Boston Workers Circle

Membership Committee Meeting
2025-06-18 18:00 - 19:00, 2025-06-04 18:00 - 19:00, 2025-05-21 18:00 - 19:00, 2025-05-07 18:00 - 19:00, 2025-04-23 18:00 - 19:00, 2025-04-09 18:00 - 19:00, 2025-03-19 18:00 - 19:00, 2025-03-05 18:00 - 19:00 (America/New_York) and 6 more dates | Zoom
Contact Miles Meth at milesmeth@gmail.com for more information, including the Zoom link.

Annual Meeting
2025-06-17 19:00 - 21:00 | Boston Workers Circle, Brookline, MA, United States
Join us on Tuesday, June 17 at 7pm, in person at the BWC building in Brookline, for our annual member meeting! Dinner will be provided.
We’ll be celebrating our year together- successes, committee highlights, and visioning the year ahead. Also launching our Membership theme: Fighting Fascism for 125 Years. There will be an action component (more to come on this!), relationship building, and a raffle!
Transportation: There’s free 2 hour parking on Marion Street and Vernon Street, and BWC is a 4 minute walk from the Coolidge Corner Green Line stop.
A portion of the meeting will be livestreamed for those who cannot attend in person.
RSVP here!

Anti-Racism Study Group
2025-06-16 19:15 - 20:30, 2025-05-19 19:15 - 20:30, 2025-04-21 19:15 - 20:30, 2025-03-17 19:15 - 20:30, 2025-02-17 19:15 - 20:30, 2024-11-18 19:15 - 20:30
The BWC Anti-racism Study Group meets for 90 minutes every month and currently has a schedule of the third Monday of each month at 7:15
The focus is on reading books, and learning through reading and discussion. The booklist is divided into three, somewhat overlapping sections: History, Black Experience and Working on White supremacy, White privilege, and ourselves; Reparations, activism.
We would love to have more people joining us! Members attest to the ever deeper and richer understanding of the struggle for racial equity and justice that has come out of being a part of this group. New insights and understandings come from every book we’ve read. To be added to the email list and for the meeting Zoom link, please email antiracismstudygroup@circleboston.org.
You can find the book list here and the schedule here.

Adult Ed Course: Introduction to Jewish Herbalism
2025-06-15 14:00 - 15:30, 2025-06-08 14:00 - 15:30 | BWC Building
Adult Education Spring 2025 Course:Join ethnoherbalist, plant historian, and educator Naomi Spector for a three-part introduction to Jewish Herbalism. Students will have the chance to learn about and get practical experience with amulets, honey elixirs, and infused oils.
More info here.Register here.

Yiddish Reading Group
2025-06-13 10:30 - 12:00, 2025-06-06 10:30 - 12:00, 2025-05-30 10:30 - 12:00, 2025-05-23 10:30 - 12:00, 2025-05-16 10:30 - 12:00, 2025-05-09 10:30 - 12:00, 2025-05-02 10:30 - 12:00, 2025-04-25 10:30 - 12:00 and 26 more dates | Zoom
Join our Yiddish Reading Group! We meet weekly (mostly) to read fiction in Yiddish. Group members select the readings which are usually short stories or novellas. Discussion is in English. Anyone who has taken an intermediate or advanced Yiddish class at the Workers’ Circle or has similar proficiency should be able to manage well in the group.
If you would like more information about the group, including the Zoom link, email yiddishreadinggroup@circleboston.org

Yiddish Vinkl
2025-06-12 19:00 - 20:30, 2025-04-10 19:00 - 20:30, 2025-03-13 19:00 - 20:30, 2025-02-13 19:00 - 20:30, 2025-01-09 19:00 - 20:30, 2024-12-12 19:00 - 20:30, 2024-11-14 19:00 - 20:30 | Hybrid: Zoom & Somerville Address (receive after registration)
Somerville Vinkl will be hybrid, with a Zoom or an in-person option in Somerville. This is an opportunity for you to sharpen your Yiddish skills in a comfortable and informal setting, whatever your level of Yiddish. All are welcome.
Somerville Vinkl is the second Thursday of every month, from 7:00-8:30 PM. For questions contact yiddish@circleboston.org. Register below to receive the address for the in-person gathering and the Zoom link.
Register Here.

New Member Happy Hour! @ The Behan
2025-06-12 18:00 - 21:00 | Brendan Behan Pub, 378 Centre St, Jamaica Plain, MA, United States
A space for new (or potential!) members of BWC to meet other members of the community! Come grab a beer or a N/A Bev and learn about what makes BWC so special.
Registration is required. RSVP here!

CANCELED: Taste of Yiddish: Yiddish Language Through Song with Jonah Sidman
2025-06-11 19:30 - 21:00, 2025-06-04 19:30 - 21:00, 2025-05-28 19:30 - 21:00, 2025-05-14 19:30 - 21:00, 2025-05-07 19:30 - 21:00 | BWC Building
Classes will take place from 7:30-9:00pm at the BWC Building in Brookline on the following Wednesdays: May 7, May 14, (skip May 21), May 28, June 4, and June 11.
Register here!
Whether you already know some Yiddish or not, this is a chance to immerse yourself in Yiddish language, music, culture, and history. Each class will focus on songs around a particular theme, including leftism and labor, springtime and nature, and more. Students will learn 2-3 songs per class by ear and with written lyrics in English transliteration, sing together, discuss historical and cultural context, and listen to traditional and new artists’ interpretations. We will focus on the pronunciation and language of the songs, with occasional extensions into basic Yiddish vocabulary and grammar. English transliteration and translation will be provided for each song.
Bonus! Boston Workers Circle’s monthly Yiddish Sing complements this course, offering the public an informal and free setting for singing Yiddish songs together once a month, currently hybrid. See circleboston.org/yiddish-community-informal-learning/#sing for more information.

Immigrant Justice Committee Meeting
2025-06-11 17:30 - 18:00, 2025-05-14 17:30 - 18:00, 2025-04-09 17:30 - 18:00, 2025-03-12 17:30 - 18:00 | Zoom
Get Involved To get involved or for more information, join the Immigrant Justice Committee on the second Wednesday of the month on Zoom at 5:30 PM.

Email ijc@circleboston.org to receive the Zoom link for the meeting.

Israel/Palestine Committee: Grief and Healing Session
2025-06-10 19:00 - 20:30 | BWC Building
Join the Israel/Palestine Committee in-person at the BWC Building in Brookline on June 10, 2025 from 7:00-8:30pm.
Sammie M. will facilitate a session on overcoming grief with hope based on the work of Rabbi Miriam Grossman.
Registration is required. RSVP here.
IPC meetings are for conducting IPC business, discussing BWC-wide (Exec-endorsed) campaigns, sharing news of the subcommittees, and holding community-wide conversations. Contact ipc@circleboston.org for more info.

BWC Sunday School (Shule) Open House
2025-06-08 10:30 - 12:00 | Lexington Playground, Somerville
We are excited to welcome prospective families to come and see what our vibrant secular, culturally Jewish and Social Justice focused community is about.
You are invited to come to our Shule (Yiddish for Secular Sunday School) Open House for families with children ages 2 -12 years old to come learn about our project based, secular Jewish Cultural Sunday School. We’ll gather together informally with current families, BWC members, and the Education Director. We’ll take some time to share stories about how people found their way to the community, offer curricular highlights and answer questions. There will also be a chance for kids to eat and get a taste of Shule activities.
Please RSVP HERE so we can be sure to welcome your family and plan for supplies.

Di Nest: Yiddish Arts Incubator
2025-06-05 19:30 - 21:00, 2025-03-06 19:30 - 21:00 | Zoom
Do you want to start writing in Yiddish but have questions about creating in a language you are still learning? Have you been making art in Yiddish for a while and want feedback on your latest project? Do you want to be part of the first audience for new Yiddish art and support artists with your feedback? Then join us at Di Nest!
Di Nest is an arts incubator for Yiddish creativity. Join us to share your own projects and/or to help workshop community members’ works in progress. Projects in any medium that are in, or prominently feature, Yiddish are welcome–including original works and translations into Yiddish. Di Nest is open to Yiddish speakers and students of all levels. Whether you’re just starting to create in Yiddish or have been doing so for years, you’re welcome to attend!
Each session will include time to workshop material from several participants. If you have material you would like to workshop, please email Lilye at yiddish@circleboston.org before the meeting. Attendees are invited to bring a project to share—but we also welcome attendees who join us to listen, learn, and offer feedback. Sharing a Yiddish work-in-progress can be daunting, so we will ask all attendees to briefly unmute and introduce themselves.
This program is a collaboration between Boston Workers Circle, Rad Yiddish, and Queer Yiddish Camp.
Register here to get the Zoom link.

IPC Study Group
2025-06-04 18:00 - 19:30, 2025-05-07 18:00 - 19:30, 2025-04-02 18:00 - 19:30, 2025-03-05 18:00 - 19:30, 2025-02-05 18:00 - 19:30, 2024-12-04 18:00 - 19:30, 2024-11-06 18:00 - 19:30 | Zoom
The IPC Study Group is a subcommittee of the Israel/Palestine Committee (IPC) which meets on Zoom the first Wednesday of every month at 6pm to discuss books, films, articles, and/or webinars we’re reading and watching together, to deepen our understanding of the history and context of Israel/Palestine.
All are welcome to join us. You can find what we’re currently studying together here, as well as information on what we’ve previously read and watched. Learn more about us here. The IPC Study Group communicates between sessions via google email list. Contact ipc@circleboston.org to let us know you’re coming, for more information, or to join the email list and help us choose what we’re going to learn about together for future sessions!

Sefardi & Mizrahi Cultural Festival
2025-06-03 19:00 - 21:00 | BWC Building
Join Boston Workers Circle, Let My People Sing!, and Kavod Boston for a festival celebrating Sefardi and Mizrahi culture! The evening will feature performances from Lily Henley, Yoni Battat, and Anat Halevy Hochberg, and tabling from Sefardi and Mizrahi artisans. Light refreshments to be served. RSVP to secure your spot — space is limited!
Grant funding for this event provided by Brookline Community Foundation.
Register here: https://forms.gle/SjEd9gjSZPcQwGY49

Community Tikkun Leil Shavuot in Brookline
2025-06-01 20:00 - 2025-06-02 04:00 | 384 Harvard St.and 100 Centre St. Brookline
Chanel your inner night owl at the Community Tikkun Leil Shavuot in Brookline. Come for one hour, or stay up all-night. Learn from world-renowned educators and neighborhood favorites. For the Tikkun schedule and session descriptions, and to RSVP or volunteer, visit https://sites.google.com/view/shavuotbrookline/
Co-sponsored by: Brookline Havurah Minyan, Center Communities of Brookline, Congregation Kehillath Israel, Congregation Mishkan Tefila, , Hebrew Senior Life, Jewish Community Day School, Kavod Boston, Keshet, Minyan Shalem, Nehar Shalom Community Synagogue, Schechter Boston, Temple Beth Zion, Temple Emeth, Temple Sinai, Boston Workers Circle, Washington Square Minyan, (and more to come!)

Learning for Liberation 5785: Tikkun Leil Shavuot for Jewish Left
2025-06-01 17:00 - 2025-06-02 00:00 | 6 Eliot Street Jamaica Plain, Jamaica Plain, MA, United States
We are so excited to welcome you to Learning for Liberation 5785, the 2nd annual justice-centered Shavuot celebration of Greater Boston.
WHO: We are a group of community organizers, activists, rabbis, spiritual leaders, community members and collaborators. Some of us are affiliated with congregations; others with minyans or spiritual communities. Some of us work for Jewish or faith-based organizations; some of us organize or volunteer with Jewish and non-Jewish movements for justice and liberation.
WHAT: A tikkun leil—a Shavuot tradition of all-night study—which speaks to a desire for a Shavuot observance that meets the spiritual and political needs of the Jewish left. Our workshops will center Jewish leftist perspectives + teachings often left out of the Jewish mainstream; a commitment to liberation for Palestinians, Jews, and all peoples affected by systems of oppression; and an intersectional analysis speaking to rising threats of authoritarianism, fascism, and more. We commit to being a justice-oriented, connective, imperfect space, for those that seek to learn and grow in community.
Register and learn more about the event here.
This event is co-sponsored alongside Nehar Shalom and Kavod.

Farbreng:boston shpatsir in beymer-gortn
2025-06-01 11:00 - 13:00 | Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University, 125 Arborway, Jamaica Plain, MA, United States
לאָמיר גײן שפּאַצירן אין בײמער־גאָרטן! אַלע זײַנען פֿאַרבעטן צו קומען און זען די בײמער און בלומען — אַרײַנטריט צום בוימגאָרטן איז אומזיסט — און פֿאַרברענגען אויף ייִדיש. מיר װעלן מיטברענגען אַ באָטאַניש װערטערבוך אויף ייִדיש
די פּראָגראַם איז אַ צוזאַמען־אַרבעט פֿונעם באָסטאָנער אַרבעטער־רינג און פֿאַרברענג:באָסטאָן, אַ יוגנטרוף־פּראָיעקט װאָס שאַפֿט געלעגנהײטן צו רעדן און פֿאַרברענגען אויף ייִדיש פּנים־אל־פּנים אַ גאַנץ קײַלעכדיק יאָר
Lomir geyn shpatsirn in beymer-gortn! Ale zaynen farbetn tsu kumen un zen di beymer un blumen—arayntrit tsum boymgortn iz umzist—un farbrengen af yidish. Mir veln mitbrengen a botanish verterbukh af yidish.
Di program iz a tsuzamen-arbet funem bostoner arbeter-ring un farbreng:boston, a yugntruf-proyekt vos shaft gelegnhaytn tsu redn un farbrengen af yidish ponem-al-ponem a gants kaylekhdik yor
Farbreng:boston is a Yiddish-language immersion program where we gather together informally to speak in Yiddish. For most of our community members, if we want a Yiddish-speaking environment, we have to proactively create one—so that’s what we’re doing! Here are some guidelines for being part of a language-immersion activity.
Asking how to say something? Perfectly fine; we do this all the time. Tossing in a short English word or phrase—especially an idiom or quote—while keeping the conversation in Yiddish? Common among American Yiddish speakers and also perfectly fine. However, we ask participants to avoid telling anecdotes or otherwise speaking in English for an extended period of time. Conversing in English disrupts the Yiddish-language environment, and it takes away learning opportunities for students. Yiddish speakers and students at all levels are welcome at farbreng. It’s normal to feel nervous about your Yiddish, but we applaud and encourage all students and speakers to use Yiddish. If you have any questions about the program, please write to us at farbreng-boston@yugntruf.org
Register here.

Shule Community Potluck Picnic
2025-06-01 10:45 - 13:00 | Larz Anderson Park, Brookline, MA, United States
Shule and TASC Family + Circle Playtime Potluck PicnicProspective families invited and welcomed
Please bring:

a picnic blanket
a food contribution (see below)
games and musical instruments

Food Potluck Instructions:
Every year this picnic is a chance to meet families and get to chat with teachers informally in a beautiful public park. We are inviting families to bring a contribution that would serve 10-12 people.
See the list below which is organized by your eldest child’s last name.
If your child’s last name (oldest child if your children have different last names) begins with :
A-G Something to grill (veggie burgers, vegetables, corn), buns and condiments (ketchup, mustard, relish)
H-L Paper plates/ utensils/ cups / napkins
M- Sch Fruit/ Dessert / Drinks (juiceboxes/ seltzer)
Sh-W Salad/sides
Is this open to prospective families?:YES!! Please bring folks who might be interested in meeting the community in an informal way!
Prospective Families, please RSVP here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdBl0Zl3urRCKX4SFZrQCTj3P6ggWJ1EypSvjuEGgmKpMBGfA/viewform?usp=dialog
What else can we bring?Larz Anderson has fields and a playground. Feel free to bring frisbees, soccer balls, field games and kites. Card games and musical instruments are also welcomed!
Volunteering:Do you have grilling skills and want to help out or love running kids games? Please reach out to Meira to get plugged in meira@circleboston.org

Circle Book Group
2025-06-01 10:30 - 12:00 | Zoom
This is an open group that welcomes all readers interested in expanding their understanding of the wide variety of Jewish experiences throughout history and across the world.
June’s book selection is A Book Forged in Hell: Spinoza’s Scandalous Treatise and the Birth of the Secular Age by Steven Nadler.
The Book Group page lists titles discussed previously. Scroll down to see the list at this link.
To be added to the Book Group listserv or if you have questions or want to attend via Zoom, email BookGroup@circleboston.org.

B'nai Mitzvah of Zayen class of 2025/5785
2025-05-31 10:00 - 16:00

TASC Session 15: Kayaking and Speaking at Zayen Graduation
2025-05-31 | Newton
Teens Acting for Social Change (TASC) is back! Through our year-long TASC program, teens ages 13-18 will build community with each other, grow as social justice organizers and activists, engage in the broader Boston social justice community, and deepen their understanding of the connections between being Jewish and acting for social change.
This year TASC will meet for 16 sessions between September-May on Sundays in conjunction with Shule. Final calendar to follow!
Teens Acting for Social Change (TASC) is a group of teens making a difference in our world. TASCers build community, learn about social justice issues, and take action.
Teens run the group with the assistance of an adult coordinator. TASC meets on Sunday mornings during the school year at various Boston locations.
TASC is open to Shule graduates and all interested teens in grades 8-12. Contact the coordinator with any questions: elias@circleboston.org.
REGISTER HERE

Jewish Muslim Solidarity Committee Meeting
2025-05-28 19:00 - 20:30, 2025-04-30 19:00 - 20:30, 2025-03-26 19:00 - 20:30, 2025-02-26 19:00 - 20:30, 2025-01-29 19:00 - 20:30, 2024-12-25 19:00 - 20:30, 2024-11-27 19:00 - 20:30, 2024-10-30 19:00 - 20:30 | Zoom
The Jewish Muslim Solidarity Committee (JMS) works to build and strengthen constructive, mutually supportive relations between Jews and Muslims in Greater Boston. It is especially focused on Muslims’ and Jews’ mutual interest in continuing to learn about and engage with one another, including on difficult issues, all the while recognizing our common interest in opposing all manifestations of Islamophobia and antisemitism, by standing together in the face of any form of ethnic harassment. The JMSC engages in political action, community education, and cooperative efforts with Boston area Muslims and Jews to foster its goal of deepening Jewish-Muslim understanding and solidarity. Our work is based on our belief that human rights are universal and human communities and individuals share the same rights and responsibilities toward one another. To find out more about the meeting and get the zoom link, please email jms@circleboston.org

Yiddish Sing
2025-05-22 19:00 - 20:30, 2025-04-24 19:00 - 20:30, 2025-03-27 19:00 - 20:30, 2025-01-23 19:00 - 20:30, 2024-12-19 19:00 - 20:30, 2024-11-21 19:00 - 20:30, 2024-10-24 19:00 - 20:30 | Hybrid: BWC Building & Zoom
Drop in for this free informal monthly gathering to sing Yiddish songs! All are welcome, regardless of singing ability or knowledge of Yiddish.
Attendees are welcome to attend in person or online. We will sing from the Yosl and Chana Mlotek collection of Yiddish songs. These songbooks will be available in person and are also available online at https://yiddishsongs.org. Online participants can request songs and listen and sing along with their mics muted.
REGISTRATION REQUIRED. Please register here before the event.

Families B'nai Mitzvah Dress Rehearsal
2025-05-21 19:00 - 21:00 | BWC Building
Zayen students meet with Meira, Allie and Jonah for a dress rehearsal of the B’nai Mitzvah. Students need to bring their personal statements to the event.
Zayen parents will also meet during this time, to iron out last minute details for the B’nai Mitzvah and also practice the choreography for the ceremony.
Parents and families are invited to come early and eat together as an optional piece of this. It is BYOD (bring your own dinner) and there are many eateries to get take out from nearby.

Mutual Aid Team Meeting
2025-05-19 18:30 - 20:00 | BWC Building & Zoom
Join BWC’s Mutual Aid Team as we gather to build new systems to support our fellow members in the areas of telephone outreach, meals, skill sharing, and bereavement support.
Register here to receive meeting information.
The Mutual Aid Team meets every 3rd Monday of the month, with sub-teams meeting as needed.

Aging in Community: AIC Get-Together
2025-05-18 10:30 - 12:30
For more information about Aging in Community (AIC) contact co-chairs Dianne Perlmutter and Marsha Lazar via AIC@circleboston.org.

TASC Session 14
2025-05-18 10:30 - 12:30 | BWC Office – 6 Webster Street

Shule Session 22 / Final Session/ Hey Presentations / Daled potluck/ Final Session
2025-05-18 10:30 - 12:30

IPC Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream Social
2025-05-13 19:00 - 21:00 | BWC Building & Zoom
The Anti-anti-Boycott subcommittee hosts a speaker or panel about suppression of Israel-critical speech and serves Ben and Jerry’s Ice cream. Ben & Jerry came under intense attack for halting distribution in the OPT.

This year our focus is the suppression of anti-genocide and pro-Palestinian speech and thought-crimes at our universities. We have invited representatives of Harvard, MIT and Brandeis to a panel discussion followed by delicious ice cream.

Registration required to pick your favorite flavors or get the zoom link: Register here.

Anti-Zionist Path to Embodied Jewish Healing
2025-05-11 17:00 - 19:00 | BWC Building
This workshop will be lead by Wes Somerson (they/them) – JVP Seattle, Ruach (founder)
Questions explored in this workshop include;

How do oppressive systems that exist outside of us also exist in our own bodies?
How can we resource ourselves as we work for Palestinian liberation & a Judaism beyond Zionism?
How can we connect with our somatic sensations to better understand our aliveness & its relationship to collective power?
How can we strengthen our movement to build effective solidarity & purposeful power?

Register here: bit.ly/Wes5-11

Yiddish Language Class: Beginner Semester 2 Virtual
2025-05-11 16:30 - 18:00, 2025-05-04 16:30 - 18:00, 2025-04-27 16:30 - 18:00, 2025-04-06 16:30 - 18:00, 2025-03-30 16:30 - 18:00, 2025-03-23 16:30 - 18:00, 2025-03-16 16:30 - 18:00, 2025-03-09 16:30 - 18:00 and 2 more dates | Zoom
Instructor: Sasha Berenstein
Level: For students continuing from BWC’s Fall Beginner class, or those with a few basics who want a structured start to learning anew in an in-person class. Also recommended for Duolingo learners looking for a structured approach to grammar, conversation, and culture. Students should already know the Hebrew/Yiddish alphabet, or be willing to learn on their own.
Materials: In eynem: The New Yiddish Textbook, Vol. I. Starting on Chapter 5. Students can purchase this textbook through The Yiddish Book Center (print or digital/PDF is fine), and have it accessible for use during class sessions.
Course Description: Let’s continue to learn Yiddish — lomir vayter geyn mit lernen zikh yidish! This course continues to work through the fundamentals of Yiddish conversation, reading, and grammar through highly-interactive games, songs, activities, and short texts.

Canceled: Yiddish Vinkl
2025-05-08 19:00 - 20:30 | Hybrid: Zoom & Somerville Address (receive after registration)

Yiddish Language Class: Advanced Virtual
2025-05-07 20:00 - 21:30, 2025-04-30 20:00 - 21:30, 2025-04-23 20:00 - 21:30, 2025-04-09 20:00 - 21:30, 2025-04-02 20:00 - 21:30, 2025-03-26 20:00 - 21:30, 2025-03-19 20:00 - 21:30, 2025-03-12 20:00 - 21:30 and 2 more dates | Zoom
Instructor: Hinde Ena Burstin
Level: The class is suited to advanced readers and speakers of Yiddish, including students in previous BWC advanced classes and intermediates ready to make the leap to a new level. We will read and discuss a selection of Fradl Shtok’s writing in Yiddish, in a supportive environment that encourages each person to speak Yiddish freely and fearlessly to the best of their ability. Students who want to listen rather than read are welcome to join the class.
Wondering whether this class is right for you? If you’d like to be in a warm, nurturing class that’s conducted in Yiddish, and that will extend your Yiddish language proficiency and your understanding of Yiddish literature, we encourage you to give it a try! RSVP for a trial class here.
Materials: We will study a selection of short stories, poems and critical writing by Fradl Shtok. The stories will be drawn from Shtok’s 1919 collection, Gezamlte ertseylungen, which can be downloaded for free from the Yiddish Book Centre here. Copies of poems, critical writings, and other course materials will be provided.
Course Description: Fradl Shtok (1890-1990) is an enigmatic and captivating writer of passionate poems, finely observed short stories, and illuminating literary essays. Her short stories capture the nuances of shtetl and immigrant life, peeling away the layers with sharp, ironic perceptions. Her pioneering sonnets and other poems are crafted with skill, precision and attention to aesthetics that juxtaposes powerfully with the unrestrained desire that many of her poems embody. Studying Shtok’s texts in Yiddish enables the reader to savour the sensuous sounds, skillful wordplay and musicality that are central to her writing.

Yiddish Language Class: Beginner Semester 2 In-Person
2025-05-06 19:30 - 21:00, 2025-04-29 19:30 - 21:00, 2025-04-22 19:30 - 21:00, 2025-04-08 19:30 - 21:00, 2025-04-01 19:30 - 21:00, 2025-03-25 19:30 - 21:00, 2025-03-18 19:30 - 21:00, 2025-03-11 19:30 - 21:00 and 2 more dates | Boston Workers Circle, Brookline, MA, United States
Instructor: Sarah Biskowitz
Level: For students continuing from BWC’s Fall Beginner class, or those with a few basics who want a structured start to learning a new in an in-person class. Also recommended for Duolingo learners looking for a structured approach to grammar, conversation, and culture. Students should already know the Hebrew/Yiddish alphabet, or be willing to learn on their own.
Materials: In eynem: The New Yiddish Textbook, Vol. I. Starting on chapter 4. Students can purchase this textbook through The Yiddish Book Center (print or digital/PDF is fine), and have it accessible for use during class sessions.
Course Description: Let’s continue to learn Yiddish — lomir vayter geyn mit lernen zikh yidish! This course continues to work through the fundamentals of Yiddish conversation, reading, and grammar through highly-interactive games, songs, activities, and short texts.

Yiddish Language Class: Advanced Beginner Virtual
2025-05-06 19:00 - 20:30, 2025-04-29 19:00 - 20:30, 2025-04-22 19:00 - 20:30, 2025-04-08 19:00 - 20:30, 2025-04-01 19:00 - 20:30, 2025-03-25 19:00 - 20:30, 2025-03-18 19:00 - 20:30, 2025-03-11 19:00 - 20:30 and 2 more dates | Zoom
Instructor: Sasha Berenstein
Level: For students continuing from BWC’s Fall Advanced Beginner course, or for those who have been studying Yiddish for one year. Also open to those who already know the Yiddish alef-beys, some basic grammar & vocabulary, and who feel the class description fits their level, including those who have used Duolingo and feel ready to dive into more conversation and culture.
Materials: In eynem: The New Yiddish Textbook, Vol. I & II. Starting on chapter 11. Students can purchase this textbook through The Yiddish Book Center (print or digital/PDF is fine), and have it accessible for use during class sessions.
Course Description: Do you know about der, di, dos, and dem, but shudder when you hear the words “dative” and “accusative”? Do you want to host a potluck aand be able to schmooze & nosh with your khaveyrim af yidish? Would you like to study Yiddish every week with an enthusiastic teacher who showers you with positive feedback no matter how many mistakes you make? This advanced beginner Yiddish class might just be right for you.

Yiddish Language Class: Intermediate Yiddish Virtual
2025-05-06 19:00 - 20:30, 2025-04-29 19:00 - 20:30, 2025-04-22 19:00 - 20:30, 2025-04-08 19:00 - 20:30, 2025-04-01 19:00 - 20:30, 2025-03-25 19:00 - 20:30, 2025-03-18 19:00 - 20:30, 2025-03-11 19:00 - 20:30 and 5 more dates | Zoom
Instructor: Abby Howell
Level: This class is appropriate for students who can read and understand Yiddish sentences with the help of a dictionary. BWC students who have completed BWC’s Advanced Beginner semesters 1&2, those who want to continue in Intermediate, and newcomers at this level are all welcome to join.
Materials: The Complete Works of Sholem Aleichem. Students can find this text online for free here.
Course Description: Build confidence in your Yiddish – reading, speaking, listening, and writing, in a supportive and welcoming classroom of intermediate Yiddish students, as we continue to delve into the treasure trove of short stories by Sholem Aleichem, one of the most celebrated authors in all of Yiddish literature. In this class, you will find abundant opportunities to stretch and grow your Yiddish. We’ll read slowly, translate continuously, and look up every unfamiliar word as we delight in the hilarious and heart-wrenching adventures of Menachem-Mendl, Sheyne-Sheyndl, Tevye der Milkhiker, and other beloved characters from the canon of Sholem Aleichem. We’ll read different stories than in the Fall semester, so continuing students and new students alike can enjoy the class.

Zayen Parent Meeting
2025-05-04 10:45 - 12:15, 2025-04-27 10:45 - 12:15, 2025-04-06 10:45 - 12:15, 2025-03-02 10:45 - 12:15, 2025-02-02 10:45 - 12:15, 2025-01-26 10:45 - 12:15, 2025-01-12 10:45 - 12:15, 2024-12-08 10:45 - 12:15 and 1 more date
The Zayen Class families meet to plan the B’nai Mitzvah.

Circle Playtime
2025-05-04 10:45 - 12:15, 2025-04-27 10:45 - 12:15, 2025-01-12 10:45 - 12:15, 2024-11-17 10:45 - 12:15
Circle Playtime is a free playgroup for families with children ages 2-5 years old. Each session includes fun, age-appropriate activities filled with music-making and storytelling related to a Jewish or social justice holiday. It is followed by open play at the nearby playground in Brookline, MA.

Vov B'nai Mitzvah Meeting
2025-05-04 10:45 - 11:45
Vov families meet to discuss and prepare for the B’nai mitzvah process for next year. All Vov parents are expected to attend.

TASC Session 13
2025-05-04 10:30 - 12:30 | BWC Office – 6 Webster Street

Shule Session 21
2025-05-04 10:30 - 12:30

Circle Book Group
2025-05-04 10:30 - 12:00 | BWC Building & Zoom
This is an open group that welcomes all readers interested in expanding their understanding of the wide variety of Jewish experiences throughout history and across the world.
May’s book selection is Goyhood, a novel by Reuven Fenton. The Book Group page lists titles discussed previously. Scroll down to see the list at this link.
To be added to the Book Group listserv or if you have questions or want to attend via Zoom, email BookGroup@circleboston.org.

Yiddish May Day Shabes
2025-05-02 18:00 - 20:00
Celebrate the May Day workers’ holiday with a special Shabes program conducted in Yiddish. Non-Yiddish speakers are welcome! Written English translations and transliterations will be provided for the readings and the songs.
This event is pay-what-you-can (suggested donation of $5 to $10+). Registration is required.
All registrants (in person and online) will be invited to actively participate, with the option to read aloud from the program. The written program will be provided closer to the date to those who register. Shmoozing will begin at 6pm; the program will begin at 6:15.
The Shabes ceremony will be followed by an optional potluck dinner (and more singing) for those attending in person. If you attend the potluck, please bring food to share (your choice of a main, side, salad, or dessert dish).
If you are attending online, here is a list of ritual items that we invite you to have during the ceremony:

candles
wine or juice
challah

Register here. Questions? Contact yiddish@circleboston.org

Health for Palestine: Hope & Struggle in the West Bank
2025-04-27 19:00 - 20:30 | BWC Building & Zoom
Register here.
Come join us (in person or by zoom) to hear from Nidal Al Azraq, executive director of 1for3.org, about events on the ground in the West Bank, including the unprecedented levels of violence and mass displacement there. Recently back from a trip to Palestine, he will report on the unfolding conditions and be joined by Dr. Karameh Hawash Kuemmerle, co-founder of Doctors Against Genocide, to talk about 1for3’s “Health for Palestine” (or “H4P”) campaign. Designed to help communities withstand the impacts and challenges of this moment, the Health for Palestine /H4P campaign seeks to provide a holistic, community-based model of healthcare through the training of new healthcare workers who have themselves been displaced.
Funds raised at the event will support 1for3’s Health for Palestine/H4P campaign.
This event is presented by two BWC social justice committees: the Jewish Muslim Solidarity Committee and the Palestine Solidarity Subcommittee of the IPC. Contact solidarityrocks2025@gmail.com with any questions.
Registration is required: Register here.
Important Covid-19 Guidelines: In order to reduce the spread of Covid-19, face masks are strongly encouraged, but not required. High filtration masks will be available at the door. If you have symptoms or are feeling unwell, please stay home.
Speaker BiosNidal Al Azraq is the executive director of 1for3, founded in 2013. He grew up in the UN-run Aida refugee camp located in Bethlehem.
Karameh Hawash Kuemmerle, MD is the co-founder of Doctors Against Genocide. An assistant professor at Harvard Medical School and a pediatric neurologist at Boston Children’s Hospital, she specializes in traumatic brain injury and epilepsy. Much of her work takes place in the Boston Children’s Hospital’s multidisciplinary Brain Injury Center.
Register here.

Baby + Parent Play Circle
2025-04-27 10:45 - 12:15 | BWC Building – Skylight Room
Join current Board president and experienced postpartum doula, Rachel Hess, for a facilitated parent and baby play group with other BWC members and their babies. For parents of babies 0-12 months old, we will spend time connecting, commiserating, and supporting each other through this challenging and spectacular phase of life.
Register here.

Shule Session 20
2025-04-27 10:30 - 12:30

Yiddish Trash with Prof. Saul Zaritt
2025-04-26 16:00 - 17:30 | BWC Building
Yiddish writers have produced all kinds of modern literature, from high modernist poetry to epic novels. Less attention has been paid to more popular literary forms—the romance novels, detective fiction, and adventure tales that made up the daily reading of Yiddish speakers in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. This event will discuss how writers and editors transformed globally-circulated genres for Jewish reading publics and then reflect on how rereading such texts today might change our understanding of modern Jewish culture.
About the speaker: Saul Noam Zaritt is an associate professor of Yiddish Literature at Harvard University. He studies modern Jewish writing and the politics of translation, examining how writers cross and inhabit boundaries between cultures. His most recent book, A Taytsh Manifesto: Yiddish, Translation, and the Making of Modern Jewish Culture, came out in October 2024 with Fordham University Press.
Copies of A Taytsh Manifesto will be available for purchase and signing.

Stitch and Resist
2025-04-26 11:00 - 13:00 | BWC Building
Attention, fellow crafters and resistors: BWC Mutual Aid is hosting an event for you! Join us on Saturday, April 26th, at the BWC building from 11 am-1 pm for crafting, community building and skill sharing!
All are welcome: bring your fiber craft projects, share some crafting materials if you have extra, and get to know our community better.
Bring your projects already in process! We will also have some supplies (extra yarn and some crochet and knitting needles donated by BWC members) if you want to start something new. This event is for every skill level!! There won’t be formal lessons in fiber arts, but we can happily problem-solve together.
This event is a drop-in. Come when it feels right, and leave when it feels right!
And feel free to reach out to mutualaid@circleboston.org with any questions.
Register here.

Learning From Elders: Surviving Repression+Fighting Back
2025-04-25 18:00 - 20:30 | BWC Building
It’s a frightening moment in the U.S. With an administration detaining and deporting legal residents with no charges, ignoring judges’ orders, and firing thousands of vital government workers with no just cause, it appears no democratic norms are safe. It can be hard not to lean into fear, isolation and despair, but we know that there are members of our community who lived through–and fought back–during McCarthyism, the Vietnam War, and other periods of intense government repression. Join BWC’s membership committee for a Shabes to learn from their wisdom, and build community together!
Where: Boston Worker’s Circle, 6 Webster St BrooklineWhen: Friday April 25, 6-8:30pmWho: You! This event is open to BWC members and non-members interested in exploring our communityWhat: Shabes ritual, potluck, stories from some elders in our community, and the chance to build community with other BWC membersAccess Info: Our building is wheelchair accessible and has all gender restrooms. We are accessible via the Green Line. There is metered street parking.
Register here to attend.

Palestine Solidarity Report Back
2025-04-21 19:00 - 20:30 | First Baptist Church, 633 Centre St, Jamaica Plain, MA, United States
Please join JVPBoston and Boston Worker’s Circle as we welcome 3 anti-zionist Asian-American Jewish organizers for a report on Palestinian solidarity movements in Hawai’i and Japan.
Register here: http://bit.ly/psr421

BWC Immigrant Justice Committee Potluck
2025-04-20 16:00 - 18:30 | BWC Building in Brookline
The BWC Immigation Justice committee is having a potluck to celebrate our work together and get to know each other. Please Email ijc@circleboston.org and let us know if you plan to attend. We will respond by sending a sign-up sheet with kinds of food to bring.

Aging in Community: How We Want to Die
2025-04-20 10:30 - 12:15
We will have a speaker from Compassion and Choices, an organization that “embraces expanded options for compassionate dying”. Following the presentation, we will break into small groups to consider what we’ve heard, and to reflect on the ways we ourselves are considering these critical issues.
For more information about Aging in Community (AIC) contact co-chairs Dianne Perlmutter and Marsha Lazar via AIC@circleboston.org.

Yiddish Committee Social
2025-04-17 19:30 - 20:30 | Zoom and Somerville
Join fellow Yiddish speakers, students, and enthusiasts to socialize and brainstorm Yiddish programming. We’ll meet at Mike and Linda’s in Somerville for snacks, chatting, and idea sharing. Yiddish speakers and students of all levels are invited, and new participants are always welcome. RSVP to yiddish@circleboston.org for the Somerville address and/or the Zoom link.

Mutual Aid Team General Meeting
2025-04-14 18:30 - 19:45 | Zoom
Please join us on Zoom for a Mutual Aid General Meeting. This will be our first meeting since we’ve divided into task-oriented sub-groups: Bereavement, Meals, Telephone Check-Ins, and SkillShare.
We will spend most of this meeting hearing share-backs from each sub-group, continuing community building, and looking towards our future efforts!
All are welcome whether you’ve attended in the past or not; we look forward to virtually seeing you there!
Please reach out to mutualaid@circleboston.org with any questions!
RSVP here.

Current Realities and Prospects for Palestine-Israel
2025-04-08 19:30 - 21:00 | The First Parish in Cambridge, 1446 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA, United States
Current Realities and Prospects for Palestine-Israel
Featuring
Palestinian Human Rights Activist ISSA AMRO in discussion with PETER BEINART
Tuesday, April 8, 2025, 7:30 PM
First Church in Cambridge- Unitarian Universalist, Harvard Square
Issa Amro is a human rights defender based in Hebron city, West Bank. He is the co-founder of the direct action group Youth Against Settlements and the executive director of Working for Peace and Justice: Friends of Hebron. Amro is popularly referred to as the ‘Palestinian Gandhi’ and has received widespread international recognition for his work encouraging peaceful resistance against Israeli occupation for which he has been imprisoned scores of times.
Peter Beinart is professor of journalism and political science at the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at the City University of New York, editor at large of Jewish Currents and a contributing opinion writer at The New York Times. A nonresident fellow at the Foundation for Middle East Peace, Beinart is the author of the recently-published book Being Jewish After the Destruction of Gaza: A Reckoning.

CANCELED: Israel/Palestine Committee Meeting
2025-04-08 19:00 - 20:30
IPC meetings are for conducting IPC business, discussing BWC-wide (Exec-endorsed) campaigns, sharing news of the subcommittees, and holding community-wide conversations. Contact ipc@circleboston.org for more info, including the Zoom link for the meeting.

Honik af der tsung : Beginners' Yiddish Language Class
2025-04-07 19:30 - 20:45, 2025-03-31 19:30 - 20:45, 2025-03-24 19:30 - 20:45, 2025-03-17 19:30 - 20:45, 2025-03-10 19:30 - 20:45 | 425 Washington St, Somerville, MA, United States
When children of the shtetl began their study of Jewish text, the teacher would put honey on the page to show them the sweetness of Jewish learning. Likewise, this class will explore the fun and vibrancy of Yiddish language and culture. It will introduce students to the fundamentals of Yiddish conversation, reading, and grammar through highly-interactive games, songs, activities, and short texts.
Join BWC Yiddish teacher, Sarah Biskowitz, for an In-Person Beginners Class through our partners at Lehrhaus. Participants are expected to be completely new to Yiddish but already able to recognize and know the sounds of Hebrew letters. If you do not have basic knowledge of the Hebrew alef-bet, please learn the Yiddish alef-beys here before the class. We will be using materials from In eynem: The New Yiddish Textbook. You will not be required to purchase the textbook, but it may be helpful to purchase the PDF.
Participants are expected to attend all 6 sessions. Dates: Mondays 7:30-8:45 PM on 3/3, 3/10, 3/17, 3/24, 3/31, and 4/7.
Learn more and register here.

TASC Session 12 - Cape Verdean Seder
2025-04-06 14:30 - 16:30 | BWC Office – 6 Webster Street

Shule Session 19 / Zayen Presentations
2025-04-06 10:30 - 12:30

Circle Book Group
2025-04-06 10:30 - 11:30 | BWC Building & Zoom
This is an open group that welcomes all readers interested in expanding their understanding of the wide variety of Jewish experiences throughout history and across the world.
April’s book discussion of Goyhood, a novel by Reuven Fenton, has been postponed to May 4th. The group will still meet April 6th on Zoom from 1-:30-11:30 to discuss the book selection process.
The Book Group page lists titles discussed previously. Scroll down to see the list at this link.
To be added to the Book Group listserv or if you have questions or want to attend via Zoom, email BookGroup@circleboston.org.

BWC Passover Seder
2025-04-05 16:30 - 20:30 | Hellenic Center, Watertown
Registration is now open! Register here.
Additional details are available on our website here: https://circleboston.org/holidays/#passover

Membership Committee Meeting
2025-04-02 17:00 - 18:00

Annie Sommer Kaufman presents "Your Comrade, Avreml Broide"
2025-03-31 19:00 - 20:00 | BWC Building
Annie Sommer Kaufman discusses her new English-language translation of the Yiddish novel Your Comrade, Avreml Broide, A Worker’s Life Story, in converation with Khave Morales.
Written in 1944 by Ben Gold, the president of the Furriers Union, this working-class, coming-of-age novel traces the family origin, immigration, and radicalization of an everyman named Avreml Broide. Mirroring Gold’s own life, Avreml’s story begins entangled in a complex intergenerational social and criminal community in Bessarabia just after the turn of the twentieth century. Personal dramas drive a young Avreml to New York City in his young adult years, where he finds a job in the fur industry and devotes himself entirely to his union, party, and the fight against fascism, often to the detriment of his personal life and relationships. Through strikes, dissidence, and finally on the front lines of the Spanish Civil War, Avreml’s journey presents the fascinating ambiguity of subsuming the self in service to party discipline.
With bold and stimulating illustrations by William Gropper, Annie Sommer Kaufman’s translation brings Gold’s emotionally rich narrative forward to reveal some of the most dramatic conflicts in America’s suppressed Communist history. This novel offers a powerful counternarrative to histories and narratives of Jewish immigration that emphasize materialist American dreams and upward class mobility. Your Comrade, Avreml Broide offers an enticing mix of fact and fiction to demonstrate the personal risks, revolutionary dreams, and heartaches of Yiddish-speaking American Communists.
Annie Sommer Kaufman is a Yiddish translator and teacher based in Chicago. She trained in History at the University of Wisconsin, Madison and was Yekhiel Shraybman’s last Yiddish student in Kishinev, Moldova. She served for five years as the coordinator for Yugntruf’s Yiddish immersion retreat Yiddish Vokh, and worked for a decade in the fashion industry as a pattern maker, including in New York City. She was a founding member of Red Emma’s Bookstore in Baltimore, and has been organizing with Jewish Voice for Peace in many capacities for a dozen years. She is a SVARA trained Talmud teacher and runs The Lace Midrash in Chicago.
Khave (Lina) Morales is a red diaper baby, yiddishist, communist, former JVP board member, long time Anti-Zionist and lover of communist and radical history.
Registration for this event is not required.
This translation was supported by a fellowship at the Yiddish Book Center in Amherst, Massachusetts (2020–21).

Farbreng:boston ekskursye in harvard kunstmuzey
2025-03-29 14:00 - 16:00 | Harvard Art Museums, 32 Quincy St, Cambridge, MA, United States
פֿאַרברענגען אויף ייִדיש
די פּראָגראַם איז אַ צוזאַמען־אַרבעט פֿונעם באָסטאָנער אַרבעטער־רינג און פֿאַרברענג:באָסטאָן, אַ יוגנטרוף־פּראָיעקט װאָס שאַפֿט געלעגנהײטן צו רעדן און פֿאַרברענגען אויף ייִדיש פּנים־אל־פּנים אַ גאַנץ קײַלעכדיק יאָר
Lomir geyn in muzey tsuzamen! Ale zaynen farbetn tsu kumen zen en di oysshtelungen—arayntrit tsum muzey iz umzist—un farbrengen af yidish.
Di program iz a tsuzamen-arbet funem bostoner arbeter-ring un farbreng:boston, a yugntruf-proyekt vos shaft gelegnhaytn tsu redn un farbrengen af yidish ponem-al-ponem a gants kaylekhdik yor
Farbreng:boston is a Yiddish-language immersion program where we gather together informally to speak in Yiddish. For most of our community members, if we want a Yiddish-speaking environment, we have to proactively create one—so that’s what we’re doing! Here are some guidelines for being part of a language-immersion activity.
Asking how to say something? Perfectly fine; we do this all the time. Tossing in a short English word or phrase—especially an idiom or quote—while keeping the conversation in Yiddish? Common among American Yiddish speakers and also perfectly fine. However, we ask participants to avoid telling anecdotes or otherwise speaking in English for an extended period of time. Conversing in English disrupts the Yiddish-language environment, and it takes away learning opportunities for students. Yiddish speakers and students at all levels are welcome at farbreng. It’s normal to feel nervous about your Yiddish, but we applaud and encourage all students and speakers to use Yiddish. If you have any questions about the program, please write to us at farbreng-boston@yugntruf.orgRegister here.

Trans/Nonbinary Convening
2025-03-28 18:00 - 20:00 | BWC Building
This event is a closed community space for trans and nonbinary members of Boston Workers Circle for community building, resource-sharing, and determining next steps for meeting our group’s needs. We will share a shabes ritual together, and pizza will be served.
Who is this space for?This space is for self-identified transgender and/or nonbinary Boston Workers Circle members. We want this space to be a welcoming place for all BWC members within the umbrella of gender expansive people, including elders who may not identify with the labels of transgender or nonbinary, but are impacted by anti-trans systems. Given the normalization of their exclusion from trans and nonbinary spaces generally, we want to explicitly welcome members who identify as trans women, transfeminine, or assigned male at birth (AMAB). This space centers trans, nonbinary, and similarly gender expansive people; in order to support trans and nonbinary youth, the space is open to cisgender parents who are attending with their trans and/or nonbinary child. As part of the gathering, we will have available separate support spaces for cisgender parents and trans/nonbinary members. This structure was developed to facilitate trans and nonbinary youth participation in the space, preserve trans/nonbinary-only affinity space so folks can share comfortably, and create support space for cisgender parents who are assisting their youth with navigating transphobic systems.
This space is not a general community space open to cisgender allies. We hope to be able to offer an open space in the future where we can organize together to support trans and nonbinary members.
Who is organizing this space?A group of trans and/or nonbinary BWC members and staff are working to create this gathering space. If you have any questions, please reach out to BWC Organizer Zohar Berman at zohar@circleboston.org or (617) 819-1620.
Register here.

Reclaiming Spaces as Reparative Action
2025-03-25 19:00 - 20:30 | Zoom
Join BWC’s Acting for Racial and Economic Justice (AFREJ) Committee and the Reparations Interfaith Coalition as we learn about actions local citizens can take in response to the UN’s and National African American Reparations Commission’s call to make repair by acknowledging historical harms done to African Americans and by memorializing their contributions.
Brookline activists Anne Greenwald and Deborah Brown, and Cambridge activist Paula Paris, will describe the actions they took with their communities to reclaim public spaces that had historically commemorated enslavers but now honor the memories of Florida Ruffin Ridley (Brookline) and Darby Vassall (Cambridge).
These stories that unearth hidden histories will inspire us as reparationists to truth-tell, advocate for, and succeed in reclaiming public spaces.
Register here.

Shule Session 18
2025-03-23 10:30 - 12:30

Providing Support: Small Group Discussions
2025-03-23 10:30 - 11:30 | Zoom
Email aic@circleboston.org with any questions and to get the Zoom link.

Singing Shabes!
2025-03-21 18:00 - 20:00 | BWC Building
Come join us for a rousing musical Shabes gathering. The event will include a brief Shabes ritual and a potluck dinner. Then we will sing songs of empowerment, resistance and love led by song leaders from the community. If you have songs you’d like to suggest that will be known to the community please feel free to send suggestions to Bob Follansbee at bobmoshe@gmail.com by March 10.
Register here to attend.

Community Safety Campaign Discussion & Workshop
2025-03-19 18:00 - 20:00 | BWC Building
Bringing “Safety through Solidarity” to Life in Jewish Communities & Beyond: Discussion & Workshop on Community Safety Campaign’s New Guide
Wednesday, March 19th ~ 6-8PM ~ Boston Workers Circle in Brookline, 6 Webster StreetREGISTER HERE
Co-Sponsored by Boston Workers Circle and Kavod Boston (if your organization would like to co-sponsor, please reach out!)
Community Safety Campaign (CSC) was launched by members of Kavod’s Community Safety Team in 2022 after several years of building practices, structures and resources for local Jewish communities in collaboration with non-Jewish partners. The purpose of CSC is to cultivate similar efforts nationally and to develop a long-term strategy to create transformative and material shifts in Jewish communities and beyond.
After 2+ years of a research process, Community Safety Campaign is excited to announce the upcoming release of a thorough guide that provides political analysis, strategic recommendations, and resources for Jewish communities and beyond to take action in bringing “Safety through Solidarity” to life, deeply rooted in Jewish and abolitionist values.
Join organizers of the CSC project in an active conversation, and we’ll also hear from local community safety and abolitionist organizers whose work is highlighted in the guide.
For questions, please reach out to nadav.david10@gmail.com—Logistics / Access Information:

All are welcome regardless of your connection to Judaism. While the guide’s primary audience is Jewish communities, the content is also very relevant to others as well.
BWC is a wheelchair accessible space
Masks are required to attend (when not eating), and will be provided at the welcome table
We will likely be serving veggie food (tbd)
Air filters will be turned on in the room
Please do not attend if you are feeling ill. If you have had direct exposure to any illnesses, please test
This event is designed as an in-person event, but if you’d like to attend virtually, please note that on the form so that we can prepare accordingly.

Jewish Community Canvass for the #FreeHer Campaign
2025-03-16 14:00 - 16:00 | leave from BWC building in Brookline
Join Jewish Community members and rabbis to learn about the Jewish imperative to decarcerate and talk to our neighbors about the #FreeHer legislative priorities, including the Prison Moratorium and Elder and Medical Parole. Co-sponsored by T’ruah, Boston Workers Circle, Nehar Shalom, and Kavod Boston.
Register at bit.ly/JewishCanvass

Young Adult Bagel Brunch
2025-03-16 11:00 - 13:00 | BWC Building
If you feel like you need a computer reset after a night of cyberpunk debauchery at Gragger, you don’t want to miss our Wind Down, Kick Back, Bagel Brunch. Join us at the Boston Worker’s Circle office on 3/16 from 11-1. As the weather warms up, this is a great opportunity to find community with other new and prospective young adult members! Learn about what BWC has to offer, enjoy a toasty bagel and schmear, play some games with a cohort of new potential friends.
RSVP here to join us.

TASC Session 10
2025-03-16 10:30 - 12:30

All Shule Purim Party
2025-03-16 10:30 - 12:30
Prospective Shule Families- Are you curious about a secular Jewish cultural education for your children? Join us at the Boston Workers Circle’s annual Purim party for a taste of our Sunday school experience. Enjoy a vibrant community gathering featuring an original shpiel (satirical theater), followed by a lively carnival—all led and performed by our students. At the shpiel watch as Queen Esther navigates the challenges of today’s political moment, then stick around to connect with other families while your children enjoy the carnival games.
Prospective families are invited to join starting at 11:00 for the community shpiel and carnival. Current Shule families should join at the normal start time for classes.
Sunday, 3/1610:30 am – 12:30 pm (for current Shule families)11:00 am – 12:30 pm (for new families)BrooklinePlease RSVP here for location details.
Our Jewish Cultural Sunday School engages children grades preK-7th grade in an exploration of Jewish identity rooted in Jewish cultural literacy and traditions of social justice. Through an educational experience based on both classroom learning and community building, the Sunday School (Shule in Yiddish) curriculum emphasizes Jewish history, culture and progressive ideals that shape our identity and values as a people.

Circle Playtime - Full School Community Purim Party
2025-03-16 10:30 - 12:30
**Please note that this week Circle Playtime will be meeting earlier than usual to allow for the kids to make it to the All Purim Shpiel and Carnival.**Circle Playtime is a free playgroup for families with children ages 2-5 years old. Each session includes fun, age-appropriate activities filled with music-making and storytelling related to a Jewish or social justice holiday. It is followed by open play at the nearby playground in Brookline, MA.

Circle Book Group
2025-03-09 10:30 - 12:00
This is an open group that welcomes all readers interested in expanding their understanding of the wide variety of Jewish experiences throughout history and across the world.
March’s book is The Necessity of Exile: Essays from a Distance by Shaul Magid.
The Book Group page lists titles discussed previously. Scroll down to see the list at this link.
To be added to the Book Group listserv or if you have questions or want to attend via Zoom, email BookGroup@circleboston.org.

Gragger
2025-03-08 20:00 - 23:59 | Cambridge Community Center, 5 Callender St, Cambridge, MA, United States
Androids, Gentlebots, and Humans: the Shtetl Metal Rebels hereby invite you to a queer, futuristic Purim spiel, complete with political intrigue, punk rock, and revolutionary imaginings. Transport yourself to Shushan Corp, where you’ll meet productivity-obsessed CEO Ash Veros, his new hot (and secret bot!!!) babe, Xster-3959876, badass droid ally Vashti, and mad scientist android Uncle Chai. Will these unconventional heroes be able to overcome the devious plotting of Haman, Shushan Corp’s new Artificial Intelligence creation, on behalf of oppressed androids everywhere? Find out on March 8th! The Purim of the future awaits!
Date: Saturday, March 8Time: 8:00pm-12:00amLocation: Cambridge Community Center (5 Callender St, Cambridge, MA)Tickets: $22-$54 | sliding scale, no one turned away for lack of funds | tickets priced $36+ include BWC Membership through May 2026Audience: 18+More Info: circleboston.org/gragger/
REGISTER HERE

Bearing Witness: The Poetic Voice of Mosab Abu Toha
2025-03-08 19:00 - 20:30 | 15 Marion St, Brookline, MA, United States
Sawa and The Brookline Peace Coalition invite you to join us at United Parish in Brookline for an evening filled with powerful poetry and storytelling. Mosab Abu Toha will captivate you with his moving words and unique perspective, while celebrating the indomitable women of Gaza on International Women’s Day. This in-person event promises to be a memorable experience that you won’t want to miss!
The event is co-sponsored by Palestine Children’s Relief Fund, The Islamic Center of Boston – Wayland, Congregation Dorshei Tzadek, and Boston Workers Circle.
Brookline Booksmith will be on site for book purchase. The Booksmith will also provide an opportunity for attendees to make donations to Mosab’s Edward Said Libraries in Gaza.
Mosab Abu Toha is a Palestinian poet, short story writer, and essayist from Gaza. Abu Toha is the author of Things You May Find Hidden in My Ear: Poems from Gaza (2022, City Lights), which won a 2022 Palestine Book Award. His most recent book, Forest of Noise, was published in October, 2024. Abu Toha is the founder of the Edward Said Library, from 2019 to 2020 he was a visiting poet and librarian-in-residence at Harvard University. He is a frequent contributor to The New Yorker.
REGISTER HERE

Fundraiser Film Screening & Discussion of "No Other Land"
2025-03-05 18:30 - 21:00 | Cambridge Community Center, 5 Callender St, Cambridge, MA, United States
Directed by a collective of Palestinian and Israeli activists, No Other Land chronicles the resistance of Masafer Yatta, a Palestinian community in the southern West Bank, that face continuing violence from Israeli settlers and soldiers. Filmed over the course of five years, No Other Land documents home, school, water well, and road demolitions and their protests by displaced residents. The film shows a bond of complicated friendship and hopeful partnership between Basel Adra and Yuval Abraham as they work to tell the story of Masafer Yatta’s residents. No Other Land is the winner of multiple awards including the Best Documentary Film at the 2024 Berlinale and is nominated for an Oscar for best documentary.
The film screening will be followed by a brief discussion with two Jewish activists who have spent the last few years organizing solidarity presence in Masafer Yatta.100% of funds raised will be contributed to a Solidarity Fund to support families living in Masafer Yatta. More info about the fundraiser can be found here.
Date: Wednesday, March 5Time: 6:30pmLocation: Cambridge Community Center (5 Callender St, Cambridge, MA)
Registration required: www.tinyurl.com/nootherlandboston
Cambridge Community Center is a wheelchair accessible space. Please email Ida at ida@kavodboston.org with any questions.
This event is co-sponsored by Kavod Boston, Boston Worker’s Circle and IfNotNow Boston.
Important COVID-19 Guidelines: In order to reduce the spread of COVID-19, face masks are strongly encouraged, but not required at the screening. High filtration masks will be available at the event as well. If you have symptoms or are feeling unwell, please stay home.

Honik af der tsung [Honey on the tongue]: Beginners' Yiddish Language Class
2025-03-03 19:30 - 20:45 | 425 Washington St, Somerville, MA, United States

Immigrant Justice Committee Meeting: Re-Energizing & New Members
2025-03-03 18:00 - 19:30 | Zoom
If you are interested in attending this meeting, please contact us at ijc@circleboston.org for the Zoom link.

Giml Set Design/Art Build @ BWC
2025-03-02 10:30 - 12:30 | skylight
meira

Shule Session 16
2025-03-02 10:30 - 12:30

2025 Conference on the Jewish Left
2025-02-28 08:15 - 20:00
BWC’s Executive Director, Rebecca Zimmerman Hornstein will be one of the featured speakers at BU’s 2025 Conference on the Jewish Left.
Founded in 2024, Boston University’s annual “Conference on the Jewish Left” gathers together scholars, students, and global partners of the Jewish left. At a time when foundational principles of justice and democracy are under attack, the conference provides an educational space to bridge the academic-community divide, and to explore the Jewish left’s values, institutions, and impact. The conference aims to tackle pressing public questions and to empower the next generation of leaders to make a real-world difference in the critical challenges facing humanity and the earth today.
Register to attend in-person or the livestream here.

Yiddish Sing
2025-02-27 19:00 - 20:30 | Hybrid: Somerville Location & Zoom
Drop in for this free informal monthly gathering to sing Yiddish songs! All are welcome, regardless of singing ability or knowledge of Yiddish.
Attendees are welcome to attend in person or online. We will sing from the Yosl and Chana Mlotek collection of Yiddish songs. These songbooks will be available in person and are also available online at https://yiddishsongs.org. Online participants can request songs and listen and sing along with their mics muted. Register below to receive the address for the in-person gathering (in Somerville) and the Zoom link.
REGISTRATION REQUIRED. Please register here before the event.

Shule Hey Class Protest
2025-02-23 14:00 - 15:30 | Massachusetts State House, 24 Beacon St, Chelsea, MA, United States
The Shule Hey Class will join Families for Justice as Healing as we fight for legislation that invests in communities and creates alternatives to building new prisons in the Commonwealth.
RSVP to let us know if you’re coming!

TASC Session 9
2025-02-23 10:30 - 12:30 | BWC Office – 6 Webster Street

Shule Session 15
2025-02-23 10:30 - 12:30

Mutual Aid Team General Meeting
2025-02-21 18:30 - 20:00 | BWC Building
BWC’s Mutual Aid team will be meeting on February 21 from 6:30-8:00 pm at BWC to continue shaping the future work of our team! Come through for continued relational team building, shared education around mutual aid, and identifying action items for our community. Didn’t make it to our past meetings? No problem, now is still a great time to get involved with the team as we’re shaping our vision of our team’s work.
Register to join us here. This meeting will also be a potluck Shabes. Please fill out this potluck form at your convenience.
As always, please reach out with questions or comments to Julie at mutualaid@circleboston.org and to Zohar at zohar@circleboston.org.

Aging in Community: Dependency & Caregiving
2025-02-16 10:30 - 12:30

Roadmap to a Beloved Community - Walking Tour & Redlining Workshop
2025-02-15 11:00 - 13:00 | The Way of the Cross Holy Church, 65 Ashton St, Boston, MA, United States
Join BWC’s AFREJ, Boston Urban Archive, and Afrimerican Academy as we explore the intertwined histories of Boston’s Jewish and African American communities through a guided tour and meaningful discussion on what led to this part of Boston being redlined, how it impacted the communities, and how it continues to impact the neighborhood and its development to this day. We will be joined by community leaders Lew Finfer, Marlon Solomon, and Ebony Gill.
This event is part of the Afrimerican Academy’s Boston Redline 87 Black History Month Event Series, which is centered around the theme of “Development Without Displacement.”
Register here.

Anti-Muslim Bias in Massachusetts Schools
2025-02-13 19:00 - 20:30 | Zoom
Join us on February 13th from 7:00 to 8:30 PM on Zoom for CAIR-MA Bullying Report 2025, “Silenced Voices: Examining Bullying and Islamophobia in Massachusetts Public Schools.” Hosted by the Boston Workers Circle Jewish Muslim Solidarity Committee in partnership with the Council on American-Islamic Relations, this event will spotlight the newly-released report detailing bullying and bias faced by Muslim students in Massachusetts schools. Gain insights into the challenges these students navigate and explore actionable ways to foster inclusion and allyship in our communities. Don’t miss this vital conversation!
Zoom registration required here.

Immigrant Justice Committee Meeting
2025-02-12 17:30 - 18:00, 2025-01-08 17:30 - 18:00, 2024-12-11 17:30 - 18:00, 2024-11-13 18:00 - 18:30 | Zoom
Get Involved To get involved or for more information, join the Immigrant Justice Committee on the second Wednesday of the month on Zoom at 6:00 PM.

Email ijc@circleboston.org to receive the Zoom link for the meeting.

Israel/Palestine Committee Meeting
2025-02-11 19:00 - 20:30, 2024-12-10 19:00 - 20:30

Tu B'Shevat Seder
2025-02-09 15:30 - 17:30 | BWC Building & Zoom
Join BWC and Kavod Boston in-person or online via Zoom for a unique Tu B’Shevat seder, marking the “New Year for the Trees.” Readings, songs, and poems will reflect the origins of the seder adapted to progressive secular Jewish life in the 21st century.
All registrants (in-person and online) will be invited to actively participate, with the option to read a portion of the Haggadah aloud during the seder. Ritual foods will be provided at the in-person seder.
Attending in-person? Please make sure you are up-to-date on Covid vaccines and boosters, and take a Covid test before the event. If you’re not feeling well, please attend the event virtually. Masking is encouraged for in-person attendees except when eating.
This event is pay-what-you-can (suggested donation of $10+). Registration is required. Register here.

TASC Session 8
2025-02-09 10:30 - 12:30 | BWC Office – 6 Webster Street

Circle Book Group
2025-02-09 10:30 - 12:00 | Zoom Only
This is an open group that welcomes all readers interested in expanding their understanding of the wide variety of Jewish experiences throughout history and across the world.
February’s book is It Can’t Happen Here by Sinclair Lewis.
The Book Group page lists titles discussed previously. Scroll down to see the list at this link.
To be added to the Book Group listserv or if you have questions or want to attend via Zoom, email BookGroup@circleboston.org.

A Conversation with Authors Shane Burley and Ben Lorber
2025-02-04 19:00 - 21:00 | Nehar Shalom Community Synagogue, 6 Eliot St, Jamaica Plain, MA, United States
Join BWC, Nehar Shalom, Pushcart Judaica, and Kavod Boston for a book talk with Shane Burley and Ben Lorber.
Two activist journalists present a progressive, intersectional approach to the vital question: What can we do about antisemitism?

Antisemitism is a central issue of our time. Under the new Trump administration, white Christian nationalism is stronger than ever, and its culture of authoritarianism, conspiracism, division and fear puts Jews along with all other marginalized groups at risk.

And since October 7, debates around antisemitism have become more polarized and high-stakes than ever. How can we stand in solidarity with Palestinians seeking justice, while also avoiding antisemitism — and resisting those who seek to conflate the two? How do we forge the coalitions across communities that we need, in order to confront the shared threats we face and build towards a better future?

Using personal stories, historical deep-dives, front-line reporting, and interviews with leading change-makers, Burley and Lorber help us break the current impasse to understand how antisemitism works, what’s missing in contemporary debates, and how to build true safety through solidarity, for Jews and all people.

Shane Burley is the author of several books on the far-right and social movements, and has contributed to outlets such as NBC News, Jewish Currents, Al Jazeera, The Baffler, The Daily Beast, Haaretz, In These Times, Yes! Magazine, Tikkun, and The Oregon Historical Quarterly.

Ben Lorber is Senior Research Analyst at Political Research Associates, a social movement think tank, where he studies and publishes on antisemitism and white Christian nationalism.

Shule Session 14
2025-02-02 10:30 - 12:30

Save the Date: BWC Leadership Team Retreat
2025-02-01 09:45 - 18:00

Boston in The Shadow of Slavery
2025-01-28 19:00 - 20:15 | Zoom
Join The Reparations Interfaith Coalition of Massachusetts on Zoom for an evening with Professor Jacqueline Jones about her Pulitzer Prize winning new book, No Right to an Honest Living: The Struggle of Boston’s Black Workers in the Civil War Era. The book presents a searing portrait of Black labor and white hypocrisy in nineteenth-century Boston.
Jacqueline Jones is an award-winning scholar, MacArthur Fellow, and three-time Pulitzer finalist. She is a former professor of history at Brandeis University and currently Ellen C. Temple Chair in Women’s History Emerita at the University of Texas at Austin.
Register for the event here.

Spring Shule Open House
2025-01-26 11:30 - 12:30 | Brookline – Address shared after registration.
Come learn more about the BWC Secular Jewish Cultural school where young people learn about the historical and cultural Jewish experience and our commitments to building a better world. Meet current parents, talk with the Education Director and peek in on a music class.
Register here.

Kumzits: Convo about Hey Protest Partner
2025-01-26 10:45 - 12:15
Families for Justice as Healing (FJAH) deep diveJoin Kumzits to learn about the Hey solidarity protest partner this year, Families for Justice as Healing (FJAH). Our Hey class and the BWC’s AFREJ (Acting for Racial and Economic Justice) committee are partnering with FJAH which is led by incarcerated women, formerly incarcerated women, and women with incarcerated loved ones working to end the incarceration of women and girls. Come hear about their campaign to pass a bill that would create a 5-year pause (or moratorium) on jail and prison construction and expansion, without preventing essential repairs, to allow for a focus on reducing the number of people in prison, implementing alternatives, and investing in communities- aka reimagining communities. There will be a panel of BWC members connected to FJAH sharing stories about why this solidarity work is important for our community.

Aging in Community: Telling our Stories
2025-01-26 10:30 - 12:30

TASC Session 7
2025-01-26 10:30 - 12:30 | BWC Office – 6 Webster Street

Shule Session 13
2025-01-26 10:30 - 12:30

Anti-Racism Study Group (Canceled/Rescheduled)
2025-01-20 19:15 - 20:30
This regular meeting will be replaced this month by the Discussion of Ta-Nehisi Coates’ The Message events on January 8th and January 13 (7:00-8:30 pm). See those events for more information on how to RSVP.

Together, We Light the Way
2025-01-19 19:00 - 19:30 | Zoom
Join BWC, the Workers Circle, and the Center for Common Ground on Sunday, January 19, at 7:00 PM ET for “Together, We Light the Way.” Grassroots leaders, special celebrity guests, and musicians will join us as we reflect and rise together to light the way to the America we must become. Wherever you are, bring a candle to light at this national virtual gathering. At the conclusion of the program, we’ll light our candles and place them in the windows of our homes as a sign of our collective commitment to democracy, freedom, pluralism, rights, and equality.
Register here.

Yiddish Committee Social
2025-01-16 19:00 - 20:30 | Somerville, MA, USA
Join fellow Yiddish speakers, students, and enthusiasts to socialize and brainstorm Yiddish programming. We’ll meet at Mike and Linda’s in Somerville for snacks, chatting, and idea sharing. Yiddish speakers and students of all levels are invited, and new participants are always welcome. Sign up to receive the address.
Register here.

Discussion of Ta-Nehisi Coates' "The Message"
2025-01-13 19:00 - 20:30, 2025-01-08 19:00 - 20:30 | Zoom
Join us in reading and discussion of Ta-Nehisi Coates’ The Message.
“Embrace the liberating power of even the most difficult truths”. Join the BWC’s Anti-Racism Study Group, Israel/Palestine Study Group and AFREJ for a cross-BWC study group discussion on Zoom of Ta-Nehisi Coates’ latest book, The Message – experiencing through Coates’ eyes Dakar, Senegal; Columbia, South Carolina and Palestine. We will hold two sessions and you are welcome to come to either, or both.
Please RSVP to migolden57@gmail.com with one of the following in the subject line:
RSVP Message Jan8RSVP Message Jan13RSVP Message both
If you have questions or suggestions, contact Michelle Golden at migolden57@gmail.com, Madeleine Lourie at mlourie@mindspring.com or Naomi Scheman at naomi@umn.edu who will be facilitating the discussions.

TASC Session 6
2025-01-12 10:30 - 12:30 | BWC Office – 6 Webster Street

Shule Session 12
2025-01-12 10:30 - 12:30

Circle Book Group
2025-01-12 10:30 - 12:00
This is an open group that welcomes all readers interested in expanding their understanding of the wide variety of Jewish experiences throughout history and across the world.
January’s book is Paper Bullets by Jeffrey H. Jackson.
The Book Group page lists titles discussed previously. Scroll down to see the list at this link.
To be added to the Book Group listserv or if you have questions or want to attend via Zoom, email BookGroup@circleboston.org.

Arts Shabes IV: Fiber Artists/Crafters
2025-01-10 19:00 - 20:15 | Zoom
If you think about bringing into what has always been a chaotic world some order and a sense of beauty then the line between what’s called art and what’s called craft disappears. Our traditional BWC Shabes will take place on Zoom and include small groups in which you can share about fiber arts and crafts — what you enjoy making and what you have enjoyed collecting. Please bring a piece of work that you have made or one that you especially like that someone else made. And, the featured presenter will be be long-time BWC member Liz Zoob, psychotherapist by day and quilter and political observer/semi-activist by night.
Art Shabes Program
Please register here.

Shule Session 11
2025-01-05 10:30 - 12:30

Zayen Class Visit to Mayyim Hayyim
2025-01-05 10:00 - 12:00 | 1838 Washington Street Newton, Auburndale, MA, United States
The Zayen class and teacher will meet at the Mayyim Hayyim site in Newton for a tour of the site led by a BWC member.

IPC Study Group (Canceled/Rescheduled)
2025-01-01 18:00 - 19:30 | Zoom

Canceled: Membership Committee Meeting
2024-12-25 18:00 - 19:00 | Zoom

Khanike Party & BWC Fundraiser
2024-12-21 18:00 - 22:00 | 6 Webster St, Brookline, MA, United States
Join BWC for a raucous Khanike (Hanukkah) party & BWC fundraiser! Come for the latke toppings judging and stay for the klezmer dance party and non-klezmer karaoke – all ages welcome. We know you want to be part of this multigenerational, justice-loving, joy-filled diasporic community… see you there! Masks encouraged, and we will revisit if COVID-19 rates rise significantly before the party.PS – don’t forget to bring a few items to contribute to our pop-up thrift store, which will be running all night, with all donations going to BWC! Please bring no more than 10 items.Entry is pay-what-you-can ($10 suggested donation)Latkes will be $3 for two latkes + toppingsDrinks will also be donate-what-you-can!Help sustain BWC through your latke, drink, and thrift purchases – and party hard enough to make your ancestors proud!Register here.
Sign up to bring latke toppings here.
Sign up to volunteer here.

Mutual Aid Team General Meeting
2024-12-19 19:00 - 20:30 | Zoom
BWC’s Mutual Aid team will be meeting on December 19 from 7-8:30 pm on Zoom to continue shaping the future work of our team! Come through for continued relational team building, creation of our team norms, and project brainstorming. Didn’t make our kickoff? No problem, now is still a great time to get involved with the team as we’re shaping our vision of our team’s work.
Register to join us here. Email mutualaid@circleboston.org with any questions.

CANCELED: Yiddish Theater Bilingual Reading & Discussion
2024-12-18 19:30 - 21:00
We will hold this program virtually later in the winter.
ORIGINAL EVENT DESCRIPTIONLet’s read and analyze the forgotten Yiddish play “Kraft” (“Power”) by Leah K. Hofman. We will explore it in both English and Yiddish, delving into its themes and symbolism. The play, published in 1930, examines civilization’s evolution through personifications like Electricity overpowering Steam and Madam Cinema outshining the Radio. Its sole human character, the Slave, reveals the enduring patterns of societal dynamics through his naïve questioning. Learn more about the play here.
All are welcome to join us for this interactive reading and discussion. No knowledge of Yiddish required.
About the presenter: Jana Mazurkiewicz Meisarosh is a PhD candidate in the Slavic Department at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. She is working on her dissertation on Yiddish Theater in Communist Warsaw. Originally from Poland, Jana holds a Master of Arts degree in Polish Philology and Jewish Studies from the University of Wrocław. She is an actor, director, playwright, and producer of Yiddish theater. In October 2017, she moved to San Diego and launched the Yiddish Arts and Academics Association of North America (YAAANA), and its initiative called Yiddishland California: www.yiddishlandcalifornia.org. Yiddishland California is planning to establish an immersive, shtetl-inspired, multigenerational community that will include guest rooms and a museum detailing the history of small Jewish towns in Eastern Europe and Yiddish-speaking Jews in California. This mixed-use space will host daily language classes, weekly gatherings, and monthly events such as Yiddish weddings and fashion shows, aiming to create a vibrant cultural hub for Yiddish and non-Yiddish speakers alike. Feel free to contact Jana at: jana@yiddishland.ca.
Register here.

Yiddish Language Class: Beginner Semester I In-Person
2024-12-17 19:00 - 21:00, 2024-12-10 19:00 - 21:00, 2024-12-03 19:00 - 21:00, 2024-11-19 19:00 - 21:00, 2024-11-12 19:00 - 21:00, 2024-10-29 19:00 - 21:00, 2024-10-22 19:00 - 21:00 | BWC Office
Course Description: Let’s learn Yiddish — lomir zikh lernen yidish! This course introduces students to the fundamentals of Yiddish conversation, reading, and grammar through highly-interactive games, songs, activities, and short texts. Students who don’t yet know the Hebrew/Yiddish alphabet will be asked to join the class a half hour early for the first several sessions.
Level: Students new to Yiddish, or those who know a few basics but want a structured start to learning anew. Also recommended for Duolingo learners looking for a structured introduction to grammar, conversation, and culture.
Instructor: Sarah Biskowitz
Materials: In eynem: The New Yiddish Textbook, Vol I. Students can purchase this textbook through The Yiddish Book Center (print or digital/PDF is fine), and have it accessible for use during class sessions.
Note: 7:00-7:30pm is for aleph beys

Yiddish Language Class: Beginner Semester I Virtual
2024-12-15 16:00 - 18:00, 2024-12-08 16:00 - 18:00, 2024-12-01 16:00 - 18:00, 2024-11-24 16:00 - 18:00, 2024-11-17 16:00 - 18:00, 2024-11-03 16:00 - 18:00, 2024-10-27 16:00 - 18:00 | Zoom
Course Description: Let’s learn Yiddish — lomir zikh lernen yidish! This course introduces students to the fundamentals of Yiddish conversation, reading, and grammar through highly-interactive games, songs, activities, and short texts. Students who don’t yet know the Hebrew/Yiddish alphabet will be asked to join the class a half hour early for the first several sessions.
Level: Students new to Yiddish, or those who know a few basics but want a structured start to learning anew. Also recommended for Duolingo learners looking for a structured introduction to grammar, conversation, and culture.
Instructor: Sasha Berenstein
Materials: In eynem: The New Yiddish Textbook, Vol I. Students can purchase this textbook through The Yiddish Book Center (print or digital/PDF is fine), and have it accessible for use during class sessions.
Note: 4:00-4:30pm is for aleph beys.

All Shule Khanike/Chanukah Party
2024-12-15 10:30 - 12:30
Register here! All kids are welcome, even if they don’t attend Shule. This is a great opportunity to get a taste of Shule if your child isn’t already enrolled. To get a taste of Shule, join the community program at 11:00am, and don’t forget to register!

Circle Playtime - Full School Community Chanukah Party
2024-12-15 10:30 - 12:30
Register here! All kids are welcome, even if they don’t attend Circle Playtime.

Circle Book Group
2024-12-15 10:30 - 12:00
This is an open group that welcomes all readers interested in expanding their understanding of the wide variety of Jewish experiences throughout history and across the world.
December’s book is Fervor by Toby Phips Lloyd.
The Book Group page lists titles discussed previously. Scroll down to see the list at this link.
To be added to the Book Group listserv or if you have questions or want to attend via Zoom, email BookGroup@circleboston.org.

NOT ONE MORE! Action to Defend Our Communities from Deportation + Criminalization
2024-12-13 15:30 - 17:30 | John F. Kennedy Federal Building, Boston, MA, United States
BWC is proud to join AARW and other allies for this important action to demand protection for refugees and immigrants.
🌟 REGISTER + ENDORSE: bit.ly/dec13rally 🌟 Please sign up you or your organization if you can attend! Volunteers needed for several roles.
When: Friday, December 13 at 3:30pm Where: Rally at JFK Federal Building, 15 Sudbury Street, Boston – next to Government Plaza and Bowdoin T stations
Why: We are coming together for an important action to unify our movement, mobilize our communities, and demand protection for refugees and immigrants at all levels of government. We need you there!In the wake of Trump’s election, we’re facing a critical moment where deportation and criminalization policies will ramp up, putting our community at risk. Though we need to prepare for Trump’s term, there is so much that current political leaders can be doing. This is our moment to push for policies that go beyond fear and punishment and offer real, tangible support for immigrants and refugees. This action is a direct call to MA Governor Healey and President Biden before January – we need their action NOW!

Gragger Team Meeting
2024-12-12 19:00 - 20:00 | Zoom
Contact Zohar at zohar@circleboston.org for more details, including the Zoom link.

Yiddish Language Class: Advanced Dropkin Dertseytl Nokh Vayter Virtual
2024-12-11 20:00 - 21:30, 2024-12-04 20:00 - 21:30, 2024-11-27 20:00 - 21:30, 2024-11-20 20:00 - 21:30, 2024-11-13 20:00 - 21:30, 2024-11-06 20:00 - 21:30, 2024-10-30 20:00 - 21:30, 2024-10-23 20:00 - 21:30
Course Description: Celia Dropkin (1887-1956) is a dynamic writer whose work is exciting, intense and confronting. Best known for her fierce and intimate poetry, Dropkin brings the same bold, unflinching voice to her short stories. Dropkin’s stories take the reader deep under the skins of sharply drawn characters, casting a critical gaze on the settings and social circumstances that they encounter. In this course, we will read a selection of Dropkin’s short stories in the original Yiddish, and will discuss the themes, characters, contexts and stylistics of these works. The course will consist entirely of new materials. No stories previously covered in 2023 or 2024 will be studied this semester.
די נאָוואַטאָרישע שרײַבערין ציליע דראָפּקין (1887-1956) האָט אַרײַנגעפֿירט פֿרישע טעמעס און סטיליסטיק אין דער ייִדישער ליטעראַטור. די דרײַסטע, אינטימע שטימע פֿאַר וועלכער איר פּאָעזיע איז אַזוי באַקאַנט, געפֿינט זיך אויך אין דראָפּקינס דינאַמישע דערציילונגען. דערצו באַגעגנט מען אין דראָפּקינס דערציילונגען איר שאַרפֿן בליק אויף דעם אַרום, ווי אויך איר פֿעיִקייט קריטיש און קרעפֿטיק צו באַהאַנדלען וויכטיקע סאָציאַלע ענינים.
מיר וועלן צוזאַמען לייענען אויף אַ קול אַן אָפּקלײַב פֿון דראָפּקינס דערציילונגען, און וועלן אַרומשמועסן די טעמעס, פּערסאָנאַזשן, סיטואַציעס, סטיליסטיק און קאָנטעקסטן פֿון די דערציילונגען.
Level: The class is suited to advanced readers and speakers of Yiddish, including students in previous BWC advanced classes. Students who want to listen rather than read are welcome to join the class. We will discuss Dropkin’s work in Yiddish, in a supportive environment that encourages each person to speak Yiddish freely and fearlessly to the best of their ability.
Instructor: Hinde Ena Burstin
Materials: This class will read and discuss stories that appear in Celia Dropkin’s 1959 edition of In Heysn Vint, which can be found online for free here.

Yiddish Language Class: Advanced Beginner Yiddish In-Person
2024-12-10 19:00 - 20:30, 2024-12-03 19:00 - 20:30, 2024-11-26 19:00 - 20:30, 2024-11-12 19:00 - 20:30, 2024-11-05 19:00 - 20:30, 2024-10-29 19:00 - 20:30, 2024-10-22 19:00 - 20:30 | BWC Building
Course Description: This joyful and inclusive class is a celebration of Yiddish grammar, vocabulary, history, and culture. Join us for a weekly session where we practice conjugating verbs, declining noun phrases, and putting together increasingly-complex sentences in the ancestral mother tongue of ashkenazic jewry. Ask questions, get answers, and find camaraderie with other learners on a guided tour of the grammar and structure and culture of this wondrous Jewish language.
Level: For students who have taken a BWC Beginner course. Also open to those who already know the Yiddish aleph beys, some basic grammar & vocabulary, and who feel the class description fits their level, including those who have worked through Duolingo and feel ready to dive into more conversation and culture.
Instructor: Jonah Sidman
Materials: Colloquial Yiddish by Lily Kahn. Students can purchase this textbook from The Yiddish Book Center, Routledge Textbooks, or at other on-line sites.

Understanding Anti-Palestinian Racism Workshop
2024-12-08 18:30 - 21:00
We invite BWC member leaders and community members to join Merrie Najimy and the Institute for the Understanding of Anti-Palestinian Racism (IUAPR) for a special opportunity to grow as a community and move towards taking meaningful next steps as anti-racist allies.Join AFREJ, the Jewish Muslim Solidarity Committee, and the Palestine Solidarity Subcommittee of the IPC in a safe, welcoming, BWC-only space to learn about who the Palestinians are as a people and collectively unpack the false narratives in which American society is steeped.
On Sunday, December 8th from 6:30 – 9:00pm, we will meet on Zoom to learn from Merrie and the IUAPR. After the presentation, we’ll engage in community conversation to reflect on and process what we’ve learned, both as individuals and as members of BWC.
The workshop will help us to:• Know who Palestinians are;• Describe anti-Palestinian racism;• Identify who can be targets of anti-Palestinian racism;• Understand the impact of anti-Palestinian racism on health wellbeing;• Learn ways to address anti-Palestinian racism.
Questions? Contact Carrie Pollack (cmpollack@comcast.net).
Register here.

Sacha Lamb Book Talk
2024-12-08 11:00 - 13:00
Author and BWC member, Sacha Lamb will speak with Shule Students and other BWC members on Sunday, December 8th from 11am – 12:00pm in Brookline and online.
At noon, in person, there will be light refreshments. The Brookline location of the event will be sent to in-person registrants via email before the event.
Please consider making a donation using BWC’s Pass-The-Hat form to help continue making events like this possible. Choose Circle Book Group for the question related to the event you’re participating in. If you are not already a BWC member, please join! There is no financial bar for joining.
Register here.
At this event, Sacha will talk about the two novels they have written:WHEN THE ANGELS LEFT THE OLD COUNTRYThe BWC Book Group read this novel in October and members enjoyed it immensely. Kirk’s starred review: “Steeped in Ashkenazi lore, custom, and faith, this beautifully written story deftly tackles questions of identity, good and evil, obligation, and the many forms love can take. Queerness and gender fluidity thread through both the human and supernatural characters, clearly depicted without feeling anachronistic. Gorgeous, fascinating, and fun.”
THE FORBIDDEN BOOKReview on Amazon: “Lamb has a gift for writing books that feel at once like classics and also totally fresh and unique.” Minuteman Library Network description: “Dybbuks. Illegal printing. A genderqueer lesbian with a knife. Set against a backdrop of literary censorship and growing Jewish political consciousness, Sydney Taylor and Stonewall award-winning Sacha Lamb’s sophomore novel is a soaring exploration of identity, survival, and ultimately, hope. On the night before her wedding, 17-year-old Sorel leaps from a window and runs away from her life. To keep from being discovered, she takes on the male identity of Isser Jacobs — but it soon becomes clear that there is a real Isser Jacobs, and people want him dead.” Register here.

Kumzits: Sacha Lamb Book Talk
2024-12-08 10:45 - 12:15
Parents and guardians are encouraged to attend the Sacha Lamb Book Talk happening that day. Find out more and register here.

Aging in Community: Cognitive Changes as we Age
2024-12-08 10:30 - 12:30

Shule Session 9
2024-12-08 10:30 - 12:30

Di Nest: Yiddish Arts Incubator
2024-12-05 19:30 - 21:00 | Zoom
Do you want to start writing in Yiddish but have questions about creating in a language you are still learning? Have you been making art in Yiddish for a while and want feedback on your latest project? Do you want to be part of the first audience for new Yiddish art and support artists with your feedback? Then join us at Di Nest!
Di Nest is an arts incubator for Yiddish creativity. Join us to share your own projects and/or to help workshop community members’ works in progress. Projects in any medium that are in,or prominently feature, Yiddish are welcome–including original works and translations into Yiddish. Di Nest is open to Yiddish speakers and students of all levels. Whether you’re just starting to create in Yiddish or have been doing so for years, you’re welcome to attend!
Each session will include time to workshop material from several participants. If you have material you would like to workshop, please email Lilye at yiddish@circleboston.org before the meeting. Attendees are invited to bring a project to share—but we also welcome attendees who join us to listen, learn, and offer feedback.
This program is a collaboration between Boston Workers Circle, Rad Yiddish, and Queer Yiddish Camp.
Register here to get the Zoom link.

Yiddish Language Class: Intermediate Yiddish Virtual
2024-12-03 19:00 - 20:30, 2024-11-26 19:00 - 20:30, 2024-11-19 19:00 - 20:30, 2024-11-12 19:00 - 20:30, 2024-11-05 19:00 - 20:30, 2024-10-29 19:00 - 20:30, 2024-10-22 19:00 - 20:30 | Zoom
Course Description: Build confidence in your Yiddish – reading, speaking, listening, and writing, in a supportive and welcoming classroom of intermediate Yiddish students, as we delve into the treasure trove of short stories by Sholem Aleichem, one of the most celebrated authors in all of Yiddish literature. In this class, you will find abundant opportunities to stretch and grow your Yiddish, as we work together to make the leap from the textbook’s careful examples into the vast and exciting world of Yiddish literature. We’ll read slowly, translate continuously, and look up every unfamiliar word as we delight in the hilarious and heart-wrenching adventures of Menachem-Mendl, Sheyne-Sheyndl, Tevye der Milkhiker, and other beloved characters from the canon of Sholem Aleichem.
Level: This class is appropriate for students who can read and understand Yiddish sentences with the help of a dictionary. BWC students who have completed Advanced Beginner, those who want to continue in Intermediate, and newcomers at this level are all welcome to join.
Instructor: Abby Howell
Materials: The Complete Works of Sholem Aleichem. Students can find this text online for free here.

Yiddish Language Class: Advanced Beginner Yiddish Virtual
2024-12-03 19:00 - 20:30, 2024-11-26 19:00 - 20:30, 2024-11-19 19:00 - 20:30, 2024-11-12 19:00 - 20:30, 2024-11-05 19:00 - 20:30, 2024-10-29 19:00 - 20:30, 2024-10-22 19:00 - 20:30 | Zoom
Course Description: Do you know about der, di, dos, and dem, but shudder when you hear the words “dative” and “accusative”? Do you know how to exchange pleasantries in Yiddish but not how to talk about what happened yesterday? Do you know the alef-beys, but not have enough vocabulary to tell a story? Would you like to study Yiddish every week with an enthusiastic teacher who showers you with positive feedback no matter how many mistakes you make? This advanced beginner Yiddish class might just be right for you.
Level: For students who have taken a BWC Beginner course. Also open to those who already know the Yiddish alef-beys, some basic grammar & vocabulary, and who feel the class description fits their level, including those who have worked through Duolingo and feel ready to dive into more conversation and culture.
Instructor: Sasha Berenstein
Materials: In eynem: The New Yiddish Textbook, Vol I. Starting on Chapter 7. Students can purchase this textbook through The Yiddish Book Center (print or digital/PDF is fine), and have it accessible for use during class sessions.

Boston Worker's Circle Brandeis Info Event
2024-12-03 10:00 - 11:00 | Brandeis Library, Vershbow Room
We are Boston Worker’s Circle–a secular, progressive Jewish organization founded in 1905 as a mutual aid society for Eastern European Jewish immigrants. Today, we have a diverse array of offerings: from Yiddish classes and a Yiddish chorus, to working groups focused on immigrant justice, racial and economic justice, Israel/Palestine, and much more.
In the last year, our membership has grown by over 20%, bringing us to close to 1,000 members, some of whom are Brandeis students and faculty. A group of Brandeis undergrads asked for the membership committee to put on this event to give the opportunity for more people in the Brandeis community to learn about BWC.
We will have some structured schmoozing over dinner and then some of our committee chairs will share about what work their committee is doing and how YOU can join!
Register here.

Spirit of Reparations Film Series
2024-12-01 17:00 - 20:00 | First Church In Jamaica Plain, 6 Eliot St, Jamaica Plain, MA, United States
BWC is a proud co-sponsor of the Grassroots Reparations Campaign’s Spirit of Reparations Film Series. On December 1 join us for a screening of Acts of Reparations, followed by a Q & A with the film directors and a panel discussion. Learn more and register at https://www.spiritofreparations.com/.

Kumzits: Celebrating Thanksgiving with Acknowledgment
2024-11-24 10:45 - 12:15
This conversation will focus on how we can bring our radical values into celebrating Thankgiving. We will discuss what traditions we have, think about this holiday’s intersections with Jewish assimilation, historical trauma and feelings of belonging, and how we can acknowledge settler colonization as foundational to the holiday with our kids and families.

Shule Session 8
2024-11-24 10:30 - 12:30

farbreng:boston shrinky-dinks simkhe
2024-11-23 19:30 - 21:30
לאָמיר פֿאַרברענגען צוזאַמען אויף ייִדיש און מאַכן קונסט מיט ″קלענערלינגען″ (שרינקי־דינקס). מיר װעלן זיך טרעפֿן בײַ שׂרהן אין סאָמערװיל שבת דעם 23סטן נאָװעמבער, 7:30 אין אָװנט. מיר װעלן שיקן דעם אַדרעס דעם טאָג פֿאַרן שׂימחהלע. מיר װעלן האָבן קונסט־מאַטעריאַלן, און אַלע זײַנען פֿאַרבעטן צו ברענגען אַ קלײנע נאָכשפּײַז אָדער נאַש
די פּראָגראַם איז אַ צוזאַמען־אַרבעט פֿונעם באָסטאָנער אַרבעטער־רינג און פֿאַרברענג:באָסטאָן, אַ יוגנטרוף־פּראָיעקט װאָס שאַפֿט געלעגנהײטן צו רעדן און פֿאַרברענגען אויף ייִדיש פּנים־אל־פּנים אַ גאַנץ קײַלעכדיק יאָר
Lomir farbrengen tsuzamen af yidish un makhn kunst mit “klenerlingen” (shrinky-dinks). Mir veln zikh trefn bay Soren in Somerville shabes dem 23stn november, 7:30 in ovnt. Mir veln shikn dem adres dem tog farn simkhele. Mir veln hobn kunst-materyaln, un ale zaynen farbetn tsu brengen a kleyne nokhshpayz oder nash
Di program iz a tsuzamen-arbet funem bostoner arbeter-ring un farbreng:boston, a yugntruf-proyekt vos shaft gelegnhaytn tsu redn un farbrengen af yidish ponem-al-ponem a gants kaylekhdik yorRegister here.

TASC Annual Overnight
2024-11-23 18:00 - 2024-11-24 13:00 | BWC Office – 6 Webster Street

Community Care & Mutual Aid Kickoff
2024-11-22 19:00 - 20:30
Join us as we initiate a new phase in our community care and mutual aid work at BWC! We’ll gather to mark shabes and come together to discuss the history of this work at BWC and brainstorm where we want to take this work in the future! The location will be shared after you register.
Register to join us here.

BWC Membership Committee--Brandeis Content Planning
2024-11-20 18:00 - 19:00
Join with Google Meet: https://meet.google.com/cdx-rtgq-pfo
Learn more about Meet at: https://support.google.com/a/users/answer/9282720

Kumzits: How To Talk To Your Kids In Times of Crisis? Practice Listening
2024-11-17 10:45 - 12:15
So many of us have lots of hard feelings that have come up now that the US election results are in and not what we wanted as a progressive Jewish community. We may find ourselves at a loss for words on how to process this moment for ourselves as adults, let alone how to talk to our children about it. Come learn from Shana Gozansky, Daled parent and hand in hand parent instructor, and Dan Gelbtuch, Shule parent and Co-Founder and Lead Organizer with Kirva. Given the wide range of ages we have in Shule, this is a moment to trust our children to tell us what they need, including for us to stay in the present moment and play with them. Together we will process what’s going on for us post election and practice listening with each other using hand in hand parenting techniques.

Shule Session 7
2024-11-17 10:30 - 12:30

Circle Book Group
2024-11-17 10:30 - 12:00
This is an open group that welcomes all readers interested in expanding their understanding of the wide variety of Jewish experiences throughout history and across the world.
November’s book is Prequel: An American Fight Against Fascism by Rachel Maddow
The Book Group page lists titles discussed previously. Scroll down to see the list at this link.
To be added to the Book Group listserv or if you have questions or want to attend via Zoom, email BookGroup@circleboston.org.

Family-Friendly Zingeray
2024-11-16 14:00 - 16:00
Lomir zingen tsuzamen! Let’s sing together! At this informal zingeray (song circle), we’ll sing songs in Yiddish with a focus on songs for children. All are welcome, though this zingeray is especially geared towards families with young children. We’ll sing in Yiddish, but the program will be primarily conducted in English. Some exposure to Yiddish is recommended, but not required, and you don’t have to be a fluent speaker to take part. Come share a song, or join us to sing along!
We’ll meet at Julia and Erina’s place in Somerville. Please register to attend this program–we will email the address to participants the day before the event.
Register here.

Gragger Kickoff Meeting
2024-11-14 18:00 - 21:00 | 6 Webster St, Brookline, MA, United States
Boston Workers Circle’s Gragger planning team is seeking folks from all different backgrounds– creatives, party planners, theatre buffs, and past fans/attendees –to join in on bringing together Gragger 5785/2025! Whether you are artistic on stage or behind the scenes or want to lend a hand with logistics, we want you to join the team behind this radical and raucous Purim community event for LGBTQ+ Jews in Boston. Past themes have included: drag, Ren faire, Jewish folklore, and more! No previous theatre experience is required, and we have various levels of commitment depending on how much time you can give. 🎭🪩✨
To learn about the kinds of roles involved in Gragger, check out our sign-up form. Contact zohar@circleboston.org with any questions.

Israelism Film Screening
2024-11-13 19:00 - 21:00
Israelism is a film about young Jews questioning the Israel-centered narrative they grew up with. We are screening this in-person for BWC members plus those streaming at home (Amazon or Apple) followed by a discussion over Zoom.
Register here.

Aging in Community
2024-11-10 10:00 - 12:00

Vov class overnight trip to NYC
2024-11-09 - 2024-11-11 | offsite
Please contact Educational Director, Meira Soloff (meira@circleboston.org) for more details.

Post Election Shabes: Keep on Moving Forward
2024-11-08 18:30 - 20:30 | 6 Webster Street in Brookline and on Zoom
On Friday, November 8 the Shabes Committee and the Boston Workers Circle Board will host a Shabes so that we can gather after the election (even if the results are not known). We will be having an in-person event at the BWC building as well as a separate Zoom event for those who prefer to attend virtually.
Join us for a place to talk and be together after this difficult election season. We will be sharing a potluck dinner for the in-person gathering and a brief ritual and open discussion for both. Please indicate whether you plan to come in person or virtually.
In-Person Event: Ritual begins promptly at 6:30 and the potluck will end at 8:30pm. IN-PERSON REGISTRATION IS NOW CLOSED DUE TO CAPACITY.Virtual Event: 7:00-8:15pm. Registration required. A Zoom link will be sent to all registrants before the event.
REGISTER HERE for the virtual event by 4:00pm on Thursday!

Kumzits: What does Shabbos offer us?
2024-11-03 10:45 - 12:15 | Shule
This session mixes education and conversation as we build community and find authentic ways to live Judaism. Come to learn about traditional shabbos, explore our own relationships with those traditions, and discuss how we might like to bring nuggets of shabbos into our own homes. Led by Shule parent, Rachel Chagnon.

TASC Session 4
2024-11-03 10:30 - 12:30 | BWC Office – 6 Webster Street

Shule Session 6
2024-11-03 10:30 - 12:30

Hold for Staff Retreat
2024-10-29

Shule Session 5 / Family-Teacher Brunches
2024-10-27 10:30 - 12:30
