Boston Workers Circle

Beginner, In-Person
2023-10-25 19:30 - 21:00, 2023-10-18 19:30 - 21:00, 2023-10-11 19:30 - 21:00 (America/New_York) | Boston Workers Circle: Center for Jewish Culture & Social Justice, 6 Webster St, Brookline, MA 02446, USA
Let’s learn Yiddish — lomir zikh lernen yidish! Learn elementary grammar, how to read Yiddish and conversation skills. Students who don’t yet know the Hebrew alphabet will be asked to join the class a half hour early for the first several sessions. The class will be interactive and lively, using the textbook Colloquial Yiddish, and exposing students to Yiddish culture through songs, games, and other multimedia materials.
Register Here.

Yiddish Class - Advanced Beginner
2023-10-25 19:00 - 20:30, 2023-10-18 19:00 - 20:30, 2023-10-11 19:00 - 20:30
I’m looking forward to having you in Yiddish class! Class will be on Wednesdays from 7 to 8:30 Eastern Standard Time
Textbook: Colloquial Yiddish by Lily Kahn
Zoom link: https://circleboston-org.zoom.us/j/88525115374?pwd=[REDACTED]
Reach out to abby.g.howell@gmail.com (512-762-2113) with any questions. I’m looking forward to seeing you in class!
Join Zoom Meeting
https://circleboston-org.zoom.us/j/88525115374?pwd=[REDACTED] (ID: 88525115374, passcode: [REDACTED]
Join by phone
(US) +1 301-715-8592 (passcode: [REDACTED]
Joining instructions: https://www.google.com/url?q=https://applications.zoom.us/addon/invitation/detail?meetingUuid%3DZUsmZWvJTUKw69raWgq3DA%253D%253D%26signature%3D6fae7563f2bb578d5ddd60cbf1791aa50fcee54b70d29636f298ae0562308480%26v%3D1&sa=D&source=calendar&usg=AOvVaw0I34-TYq5-uuK-ICOj5FBl
Meeting host: abby.g.howell@gmail.com
Join Zoom Meeting: https://circleboston-org.zoom.us/j/88525115374?pwd=[REDACTED]

Advanced Beginner
2023-10-25 19:00 - 20:30, 2023-10-18 19:00 - 20:30, 2023-10-11 19:00 - 20:30 | Zoom
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.
Register Here.

Beginner, Virtual
2023-10-24 19:00 - 20:30, 2023-10-17 19:00 - 20:30, 2023-10-10 19:00 - 20:30 | Zoom
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 alphabet will be asked to join the class a half hour early for the first several sessions

Aging Outside the Box
2023-10-24 17:30 - 19:00, 2023-09-26 17:30 - 19:00 | Zoom
A monthly discussion/support group for folks 60 and over who don’t have children and/or grandchildren

Please email AIC@circleboston.org to be put in touch with the Aging Outside the Box coordinator.

Early Intermediate
2023-10-24 17:30 - 19:00 | Zoom
This class will use Colloquial Yiddish, starting with chapter 11, and will incorporate exercises, songs, and additional short readings to further our study of grammar, conversation, and culture. The readings will introduce students to important authors such as I.L. Peretz and Kadya Molodowsky.
Register Here.

Yiddish Culture & The Jewish Labor Movement: 1880s-1960s
2023-10-23 18:00 - 19:30 | Zoom
In this course we will explore the history of Jewish labor activism in the United States and its relationship to Yiddish culture. We will engage questions such as: How did Jewish Socialists and Communists relate to their Jewish identity? How did they think about Americanization and assimilation? What role did Yiddish culture play in Socialist and Communist organizing? How did Jewish identity and Yiddish culture interact with broader efforts toward anti-racism and multiculturalism? And how does this history help us navigate the present of Jewish and Anti-Racist organizing work? Beginning with the early Jewish labor movement in the 1880s and ending with New Left activism of the 1960s, this four session course will take us through the salient turning points of Jewish labor history in the United States and how Jews navigated these pressing questions of identity, community, and social justice at different historical moments.

More Information and Registration Here!

Yiddish Class - Intermediate
2023-10-23 17:00 - 18:30, 2023-10-16 17:00 - 18:30
Yiddish class is happening! I’m so excited to see you all! We’ll commence on Monday October 16th at 5pm eastern time, and then we’re going to take a hiatus the following week (because I’ll be in Mexico on a work trip with spotty internet) and then we will reconvene on the 30th of October and meet for a total of 8 sessions (or longer, if we decide to!)
I’m looking forward to seeing you all in class!
Textbook: Fun Lublin Tsu Nyu York by Kadya MolodovskyZoom link: https://circleboston-org.zoom.us/j/87340826794?pwd=[REDACTED]
Any questions, contact abby.g.howell@gmail.com (512-762-2113).
Join Zoom Meeting
https://circleboston-org.zoom.us/j/87340826794?pwd=[REDACTED] (ID: 87340826794, passcode: [REDACTED]
Join by phone
(US) +1 309-205-3325 (passcode: [REDACTED]
Joining instructions: https://www.google.com/url?q=https://applications.zoom.us/addon/invitation/detail?meetingUuid%3DV7qgV1SAQzyqMGl2u2Zs2w%253D%253D%26signature%3D6cf53876e2183a63e5d567bf90311ee3c64a55f997088ab77bc3cbeaec720875%26v%3D1&sa=D&source=calendar&usg=AOvVaw2nGcoQuLbOuzym8Lwq66vq
Meeting host: abby.g.howell@gmail.com
Join Zoom Meeting: https://circleboston-org.zoom.us/j/87340826794?pwd=[REDACTED]

Yiddish Community Picnic
2023-10-21 16:00 - 18:00 | Front Lawn – Cambridge Public Library, 449 Broadway, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
Join fellow BWC Yiddish speakers and students for a Yiddish shmues and picnic for shaleshudes, the third meal of shabes that takes place on Saturday afternoon. Please feel free to bring a dish, snack, or (non-alcoholic) drink to share! All levels of Yiddish, beginning to fluent, are welcome. There will be plenty of opportunities to chat in both Yiddish and English. Drop by for a short time or stay for the whole event, and make sure to dress for the weather!
Rain Date: October 28

Register Here.

Yiddish Reading Group
2023-10-20 10:30 - 12:00, 2023-10-13 10:30 - 12:00, 2023-10-06 10:30 - 12:00, 2023-09-29 10:30 - 12:00, 2023-09-22 10:30 - 12:00, 2023-09-15 10:30 - 12:00, 2023-09-08 10:30 - 12:00, 2023-09-01 10:30 - 12:00 and 38 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 Committee Meeting
2023-10-19 19:30 - 20:30, 2023-07-20 19:30 - 20:30, 2023-04-20 19:30 - 20:30, 2023-01-19 19:30 - 20:30 | Zoom
Registration link

Advanced
2023-10-18 20:00 - 21:30, 2023-10-11 20:00 - 21:30 | Zoom
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.
Register Here.

Israel-Palestine Committee Meeting
2023-10-18 19:00 - 20:30 | Zoom
This meeting will be our annual business meeting as a committee, and also include topical discussions of IPC issues.
Guest Speaker: Alice Rothchild
Register Here.

Rally in Support of Ceasefire in Israel/Palestine at City Hall Plaza
2023-10-18 16:00 - 18:00 | Boston City Hall, 1 City Hall Square, Boston, MA 02201, USA
RSVP here to join us at City Hall Plaza in Boston on Wednesday, October 18 to mourn for the dead, and fight for the living–both Israelis and Palestinians.
This is a Jewish-led action, sponsored by IfNotNow and co-sponsored by Boston Workers Circle and Kavod.
We welcome and encourage our non-Jewish allies to join us.
————————————————————–

“No electricity, no food, no water, no fuel. Everything is closed. We are fighting human animals, and we act accordingly.” This promise, from Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, is a direct call for mass killing and forced removal of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians from their homes.
The Israeli military is preparing for a massive ground invasion of Gaza. Israeli and American leaders are dehumanizing Palestinians with vitriolic rhetoric that calls to mind the most hysterical days of Bush’s War on Terror. We know where this will lead: genocide.
Our Massachusetts Senators and every American political leader must demand a ceasefire now.
Many of us are mourning our Israeli and Palestinian friends and loved ones. We are in pain and grief, trying to process a week of horrific violence that has left so many that we know injured, traumatized, kidnapped, or killed. But we refuse to let our grief be weaponized to justify the murder of more Palestinians. As American Jews, we demand a ceasefire now.
No genocide in our name.
The time is now to mobilize to prevent this genocide from going forward. We demand that every political leader use their leverage to implement a ceasefire and use any possible tool to force Israel to halt its war on Palestinians in Gaza.
RSVP here for more information, and meet us at 4pm at City Hall Plaza on Wednesday, October 18th.

Early Intermediate
2023-10-17 17:30 - 19:00, 2023-10-10 17:30 - 19:00 | Zoom
This class will use Colloquial Yiddish, starting with chapter 11, and will incorporate exercises, songs, and additional short readings to further our study of grammar, conversation, and culture.
Register Here.

Member Training: Publicity Visuals
2023-10-16 17:30 - 18:30 | Zoom
Join our communications manager Mira for a session all about the visuals that go into spreading the word about your work! This session will cover some basic information about branding and graphic design, taking quality photos to document your work and improve your future outreach efforts, and using Canva, a beginner-friendly graphic design platform, to create visuals for print and digital publicity.

Register Here.

Continuing Intermediate
2023-10-16 17:00 - 18:30 | Zoom
In this class, we’ll read Kadya Molodowsky’s 1942 novel Fun Lublin Biz Nyu York. It’s written as a diary of a young woman who immigrates to New York under troubling circumstances. We’ll read the text of the book together in class, looking up unfamiliar words as we go, discussing the text in Yiddish and/or English to make sure everyone is following along, and along the way, indulge in lengthy tangents about whatever else comes up.
Register Here.

A Besere Velt Yiddish Chorus Open Rehearsal
2023-10-15 15:00 - 17:30, 2023-10-01 15:00 - 17:30 | Temple Beth Zion, 1566 Beacon St, Brookline, MA 02446, USA
Check out A Besere Velt Yiddish Chorus’s open rehearsals in October! A Besere Velt (a better world) – is the Yiddish Chorus of the Boston Workers Circle. We are a vibrant 80-member intergenerational community chorus that weaves the heartache and irrepressible idealism of Yiddish music into a vision of justice for the 21st century. Our songs contain the history, culture and progressive values to inspire us to action today.
When you join A Besere Velt, you become a custodian of a centuries-old cultural legacy and join a warm, welcoming community sharing a passion for music, culture, and heritage. Our powerful message is progressive and universal. We sing the songs of the workers, activists, artists and all who struggled for freedom and justice – struggles that continue today.
All are welcome, ages 13 and up. There are no auditions; no need to be able to read music. You don’t have to be Jewish, nor do you need to know Yiddish. Come sing with us!
Email abv@circleboston.org for more information and plan to join us for our open rehearsals on October 1st & 15th in Brookline.
For more information about BWC and for samples of ABV performances check out our website: circleboston.org/arts

Shule Family Brunches / Family-Teacher Meetings
2023-10-15 10:30 - 12:30

Member Training: Google Drive for Organizers
2023-10-12 19:00 - 20:30 | HYBRID – Boston Workers Circle: Center for Jewish Culture & Social Justice, 6 Webster St, Brookline, MA 02446, USA
Join board member and member leader Nakhie and BWC organizer Zohar for a session all about Google Drive, tailored to help you think through how to use it to support your organizing work. We’ll cover file types, the purpose of Drive’s sharing tools, best practices for organizers, and answer your questions about how to use this useful program. During the second half of the training, participants will have the opportunity to create a new Shared Drive for their committee, or tidy up their existing one, with plenty of support throughout.

Register Here.

Yiddish Vinkl
2023-10-12 19:00 - 20:30, 2023-08-10 19:00 - 20:30, 2023-06-08 19:00 - 20:30, 2023-05-11 19:00 - 20:30, 2023-03-09 19:00 - 20:30, 2023-02-09 19:00 - 20:30, 2023-01-12 19:00 - 20:30, 2022-12-08 19:00 - 20:30 and 1 more date | Zoom
Somerville Vinkl will be held virtually until it’s safe to meet in person again. 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 Here.

Strategic Planning Community Coversation
2023-10-11 19:00 - 20:30 | Zoom
Over the summer, BWC began a strategic planning process to help us co-create a shared vision for where our community is headed as we set new 3-year strategic priorities. Our new strategic priorities need to be shaped by the many perspectives within our community. To make that happen, we need to hear from you!
All BWC members are invited to join the strategic planning committee for an update on the strategic planning process, a presentation on themes that came up in this summer’s environmental scan (which included an all member survey and interviews with members, partners, and staff), and a discussion on what you would like to see the organization focus on in the next 3 years. We need your voice in the mix as we write our next chapter together, so keep an eye on your email for when we send out further information to all BWC members. Not yet a member? Join today!

Circle Book Group
2023-10-08 10:15 - 12:00 | HYBRID — Boston Workers Circle: Center for Jewish Culture & Social Justice, 6 Webster St, Brookline, MA 02446, USA
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. The Zoom information for this meeting will be shared closer to the event via email. To make sure you’re on the Book Group email list, contact the Circle Book Group committee co-chairs at bookgroup@circleboston.org Click here to learn more, see our current book of the month, and view books we’ve read in the past. To make a donation for the Book Group, visit this page.
This month we are reading three graphic novels: Hereville: How Mirka Got Her Sword, Hereville: How Mirka Caught a Meteorite, and Hereville: How Mirka Got her Sword by Barry Deutsch.
About the book:Eleven-year-old Mirka Herschberg dreams of fighting dragons and spends her days honing her skills, even though there are no dragons in her Orthodox Jewish community, but when she accepts a challenge from a mysterious witch, Mirka just might win her dragon-fighting sword after all.

HONK Festival
2023-10-08

Di Nest: Yiddish Creative Project Incubator
2023-10-05 19:30 - 21:00, 2023-09-07 19:30 - 21:00, 2023-08-03 19:30 - 21:00, 2023-07-06 19:30 - 21:00, 2023-06-01 19:30 - 21:00, 2023-05-04 19:30 - 21:00, 2023-03-02 19:30 - 21:00, 2023-02-02 19:30 - 21:00 and 2 more dates | Zoom
Di Nest is an incubator for Yiddish-language creative projects! Join us on the first Thursday of the month to share and workshop community members’ artistic works in progress. All forms of creativity in Yiddish (or prominently featuring Yiddish) are welcome: poetry, prose, music, visual arts, performing arts, translations into Yiddish, and more.
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! Sessions will be in a mix of Yiddish and English.
Each session will include time to workshop material of several participants and a chance for everyone to spend time creating. If you have material you would like to workshop, please email yiddish@circleboston.org. Whether or not you’re bringing material to workshop, you are welcome to attend and offer feedback to fellow participants.
Register Here.

Beyond the Two-State Solution with Dr. Jonathan Kuttab
2023-10-04 19:30 - 21:00 | HYBRID – Congregation Dorshei Tzedek, 60 Highland St, West Newton, MA 02465, USA
Register to join on ZoomCo-sponsored by Boston Workers Circle;Temple Beth Zion; Temple Sinai of Brookline Israel Committee; Temple Israel of Boston, and Temple B’nai Brith of Somerville
All are invited to join us in the CDT Sanctuary (60 Highland Street, West Newton) or on Zoom as we welcome human rights lawyer and peace activist Jonathan Kuttab, who will share with us his vision for peace in Israel-Palestine that he advances in his short book Beyond the Two-State Solution. Dr. Kuttab challenges the assumptions of both Zionism and Palestinian nationalism in his transformative vision of a homeland for both the Jewish and Palestinian peoples that meets the existential needs of both people. Please join us for what promises to be a thought provoking conversation! Beyond the Two State Solution is available to download for no charge; visit www.nonviolenceinternational.net/beyond2states.
Jonathan Kuttab is a renowned Palestinian human rights lawyer, cofounder of the independent NGO Al Haq, the premier human rights organization in the West Bank, and cofounder of Nonviolence International, which seeks to realize the worth and dignity of all people through the nonviolent resolution of conflicts around the globe.

IPC Study Group
2023-10-04 18:00 - 19:30, 2023-09-06 18:00 - 19:30, 2023-08-02 18:00 - 19:30, 2023-07-05 18:00 - 19:30, 2023-06-08 18:00 - 19:30, 2023-05-03 18:00 - 19:30, 2023-04-12 18:00 - 19:30, 2023-03-01 18:00 - 19:30 and 4 more dates | 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. Join us here on Zoom at 6pm 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!

Circle Playtime
2023-10-01 10:45 - 12:15, 2023-09-24 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.
RSVP HERE.

Shule Session 3 (Sukkes & All Parent Assembly)
2023-10-01 10:30 - 12:30

Yiddish Sing
2023-09-28 19:00 - 20:30, 2023-07-27 19:00 - 20:30, 2023-06-22 19:00 - 20:30, 2023-05-25 19:00 - 20:30, 2023-01-26 19:00 - 20:30, 2022-11-17 19:00 - 2022-11-24 20:30 | Zoom
Drop in for this free informal monthly gathering to sing Yiddish songs! All are welcome, regardless of singing ability or knowledge of Yiddish.
Virtual Yiddish Sing – The song booklet will be provided to registrants day of the event. Participants can request songs from the booklet and listen and sing along with their mics muted.
REGISTRATION REQUIRED. Please register here before the event.

Book Talk with Linda Dittmar
2023-09-28 18:30 - 20:30 | HYBRID – Friends Meeting At Cambridge, 5 Longfellow Park, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
BWC is excited to co-present a book event with IfNotNow, Jewish Voice for Peace, and the Alliance for Water Justice in Palestine. Please join us in person or on zoom and invite your friends to hear and engage with Linda Dittmar as she shares her powerful story of the early years of Israel’s statehood and the Palestinian Nakba.
Israeli-American writer and academic Linda Dittmar is the author of Tracing Homelands; Israel, Palestine, and the Claims of Belonging. Part history, part travelogue, and part memoir, it is a braided account of Israel’s early years of statehood and the Palestinian Nakba—the “catastrophe” of mass expulsion—remembered as an Israeli child growing into young adulthood and as an adult, now living in the U.S., who comes to see that history with new eyes. A recipient of an Artist Fellowship from the Massachusetts Cultural Council, Linda’s writings have appeared in The Massachusetts Review, Jewish Currents, Harvard’s Divinity School’s Bulletin, Consequence, and Nowhere magazine.
Masks and rapid tests are recommended for in person attendance, and registration is required whether attendance is in person or via Zoom.Register Here.

AFREJ Fall Gathering with the Jewish Alliance for Law and Social Action (JALSA)
2023-09-27 18:30 - 20:30 | HYBRID – Boston Workers Circle: Center for Jewish Culture & Social Justice, 6 Webster St, Brookline, MA 02446, USA
Join us as we begin our new year with an in-person gathering at BWC. Following a discussion of AFREJ commitments and coalitions, we will host a (hybrid) program from 7-8pm with Andrew Steinberg from JALSA, the Jewish Alliance for Law and Social Action. We will learn about the bills that JALSA supports in the Massachusetts State Legislature to achieve economic justice, combat climate change, address the housing crisis, and advance solutions for other pressing issues.
The program also includes a virtual action for folks to contact their legislators about these policy priorities. Whether new to AFREJ or an AFREJ veteran, we welcome you!
Andrew Steinberg is an organizer for the Jewish Alliance for Law and Social Action (JALSA). As a grassroots, nonprofit, advocacy organization, JALSA puts Jewish values into action by engaging the Jewish community and other allies in the pursuit of social, economic, environmental, and racial justice.
Register here.

Yom Kippur
2023-09-25 10:00 - 12:00 | Eliot Church of Newton UCC, 474 Centre St, Newton, MA 02458, USA
Please see full details and registration link here.

Shule Session 2
2023-09-24 10:30 - 12:30

Yom Kippur begins at sundown
2023-09-24

Neighborhood Tashlikh
2023-09-16 15:00 - 16:00 | Various Locations
Everyone welcome, children & families, especially!
TASHLIKH — (You shall cast away) is based on biblical passages – most notably from Micah (7:9) “You will hurl all of our sins into the depths of the sea”. The traditional word for “sin” is “khet”. A more modern translation goes back to the original meaning of “khet” from archery — “to miss the mark”.
We throw pebbles into the water to represent our “sins” and those burdens, regrets, disappointments, old thinking, missed opportunities, excuses, or rationalizations that interfere with our living full lives. At the same time, we embrace hope to do better and set our intentions on hitting our marks in the coming year.
What to throw? We suggest bringing pebbles to throw because bread, even challah, is not good for the ducks and geese.
Details will be shared closer to the holiday!
Register Here.

Rosh Hashanah
2023-09-16 10:00 - 12:00 | Eliot Church of Newton UCC, 474 Centre St, Newton, MA 02458, USA

Rosh Hashanah begins at Sundown
2023-09-15

AIC Brunch: Welcome to the New Year!
2023-09-10 10:30 - 12:30 | Cambridge, MA, USA
AIC Brunch: Welcome to the New Year will take place in Cambridge, exact location TBA.
More detailed description coming soon.

Shule Session 1 & New Family Orientation
2023-09-10 10:30 - 12:30

Circle Book Group
2023-09-10 10:15 - 12:15 | 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. The Zoom information for this meeting will be shared closer to the event via email. To make sure you’re on the Book Group email list, contact the Circle Book Group committee co-chairs at bookgroup@circleboston.org Click here to learn more, see our current book of the month, and view books we’ve read in the past. To make a donation for the Book Group, visit this page.
This month we are reading East West Street by Philippe Sands.
About the book:A profound, important book, a moving personal detective story and an uncovering of secret pasts, set in Europe’s center, the city of bright colors—Lviv, Ukraine, dividing east from west, north from south, in what had been the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
A book that explores the development of the world-changing legal concepts of “genocide” and “crimes against humanity” that came about as a result of the unprecedented atrocities of Hitler’s Third Reich.
It is also a spellbinding family memoir, as the author traces the mysterious story of his grandfather as he maneuvered through Europe in the face of Nazi atrocities. This is “a monumental achievement … told with love, anger and precision” (John le Carré, acclaimed internationally bestselling author).
East West Street looks at the personal and intellectual evolution of the two men who simultaneously originated the ideas of “genocide” and “crimes against humanity,” both of whom, not knowing the other, studied at the same university with the same professors, in “the Paris of Ukraine,” a major cultural center of Europe, a city variously called Lemberg, Lwów, Lvov, or Lviv. (Source: Penguin Random House)

Yiddish Community Picnic & Campfire
2023-09-04 16:30 - 20:00 | Member Backyard – Address Provided in Registration Confirmation
The BWC Yiddish Committee invites Yiddish speakers of all levels, from Beginning students to fluent speakers, and their families/friends, to enjoy an outdoor potluck picnic and campfire in Medford. There will be an optional short walk to the nearby Mystic Lakes. Drop by for a short time or stay for the whole event. There will be plenty of opportunity to chat in both Yiddish and English.
Register Here.

Elul Community Canvass for #NoNewWomensPrison Campaign
2023-08-21 18:00 - 20:00 | Davis Square, Somerville – Ten Figures Statues Park
Join T’ruah MA, Boston Workers Circle, and Kavod as we chat with our neighbors about the MA campaign to stop construction of a $50 million new women’s prison and to instead invest in reimagining communities. We will be rallying support for two of Families for Justice as Healing’s policy priorities: the Prison Moratorium and Elder Parole.

Register Here.

Boston Premiere of Israelism Film
2023-08-20 16:00 - 18:00 | Coolidge Corner Theatre, 290 Harvard St, Brookline, MA 02446, USA
I﻿sraelism’s first screening in the Boston area! Israelism is a new documentary about the quickly changing American Jewish relationship to Israel, and features interviews with Simone Zimmerman, Jeremy Ben-Ami, Peter Beinart, Noura Erakat, Cornel West, Noam Chomsky, Abe Foxman, and many others.
I﻿t’ll take place on Sunday, August 20th, at 4pm est, at the Coolidge Corner Theater in Brookline followed by a Q&A with Israelism’s Co-Directors.
Co-sponsored with IfNotNow
Get tickets here.

Member Get-Away Weekend
2023-07-14 - 2023-07-16 | World Fellowship Center, 368 Drake Hill Rd, Albany, NH 03818, USA
BWC member get-away weekend at World Fellowship| Friday, July 14 – 16 | N.H.
Join BWC members for an intergenerational member getaway at World Fellowship, a New Hampshire retreat center. Choose from a range of accommodations from tent sites to cabins to rooms upstairs in the main lodge. Families can enjoy childcare, prepared meals, a Friday night talent show, a Saturday night bonfire, and live music, and, a favorite, Whitten Pond, which is a 1/4 mile walk through the woods for boating and swimming in a quiet place with wild blueberries and no pondside development or motorboats. It’s a treasure! Spend a weekend taking local adventures all in the comfort of a center whose tagline is wake up where Social Justice meets Nature.
Make your reservation on the retreat center’s website https://worldfellowship.org/ and note you are part of the BWC group.
If you have any questions contact Shule parent, Leah Madsen.

Young Adult Summer Shabes
2023-07-07 18:30 - 20:30 | A location in JP, shared with registrants
Join BWC’s Young Adult Community for a chill summer shabes in JP! We’ll have good food and time to schmooze as we celebrate summertime together. We’ll talk about ways to get involved in leadership with our YA community and BWC more broadly, so come through to meet like-minded young adults passionate about Jewish culture and social justice organizing!

Register Here.

Freedom is a Verb Watch Party
2023-06-28 18:30 - 20:30
Did you miss the concert? Join us for a virtual watch party!
Register Here.

Member Renewal Phonebank
2023-06-27 18:30 - 20:00
Our community is member powered which means we rely on each other to make our intergenerational, secular, cultural, and social justice loving community happen. Help set our community up for another successful year, get the chance to connect with other BWC-ers, and support our efforts to retain our incredible members at our Membership Renewal Phonebank!
Register Here.

GBIO Housing Justice Forum
2023-06-26 19:00 - 20:30 | Temple Israel, 477 Longwood Ave, Boston, MA 02215, USA
Greater Boston Interfaith Initiative is holding an action at Temple Israel, 477 Longwood Ave in Boston on June 26th at 7:00 P.M. in support of its housing justice agenda. They hope to be 1000 strong coming together to demand housing justice including support for fees on high end real estate to support affordable housing, doubling funding for public housing and other critical housing initiatives.

Register here.

Circle Book Group
2023-06-25 10:15 - 12:15 | 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. The Zoom information for this meeting will be shared closer to the event via email. To make sure you’re on the Book Group email list, contact the Circle Book Group committee co-chairs at bookgroup@circleboston.org Click here to learn more, see our current book of the month, and view books we’ve read in the past. To make a donation for the Book Group, visit this page.
This month we are reading Starring Sally J. Freedman as Herself by Judy Blume

Yiddish Walk at Moose Hill Wildlife Sanctuary
2023-06-24 12:00 - 15:00 | Mass Audubon’s Moose Hill Wildlife Sanctuary, 293 Moose Hill Pkwy, Sharon, MA 02067, USA
Join us for a walk at Moose Hill Wildlife Sanctuary – af yidish! BWC member and Sharon resident, Judy Bressler, will be our guide. We’ll walk the trails and shmuesn (shmooze), equipped with our trusty Yiddish botanical dictionary. Yiddish speakers and students of all levels are welcome at this intergenerational outing! Come catch up with friends or see your Yiddish classmates in person. RSVPs to yiddish@circleboston.org are requested so we can send out announcements or weather updates.
Moose Hill is located at 293 Moose Hill Parkway in Sharon, MA, a little over 30 minutes’ drive from Boston. We’ll be organizing oyto-khevres (carpools) from the Boston area. When you RSVP, please let us know if you can drive others or if you would like a ride.
Admission to Moose Hill is free to Mass Audubon members; for non-members, it is $4 Adults, $3 Seniors (65+), $3 Children (2-12).
We recommend bringing a water bottle and a sandwich/snack, and wearing sturdy shoes since we’ll be walking on unpaved trails.

Building Democracy Team Meeting
2023-06-22 15:00 - 16:00 | https://circleboston-org.zoom.us/j/88053700737?pwd=[REDACTED]
──────────
Zohar Berman is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.
Join Zoom Meetinghttps://circleboston-org.zoom.us/j/88053700737?pwd=[REDACTED]
Meeting ID: 880 5370 0737Passcode: [REDACTED]
—
One tap mobile+13126266799,,88053700737# US (Chicago)+16469313860,,88053700737# US
—
Dial by your location• +1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago)• +1 646 931 3860 US• +1 929 436 2866 US (New York)• +1 301 715 8592 US (Washington DC)• +1 305 224 1968 US• +1 309 205 3325 US• +1 689 278 1000 US• +1 719 359 4580 US• +1 253 205 0468 US• +1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma)• +1 346 248 7799 US (Houston)• +1 360 209 5623 US• +1 386 347 5053 US• +1 507 473 4847 US• +1 564 217 2000 US• +1 669 444 9171 US• +1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose)
Meeting ID: 880 5370 0737
Find your local number: https://circleboston-org.zoom.us/u/kbpJgnK5pO
──────────

Annual Meeting
2023-06-20 18:30 - 20:00 | HYBRID – 6 Webster St, Brookline, MA 02446, USA and on Zoom
Join us for the first annual meeting back in person in our building since the pandemic! We will gather in person and on Zoom to collectively celebrate all the amazing work Boston Workers Circle has accomplished this year. Programming will include a presentation on the State of the Organization, celebration of member leaders, and relational time!
The annual meeting is also when we elect our new Board of Directors. The BoD has a nominating committee that helps recruit candidates, and we have some great member candidates! There are two open positions this year.
And, any person who has been an active member of BWC for 2 or more years is eligible to run. So if you are interested in running and have not already spoken to the nominating committee, please submit your name and a brief bio to Libby Shrobe!

Boston Jewish Teen Social Justice Leadership Summit
2023-06-19 11:00 - 19:00 | Boston Workers Circle: Center for Jewish Culture & Social Justice, 6 Webster St, Brookline, MA 02446, USA
Boston-Area Jewish Youth Social Justice Summit Hosted by TASC and Temple Israel Boston
Suggested Donation: $25Includes lunch, dinner and evening activity
We are planning on having workshops, learning together, and fun. Contact emilia@circleboston.org with any questions.
Register Here.

Standout for Reproductive Justice
2023-06-17 09:30 - 11:30
We will have a standout in front of “Your Options Medical” (which is having an open house on June 17) which purports to provide non-judgmental pregnancy counseling, however is listed with the state as a Christian Ministry and do, in fact, have a vision and a model that is specifically designed to dissuade clients from abortion and provide misinformation about abortion risks and procedures.
Co-sponsored by: Indivisible MA Feminist Action Team

Neighborhood Shabes
2023-06-16 18:00 - 20:00 | Brookline, Jamaica Plain, & Cambridge – Exact locations will be sent to registrants
Register Here.
Please note: JP is almost at capacity. Cambridge registration will close Thursday 6/15 at noon, and the other locations’ registration will close Friday 6/16 at noon.Join your BWC neighbors at a potluck Shabes dinner near YOU! We will host three events simultaneously in Brookline, Cambridge and Jamaica Plain. Expect an informal evening including candles, wine, challah and shmoozing. Perhaps you’ll learn about new neighborhood resources. Maybe you’ll even make a new friend!
Locations: detailed info will be sent upon registration (there will be a combination of indoor and outdoor options). Please note the JP location is almost at capacity — if this is the location you wish to attend, please sign up soon!
This event is pay-what-you-can (suggested donation of $5-15+). Click here to make your donation.
Questions? Email shabes@circleboston.org.

BWC Finance Committee
2023-06-12 17:30 - 18:30, 2023-05-08 17:30 - 18:30, 2023-04-10 17:30 - 18:30, 2023-03-13 17:30 - 18:30, 2023-02-13 17:30 - 18:30 | Zoom
Join on Zoom.

Freedom is a Verb: 25th Anniversary Concert with Special Guest Daniel Kahn
2023-06-10 19:30 - 21:30
For 25 years, the A Besere Velt Yiddish chorus has created a culture of resistance, and brought us together through radical song. On June 10th at MIT’s Kresge Auditorium, Boston Workers Circle and A Besere Velt will be joining forces with Yiddish rock/folk star Daniel Kahn to present Freedom is a Verb, a concert that is sure to inspire and sustain our work for collective freedom. As Daniel sings:
Freedom is a verbSomething never finished, never doneIt’s something you must makeIt’s something you must takeIt’s something you must constantly become
At Freedom is a Verb we are thrilled to honor and celebrate: Progressive Jewish leader Nadav David, Boston Workers Circle Community and Yiddish world leaders Linda Gritz & Mike Katz, and labor leaders Jessica Wender-Shubow & the Brookline Educators Union. Each of our honorees actively lead our community towards freedom.
More information & ticket sales here.

Shule Community Picnic
2023-06-04 10:30 - 12:30 | Larz Anderson Park, Goddard Ave & Newton St., Brookline, MA 02445, USA

Shule B'nai Mitzvah
2023-06-03 09:00 - 14:00

Building Democracy Team Meeting
2023-05-31 15:00 - 16:00 | https://circleboston-org.zoom.us/j/81658708945?pwd=[REDACTED]
──────────
Zohar Berman is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.
Join Zoom Meetinghttps://circleboston-org.zoom.us/j/81658708945?pwd=[REDACTED]
Meeting ID: 816 5870 8945Passcode: [REDACTED] tap mobile+19294362866,,81658708945# US (New York)+13017158592,,81658708945# US (Washington DC)
Dial by your location +1 929 436 2866 US (New York) +1 301 715 8592 US (Washington DC) +1 305 224 1968 US +1 309 205 3325 US +1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago) +1 646 931 3860 US +1 253 205 0468 US +1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma) +1 346 248 7799 US (Houston) +1 360 209 5623 US +1 386 347 5053 US +1 507 473 4847 US +1 564 217 2000 US +1 669 444 9171 US +1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose) +1 689 278 1000 US +1 719 359 4580 USMeeting ID: 816 5870 8945Find your local number: https://circleboston-org.zoom.us/u/kouW0jKHk
──────────

Antisemitism: Reclaiming the conversation
2023-05-25 19:00 - 20:30, 2023-05-18 19:00 - 20:30, 2023-05-11 19:00 - 20:30, 2023-05-04 19:00 - 20:30, 2023-04-27 19:00 - 20:30, 2023-04-20 19:00 - 20:30 | Hybrid – BWC Building & Zoom
6 sessions | April: 20, 27, May: 4, 11,18, 25
Thursdays 7:00-8:30 PM ET | HYBRID
As we navigate a world with rising white nationalism, antisemitism, and threats to democracy, it can be difficult to distinguish real threats from fear tactics. This course is to help discern our path for building Jewish safety and a vision for a multi-racial, multi-ethnic, multi-cultural world, as well as being able to identify what impedes and divides us, both currently and historically.
Over six sessions, a range of outstanding speakers and facilitators will teach the history of antisemitism and its connections to other forms of oppression, as well as how we can take action to fight antisemitism rooted in our progressive values.
Course sessions:

4/20 – “From Anti-Judaism and Anti-Semitism: Is There a Difference?” with Dr. Shaul Magid
4/27 – “Antisemitism and White Christian Nationalism” with Ben Lorber of Political Research Associates
5/4 – “A Black Jewish Perspective on Fighting Racism and Antisemitism” with Rebecca Pierce
5/11 – “How has Antisemitism divided our movements for Justice in the US?” led by Sophie Ellman-Golan
5/18 – “Antisemitism and Israel/Palestine” led by Emma Saltzberg from Diaspora Alliance
5/25 – Facilitated Reflection + integration

Each class will also include a 15 minute schmooze period at 6:45 before the class begins.
Register Here

Israel Palestine Committee Meeting
2023-05-24 19:00 - 20:30, 2023-01-18 19:00 - 20:00 | Zoom
The IPC meets the third Wednesday of every other month at 7pm on Zoom. Our committee-wide meetings are a great chance to learn more about what our subcommittees have been doing and find out how to plug into that work and our upcoming events! Each meeting includes a learning and action component as well. Join us on Zoom at this link.

Solo Parent Series for Shule Families
2023-05-21 10:45 - 11:45, 2023-04-02 10:45 - 11:45
For more information, reach out to meira@circleboston.org

Shule (Final Session)
2023-05-21 10:30 - 12:30

Building Secular Life Cycle Rituals
2023-05-21 10:30 - 12:00 | Hybrid – BWC Building & Zoom
Join us for a workshop to examine the role of life cycle rituals in supporting our secular community. How can we support each other at significant points in our lives, both happy and sad? What can we learn from Jewish traditions? How can we build community-wide involvement and infrastructure to make ritual a regular part of our individual and communal lives?
You will learn about the role of ritual in the lives of BWC members and have the opportunity to experiment with crafting your own rituals. You are welcome if you are interested in the role of ritual in a secular community or have expertise in ritual development or facilitation.
This is a one-time workshop which will lead to the formation of a group of BWC members/leaders committed to making life-cycle rituals an active part of our community life.
Register Here.

Circle Book Group
2023-05-21 10:15 - 12:15 | 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. The Zoom information for this meeting will be shared closer to the event via email. To make sure you’re on the Book Group email list, contact the Circle Book Group committee co-chairs at bookgroup@circleboston.org Click here to learn more, see our current book of the month, and view books we’ve read in the past. To make a donation for the Book Group, visit this page.
This month we are reading The Aleppo Codex by Matti Friedman

Breakfast and Testimony Writing Party with BWC, T'ruah, and Kavod
2023-05-21 10:00 - 11:30 | The Democracy Center, 45 Mt Auburn St, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
Join T’ruah clergy, Boston Workers Circle, and Kavod to build community, eat breakfast, and support one another in writing testimony to support the legislative priorities (the Prison Moratorium, Elder Parole, and Primary Caretakers Act) of Families for Justice as Healing and the National Council. Please register to receive location specifics from organizers before the event!
Register Here.

Community Klezmer Concert & Dance Party
2023-05-19 18:00 - 19:30 | Hyde Community Center, 90 Lincoln St, Newton Highlands, MA 02461, USA
Ever wanted to dance the hora in public but didn’t know how? Now’s your chance!Join International Jewish Music Festival winners Ezekiel’s Wheels Klezmer Band and world renowned dance leader Avia Moore for an evening of freylekhs, bulgars, zhoks, and more at the Hyde Community Center bandstand in Newton Highlands.
Whether you’re a veteran Yiddish dancer or have never even heard of a zhok, bulgar, or freylekhs, you’re invited to join hands and dance the night away with us.
No registration required, but if you wish to register to receive any updates, you can do so here.

Mothers' Day Walk for Peace
2023-05-14 08:00 - 11:00
AFREJ is assembling a BWC team to walk in the Mothers’ Day Walk for Peace. Happening from 8:00 – 11:00 on Sunday May 14, the 4.3 mile walk starts and ends at Town Field Park (Fields Corner) in Dorchester. This is the 27th annual walk, sponsored by the Louis D. Brown Peace Institute, to raise funds for their work in supporting families and communities impacted by murder, trauma, grief, and loss. It’s a powerful community-building event and is a great way for families to begin Mothers’ Day.
We’ve set a goal of the BWC team raising $1500. Go to here to register. When you create your personal account, make sure you link it with the Boston Workers Circle Team.

Advanced Brenendike Verter: Yidishe Dikhterins In Ukraine Nokh Der Revolutsye
2023-05-10 20:00 - 21:30, 2023-05-03 20:00 - 21:30, 2023-04-26 20:00 - 21:30, 2023-03-29 20:00 - 21:30, 2023-03-22 20:00 - 21:30, 2023-03-15 20:00 - 21:30, 2023-03-08 20:00 - 21:30, 2023-03-01 20:00 - 21:30 and 2 more dates | Zoom
Level: The class is suited to advanced speakers and readers of Yiddish including students in past advanced BWC Yiddish classes.. We will discuss the poems and poets in Yiddish, in a supportive environment that encourages each person to speak Yiddish freely and fearlessly to the best of their ability.
Materials: Provided by instructor.
Instructor: Hinde Ena Burstin
Avantgarde Yiddish women poets were trailblazers in the development of secular Yiddish literature in post-revolution Ukraine. The daring themes and imagery of many of their poems signified a fiery break with the restrictions of the past. In this course, we will read a selection of these poems, and will discuss the themes and stylistics, as well as the biographical, sociohistorical and literary contexts of the poems. We will explore ways that these poets transgressed gendered expectations in their subversive verse.
ברענענדיקע ווערטער: ייִדישע דיכטערינס אין אוקראַינע נאָך דער רעװאָלוציע
ייִדישע דיכטערינס האָבן קרעפֿטיק גענומען דאָס וואָרט אין אוקראַינע אין דער נאָך-רעוואָלוציע
תּקופֿה. זיי האָבן זיך אויסגעצייכנט מיט די באַזונדערקייטן פֿון זייערע טעמעס און בילדער, און
מיט זייערע שעפֿערישע שפּילערײַען מיט ווערטער און קלאַנגען. זייערע אָריגינעלע לידער זײַנען
אַ וויכטיקער צושטײַער צו דער אַנטוויקלונג פֿון וועלטלעכער ייִדישער ליטעראַטור.
מיר וועלן צוזאַמען לייענען די פֿלאַמיקע פֿערזן פֿון פֿאַרשיידענע דינאַמישע דיכטערינס, און וועלן
אַרומרעדן די טײַטשן, טעמעס און סטיליסטיק פֿון די לידער, און די קאָנטעקסטן אין וועלכע די
לידער זײַנען דערשינען.

Circle Playtime
2023-05-07 10:45 - 12:15, 2023-04-30 10:45 - 12:15, 2023-04-02 10:45 - 12:15, 2023-01-22 10:45 - 12:15 | John D. Runkle Elementary School, 50 Druce St, Brookline, MA 02445, USA

Shule (Session 21)
2023-05-07 10:30 - 12:30

Support Space Meeting #4
2023-05-07 10:30 - 12:30
The Support Space is designed for Shule caregivers who identify as OR who are the caregiver of a young person who identifies as Black, a person of color, a Jew of color, Indigenous, Sephardi, and/or Mizrahi (JOCISM).
Contact supportspace@circleboston.org for more information

Aging in Health: Part 2 (Aging in Community)
2023-05-07 10:30 - 12:00 | Zoom
A continuation of our January conversation with Dr. Jeff Bass (but newcomers are also welcome!). Internist Dr. Jeffrey Bass, who will speak on changes we can expect as we age and how we can manage our health and well-being. He will discuss specific physiological systems as well as more general topics and will take questions from the group. Please contact AIC@circlboston.org with questions.

May Day Party + Solidarity Fundraiser
2023-04-30 15:00 - 18:00 | Boston Workers Circle: Center for Jewish Culture & Social Justice, 6 Webster St, Brookline, MA 02446, USA
Celebrate May Day early on April 30 from 3-6pm with Boston Workers Circle, hosted by the Young Adult Committee! Join us for drinks (Gragger’s leftover bounty), music, and activist banner painting as we honor our organization’s roots in the labor movement by raising funds to support striking workers! Membership month is coming up soon in June, so this is a great opportunity to become a BWC member and meet other young adults who are working to build progressive Jewish community and political power here in Boston. This event is 21+.
Register Here

Shule (Session 20)
2023-04-30 10:30 - 12:30

Aging in Community: Discussion on Class
2023-04-30 10:30 - 12:00 | Zoom
Discussion on Class. For more information, and the zoom link, please email AIC@circleboston.org

May Day Shabes
2023-04-28 18:00 - 20:00 | Hybrid (BWC Building & Zoom)
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. Register here.
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. Schmoozing 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).
COVID PRECAUTIONS: If you are attending in-person:

everyone must be fully vaccinated against covid, including eligible boosters
everyone must test negative for covid on April 28 before attending the program
everyone must wear a mask over their nose and mouth except when eating and drinking
anyone who is not feeling well should not attend in person (can attend online)
if covid rates in the community become a concern, we will celebrate May Day Shabes online only

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
Program Booklet

Questions? Contact yiddish@circleboston.org

Yiddish Sing - Passover Edition
2023-04-27 19:00 - 20:30 | Zoom
Drop in for this free informal monthly gathering to sing Yiddish songs! All are welcome, regardless of singing ability or knowledge of Yiddish.
This month we will feature Passover songs and songs of resistance in honor of the 80th anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising.
Virtual Yiddish Sing – The song booklet will be provided to registrants day of the event. Participants can request songs from the booklet and listen and sing along with their mics muted.
REGISTRATION REQUIRED. Please register here before the event.

Shule (Session 19)
2023-04-23 10:30 - 12:30

Circle Book Group
2023-04-23 10:15 - 12:15 | 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. The Zoom information for this meeting will be shared closer to the event via email. To make sure you’re on the Book Group email list, contact the Circle Book Group committee co-chairs at bookgroup@circleboston.org Click here to learn more, see our current book of the month, and view books we’ve read in the past. To make a donation for the Book Group, visit this page.
This month we are reading The Spinoza Problem by Irvin D. Yalom

Young Adult Library Open Hours/Shmooze
2023-04-22 16:00 - 18:00 | Boston Workers Circle: Center for Jewish Culture & Social Justice, 6 Webster St, Brookline, MA 02446, USA
Interested in radical Jewish/Yiddish history? Love learning with other young adults? Join us for a social on April 22 from 4-6 pm in the BWC library as we check out the collection lovingly curated by our Library committee.

Beginner, Semester 2
2023-04-19 19:00 - 20:30, 2023-04-12 19:00 - 20:30, 2023-04-05 19:00 - 20:30, 2023-03-29 19:00 - 20:30, 2023-03-22 19:00 - 20:30, 2023-03-15 19:00 - 20:30, 2023-03-08 19:00 - 20:30, 2023-03-01 19:00 - 20:30 and 2 more dates | Zoom
Students will continue learning from Colloquial Yiddish, starting with a review of grammar already learned in BWC’s Fall Beginner, 1st semester class and moving further ahead. Additionally, songs and various multimedia materials will be used to expose students to current and historical Yiddish culture and to strengthen conversation skills and Yiddish reading ability.
Level: Geared to students who have taken a Beginner Semester 1 Boston Workers Circle class, and we welcome newcomers who already know the alef-beys and some basic Yiddish grammar & vocabulary.
Materials: Colloquial Yiddish, available to purchase at The Yiddish Book Center or Routledge Textbooks or at other online sites
Instructor: Abby Howell

Intermediates – Motl Peyse dem Khazns
2023-04-19 16:30 - 18:00, 2023-04-12 16:30 - 18:00, 2023-04-05 16:30 - 18:00, 2023-03-29 16:30 - 18:00, 2023-03-22 16:30 - 18:00, 2023-03-15 16:30 - 18:00, 2023-03-08 16:30 - 18:00, 2023-03-01 16:30 - 18:00 and 2 more dates | Zoom
Students in this section will continue reading an abridged and annotated version of Motl Peyse dem Khazns by Sholem Aleichem, starting in chapter 5. By reading aloud, using the book’s exercises, and discussion, students will have a chance to strengthen their Yiddish reading, vocabulary, grammar and conversation skills. There’ll also be time for general conversation practice and learning through songs. Level: Continuing students and new students who can read Yiddish with the help of a dictionary. The first class will include a review of characters and plot in Motl Peyse if there are new students.
Materials: New students should purchase Motl Peyse dem Khazns, available at League for Yiddish or at other online sites.
Instructor: Jonah Sidman

New Intermediates: In Eynem, vol 2
2023-04-18 19:00 - 20:30, 2023-04-11 19:00 - 20:30, 2023-04-04 19:00 - 20:30, 2023-03-28 19:00 - 20:30, 2023-03-21 19:00 - 20:30, 2023-03-14 19:00 - 20:30, 2023-03-07 19:00 - 20:30, 2023-02-28 19:00 - 20:30 and 2 more dates | Zoom
Using the textbook In Eynem, vol 2, students will increase their comfort with Yiddish grammar and with fluency speaking, reading and writing.
Level: Students who have previously taken BWC’s Fall ” New Intermediate” class, and we welcome new students who have completed In Eynem Units 1-4 and/or who are comfortable with basic conversation in Yiddish; familiar with grammar such as case and gender declensions and separable-prefix verb conjugations; and who have experience reading texts that include past, present and future tenses.
Materials: Students new to the class should purchase In Eynem at The Yiddish Book Center.
Instructor: Elya (Zissel) Piazza

Advanced Beginner
2023-04-18 19:00 - 20:30, 2023-04-11 19:00 - 20:30, 2023-04-04 19:00 - 20:30, 2023-03-28 19:00 - 20:30, 2023-03-21 19:00 - 20:30, 2023-03-14 19:00 - 20:30, 2023-03-07 19:00 - 20:30, 2023-02-28 19:00 - 20:30 and 2 more dates | Zoom
Students will continue learning from Colloquial Yiddish, starting with a review of grammar already learned in BWC’s Fall Advanced Beginner, 1st semester class and moving further ahead. Additionally, songs and various multi-media materials will be used to expose students to current and historical Yiddish culture and to strengthen conversation skills and Yiddish reading ability.
Level: Geared to students who have taken Advanced Beginner, Semester 1 at Boston Workers Circle. Newcomers who already know the alef-beys and present tense, have some familiarity with the past tense and can understand, speak, read and write simple sentences in Yiddish are welcome to join.
Materials: New students should purchase Colloquial Yiddish at The Yiddish Book Center or Routledge Textbooks or at other on-line sites.
Instructor: Jonah Sidman

Intermediates – Yehoyash’s Yiddish translation of the Tanakh
2023-04-17 17:00 - 18:30, 2023-04-10 17:00 - 18:30, 2023-04-03 17:00 - 18:30, 2023-03-27 17:00 - 18:30, 2023-03-20 17:00 - 18:30, 2023-03-13 17:00 - 18:30, 2023-03-06 17:00 - 18:30, 2023-02-27 17:00 - 18:30 and 2 more dates | Zoom
Join us for an early evening weekly reading group studying Yehoyash’s Yiddish translation of the Tanakh, in the book of Breyshis (Genesis). Brush up on your biblical vocabulary, take a stroll down to Mitzrayim with Yosef and his brethren and shvestren, practice your reading fluency by chanting repetitive verses about the long lives of the ancestors who begat named sons and nameless daughters, and role play as an ancient sage or shtetl melamed by attempting to explain and expand upon the meanings of these ancient verses.
Level: This section is intended for continuing BWC intermediates. New students who have experience reading and speaking Yiddish within or outside of a classroom setting and who want a facilitated reading class are welcome to join. Grammar will be reviewed as it comes up in the text.
Materials: Provided by instructor.
Instructor: Abby Howell

Brookline Canvass with Kavod and T'ruah
2023-04-16 10:00 - 13:00 | Boston Workers Circle: Center for Jewish Culture & Social Justice, 6 Webster St, Brookline, MA 02446, USA
Join an in-person canvass led by T’ruah-Massachusetts, Kavod, and Boston Workers Circle for The National Council and FJAH’s policy priorities! The location of this canvass will be in the Brookline/Newton area. We will be chatting with our neighbors about the campaign and asking them to reach out to their state representatives. Exact location and all needed details will be provided to you by your canvass captain before the event. This event is child-friendly!
Register Here.
Co-sponsored by Kavod, T’ruah, and Families for Justice as Healing

1for3 Speaks at Palestine Solidarity & Jewish-Muslim Solidarity Joint Meeting
2023-04-11 19:15 - 20:45 | Zoom
Please join us Tuesday, April 11th at 7:15-8:45 pm on Zoom for a special joint meeting of the BWC IPC Palestine Solidarity Committee and the Jewish Muslim Solidarity Committee! We’ll be hearing about 1for3.org‘s exciting plans to expand early childhood education in the UN-run Aida Refugee Camp in Bethlehem, Palestine. The Boston Workers Circle has had a long relationship with 1for3.org, a Massachusetts-based non-profit that focuses on four primary challenges in the lives of Palestinian refugees: Water – Food – Health – Education. In past years, BWC has participated in 1for3’s Walk for Water, raising money and awareness about the critical impact of the occupation on the need for water and the inequitable distribution of water in Israel/Palestine. Right now our friends are asking us to support early childhood education in the Aida Camp by fundraising for the Expansion of the Zahrat Al-Yasmeen Kindergarten. Nidal Al-Azraq, executive director of 1for3, and Katherine Hanna, founder of the kindergarten program, will join us to share more about their plans to add a third classroom. We’ll learn about the kindergarten’s innovative inclusive, play-based and trauma-informed curriculum, which provides a space “where children can be children” and find joy, hope, and healing amidst the harshness of the occupation. So please, come listen, learn, and help BWC support this important and wonderful effort! Register here.

Zayen Class Presentations
2023-04-02 10:45 - 12:15
Zayen Class B’nai Mitzvah project presentations | Open to BWC members | Register for the link
As part of the 7th grade curriculum each Zayen student selects a research project on a topic of his or her choice to explore a question having to do with their Jewish identity. On Sunday, April 2nd, hear our ten students’ presentations over livestream as they present to the community using powerpoints and share the questions that are important to them.

Shule (Session 18)
2023-04-02 10:30 - 12:30

Support Space Ritual & Family Gathering
2023-03-31 18:00 - 20:00, 2023-02-03 18:00 - 20:00 | Boston Workers Circle: Center for Jewish Culture & Social Justice, 6 Webster St, Brookline, MA 02446, USA

Voter Rights Phone Banking
2023-03-29 19:00 - 20:00, 2023-03-22 19:00 - 20:00, 2023-03-15 19:00 - 20:00, 2023-03-08 19:00 - 20:00 | Zoom
Join Boston Workers Circle and Workers Circle National for weekly Wednesday evening phonebanks! The Wisconsin Supreme Court election will be held in April. Recently, the Wisconsin Supreme Court outlawed absentee dropboxes in a state that already has very restrictive Voter ID requirements, making it harder for Black, low-income citizens to cast their ballots. Join us as we call Black voters in Milwaukee to provide crucial information they need to vote in a race that will impact voting rights, abortion rights, and democracy for years to come. No experience is necessary and you can make calls from anywhere.
We phonebank in partnership with the Center for Common Ground, a people of color-led organization that fights voter suppression and empowers underserved communities to connect voters of color with the information they need to vote by mail and to vote early in person. Our calls support on-the-ground efforts to reach Black voters by the NAACP, Black Voters Matter, and Mi Familia Vota.
Sign up here.

Holding Ground: Supporting Community Resilience in Roxbury
2023-03-26 19:00 - 20:30 | Zoom
Join AFREJ on Sunday, March 26th at 7 PM for a screening of Holding Ground: The Rebirth of Dudley Street, the award-winning documentary about a cautionary tale of urban policies gone wrong and a message of hope for all American cities produced and directed by Leah Mahan and Mark Lipman.
For those who want to watch the film beforehand you can purchase it for personal use for 3 days for 6.99 on New Day Films website or stream it through your local public library through Kanopy. Or if you join us and watch it together, we will be streaming it over Zoom at 6 PM before our discussion.
The screening will be followed by a discussion on how BWC can engage in solidarity to continue to empower and support the fight for racial and economic justice in these communities through a reparative lens.
We will be joined by Eliza Parad, the Center for Economic Democracy’s Director of Municipal Democracy and one of the founders of AFREJ! We ask that you please contribute any amount you are comfortable with at http://bit.ly/bwcpassthehat so that we can provide an honorarium to our guest speakers and to support our work. Please be sure to put ‘AFREJ’ after check marking the ‘other’ box in the form.
Register Here.

Circle Book Group
2023-03-26 10:15 - 12:15 | 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. The Zoom information for this meeting will be shared closer to the event via email. To make sure you’re on the Book Group email list, contact the Circle Book Group committee co-chairs at bookgroup@circleboston.org Click here to learn more, see our current book of the month, and view books we’ve read in the past. To make a donation for the Book Group, visit this page.
This month we are reading Smaht Guy: The Life and Times of Barney Frank by Eric Orner

Community Passover Seder
2023-03-25 16:30 - 18:30 | Hellenic Cultural Center, 25 Bigelow Ave, Watertown, MA 02472, USA
In-Person & Live-Streamed // Saturday, March 25, 2023 @ 4:30pm
25 Bigelow Ave, Watertown, MA (Hellenic Cultural Center)
SPACE IS LIMITED! SIGN UP ASAP TO ENSURE YOUR SEAT!
Get your tickets today!

Yiddish Sing - Purim Special Edition
2023-03-23 19:00 - 20:30 | Zoom
Drop in for this free informal monthly gathering to sing Yiddish songs! All are welcome, regardless of singing ability or knowledge of Yiddish.
This month we will feature Purim and drinking songs!
Virtual Yiddish Sing – The song booklet will be provided to registrants day of the event. Participants can request songs from the booklet and listen and sing along with their mics muted.
REGISTRATION REQUIRED. Please register here before the event.

Israel Palestine Committee Meeting
2023-03-22 19:00 - 20:30 | Zoom
The IPC meets the third Wednesday of every other month at 7pm on Zoom. Our committee-wide meetings are a great chance to learn more about what our subcommittees have been doing and find out how to plug into that work and our upcoming events! Each meeting includes a learning and action component as well. Register for the Zoom here.

Shule (Session 17)
2023-03-19 10:30 - 12:30

Support Space Meeting #3
2023-03-19 10:30 - 12:30

Aging in Community: Small Group Discussions
2023-03-19 10:30 - 12:00 | Zoom
Small group discussion — topics TBA. For more information, and the zoom link, please email AIC@circleboston.org

Yiddish Dreams & Futures Concert
2023-03-18 19:00 - 21:00 | Kresge Auditorium, 48 Massachusetts Ave w16, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
The Boston Festival for New Jewish Music presents Yiddish Dreams & Futures, a portrait concert of composer Derek David, featuring new vocal and chamber works that reflect upon Jewish identity and Yiddish culture in a contemporary landscape.
The concert, hosted by MIT Music & Theater Arts in Kresge Auditorium, will feature the full premiere of Derek’s Clarinet Quintet “Oh World, Goodnight” by Del Sol and Andrew Friedman, and the premiere of String Quartet No. 4 “Kaddish” with Verona Quartet.
Vocal works will include a performance of Four Yiddish Folksongs featuring Nat Seelen and Abigale Reisman of Ezekiel’s Wheels Klezmer Band, pianist Renena Gutman, and soprano Megan Jones, as well as choral works with A Besere Velt, the world’s largest Yiddish chorus.
For more information & tickets, click here.

Shule (Session 16)
2023-03-12 10:30 - 12:30

Shule Purim Party
2023-03-05 10:30 - 12:30 | John D. Runkle Elementary School, 50 Druce St, Brookline, MA 02445, USA
More details will be available

Gragger
2023-03-04 20:00 - 23:59
Subversion, performance, and rebellion—these elements define the Purim story, and come together in the Boston Workers Circle’s raucous and radical Purim Party: Gragger! This year’s festivities will include a full Purim shpil performance by local Jewish drag troupe Ain’t Mitzvahavin and a DJ set by Chaia and Diva Nigun.
Join us on March 4 from 8pm-12am at the Cathedral of St. Paul for hamantaschen, a cash bar, photo booth, and dancing as we celebrate our queer Jewish left Boston community. Bring your tips and your best costumes—you won’t want to miss it!
More details & tickets available here.

Circle Book Group
2023-02-26 10:15 - 12:15 | 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. The Zoom information for this meeting will be shared closer to the event via email. To make sure you’re on the Book Group email list, contact the Circle Book Group committee co-chairs at bookgroup@circleboston.org Click here to learn more, see our current book of the month, and view books we’ve read in the past. To make a donation for the Book Group, visit this page.

Food: Memories, Celebrations, & Connection Shabes
2023-02-24 18:00 - 19:30 | Zoom
Join us as we celebrate the many food traditions of the BWC community. All are welcome to share a favorite family holiday recipe, the memories and stories they evoke, as well as a photo two to go with it. (They can be photos of the people, foods or even hand-written recipes you have held onto.) After we gather on February 24th for our Shabes: Food, Memory, & Celebration gathering, we will be compiling an online cookbook to share with the community! Share this link with your friends — we are hoping to represent the wonderful diversity in our community in these recipes and stories.
Register to attend the Shabes here.
If you would like to share a recipe or related photos, please complete the form here.
This event is pay-what-you-can (suggested donation of $5-10+). Click here to make your donation. Your support covers the cost of food for the event.

Yiddish Sing Special Edition: All Kinds of Love Songs
2023-02-23 19:00 - 20:30 | Zoom
Drop in for this free informal monthly gathering to sing Yiddish songs! All are welcome, regardless of singing ability or knowledge of Yiddish. In honor of Valentine’s Day, we will sing songs of love in all its forms – people, nature, peace, justice, and more!Virtual Yiddish Sing – The song booklet will be provided to registrants day of the event. Participants can request songs from the booklet and listen and sing along with their mics muted.
REGISTRATION REQUIRED. Please register here before the event.

AFREJ Learning for Action Series
2023-02-23 19:00 - 20:30, 2023-01-12 19:00 - 20:30, 2022-12-15 19:00 - 20:30 | Zoom
As we mark the 60 year anniversary since the Boston Workers Circle moved from Dorchester to Brookline, the Acting For Racial and Economic Justice Committee (AFREJ) will are leading a Learning For Action series around the book, The Death of an American Jewish Community: A Tragedy of Good Intentions.
In the past few years, we in AFREJ have been learning about reparations and participating in reparative actions. As well, we’ve co-sponsored workshops for the Ujima Fund, a solidarity economy project led by working-class people of color that works to build political and economic power in Dorchester, Roxbury, Mattapan, and Jamaica Plain. Through this work, we have widened our concept of reparations in two ways: first, recognizing that the Jewish exodus from and subsequent corporate and governmental disinvestment in these neighborhoods calls on us as Jews to localize our reparations work in these communities. Second, our support for Ujima and other solidarity economy enterprises connects to our commitment to “full” reparations, that is, repair that transforms systems and guarantees non-repeat.
We began the series on November 17 and over the next 3 sessions — through a combination of group discussions of the book and guest presenters that will provide more historical and current context of this text — we hope to deepen our understanding of what happened in these communities and how we can continue to support their political and economic empowerment.
BWC is a member-run community which means we can’t do this work without you! Please contribute any amount you are comfortable with at http://bit.ly/bwcpassthehat. When you access the link type AFREJ L4A in the Other box in the first section. Your donations will go towards providing an honorarium for both of our guest speakers!
Register Here: bit.ly/afrejl4a

Reception for Alice Rothchild
2023-02-22 17:00 - 18:40 | 6 Webster St, Brookline, MA
In-Person: 5:00 pm – 6:40 pmOnline attendance will begin at 5:30pm.
Join members of the Israel/Palestine Committee at a reception with former BWC activists Alice Rothchild and Dan Klein who are in Boston while Alice promotes her new book for young adults – Finding Melody Sullivan. Reception for Alice and Dan will be followed by Alice’s East Coast premier of the book at Brookline Booksmith.
This is a hybrid event: you can join us in-person or on zoom!
If you’d like to join us for in-person dinner (chicken kabob or falafel rollups), you must complete this form by Sunday, Feb 19. The cost for dinner is a sliding scale $18-20.
To attend, you must be fully vaccinated and wear a mask, except while eating. In addition, we are requesting that everyone take a rapid Covid test before attending this event.
The Brookline Booksmith event starts at 7pm and requires registration to attend in person or can also be viewed through their livestream (no registration required). Register Here.

Alternative Approaches to Health & Wellness (Aging in Community)
2023-02-19 10:30 - 12:00 | Zoom
Alternative Approaches to Health and Wellness: A discussion with an acupuncturist, an osteopath and a massage therapist. Please contact AIC@circleboston.org with questions.

Shule (Session 14)
2023-02-12 10:30 - 12:30

Hey Class Solidarity Protest
2023-02-05 13:00 - 14:00 | Massachusetts State House, 24 Beacon St, Boston, MA 02133, USA
The whole BWC & Shule community is invited to join the Hey (5th grade) Class and City Life/Vida Urbana (CL/VU) in front of the Massachusetts State House.
The Hey (5th grade) class will lead a solidarity protest in support of CL/VU’s Lift the Ban on Rent Control campaign in our annual Shule Solidarity protest. Youth organizers at CL/VU and Heyniks will do street theater, hear speakers and demand more stable and affordable housing in MA and the removal of the state-wide ban on rent control.
This will also be live streamed. Live stream link will be announced on our Facebook page.
Reach out to Zohar (zohar@circleboston.org) or Meira (meira@circleboston.org) if you have questions!

Shule (Session 13)
2023-02-05 10:30 - 12:30

Aging in Community: Aging in Health
2023-01-29 10:30 - 12:00 | Zoom
The January meeting will feature internist Dr. Jeffrey Bass, who will speak on changes we can expect as we age and how we can manage our health and well-being. He will discuss specific physiological systems as well as more general topics and will take questions from the group. Please contact AIC@circlboston.org with questions.

Young Adult Game Night
2023-01-27 19:00 - 21:00
Join the Boston Workers Circle’s Young Adult Community for a fun game night with pizza and board games, playing cards, Jackbox, snacks, and more! COVID-19 vaccination is required for attendance, and masks will be worn when not eating or drinking.
We suggest donations of $5-10 per person, but not required, and we welcome contributions of time, energy, and talents!

Register Here.

Building Democracy in Boston & Beyond
2023-01-23 19:30 - 21:00 | Zoom
Now that we have caught our breath after the Democrats squeaked by in November and Rev. Warnock was reelected by the people of Georgia, it’s time to take stock of the fight for democracy. Winning by such razor-thin margins means we have our work cut out for us in the struggle for a besere velt (a better world). We are not off the hook in Massachusetts–there is much to be done right here in our own communities, and a role for us to play in the project of national democracy building. Join us to hear from panelists leading this critical work locally and nationally, and learn how to take action to protect and strengthen democracy here in the Boston area and beyond.
We will have the following amazing speakers:

Sayer LaGalle, Senior Advisor of Stakeholder Engagement for All Voting is Local / All Voting is Local Action
Avir Waxman, Director of the Massachusetts Political Cooperative
Noah Wagner, Campaign Director of IfNotNow
Aaron Dockser, Field Representative Organizer for the Massachusetts Teachers Association

This event is pay-what-you-can (suggested donation of $5 to $10+). Donate Here.
Registration is required: Register Here.

Shule (Session 12)
2023-01-22 10:30 - 12:30

Circle Book Group
2023-01-22 10:15 - 12:15, 2022-12-11 10:15 - 12:15, 2022-11-13 10:15 - 12:15 | 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. The Zoom information for this meeting will be shared closer to the event via email. To make sure you’re on the Book Group email list, contact the Circle Book Group committee co-chairs at bookgroup@circleboston.org Click here to learn more and/or view books we’ve read in the past. To make a donation for the Book Group, visit this page.

Support Space Meeting #2
2023-01-08 10:15 - 12:15

Family-Friendly Community Candle Lighting
2022-12-22 19:00 - 20:00 | Zoom
RSVP for the link
Light the Khanike/Chanukah candles with Shule families and the broader BWC community. Come prepared to meet other BWC members and share a little bit about your holiday traditions and yourselves in this intergenerational exchange.

Shule Khanike Party
2022-12-18 10:30 - 12:30 | John D. Runkle Elementary School, 50 Druce St, Brookline, MA 02445, USA

London in Yiddishtown with Vivi Lachs
2022-12-17 19:30 - 21:00 | 6 Webster St, Brookline, MA 02446, USA
Yiddishist and historian Vivi Lachs presents her newest book, London Yiddishtown! In this talk, Vivi will introduce you to the ups and downs, the humour and the tensions of Jewish life in London’s East End of the 1930s and 40s through three of its local Yiddish writers. Vivi will talk about the East End and read excerpts of her translations of their stories: Katie Brown’s hilarious sketches about generational conflict, Summer Lisky’s gripping stories of combating fascism in London, and Arnold Kaizer’s comic satire of community and synagogue antics. These stories are told with humour, intensity, and passion. This talk will be in English; no Yiddish, London, or any other knowledge necessary.
Vivi Lachs is a historian of the Jewish East End, a Yiddishist, a performer and a researcher at Queen Mary University. Her books on the subject are Whitechapel Noise: Jewish Immigrant Life in Yiddish Song and Verse, London 1884-1914 and her latest book London Yiddishtown: East End Jewish Life in Yiddish Sketch and Story, 1930-1950 is partly a result of a 2019 Yiddish Book Center translation fellowship. Vivi is a popular speaker and performer and sings with the bands Klezmer Klub (Whitechapel, mayn Vaytshepl) and Katsha’nes (Don’t Ask Silly Questions). She runs the Great Yiddish Parade bringing Yiddish songs of protest and union activism of the 1890s back onto the streets of London and leads tours in the local area.
Copies of London Yiddishtown will be available for purchase and signing.
Register Here.

Yiddish Sing - Khanike!
2022-12-15 19:00 - 2022-12-22 20:30 | Zoom
Drop in for this free informal monthly gathering to sing Yiddish songs! All are welcome, regardless of singing ability or knowledge of Yiddish.
This month we will sing songs for Hanukkah! The song booklet will be provided to registrants day of the event. Participants can request songs from the booklet and listen and sing along with their mics muted.
Virtual Yiddish Sing – The song booklet will be provided to registrants day of the event. Participants can request songs from the booklet and listen and sing along with their mics muted.
REGISTRATION REQUIRED. Please register here before the event.

Level 1 - Beginner
2022-12-14 19:00 - 20:30, 2022-12-07 19:00 - 20:30, 2022-11-30 19:00 - 20:30, 2022-11-23 19:00 - 20:30, 2022-11-16 19:00 - 20:30, 2022-11-09 19:00 - 20:30, 2022-11-02 19:00 - 20:30 | Zoom
Learn elementary grammar, conversation skills and how to read Yiddish. Students who don’t yet know the Hebrew alphabet will be asked to join the class a half hour early for the first several sessions. The class will be interactive and lively, using the textbook Colloquial Yiddish, songs, games, and other multi-media materials. Level: Students new to Yiddish or those who know a few basics but want astructured start to learning anew. Materials: Students should purchase Colloquial Yiddish at The Yiddish Book Center orRoutledge Textbooks or at other on-line sites. Instructor: Raphael Halff Registration information can be found here.

Advanced - Theater
2022-12-14 19:00 - 20:30, 2022-12-07 19:00 - 20:30, 2022-11-30 19:00 - 20:30, 2022-11-23 19:00 - 20:30, 2022-11-16 19:00 - 20:30, 2022-11-09 19:00 - 20:30, 2022-11-02 19:00 - 20:30 | Zoom
In this class, students will read pieces of Yiddish theater aloud together. The teacher will speak in Yiddish, providing dramaturgy and historical context, and students will be encouraged to discuss the material using as much Yiddish as they can. Grammatical topics will be addressed as they arise in our texts. This will be a great opportunity to improve speaking and reading literacy as well as to develop familiarity with Yiddishtheatre and the historical and cultural contexts in which it was produced. Materials: Provided by instructor. Instructor: Zissel Piazza Registration information can be found here.

Continuing Intermediates - Motl Peyse dem Khazns
2022-12-14 16:30 - 18:00, 2022-12-07 16:30 - 18:00, 2022-11-30 16:30 - 18:00, 2022-11-23 16:30 - 18:00, 2022-11-16 16:30 - 18:00, 2022-11-09 16:30 - 18:00 | Zoom
Students in this section will continue reading an abridged and annotated version of Motl Peyse dem Khazns by Sholem Aleichem, starting with chapter 4. By reading aloud, using the book’s exercises, and discussion, students will have a chance to strengthen their Yiddish reading, vocabulary, grammar and conversation skills. There’ll also be time for general conversation practice and learning through songs. Level: Continuing students and new students who can read Yiddish with the help of a dictionary and who want guided reading and grammar/vocabulary/reading comprehension exercises. The first class will include a review of characters and plot in Motl Peyse as a summary for new students and a refresher for continuing students. Materials: New students should purchase Motl Peyse dem Khazns, available at League for Yiddish or at other on-line sites. Instructor: Jonah Sidman Registration information can be found here.

New Intermediates
2022-12-13 19:00 - 20:30, 2022-12-06 19:00 - 20:30, 2022-11-29 19:00 - 20:30, 2022-11-22 19:00 - 20:30, 2022-11-15 19:00 - 20:30, 2022-11-08 19:00 - 20:30 | Zoom
Using the textbook In Eynem, vol 2, students will increase their comfort with Yiddish grammar and with fluency speaking, reading and writing. Level: Students who have previously taken a BWC Advanced Beginner class, and newstudents who have either completed In Eynem vol 1 and/or who are comfortable withbasic conversation in Yiddish; familiar with grammar such as case and genderdeclensions and separable-prefix verb conjugations; and who have experience readingtexts that include past, present and future tenses. Textbook: Students new to the class should purchase In Eynem at The Yiddish Book Center. Instructor: Zissel Piazza Registration information can be found here.

Level 2 - Advanced Beginner
2022-12-13 19:00 - 20:30, 2022-12-06 19:00 - 20:30, 2022-11-29 19:00 - 20:30, 2022-11-22 19:00 - 20:30, 2022-11-15 19:00 - 20:30, 2022-11-08 19:00 - 20:30 | Zoom
Students will continue learning from Colloquial Yiddish, starting with a review of grammar already learned in BWC’s Beginner classes and moving further ahead. Additionally, songs and various multi-media materials will be used to expose students to current and historical Yiddish culture and to strengthen conversation skills and Yiddish reading ability. Level: Geared to students who have taken a Beginner-Semester 2 or Semester 3 BostonWorkers Circle class, and to newcomers who already know the alef-beys and presenttense, have some familiarity with the past tense and can understand, speak, read andwrite simple sentences in Yiddish.
Materials: New students should purchase Colloquial Yiddish at The Yiddish Book Center orRoutledge Textbooks or at other on-line sites. Instructor: Jonah Sidman Registration information can be found here.

History of Yiddish Music
2022-12-12 19:30 - 21:00, 2022-12-05 19:30 - 21:00, 2022-11-28 19:30 - 21:00, 2022-11-21 19:30 - 21:00, 2022-11-14 19:30 - 21:00 | Zoom
Never heard of Naftule Brandwein? No problem. Welcome to your turntable intervention.
Join Seattle renegade klezmer Miles (Mai Li Pittard) for your five-class guided tour through the 500-year adventure of Yiddish music: the hits; the stories and scandals; and Miles’ controversial argument for a recent new, distinct ‘revival’ wave. This interactive listening and historical lecture class will focus on recordings, “needle-dropping” standards in different eras to showcase the changes in bands’ styles and conventions in groove over time, and hit a solid selection of must-hears through history (including recent releases!), with some special spotlights on queer artists throughout history. This class is not quite music appreciation and not quite history–more like an elevator pitch for the through line and relevancy of modern klezmer and Yiddish music, and the widely-known conspiracy from Big Klezmer to get you hooked on the good stuff (and the stories behind it). Everyone will leave this class with at least one new weird historical story and a solid listening list that will change your life. No experience necessary; only enthusiasm required. Registration information can be found here.

Continuing Intermediates - Yehoyash's Yiddish Translation of the Tanakh
2022-12-12 17:00 - 18:30, 2022-12-05 17:00 - 18:30, 2022-11-28 17:00 - 18:30, 2022-11-21 17:00 - 18:30, 2022-11-14 17:00 - 18:30, 2022-11-07 17:00 - 18:30 | Zoom
Join us for an early evening weekly reading group studying Yehoyash’s Yiddish translation of the Tanakh, in the book of Breyshis (Genesis). Brush up on your biblical vocabulary as you immerse yourself in the tehom (watery depths), read about the exploits of the nefilim (antediluvian giants), practice your reading fluency by chanting repetitive verses about the long lives of the ancestors who begat named sons and nameless daughters, and role play as an ancient sage or shtetl melamed by attempting to explain and expandupon the meanings of these ancient verses. Level: This section is intended for continuing BWC intermediates. New students who have experience reading and speaking Yiddish within or outside of a classroom setting are welcome to join. Grammar will be reviewed as it comes up in the text. Materials: Provided by instructor. Instructor: Abby Howell Registration information can be found here.

BWC Night of Action for Palestine
2022-12-04 19:00 - 21:00 | Zoom
Join Boston Workers Circle and the Palestine Solidarity Subcommittee (of the Israel-Palestine Committee) on Sunday, December 4, at 7 – 8:30pm ET, for a night of learning and action in community on Zoom. Click here to register!
We will follow up on some of the actions BWC has taken together in the past and update our understanding of urgent situations like land theft, expulsions, and house demolitions in Masafer Yatta; ongoing Israeli settler violence in the West Bank; and the apartheid system designating vastly separate treatment for Israelis and Palestinians under the law in the State of Israel.
Our actions may include contacting our legislators, signing petitions, making donations, and more. All attendees are welcome to participate in or opt out of any actions we take as a group. This evening will give us a chance to come together as a community and put our new Israel/Palestine Principles into action. We at the PSSC hope to build a greater shared awareness of what’s happening in the region, and of what Palestinians are asking international allies to do to support them, to empower our community members to plug in and support desperately needed change from our homes here in Boston.
Register here to join us December 4!

Arts Shabes II
2022-12-02 19:00 - 20:00 | Zoom
More details to be announced

Aging in Comunity
2022-11-20 10:30 - 12:00 | Zoom
Psychedelics again?! Learn how current research on psilocybin is promising relief from depression and anxiety, and, especially, end of life anxiety.
If you’re not already on our Aging in Community email list and would like to be added, email co-chairs marsha.lazar@gmail.com and diannp27@comcast.net and they can send you the link for the sessions.

Learning for Action Series
2022-11-17 19:00 - 20:00 | Zoom
As we mark the 60 year anniversary since the Boston Workers Circle moved from Dorchester to Brookline, the Acting For Racial and Economic Justice Committee (AFREJ) will be leading a Learning For Action series around the book, The Death of an American Jewish Community: A Tragedy of Good Intentions.
In the past few years, we in AFREJ have been learning about reparations and participating in reparative actions. As well, we’ve co-sponsored workshops for the Ujima Fund, a solidarity economy project led by working-class people of color that works to build political and economic power in Dorchester, Roxbury, Mattapan, and Jamaica Plain. Through this work, we have widened our concept of reparations in two ways: first, recognizing that the Jewish exodus from and subsequent corporate and governmental disinvestment in these neighborhoods calls on us as Jews to localize our reparations work in these communities. Second, our support for Ujima and other solidarity economy enterprises connects to our commitment to “full” reparations, that is, repair that transforms systems and guarantees non-repeat.
Over the course of 4 sessions — through a combination of group discussions of the book and guest presenters that will provide more historical and current context of this text — we hope to deepen our understanding of what happened in these communities and how we can continue to support their political and economic empowerment.
Register Here: https://bit.ly/dajc1117

IDF Veterans and the True Cost of Occupation
2022-11-13 19:00 - 21:00 | Temple Israel, 477 Longwood Ave, Boston, MA 02215, USA
Co-Sponsored with New Israel Fund, Temple Israel Boston, and Dorshei Tzedek.
As the occupation enters its 56th year, most Israelis are walled off from the reality of everyday life in the occupied Palestinian territories – literally and figuratively. New Israel Fund grantee Breaking the Silence was founded by a group of IDF veterans who wanted to break down that barrier to educate the Israeli public and spread the word among diaspora Jews worldwide about the moral and human costs of the occupation.
Join us for a conversation with two Breaking the Silence members and a screening of Mission: Hebron, a 20-minute documentary by Rona Segal based on the testimony of Israeli soldiers who served in the largest Palestinian city in the West Bank. We hope this dynamic film will inspire you to get your question answered.
Since 2004, Breaking the Silence has published testimonies, conducted tours in the West Bank, and documented the harsh realities of the occupation through the voices of former soldiers. NIF is particularly proud to support Breaking the Silence’s efforts to bring the reality of the occupation to young Israelis before they begin their military service.
Register Here.

Screening of "BOYCOTT"
2022-11-10 19:00 - 20:00 | Zoom
Thirty-Four states have passed laws criminalizing BDS (Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions), a non-violent attempt to pressure Israel into ending the occupation. BWC’s principles stand against the criminalization of constitutionally protected free-speech. BOYCOTT, this award-winning film, produced by JustVision.org, documents the cases of several people who have been caught up in their state’s Anti-BDS laws and delves into the court cases surrounding them.
Premiering in Boston at the Palestine Film Festival in October, the Anti-Anti-BDS subcommittee of BWC’s Israel-Palestine Committee has arranged for a screening for all of BWC on Nov 10th at 7PM to be followed by a discussion led by a staff member of JustVision.
Register Here.

Immigrant Justice Reading Group
2022-11-09 19:00 - 20:00 | Zoom
The suggested first book is about Immigration and the Consequences of U.S. Imperialism: Harvest of Empire: A History of Latinos in America by Juan González.
A sweeping history of the Latino experience in the United States–thoroughly revised and updated. The first new edition in ten years of this important study of Latinos in U.S. history, Harvest of Empire spans five centuries-from the first New World colonies to the first decade of the new millennium. Latinos are now the largest minority group in the United States, and their impact on American popular culture–from food to entertainment to literature–is greater than ever. Featuring family portraits of real-life immigrant Latino pioneers, as well as accounts of the events and conditions that compelled them to leave their homelands, Harvest of Empire is required reading for anyone wishing to understand the bigger picture behind immigration to the U.S.
The book has 3 main sections, we’ll read and discuss each of the 3 sections at successive meetings. The first discussion will be lead by Rick Colbath-Hess.
Please RSVP to Rick Colbath-Hess (rcolbathhess@gmail.com) as there is limited space available.

Yiddish Committee Meeting
2022-11-07 19:00 - 20:30 | Zoom
What are your hopes and dreams for Yiddish in the BWC community? Join us for a special meeting of the Yiddish Committee–conducted in English–where we’ll reflect on our community and share our visions for the future. Everyone is welcome: Yiddish speakers, Yiddish students, and anyone interested in the language!
Register Here

Support Space Ritual & Family Gathering
2022-11-04 18:00 - 20:00 | 6 Webster St, Brookline, MA 02446, USA
The Support Space is designed for Shule caregivers who identify as OR who are the caregiver of a young person who identifies as Black, a person of color, a Jew of color, Indigenous, Sephardi, and/or Mizrahi (JOCISM).
Contact Lucas Orwig lucas.orwig@gmail.com for more information

Di Nest: Yiddish Creative Project Incubator
2022-11-03 19:30 - 21:00 | Zoom
Di Nest is an incubator for Yiddish-language creative projects! Join us on the first Thursday of the month to share and workshop community members’ artistic works in progress. All forms of creativity in Yiddish (or prominently featuring Yiddish) are welcome: poetry, prose, music, visual arts, performing arts, translations into Yiddish, and more.
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! Sessions will be in a mix of Yiddish and English.
Each session will include time to workshop material of several participants and a chance for everyone to spend time creating. If you have material you would like to workshop, please email Lily at weitzman.lily@gmail.com. Whether or not you’re bringing material to workshop, you are welcome to attend and offer feedback to fellow participants.
Register Here.
