Events
Beth Chai offers events throughout the year! See our calendar below for our events.
News this week
Teen Program Calendar
Open this link for a flier with information on our teen program
Auction Planning
The theme for Beth Chai’s auction on March 23rd is COMMUNITY and we will be featuring what makes us uniquely Beth Chai – our gatherings. All proceeds go to support Beth Chai’s operating expenses and are greatly needed to ensure a sustainable and stable financial future for the organization.
Ways You Can Give to Beth Chai (in addition to bidding on an item at the auction):
1. Host a Gathering (past examples include Korean street food, a murder mystery, scotch tasting, and a game night)
2. Donate a Live Auction Item (such as a vacation rental)
3. Solicit a Gift Card from a Local Restaurant/Store or an Experience (e.g. sports tickets, spa package)
4. Volunteer Your Time for Auction Day
Please reach out to Oona at oona58@verizon.net to volunteer and/or make a donation using this form. In addition to attending our auction and bidding on activities, we hope every Beth Chai member or family will contribute an item and/or volunteer on March 23rd.With your help, we’re looking forward to a fabulous event!
Joint "Repro Shabbat" Havdalah Gathering with Machar
Please join Beth Chai and Machar for a "Repro Shabbat" Havdalah and potluck at 6 pm on Feb. 22 in Silver Spring. Please click here for further details and to RSVP.
"Repro Shabbat" is an annual Shabbat celebration that honors the Jewish value of reproductive freedom. It takes place annually on Parshat Mishpatim, which contains the verses commonly referenced as the foundation of Judaism's approach to reproductive health, rights, and justice. Individuals and communities across the world gather to celebrate Repro Shabbat and the Jewish traditions it honors.
Support for the Alprin Family
Please consider delivering a meal in February to the Alprin family - Ani, Scott, and their children Marlie, Jacob, and Tori - as Ani continues her chemotherapy.
It's very easy to sign up online with Meal Train link; there are a number of dates starting mid-February-ish: https://www.mealtrain.com/trains/ldy34w.
Here you'll find information such as the family's preferences, address, how and when to deliver.
It's been so heartwarming to see the number of our fellow Beth Chai'ers lending a hand with meals for Ani, Scott and family; it makes me even more happy to be part of this community.
Beth Chai's Caring Committee
Sunday School and Adult Ed
Join us at Garrett Park Elementary for our Collaborative School.
Schedule:
9:30-10:00 music assembly
10:00-10:30 nosh for both adults and kids
10:30-12:00 kids go to class; adults participate in adult ed
Adult ed schedule:
February 9
Special Green Team-Sponsored Adult Education Program in Honor of Tu B'Shevat (sponsored by Kehila)
Meenal Harankhedkar, the new executive director of Interfaith Partners for the Chesapeake will share what brings her to this work; new directions for building interfaith support for protecting waterways; and information on urban forest habitats, their importance and how to preserve and protect them -- including measures we can take as individuals, as families, and as congregations.
February 23
Jews In Magic (sponsored by Beth Chai)
Like chess masters, stand up comedians and Nobel prize winners, Jews have long dominated another field, that of magic. From Jacob Philadelphia, who is believed to be the first Jewish baby born in the American colonies, and who would be a star all over Europe; to 19th century superstar Alexander Herrmann, who traveled by private rail car, and whose mephistophelean visage became the archetype of the magician; to Theo Bamberg, who was one of five generations of Dutch Court magicians; to Max Malini, who came to America with nothing and entertained kings and presidents with just a pack of cards and common objects; to Ehrich Weiss, the son of a rabbi, who would transform himself into Harry Houdini, whose amazing story spoke to millions of immigrants at the turn of the century, and still inspires books, films and much more today.
Ken Trombly, a lifelong magic enthusiast - his over the top Bar Mitzvah party in Newton, MA in 1962 had a magic theme that he is still trying to live down - is also a serious collector of vintage posters, broadsides, antique photos and other magic ephemera, and has sought out original material on Jewish magicians, particularly Harry Houdini. He has given talks on magic history for a number of Washington DC area groups, as well as magic history conferences in Chicago, LA, Boston and London. The proprietor of magicposters.com, Ken previously consulted for the BBC on a documentary on the life of Harry Houdini, which featured a number of items from his collection. His talk promises to be of interest to devotees of popular entertainment, American culture and Jewish history in particular.
March 2
"The Media" (sponsored by Machar)
Paul Farhi, 35-year reporter at the Washington Post, will speak.
Adult ed Zoom link:
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88314594440?pwd=MUxDZGVCdDdFajgwV3N4ajl0K2pMQT09
Meeting ID: 883 1459 4440
Passcode: 724848
Senior Group Gathering
Our next Senior Group will meet at 12 noon on Friday, February 7th, at the home of Dennis Wallick. We'll discuss the Gaza ceasefire and where it's headed.
RSVP by Thursday, February 6th, to Michele McNally at mcsturm5@verizon.net and Dennis at dwwallick@yahoo.com.
Michele McNally, Senior Group Secretary
Social Action
Jewish Humanists Serve Brunch at Shepherd's Table Every Fourth Saturday!
Shepherd's Table in Silver Spring (https://www.shepherdstable.org/)
This activity is perfect for family or friend groups. All prep workers/servers must be age 13 or older (one adult per 2 young teens). Barriers are in place to reduce virus transmission among guests and staff. Masking is optional for volunteers and guests. Brunch setup begins at 9:00 am and continues through cleanup (finished by noon). Register using this link: http://jewishhumanists.shepherdstable.volunteerhub.com/. If you sign up but find you can't make it, please be sure to cancel your shift at least 1 week in advance so that others may take your place.
Community Announcements
These announcements are being provided for informational purposes only; they do not constitute an endorsement by Beth Chai.
Kindertransport
by Diane Samuels
February 7, 8, 9 @ the Bender JCC
A modern classic about one woman’s struggle to come to terms with her past – brutally separated from her German Jewish parents at the age of 9 and brought to England with the promise of a new life. This play examines the life, during World War II and afterwards, of a Kindertransport child. Though fictitious, it is based upon many real Kindertransport stories.
The recent rise in antisemitism, especially in educational spaces, is unprecedented. We invite parents and caregivers to join AJC Washington, D.C., Anti-Defamation League (ADL) Washington, D.C., and the JCRC of Greater Washington for our 2025 Parent Summit on Sunday, February 9th, 9:30 AM – 12:30 PM.
The event will be held in Montgomery County, MD; the location will be shared upon registration. The cost to attend is $18 and advance registration is required.
The Afro-Semitic Experience
Sunday, February 9 | 11:30 AM
Together as a band, the Afro-Semitic Experience merges their musical roots, Jewish and Afro-diasporic melodies, and dynamic grooves, to combine the core concepts of ASE and shalom – power, action, unity, and peace. The result is a powerful and poetic musical experience that celebrates diversity, promotes social justice, and inspires hope and joy.
Join the JCRC of Greater Washington, the Baltimore Jewish Council and The Jewish Federation of Howard County as we convene in Annapolis for the annual Maryland Jewish Advocacy Day on Tuesday, February 11th, at 4 pm.
Buses will leave at 3:00 PM from the Bender JCC in Rockville and Leisure World Clubhouse II in Silver Spring. $54 covers food, transportation and program. Registration is $36 if you prefer to drive on your own and meet in Annapolis at The Graduate.
A special $18 student rate is available by registering here.
All who register will be invited to participate in a virtual briefing on Wednesday February 5, 7:00 PM to prepare for Advocacy Day.
Please contact Deborah Miller, Director of Maryland Government and Community Relations, with any questions or request for accommodations.
The JCA Heyman Interages Center is looking for volunteers to join us this winter for an award-winning, evidence-based, intergenerational art-making program called Opening Minds Through Art (OMA).
We are looking for volunteers interested in supporting JCA's Kensington Club members (older adults with early stages of memory loss) as they create abstract art projects that engage the mind and break through cognitive barriers. We also are looking for volunteers to work alongside JCA staff to serve art supplies, provide artistic choices as well as help with set-up and clean-up.
The following six dates led by trained OMA facilitators will be held at the JCA in Rockville and are required to participate. Please contact rlanman@accessjca.org for further details.
Friday, February 21 from 9:30 AM - 12 pm: Volunteer training
Fridays, February 28, March 7, 14, and 21 from 9:45 am - 12:15 pm: OMA art classes
Sunday, March 30 from 12:30 - 2:30 PM: Art Show
Nani Vazana
Sunday, March 2 | 11:30 AM
Nani Vazana is the world’s first millennial Ladino songwriter. Her new album ‘Ke Haber’ (What’s New) captures the spirit of the ancient, matriarchal language and propels it into the future with socially pertinent lyrics celebrating migration, gender, and female empowerment.
Theater J is excited to present Your Name Means Dream, an extraordinary play written and directed by internationally acclaimed playwright José Rivera. On stage March 12–April 6, 2025, this intimate tragicomedy asks what it means to be human as we embrace Artificial Intelligence – and it embraces us. Aislin (DC legend Naomi Jacobson) needs constant support in her later years, and her care is placed in the hands of an AI robot-caregiver named Stacy (Sara Koviak) who will never age. The unexpected relationship that blossoms between them sparks questions of what it means to have a soul and what defines humanity.
Tickets and more information: https://www.edcjcc.org/theater-j/show/your-name-means-dream/
Not a member? Join today!