

Now, grip the dreidel’s handle between your index finger and thumb, with your palm facing upwards. The back of your hand should be no more than 6-inches above the spinning surface.

Step 3

Spin the dreidel with a snap of your thumb and index finger as you normally would — but release the dreidel with a gentle upward toss.

Step 4

Watch the amazed and impressed expressions on the faces of your family and friends.

Because at the end of the day, that’s what it’s all about. The very shape of the dreidel is a metaphor: when all its square, chunky contours spin, the dreidel looks round and smooth.

And just as the circle has no top and bottom and all its points are equivalent, so too is the family. When we come together in a circle of embrace, each member is equally important.

However, that doesn’t stop me from wanting to outdo them all with my Upside Down Dreidel Spin. I’d better start practicing now if I want to be ready for Chanukah.

Simcha Weinstein is an internationally known best-selling author. His first book, Up, Up and Oy Vey! received the Benjamin Franklin Award for the best book of 2007. He has appeared on CNN “Showbiz Tonight,” and NPR, and has been profiled in leading publications including The New York Times, The Miami Herald and the London Guardian. He is a regular contributor to the Jerusalem Post and Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA). He chairs the Religious Affairs Committee at the renowned New York art school, Pratt Institute. His latest book Shtick Shift: Jewish Humor in the 21st century (Barricade Books: 2008) is on sale now.

Art School Rabbi Chanukah Special

Rabbi Simcha.com is pleased to present the Art School Rabbi Comic, an on going satirical series about Rabbi Simcha’s life as campus rabbi.

In this fifth episode Rabbi Simcha discusses the miracle of Chanukah. Please use the comments form below. We welcome all feedback and look forward to hearing your ideas for future storylines.

Art School Rabbi is illustrated by talented artist Dave Ben-Yshay.
Check out his amazing website Shkoyach – The New Age Jewish Comic Strip.

High Holidays

The Pratt Area Synogogue invites you to: Join a hipster community for a contemplative, intellectually stimulating and heart-centered experience.

Services led with meaning, melody and humor by Rabbi Simcha Weinstein (Voted NY’s hippest Rabbi by PBS13)

Time Sensitive, Guided Meditation, English/Hebrew books provided

Rosh Hashanah (Day 1)

Monday, September 17
10 – 12pm: Services
(followed by nosh & schmooze)

Rosh Hashanah (Day 2)

Tuesday, September 18
10 – 12pm: Services
(followed by nosh & schmooze)

Yom Kippur

Tuesday, September 25
6.30pm: Kol Nidrei
Wednesday, September 26
10-1pm: Services
6:30pm: Neila
(followed by lavish breakfast)

The Rohr Center – 543 Myrtle Ave
bet. Steuben & Emerson (Facing the Pratt Store) Clinton Hill / Bed Stuy
No Tickets, No Appeals, No Charge.
Everybody Welcome
Reservations Requested, Walk-Ins Welcome

RSVP:Info@RohrCenter.com

Jacob Meeting

The Jewish Art Collaborative Of Brooklyn

JACOB meets the third Wednesday of the month at 8pm in Hadas Gallery, 541 Myrtle Ave.

The Jewish Art Collaborative Of Brooklyn is an artist forum sponsored by the Rohr Jewish Center. JACOB serves as a discussion round-table between artist. We are a venue for artist to connect and present on their artwork

No Reservations , Walk-Ins Welcome

Mnyan on Myrtle

Join a hipster community in a fresh vision for translating the inspiration of Judaism for a new generation.

At the Rohr Jewish Centre, 543 Myrtle Ave
Friday Night – Shabbat Service at 7pm
(Starting after Labor Day)

Reinvent the Synagogue as a relaxed and enjoyable setting for personal growth and communal connection.

No Reservations , Walk-Ins Welcome

Patriot Games: Is Captain America Too American?

In March 1941 — nine months before the attack on Pearl Harbor impelled America to enter the Second World War — one colorful American hero had already joined the battle: Captain America.

The famous front cover of “Captain America #1″ showed its titular hero punching Hitler straight in the face, sending the ridiculous looking Furher tumbling backwards.

With that single unforgettable image, the Nazi ideal of the Aryan ubermensch was dealt a fatal blow, as was what remained of the once respectable American “isolationist” movement.

As the first comic book character to enlist in World War II, Captain America was an instant success, selling almost one million copies per issue. In a way, that’s not surprising, considering the character’s pedigree. Captain America was created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby – the second-generation Jews who made no secret of their source of inspiration. Simon, noted the character of Captain America, “was our way of lashing out at the Nazi menace.”

In that first issue of the Marvel comic, readers meet the superhero’s “everyman” alter ego, Steve Rogers. A sickly Depression-era child, Rogers loses his parents at a young age, then tries to enlist in the military. Too feeble to join the regular forces, Rogers volunteers for a top-secret military medical experiment known as “Operation Rebirth,” being overseen by one Dr. Reinstein. (Note that character’s very Jewish name, one that sounds suspiciously like “Albert Einstein.” In 1941, Einstein was a wildly popular — if little understood — cultural icon in the real world.)

In need of a human “guinea pig” to test his formula, Dr. Reinstein injects Rogers with his Secret-Soldier Serum. Unfortunately, a Nazi spy infiltrates the experiment and kills Dr. Reinstein, leaving the newly empowered Rogers as the serum’s sole beneficiary. Hailed by the U.S. military as a superhuman savior, Rogers dons a patriotic costume of red, white, and blue, with a star on his chest and stripes on his waist. Captain America is quickly dispatched to his most important early assignment: destroy his evil “super soldier” counterpart, a Nazi agent called the Red Skull.

Fast forward to 2011: this summer, Captain America returns to the big screen. Unfortunately, the spirit of 1941 (let alone 1776) is a long way off. In an era of anti-Americanism (at home and abroad) the movie’s director and star have been playing down the character’s “American” identity.

Director Joe Johnston insists, “…this is not about America so much as it is about the spirit of doing the right thing.” Chris Evans, who plays the title character, echoed the sentiment: “I’m not trying to get too lost in the American side of it. This isn’t a flag-waving movie.”

This isn’t the first time Hollywood has eagerly de-Americanized superheroes, sometimes by undercutting traces of “corny” patriotism with doses of winking irony. Take the 2006 film “Superman Returns,” which has Clark Kent’s boss cynically describing Superman as fighting for “Truth, Justice… all that stuff.”

Or take the 2009 movie based on a hugely popular toy from Hasbro. The film’s title, “G.I Joe: A Real American Hero” was trimmed down to just “G.I Joe,” the toy’s iconic logo with the American flag was removed, and the storyline transformed the title character’s American anti-terror squad into an international peacekeeping task force that apparently took its marching orders from the United Nations.

The fact is, Hollywood movies today live or die based on worldwide ticket and DVD sales, and in a world in which American flags are burned regularly from Paris to the Punjab, received wisdom has it that anything too “American” is international box office poison.

Anticipating anti-American blowback, Paramount and Marvel Studios actually offered distributors the choice of marketing the new movie using its real title – “Captain America: The First Avenger” – or opting for simply calling it “The First Avenger” instead.

Most distributors say they’re going with the original title, eager to take advantage of decades of “Captain America” brand recognition. However, three countries – Russia, Ukraine and South Korea – have decided to promote the movie as “The First Avenger.”

By literally cloaking their character in patriotism, Kirby and Simon displayed unabashed love of, and confidence in, the United States. Like many Jewish Americans during World War II, such as the heads of Hollywood studios, they felt duty bound to use their creativity in the service of their country.

Alas, times have changed. Hollywood is now more concerned with international box office numbers than national pride, never mind respecting the obvious wishes of the two artists without whom Captain America wouldn’t exist.

Simcha Weinstein is an internationally known best-selling author. His first book, Up, Up and Oy Vey! received the Benjamin Franklin Award for the best book of 2007. He has appeared on CNN “Showbiz Tonight,” and NPR, and has been profiled in leading publications including The New York Times, The Miami Herald and the London Guardian. He is a regular contributor to the Jerusalem Post and Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA). He chairs the Religious Affairs Committee at the renowned New York art school, Pratt Institute. His latest book Shtick Shift: Jewish Humor in the 21st century (Barricade Books: 2008) is on sale now.

The content on this page is copyrighted by the author and can only be reprinted with permission from the author.

Join Rabbi Simcha for Shabbos Dinner

Dude: How come you don’t roll on Saturday?
Walt: I’m Shomer Shabbos!

What: Join a community of artists for networking opportunities and an gourmet candle lit 4 course dinner.

When: Fridays 8pm (Jewish time)

Where: The home of Rabbi Simcha (campus Rabbi)
Meet in the lobby of 111 Steuben street (Glass Building facing White Castle)

Everybody welcome
Free of charge
Reservations requested
Walk-in’s welcome
Oats soda and Chicken soup

Click here to contact Rabbi Simcha and reserve your place at the Shabbos table!

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