High Holidays

The Rohr Center serving the Pratt Community
HIGH HOLIDAYS
Join a community of artists for a contemplative, intellectually stimulating and heart-centered experience.

Services led with meaning, melody and humor by Rabbi Simcha.

English/Hebrew books provided.

Rosh Hashanah (Day 1)

Thursday, September 9
10:30 – 1pm: Services
(followed by nosh & schmooze)

Rosh Hashanah (Day 2)

Friday, September 10
10:30 – 1pm: Services
(followed by nosh & schmooze)

Yom Kippur

Friday, September 17
6pm: Kol Nidrei
Saturday, September 18
11-1pm: Services
6:00pm: Neila
(followed by break-fast)

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

Hadas Gallery

Hadas Gallery is a grass roots student-driven organization committed to using the arts as a means for creative self-expression and reflection.

(Hebrew Myr ∙ tle)
- noun
1. Hadas. A bough of the Myrtle tree that forms one of the Four Species held together on the Jewish holiday of Sukkot.

Submissions?
Contact: Info@HadasGallery.com

Located in The Rohr Center
543 Myrtle Avenue
(between Steuben & Emerson)
Clinton Hill / Bed Stuy (Facing the Pratt Store)

Building Campaign Blog

The Rohr Jewish Center at Pratt Institute

Servicing:

Pratt Institute, Polytechnic University, Long Island University (Brooklyn), Brooklyn Law School & St. Francis & Joseph College

This Blog:

Follows the progress of the construction of an all-glass storefront at a pivotal location, facing Pratt Institute, complementary institutions will help fit the center into a vibrant multi-cultural arts district.

The Pitch:

Downtown Brooklyn is the hipster capital of the world and is witnessing a renaissance, an awakening of ideas, hope and optimism. Yet, there is no organized Jewish student life in Downtown Brooklyn. Almost every school in North America has a space for Jewish student life and why should Downtown Brooklyn be different?

Latest Blog News:

September 6 2010

August 26 2010

August 25 2010

August 2 2010

August 1 2010

June 9 2010

June 6 2010

June 6 2010

April 26 2010

April 26 2010

January 18 2010

January 14 2010

January 12 2010

September 18 2009:

September 16 2009:

September 14 2009:

September 10 2009:

September 8 2009:

Click here to find out more about the The Rohr Jewish Center at Pratt Institute and ways you can get involved and help raise money.

Pickle-tures from Kosher Pickle Making

Last Tuesdays Kosher Pickle making party was a huge success. I must thanks everybody involved especially the Pratt Jewish Student Union and our sponsor rabbipickle.com Here are some pickle-tures of the event, enjoy.

Midnight Breakfast Pic’s

Would like to give a shout out to all the volunteers who helped makes waffles at Midnight to feed a bunch of Jewish starving artists!

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!

Brooklyn Book Festival 2009 Program

Simcha set to appear at the Brooklyn Book Festival 2009 Program

Update
The Brooklyn Book Festival 2009 was a huge success i’d like to thank everybody that came along and showed their supported. Heres a photo of me reading from the main stand.

September 13th 2009
Read more

Circumcise Me: A new comedy on the cutting edge

Written and Performed by: Yisrael Campbell
Directed by: Sam Gold

Saturday Feb. 6 @ 8pm and see Rabbi Simcha Weinstein take the stage for Final Cut, a post-show talk-back!

Special Offer!
ALL SEATS $25*(Reg. $65)

Bleecker Street Theatre, 45 Bleecker Sreet, NYC 10012

“PLENTY OF LAUGHS. Mr. Campbell’s genial and polished recounting is a tale well told.”
-New York Times

“MAZEL TOV! Pitch-perfect blend of genuine sentiment and hilarious one-liners. DEEPLY MOVING.”
-New York Post

“LENNY BRUCE never had sex with an Orthodox Jew, but if he had he would have produced Yisrael Campbell.”
-The Guardian

“…a blessing both to the Jewish people and to humanity.”
-BBC News

“LEMME GIVE YOU A TIP—this show definitely makes the cut!!!”
-Judy Gold, Emmy Award Winning Comedian

He’s just your average Irish, Italian, Catholic kid from Philly, Comic Actor, Sober Alcoholic, Recovering Drug Addict, Husband, Father, Reform, Conservative, Unorthodox, Orthodox Jew. His name is Yisrael Campbell, (the artist formerly known as Christopher), and this is his story – a spiritual journey stretching across four decades, two continents, and three circumcisions. It’s that rare collision of comedy and theater that will have women howling with laughter, men squirming in their seats, and everyone standing up to cheer. Poignant, provocative, and powerfully witty, Circumcise Me is the true – and truly unforgettable – story of a man who was born to be funny. The Jewish part came later.

3 Easy Ways to Order Tickets:
PHONE: 212-947-8844 and mention the Code: PRATT
ONLINE: BroadwayOffers.com and enter the Code: PRATT
IN PERSON: Print this page and bring to the Bleecker Street Theatre at 45 Bleecker Street (Just East of Lafayette St.) or Mention the Code: PRATT

Box Office Hours: Mon – Sun, Noon – 8pm.

*Additional $1.50 Facility Fee applies. Offer only 2/6/10. Restrictions apply. Subject to availability.

Jewish Student Union To Be Built at Pratt

Construction has begun on a 2,000-square-foot storefront which will serve the 5,000 Jewish students enrolled at five Downtown Brooklyn colleges. The largest of those schools, the prestigious Pratt Institute, with 1,000 Jewish students, has the third highest percentage of Jewish students in the nation.

Before Chabad arrived, it was also the largest Jewish student population without an official organization on campus. Chabad’s current home, housed in the one-bedroom apartment of Rabbi Simcha and Ariella Weinstein, is a 30-minute walk from the Pratt campus.

Chabad is the outreach arm of the Lubavitch Hasidic sect, headquartered in Crown Heights. Unlike other Hasidic groups, Chabad actively seeks to engage non-affiliated Jews.

Clearly, says, Rabbi Weinstein, who is also affiliated with Congregation B’nai Avraham in Brooklyn Heights, “It was time to take things to the next level.” His students agree. The new space is being created almost entirely by members of the Pratt community. The architecture, interior design, murals, and furnishings have been fashioned by students who want to see their Jewish Student Union grow.

“I like for things to be grassroots: by the students and for the students,” the rabbi explains. “When they are involved, a sense of ownership develops. It is like the construction of the Temple in Jerusalem in which everyone had a part. Truthfully, without the students, nothing would happen.”

Brian Schulman is a sophomore at Pratt. Together with another architecture student, Eric Moed, he designed the interior of the Myrtle Avenue storefront. The new building is eco-friendly. “We want to keep the space as simple, raw, and minimal as possible. It will be used for many different purposes,” he explains, “including a synagogue, gallery, event space, and kitchen.”

The new space is being created almost entirely by members of the Pratt community. The architecture, interior design, murals, and furnishings have been fashioned by students who want to see their Jewish Student Union grow.

“The best way to tackle the design problem here was to leave the space open,” agrees Moed, also a second-year student. “The Jewish Student Union’s mission is much broader than simply having Shabbat dinners or services. Our whole message is to fuse our cultural outlook with our Jewish identity, so that they should become one entity. This is the first and only place in this neighborhood where Jewish people can network and build a community.”

Moed’s connection with the area dates back over half a century. His grandfather, Leon Moed, principal at Moed De Armas & Shannon and advisor to this project, graduated from Pratt in 1954. When he attended, explains his grandson, Pratt was a commuter school. “Jewish life on campus did not exist. It is only really recently that Jewish life became available, forget thriving.”

The many students designing its interior are putting a piece of themselves into the structure. “My artistic talents are the way I serve God,” reveals senior Elke Sudin. “When I draw I sense that the creative flow is not me, it is coming from a vessel that is greater.”

“Brooklyn is the epicenter of a Jewish art renaissance,” declares Weinstein. “It is an incubator for the cultural revival of Jewish life and art. I want this new space to be a gallery to screen movies, host poetry and book readings, and display art. Our students should be able to express their Judaism through the arts.”

by Clinto Hill for Brooklyn Eagle published online 04-21-2009

Book Tour

11/14/2010
23rd Annual Bikur Cholim Conference
Topic: Utilizing comics to promote Bikur Cholim

5/28/2010
Suffolk Y JCC in Commack
Topic: Up, Up and Oy Vey!

4/25/2010
Temple Beth Chai,
Long Island
Annual Journal Luncheon and Dance

1/31/2010 3pm
Holocaust Museum and Study Center
17 South Madison Ave
Spring Valley, NY 10977
http://www.holocauststudies.org/
Topic: War Time Motivation: Superheroes & the Holocaust

1/16/2010
Chabad of Port Washington
Topic: Up, Up and Oy Vey!

12/25/2009
Congregation Kehilath Jacob
THE CARLEBACH SHUL
305 West 79th Street New York NY 10024
Topic: Shtick Shift
http://www.carlebachshul.org/

12/19/2009
Emunah of Teaneck
Topic: Shtick Shift: Jewish Humor in the 21st Century

11/9/09
Chabad of the Conejo
30345 Canwood Street
Agoura Hills, CA 91301

11/8/2009 2pm
The Walters Art Museum
Graham Auditorium
600 North Charles Street
Baltimore, MD 21201
Phone: 410-547-9000 ext.236
Fax: 410-837-4886
Topic: Up, Up and Oy Vey: How Jewish History, Culture, and Values Shaped the Comic Book Superhero
Rabbi Weinstein will discuss the relevance of a hero in film and life as created by co-authors Jerome Siegel and Joseph Shuster during the rise of fascism in 1930s Europe. A reception follows the book signing.
Pre-registration recommended
Register by clicking here
www.thewalters.org

11/6/09
Chabad Community Center of Pacific Palisades
15207 W Sunset Blvd
Pacific Plsds, CA 90272-3567
(310) 454-7783
http://www.chabadpalisades.com/

10/19/2009
Oxford College of Emory University,
Atlanta
Topic: Up, Up and Oy Vey
www.oxford.emory.edu
Download the EBrochure here

9/13/2009
register online

2/19/2009
Aliya Institute
525-527 E New York Ave, Brooklyn

5/26/2009
topic: comedy and cocktails
Soho center for jewish life

2/17/2009
Queensborough Community College
Holocaust Resource Center and Archives, Bayside, NY 11364

2/8/2009 12.15-1.15pm
New York Comic Con
Jews and Comics: A Cottage Industry
Rabbi Simcha in discussion with writers Arie Kaplan, Danny Fingeroth and comic book creators Al Jaffee and Jerry Robinson.

2/1/2009
Congregation Beth Israel, Greater Hartford
Topic: Up, Up and Oy Vey! How Jewish History, Culture and Values, Shaped the Comic Book Superhero

1/31/2009
Emunah
Topic: Shtick Shift: Jewish Humor in the 21st Century

1/25/2009
Houston, TX
Topic: Shtick Shift: Jewish Humor in the 21st Century

1/14/2009
Barnes & Noble, 106 Court Street Brooklyn Heights
Topic: Shtick Shift: Jewish Humor in the 21st Century
Start 7pm

12/9/2008
Chabad of Flamingo
Topic: Shtick Shift: Jewish Humor in the 21st Century

12/4/2008
Richmond, VA
Topic: Shtick Shift: Jewish Humor in the 21st Century

12/3/2008
Tenement Museum, NY NY
Topic: Shtick Shift: Jewish Humor in the 21st Century

12/2/08
Chabad of MD
Topic: Up, Up and Oy Vey! How Jewish History, Culture and Values, Shaped the Comic Book Superhero

11/19/2008
Fort Lee, New Jersey
Topic: Shtick Shift: Jewish Humor in the 21st Century

11/18/2008
St. Louis, MO
Topic: Shtick Shift: Jewish Humor in the 21st Century

11/16/2008
Detroit, MI
Topic: Shtick Shift: Jewish Humor in the 21st Century

11/15/2008
Vir. Beach, VA
Topic: Shtick Shift: Jewish Humor in the 21st Century

11/13/2008
San Diego, CA
Topic: Shtick Shift: Jewish Humor in the 21st Century

11/11/2008
Cherry Hill, NJ
Topic: Shtick Shift: Jewish Humor in the 21st Century

11/9/2008
American Jewish University, Los Angeles, CA
Topic: Shtick Shift: Jewish Humor in the 21st Century

11/5/08
Gainesville Chabad
Topic: Up, Up and Oy Vey! How Jewish History, Culture and Values, Shaped the Comic Book Superhero

11/3/2008
Denver, CO
Topic: Shtick Shift: Jewish Humor in the 21st Century

Additional dates to be announced soon.

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