Boston Workers Circle

Circle Playtime
2023-11-05 10:45 - 12:15, 2023-12-10 10:45 - 12:15, 2024-03-24 10:45 - 12:15, 2024-04-28 10:45 - 12:15, 2024-05-05 10:45 - 12:15 (America/New_York)
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 Parent Coversation: Radical Parenting During Challenging Times
2023-11-05 10:45 - 12:15
Rebecca Hornstein-Zimmerman and Dan Gelbtuch will facilitate a conversation for parents to explore what it means to bring our full selves to our role as parents. We will explore how to bring our radical values and our hearts to best support the young people in our lives and ourselves as we and they try to live in a time of increased uncertainty. We will explore different themes such as intergenerational trauma, how we can build a supporting community to support our parenting, the richness of radical Jewish culture and how to integrate that into our family life and others. Questions/ Comments, reach out to Dan (dangelbtuch@gmail.com)
This conversation will take place at Shule in person.

Continuing Intermediate
2023-11-06 17:00 - 18:30, 2023-11-13 17:00 - 18:30, 2023-11-20 17:00 - 18:30, 2023-11-27 17:00 - 18:30, 2023-12-04 17:00 - 18:30, 2023-12-11 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.

Yiddish Culture & The Jewish Labor Movement: 1880s-1960s
2023-11-06 18:00 - 19:30, 2023-11-13 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!

Early Intermediate
2023-11-07 17:30 - 19:00, 2023-11-14 17:30 - 19:00, 2023-11-21 17:30 - 19:00, 2023-11-28 17:30 - 19:00, 2023-12-05 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.

Beginner, Virtual
2023-11-07 19:00 - 20:30, 2023-11-14 19:00 - 20:30, 2023-11-21 19:00 - 20:30, 2023-11-28 19:00 - 20:30, 2023-12-05 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

Office Hours with Rebecca & Rachel
2023-11-08 16:00 - 18:00 | Boston Workers Circle, Brookline, MA, United States
Stop by to talk to BWC Executive Director Rebecca Zimmerman Hornstein and BWC Board President Rachel Hess.

Intergenerational Dialogue: Looking at Class across Generations
2023-11-08 19:00 - 20:30 | Zoom
As we remain in a time of economic uncertainty, economic stability looks very different than it did even just a decade ago. Join us for an opportunity to discuss the relationship between class experience & life stages and how they’ve changed across generations.

Register Here.
Co-sponsored by the Young Adult Committee and Aging in Community Committee

Advanced Beginner
2023-11-08 19:00 - 20:30, 2023-11-15 19:00 - 20:30, 2023-11-29 19:00 - 20:30, 2023-12-06 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, In-Person
2023-11-08 19:30 - 21:00, 2023-11-15 19:30 - 21:00, 2023-11-29 19:30 - 21:00, 2023-12-06 19:30 - 21:00 | Boston Workers Circle, Brookline, MA, United States
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.

Advanced
2023-11-08 20:00 - 21:30, 2023-11-15 20:00 - 21:30, 2023-11-29 20:00 - 21:30, 2023-12-06 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.

Yiddish Vinkl
2023-11-09 19:00 - 20:30, 2023-12-14 19:00 - 20:30, 2024-02-08 19:00 - 20:30, 2024-03-14 19:00 - 20:30, 2024-04-11 19:00 - 20:30, 2024-05-09 19:00 - 20:30, 2024-06-13 19:00 - 20:30, 2024-09-12 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.

Yiddish Reading Group
2023-11-10 10:30 - 12:00, 2023-11-17 10:30 - 12:00, 2023-11-24 10:30 - 12:00, 2023-12-01 10:30 - 12:00, 2023-12-08 10:30 - 12:00, 2023-12-15 10:30 - 12:00, 2023-12-22 10:30 - 12:00, 2023-12-29 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

TASC Session - Identity, Race, and Antisemitism
2023-11-12 10:30 - 12:30

Israel-Palestine Committee Meeting: Free Speech Under Threat
2023-11-15 19:00 - 20:30 | Zoom
The program will focus on the attack on free speech that is currently underway and directed at Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) as well as progressive Jewish groups. The ADL has sent a letter to almost 200 colleges and universities accusing SJP of violating “the prohibition against materially supporting a foreign terrorist organization” with absolutely no evidence. Brandeis has dechartered its chapter of SJP for chanting “From the River to the Sea”. Come learn and mobilize with us!
A new member orientation will follow.
Register for the Zoom Here

Yiddish Sing
2023-11-16 19:00 - 20:30, 2024-01-25 19:00 - 20:30, 2024-04-25 19:00 - 20:30, 2024-05-23 19:00 - 20:30, 2024-06-27 19:00 - 20:30, 2024-07-25 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.
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.

Walking Tour: Roadmap to a Beloved Community
2023-11-18 11:00 - 13:00 | 1106 Blue Hill Ave, Boston, MA 02124, USA (Corner of Blue Hill Ave & Ansel Rd)
We’re excited for you to join us Saturday, November 18th, 2023 at 11am for the first event of A Roadmap to a Beloved Community: Interwoven Histories of Jewish & African American Bostonians, a collaborative project between the Afrimerican Culture Initiative Inc , Forum for Racial Equity & Justice, Hyde Park Community Input Board, and the Boston Workers Circle.
As a launching point to this project we would like bring folks together to learn about one of the intersections of this interwoven history in Dorchester. The tour will be guided by long-time local community organizer and founder of the Massachusetts Communities Action Network, Lew Finfer, we will learn about and see some of the key places of the historic Jewish community. As well Lew will talk about how the policies of redlining, yellow lining (blockbusting) and urban renewal in the neighborhood caused rifts between and across Boston’s Jewish and African American communities.
We will be meeting at 1106 Blue Hill Ave at the corner of Blue Hill Ave & Ansel Rd. Please fill out the registration form to help us get a sense of the size of the group. Space is limited for the tour, so do sign up as soon as possible!
Register Here.

Shule Session 7
2023-11-19 10:30 - 12:30

Aging in Community
2023-11-19 10:30 - 12:30 | HYBRID – Boston Workers Circle, Brookline, MA, United States

BWC Schmooze at Aeronaut
2023-11-27 17:30 - 19:00 | Aeronaut Brewing Company, 14 Tyler St, Somerville, MA, United States
Boston Workers Circle is welcoming new members and our new deputy director Ali Rice! Join us on November 27 from 5:30-7:00 at Aeronaut as we schmooze, check out cool zines, and learn more about what’s coming up at BWC.
RSVP as soon as possible – -the first beer is on us for the first thirty people who register! Whether you’re brand new to the community, have been around for decades. interested in reconnecting, or are just curious about what we’re up to — we’d love to see you there.

RSVP HERE

Aging Outside the Box
2023-11-28 17:30 - 19:00, 2023-12-26 17:30 - 19:00, 2024-01-23 17:30 - 19:00, 2024-02-27 17:30 - 19:00, 2024-03-26 17:30 - 19:00, 2024-04-23 17:30 - 19:00, 2024-05-28 17:30 - 19:00, 2024-06-25 17:30 - 19:00 and 1 more date | 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.

Yiddish Class - Advanced Beginner
2023-11-29 19:00 - 20:30, 2023-12-06 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]

Jewish-Muslim Solidarity Committee Meeting
2023-11-29 19:00 - 20:30 | Zoom
Join BWC’s Jewish-Muslim Solidarity committee as we renew our configuration and gather to determine next steps in strengthening our ties with our Muslim partners.

Register Here

Gragger Planning Kickoff Meeting
2023-11-30 18:30 - 20:00 | Boston Workers Circle, Brookline, MA, United States
Calling all artists, actors, party planners, organizers, and Purim fans: Gragger planning is in full swing! Sign ups to join the 5784/2024 Gragger Planning Team are open!
Join us for our kickoff meeting on November 30 from 6:30-8:00 pm in Brookline as we begin building towards our raucous and radical Purim party. Every year our BWC young adult community comes together to create this special event which honors Boston’s LGBTQ+ Jewish community during Purim.
This year’s co-captains are excited to steward a community-based process which will bring people together as we plan. Whether you’re a Gragger veteran or a complete newbie, we want you! If you’re looking for a way to meet friends new and old, create affirming space for our community, build your skills in cultural organizing, and engage in a joyful, community-based process, the Gragger Planning Team is for you!
RSVP HERE!

Shabes Singing: Peace, Salaam, Shalom
2023-12-01 18:00 - 20:00 | Boston Workers Circle, Brookline, MA, United States
Join us to celebrate Shabes sharing songs of peace to lift our hearts. For this in person event we will gather for a potluck dinner at 6 o’clock. The ritual starts around 6:45 followed by singing together. If you are not comfortable sharing food in a group unmasked feel free to join us for the ritual and music when people will be masked. We will have people from across the Workers Circle community to lead the singing. Everyone will get song sheets so they can sing along.

Register Here.

Circle Book Group
2023-12-03 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 Kantika by Elizabeth Graver.

Shule Session 8
2023-12-03 10:30 - 12:30

TASC Session - BWC History & Mutual Aid
2023-12-03 10:30 - 12:30

Zayen Class Parent Planning Meeting
2023-12-03 10:45 - 12:15, 2024-01-07 10:45 - 12:15, 2024-01-28 10:45 - 12:15, 2024-02-11 10:45 - 12:15

Call to Repair: Justice, Healing and Reparations in Massachusetts
2023-12-03 14:00 - 16:00
On Sunday, December 3, 2-4 PM, The Reparations Interfaith Coalition will host Call to Repair: Justice, Healing and Reparations in Massachusetts. This event is a virtual Interfaith Reparations Gathering bringing together organizations, communities and congregations across Massachusetts to learn and discuss how the reparations movement is progressing locally and how we can move it forward.
At this event, national and local Black leaders in the reparations movement will speak to our shared sense that reparations are not a transaction but rather a spiritual and ethical practice. This event is open to all those interested in building their understanding of and work towards reparations. This is the first event among more to come from the Reparations Interfaith Coalition, a new and currently a predominantly white group of faith and ethically based communities dedicated to moving reparations forward in MA.
We hope to leave you with action ideas for education, advocacy, and ways to make material reparations. This event is part of a national Sacred Reparative Season launched by the Grassroots Reparations Campaign.
Register Here
Co-sponsored by:

Episcopal City Mission, Reparations Community of Practice, First Church Cambridge, Jewish Community of Amherst, Congregation Dorshei Tzedek, Western MA Reparations Collective, First Parish UU Arlington

IPC Study Group
2023-12-06 18:00 - 19:30, 2024-07-03 18:00 - 19:30 | Zoom
The IPC Study Group is a subcommittee of the Israel/Palestine Committee (IPC) which meets on Zoom the first Wednesday of every month at 6pm to discuss books, films, articles, and/or webinars we’re reading and watching together, to deepen our understanding of the history and context of Israel/Palestine.
All are welcome to join us. You can find what we’re currently studying together here, as well as information on what we’ve previously read and watched. 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!

Shule Chanukah/ Khanike Party
2023-12-10 10:30 - 12:30

Khanike/Chanukah Candle Lighting with BWC!
2023-12-12 17:30 - 18:30 | HYRBID – Boston Workers Circle, Brookline, MA, United States
A freylekhn khanike! Hanuka Alegre! Happy Chanukah! No matter how you say it, celebrate the Festival of Lights with a fun, low-key candle lighting with your Boston Workers Circle community on Tuesday, December 12, from 5:30-6:30 pm at the BWC Office at 6 Webster St. in Brookline.
Feel free to bring dinner, your khanukiye (Chanukah menorah), and candles along with you! This event is perfect both for BWC regulars looking to see old friends and newcomers hoping to make new ones, so join us as we celebrate Chanukah, Khanike, Hanuka, Januca, Xanuqa, etc. (all spellings welcome here!)

Register Here.

IPC Community Meeting
2023-12-12 19:00 - 20:30 | Zoom
The regularly scheduled monthly meeting on Tuesday Dec. 12 at 7 pm, will focus on a community- building discussion and brainstorming to shape and mobilize for IPC action to address the current moment of catastrophic war on Gaza.
We’ll talk as a large group, brainstorm in small groups, and ideally come out of the meeting with ad hoc groups forming around short term action interests. We’ll also deal with some committee business, including hearing a report back on the IHRA hearing at the State House last Tuesday.
The zoom link for this meeting is here.
Note: The Beyond Redlining program has been postponed to January 9th.

Immigrant Justice Committee Meeting
2023-12-13 18:00 - 18:30, 2024-01-10 18:00 - 18:30, 2024-02-14 18:00 - 18:30, 2024-03-13 18:00 - 18:30, 2024-04-10 18:00 - 18:30, 2024-05-08 18:00 - 18:30, 2024-06-12 18:00 - 18:30, 2024-07-10 18:00 - 18:30 and 3 more dates | Zoom
Get Involved To get involved or for more information, join the Immigrant Justice Committee on the second Wednesday of the month on Zoom at 6:00 PM

Join the Zoom here.

Aging in Community Conversation
2023-12-17 10:30 - 12:00 | HYBRID – Boston Workers Circle, Brookline, MA, United States

Shule Session 10
2023-12-17 10:30 - 12:30

Jewish Muslim Solidarity Committee
2023-12-19 19:00 - 20:30 | Zoom
Join us on Zoom!

Yiddish Sing - Khanike/Chanukah
2023-12-21 19:00 - 20:30 | Zoom
Drop in for this free informal monthly gathering to sing Yiddish songs! This month we will sing lots of Khanike/Chanukah 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.

IPC Study Group
2024-01-03 18:00 - 19:30, 2024-02-07 18:00 - 19:30, 2024-03-06 18:00 - 19:30, 2024-04-03 18:00 - 19:30, 2024-05-01 18:00 - 19:30, 2024-07-03 18:00 - 19:30, 2024-08-07 18:00 - 19:30, 2024-09-04 18:00 - 19:30 and 1 more date | Zoom
The IPC Study Group is a subcommittee of the Israel/Palestine Committee (IPC) which meets on Zoom the first Wednesday of every month at 6pm to discuss books, films, articles, and/or webinars we’re reading and watching together, to deepen our understanding of the history and context of Israel/Palestine.
All are welcome to join us. You can find what we’re currently studying together here, as well as information on what we’ve previously read and watched. Learn more about us here. The IPC Study Group communicates between sessions via google email list. Contact ipc@circleboston.org to let us know you’re coming, for more information, or to join the email list and help us choose what we’re going to learn about together for future sessions!

Di Nest: Yiddish Arts Incubator
2024-01-04 19:30 - 21:00, 2024-02-01 19:30 - 21:00, 2024-03-07 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 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.

Circle Book Group
2024-01-07 10:15 - 12:15 | HYBRID – Boston Workers Circle, Brookline, MA, United States
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 An Improvised Life: A Memoir by Alan Arkin

Shule Session 11
2024-01-07 10:30 - 12:30

TASC Session #7
2024-01-07 10:30 - 12:30

IPC Meeting: Beyond The Red Line: Grappling with Jewish Identity & Justice for Palestine
2024-01-09 19:00 - 20:30 | Zoom
Beyond the Red Line: Grappling with Jewish Identity and Justice for Palestine
Jewish identity in the United States has increasingly become conflated with unwavering support of, allegiance to, and belief in the State of Israel. How then, when we have a strong critique of Israel’s actions (especially in the past few months) or perhaps even of its foundation as a religious or ethnonational state, can we connect meaningfully with our Jewish heritage and find a home in the larger Jewish community? And what can we do when we are pressured to stay within a red line* that may violate our values, or risk expulsion from the larger community?
Come learn about three progressive Jewish communities who have dealt with this challenge, and whose Jewish identity and understanding of justice for Palestine are neither defined nor constrained by the Jewish establishment’s positions on Israel.
Tuesday, December 12 – 7:00 – 8:30 PM
Zoom registration link: https://bit.ly/IPCRedlining
Rabbi Brant Rosen – Tzedek Chicago, IL
Talie Lewis – Co-chair of Kavod Israel/Palestine Task Force, Boston MA
Rabbi Rebecca Zimmerman-Hornstein – Executive Director, Boston Workers Circle, Boston, MA
*The red line, or “to cross the red line,” is a phrase used worldwide to mean a figurative point of no return or line in the sand.

Yiddish Committee Meeting
2024-01-18 19:30 - 20:30, 2024-04-18 19:30 - 20:30, 2024-07-18 19:30 - 20:30, 2024-10-17 19:30 - 20:30 | Zoom
Registration link

Arts Shabes III
2024-01-19 19:00 - 20:15 | Zoom
Join us for an evening of celebrating Shabes and the arts!
The two featured artists will be Sandy Martin, BWC Operations Director, who will talk about her work with glass blowing and BWC member, Roz Freeman, who will talk about her work in varied media and in community art.
This will be a family friendly gathering, good for older children and teens.
During the small groups participants will be asked to show and tell about a small work of art that has meaning for you. It can be something you created or a small sculpture, textile, painting, piece of jewelry, etc. This will be a family friendly gathering, good for older children and teens. There will also be presentations about two different art forms. Please bring a small work of art (painting, sculpture, jewelry, textile, etc.) created by you or by someone else to show and tell about.
Register Here. Registration is REQUIRED.Our programming is made possible by our incredible members and contributions from our community. We welcome $5-$10 donations per person to ensure we are able to continue hosting our shabes programming; they can be made easily using our digital “pass the hat” form. Donations are not required to attend.

Shule Session 12
2024-01-21 10:30 - 12:30

TASC Session #8
2024-01-21 10:30 - 12:30

Shule Havdalah
2024-01-27 16:30 - 18:30 | Brookline, MA, USA
Join the Shule community for fun Havdalah activities and ritual together. RSVP for the location here.

Shule Session 13
2024-01-28 10:30 - 12:30

Aging in Community Meeting
2024-01-28 10:30 - 12:30 | HYBRID – Boston Workers Circle, Brookline, MA, United States
Sunday morning discussion: Oh Say Can You See….and Hear? How aging affects our senses, and our relationships

Parent Conversation: Antisemitism
2024-01-28 10:45 - 12:00
Parent conversation on Antisemitism led by Rebecca Zimmerman Hornstein

Circle Playtime
2024-01-28 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.
This session of Circle Playtime will focus on the holiday of Tu B’Shevat.
RSVP HERE.

Tu B'Shvat Seder
2024-01-28 14:00 - 16:00 | HYBRID – Boston Workers Circle, Brookline, MA, United States
Join us in person or online via Zoom for a unique Tu B’Shevat seder, marking the “New Year for the Trees.” Readings, songs, and poems will reflect the origins of the seder adapted to progressive secular Jewish life in the 21st century.
This event is pay-what-you-can (suggested donation of $5 to $10+). Registration is required.

Register Here
Donate Here

The Tu B’Shevat Haggadah will be sent to registrants before the seder. All registrants (in person and online) will be invited to actively participate, with the option to read a portion of the Haggadah aloud during the seder. Ritual foods will be provided at the in-person seder.
If you are attending online, here is a list of ritual foods (optional) that we invite you to have during the seder:
Drinks:

Red: red wine, red grape juice, cranberry juice, etc.
White: white wine, white grape juice, apple juice, etc.

Fruits and nuts:

One food with hard shells: pomegranates, oranges, nuts with hard shells; etc.
One food with hard pits: dates, cherries, olives, etc.
One food with no shells or pits: figs, seedless grapes, etc.
One fragrant food (just to smell, not eat): lemon, etc.

Covid Precautions: If you are attending in person, here are the covid safety precautions:

Everyone must be fully vaccinated against covid, including eligible boosters
Everyone must test negative for covid on January 28 before attending the seder
Masks are strongly encouraged (except when eating)
Anyone who is not feeling well should attend online from the comfort of their favorite device

We will not have a potluck (ritual foods will be provided). Questions? Email info@circleboston.org.Co-sponsored by Kavod

Israelism Screening
2024-02-01 19:00 - 22:00 | Bright Family Screening Room, 445 Washington St, Boston, MA, United States
All Bright Lights screenings are FREE and open to the PUBLIC. Seating is on a first come basis and doors open at 6:30pm.
Directed by Erin Axelman and Sam Eilertsen, documentary, English, United States, 84 minutes, 2023 When two young American Jews raised to unconditionally love Israel witness the brutal way Israel treats Palestinians, their lives take sharp left turns. They join a movement of young American Jews battling the old guard to redefine Judaism’s relationship with Israel, revealing a deepening generational divide over modern Jewish identity. Discussion with directors Erin Axelman and Sam Eilertsen to follow. SJ, GD
All Bright Lights screenings and conversations have captions. This film will have OPEN CAPTIONS. The trailer and introduction will have OPEN CAPTIONS (which appears on screen for all) and the conversation will be live captioned by an independent CART provider.
From ArtsEmerson (who manage the cinema): “The Theatres of Emerson College has an optional masking policy for all indoor spaces. Anyone who wishes to wear a mask should feel free to do so in any setting. It is important to respect the individual choices our community members make regarding personal health decisions. Individuals who are experiencing symptoms of respiratory illness should wear a mask around others. Per Box Office and Guest Experience staff requests, masking remains mandatory for FRONT-OF-HOUSE personnel.”

No registration is required.

Hosted by Emerson College’s Bright Lights Cinema Series, co-sponsored by BWC, JVP, Kavod, IfNotNow, Boston Palestine Film Festival

Circle Book Group
2024-02-04 10:15 - 12:15 | HYBRID — Boston Workers Circle, Brookline, MA, United States
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 Beauty Queen of Jerusalem: A Novel by Sarit Yishai-Levi

Beginner II (Virtual)
2024-02-06 19:00 - 20:30 | Zoom
Details on Yiddish classes are available here.

Intermediate II (Virtual)
2024-02-06 19:00 - 20:30 | Zoom

Advanced Beginner II (Virtual)
2024-02-07 19:00 - 20:30 | Zoom

Beginner II (In-Person)
2024-02-07 19:30 - 21:00 | Boston Workers Circle, Brookline, MA, United States

Roadmap to a Beloved Community: Jewish/African American History Tour
2024-02-10 11:00 - 13:00 | The Way of the Cross Holy Church, 65 Ashton St, Boston, MA, United States
Embark on a journey through the intertwined histories of Dorchester and Mattapan’s African American and Jewish communities with our “Roadmap to a Beloved Community” community event series. Join us on a workshop of Redlining in Dorchester, a walking tour in a former Jewish Temple (Now called Way of the Cross Holy Church) and join in our community discussion where we have the long overdue discussions around unity & forge pathways of understanding. Light refreshments will be served.

Register Here.

Shule Session 14
2024-02-11 10:30 - 12:30

TASC Session #9
2024-02-11 10:30 - 12:30

Parent Discussion: Antisemitism
2024-02-11 10:45 - 12:15 | Brookline, MA
Join BWC’s Executive Director, Rebecca Zimmerman-Hornstein, Shule parent, Dan Gelbtuch, and former Shule parent, Betsy Abrams, for an information and sharing session for Shule caregivers on Antisemitism. Hear how the BWC has been navigating antisemitism and solidarity work these past few months. It will also be an opportunity to surface questions about antisemitism + solidarity right now, as well as be a place to grapple with some of the complexity of being part of a Jewish community and a person raising a child at this moment.

IPC Conversation on the ICJ Ruling & Next Steps
2024-02-15 19:00 - 20:30 | Zoom
Tentative Agenda:

Reports from subcommittees, ad-hoc groups, etc.
Report about the International Court of Justice decision and what it means
Small-group discussions on the use of the word “genocide”
Brainstorm and feedback on the potential demands that we would put into a new statement about Gaza

As you can see, we intend to have some deep and important discussions at this meeting, so we hope you will be able to attend. In preparation, we recommend the following readings/viewings, etc.

Brant Rosen Op-Ed, Sept. 2023, “On Yom Kippur, Solidarity With Palestinians Is a Sacred Act.
” Rosen makes an argument for using language without fear. While he doesn’t explicitly talk about genocide, he talks about other terms, such as apartheid and settler colonialism.
“The ICJs Ruling Was the First Crack in Israel’s Armor of Impunity.”
Barghouti webinar hosted at Harvard: “Why the BDS movement has never been more important – a discussion with Omar Barghouti.” Barghouti has studied the South Africa anti-apartheid movement and this webinar includes lots of meaty ideas about both this moment and the long-term future; if you don’t have time for the whole thing, watch the first 30 minutes.

Advanced (Virtual)
2024-02-21 20:00 - 21:30 | Zoom

Yiddish Sing Special Edition: All Kinds of Love Songs
2024-02-22 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.

Shule Session 15
2024-02-25 10:30 - 12:30

Dr. Jeff Bass on Orthopedics and Aging
2024-02-25 10:30 - 12:30 | Zoom
We are very pleased to be welcoming back Dr. Jeffrey Bass, MD on Sunday February 25th at 10:30, on zoom, who this time will give a talk on orthopedic issues associated with aging. His talk will include quite a few topics, including: maintaining fitness as we age, normal joint structure, arthritis treatment and joint health; joint replacement: what should we be asking and what are realistic expectations; effects of overall health on surgical candidacy and prehab vs rehab. Please note: Because this topic is of great interest and we anticipate a lot of questions, the meeting may last longer than 90 minutes, ending at 12:30.
Please email aic@circleboston.org for the zoom link.

Jewish Muslim Solidarity Committee Meeting
2024-02-28 19:15 - 20:45, 2024-03-27 19:15 - 20:45, 2024-04-24 19:15 - 20:45, 2024-05-22 19:00 - 20:30, 2024-06-26 19:00 - 20:30, 2024-08-28 19:00 - 20:30, 2024-09-25 19:00 - 20:30 | Zoom
The Jewish Muslim Solidarity Committee (JMS) works to build and strengthen constructive, mutually supportive relations between Jews and Muslims in Greater Boston. It is especially focused on Muslims’ and Jews’ mutual interest in continuing to learn about and engage with one another, including on difficult issues, all the while recognizing our common interest in opposing all manifestations of Islamophobia and antisemitism, by standing together in the face of any form of ethnic harassment. The JMSC engages in political action, community education, and cooperative efforts with Boston area Muslims and Jews to foster its goal of deepening Jewish-Muslim understanding and solidarity. Our work is based on our belief that human rights are universal and human communities and individuals share the same rights and responsibilities toward one another.
To find out more about the meeting and get the zoom link, please email jms@circleboston.org

Circle Book Group
2024-03-03 10:15 - 12:15 | 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’re reading Randy Rainbow’s Playing with Myself.

Shule Session 16
2024-03-03 10:30 - 12:30

TASC Session #10
2024-03-03 10:30 - 12:30

"Shule for Adults" Brainstorm Session
2024-03-03 10:45 - 11:45
“Shule for Adults” during Shule class time is at our fingertips! Join this Shule committee-led parent brainstorm session to imagine learning and skill-share opportunities for parents during Shule time. Come to identify some places you want to grow, meet other people interested in doing learning, or bring an offering you would like to provide to other Shule adults.

Shule Hey Class Protest
2024-03-03 14:00 - 15:30 | Massachusetts State House, 24 Beacon St, Boston, MA 02133, USA
Shule’s Hey (5th Grade) class is leading an education justice protest along with BWC members, Shule families and friends. Come to the protest in support of the THRIVE Act to remove the high-stakes elements of the MCAS (especially the high-school graduation requirement) that has disproportionately hurt students, teachers and schools. Support the Hey class at our collaborative action with the Mass Teachers Association (MTA).There will be street theater, storytelling, legislators speaking, chanting and intergenerational changemaking!

Shule Session 17
2024-03-10 10:30 - 12:30

Vov B'nai Mitzvah Planning Meeting
2024-03-10 10:45 - 11:45 | Brookline, MA
Vov families meet with Meira to map out initial b’nai mitzvah plans for next year.

Zayen Class Parent Planning Meeting
2024-03-10 10:45 - 12:15, 2024-04-28 10:45 - 12:15, 2024-05-05 10:45 - 12:15
Zayen class parents meet monthly to plan the B’nai Mitzvah ceremony in June

Wild Burning Rage and Song: Replies to Scottsboro
2024-03-10 19:00 - 21:00 | The Boston Synagogue, 55 Martha Rd, Boston, MA 02114, USA
The Scottsboro Trials stand as one of the most renowned miscarriages of justice in the history of American jurisprudence. Beginning in 1931 with a false accusation of rape against nine Black teenagers, the case went went on to invigorate a nascent Civil Rights movement, earn the international support of Communist Party, and establish itself as a watchword among various strands of the American Left. It inspired reaction from the contemporary world of arts and letters as well, most famously by poets Langston Hughes and Richard Wright and novelist Harper Lee, who adapted its events in To Kill A Mockingbird.
The international, politically-oriented Yiddish intelligentsia of the Thirties was no less galvanized, producing a body of creative response that passionately took up the themes of the trial, juxtaposing its American injustices with a diversity of images, tropes and language imbued with their own distinct histories of oppression.
Wild Burning Rage and Song: Replies to Scottsboro brings this world alive as a concert-lecture featuring Professor Amelia Glaser, author of Songs in Dark Times: Yiddish Poetry of Struggle from Scottsboro to Palestine (Harvard University Press), composer/vocalists Heather Klein and Anthony Russell, and composer/pianist Uri Schreter, performing their new settings of Yiddish and English poetry written in response to the pervasive climate of race prejudice that gave birth to the Scottsboro trials—and other injustices to come.
Register Here.

Radical Yiddish Zingeray
2024-03-11 19:00 - 20:30 | Zoom
Join Rad Yiddish and Linda Gritz and Pauli Katz of Boston Workers Circle for an evening of radical Yiddish song! Learn, sing, and discuss activist Yiddish songs of humor and satire, poking fun at those in power, pointing out our foibles, and questioning everything. We will sing old songs with lesser-known verses, old song with new verses, and a new song! Linda Gritz and Pauli Katz, of Boston Workers Circle ,will teach the songs and discuss the historical context that gave rise to them. There will be plenty of time for singing (on mute) and for dialogue.
No prior knowledge of Yiddish necessary. All songs will be presented in yidishe oysyes, Yiddish transliteration, and English translation. CART captioning will be provided.
Register Here.
Co-sponsored by: Rad Yiddish and Queer Yiddish Camp

Shabes: Food and Cultural Identity in Israel/Palestine
2024-03-15 18:30 - 20:30 | HYBRID – Boston Workers Circle: Center for Jewish Culture & Social Justice, 6 Webster St, Brookline, MA 02446, USA
Join us for a hybrid Shabes, with a gathering and potluck meal at the BWC center in Brookline and a Zoom gathering online.
The UN reports a world-wide food crisis, and as Jews we are focused especially on starvation being inflicted on the people of Gaza and crops being destroyed on the West Bank. So how and why can we focus on good food right now?
In the fall of 2023, Jonathan and Maia Brumberg-Kraus spent a month in the Palestinian Christian neighborhood of Wadi Nisnas in Haifa while he researched the promise and limitations when Palestinian citizens of Israel share their food with Israeli Jews and tourists. Jonathan and Maia explored the food worlds of Nazareth, other Muslim Arab majority towns in Israel’s Galilee region, Tel Aviv, and East Jerusalem. They spoke with Israelis and Palestinians about their food experiences with one another. Jonathan will share what he and Maia learned about food as identity, food as politics, and why for Palestinians promoting and serving their cuisine at home and in the diaspora are acts of political resistance and cultural resilience.
Register here.
Digital Program

Gragger
2024-03-16 19:00 - 23:00 | Spontaneous Celebrations, 45 Danforth St, Jamaica Plain, MA 02130, USA
???? GRAGGER 5784 is HERE ????
At the invitation of the great King Ahasuerus and Queen Vashti, maidens, fools, and noblefolk from across the realm are heartily encouraged to attend this Purim’s Shushan Renaissance Faire. Merriment and sumptuous delights are anticipated by all – unless? Perchance the whispers of revolutionary dissent are true–? Verily, a tale of power, intrigue, and great suspense will surely unfold. ‘Tis an evening not to be missed!
Celebrate Purim at this year’s Ren Faire-themed Gragger! Come in your favorite costume – themed or otherwise – and enjoy the radical story that this year’s community has lovingly devised. Ren Faire workers of the world unite! Huzzah!
When: Saturday, March 16, 7-11Where: Spontaneous Celebrations in JP, near the Stony Brook stop on the Orange LineTickets: circleboston.org/gragger
I gotta say folks, this year’s Gragger team is creating an ICONIC shpil based on the Renaissance Faire theme! You are NOT going to want to miss this, so get your tickets ASAP! The inside scoop: our venue this year is a tiny bit smaller, so we expect tickets to sell out very quickly!
Fantastic art is by amazing member Roz Freeman, on insta as @rosalindoesart!

Anti-Racism Study Group
2024-03-18 19:15 - 20:30, 2024-04-15 19:15 - 20:30, 2024-05-20 19:15 - 20:30, 2024-06-17 19:15 - 20:30, 2024-07-15 19:15 - 20:30, 2024-08-19 19:15 - 20:30 | Zoom
The BWC Anti-racism Study Group meets for 90 minutes every month and currently has a schedule of the third Monday of each month at 7:15
The focus is on reading books, and learning through reading and discussion. The booklist is divided into three, somewhat overlapping sections: History, Black Experience and Working on White supremacy, White privilege, and ourselves; Reparations, activism.
We would love to have more people joining us! Members attest to the ever deeper and richer understanding of the struggle for racial equity and justice that has come out of being a part of this group. New insights and understandings come from every book we’ve read. To be added to the email list and for the meeting Zoom link, please email antiracismstudygroup@circleboston.org.
You can find the book list here and the schedule here.

Fundraiser for Shule New York Trip
2024-03-19 16:00 - 22:00 | American Flatbread, 45 Day St, Somerville, MA 02144, USA
Support next year’s Vov class trip to NYC by candlepin bowling and eating pizza. When you order pizza (for eat-in, takeout or delivery), a portion of the money will go to the rising Vov class NYC trip fundraiser. For takeout or delivery, please use the links on this website: https://americanflatbread.com
Check out the Facebook Event for this fundraiser here.

BWC Board Meeting
2024-03-19 19:00 - 21:00, 2024-04-09 19:00 - 21:00, 2024-05-21 19:00 - 21:00, 2024-07-16 19:00 - 21:00 | Zoom
Members are welcome to attend BWC Board Meetings as non-voting attendees. Please email info@circleboston.org for the Zoom link.

Purim
2024-03-24

AIC Small Group Discussions
2024-03-24 10:30 - 12:00 | HYBRID – Boston Workers Circle: Center for Jewish Culture & Social Justice, 6 Webster St, Brookline, MA 02446, USA
Small Group Disussion: As we age, considerations regarding our housing/living arrangements become increasingly important. We will explore together what options we are considering, ranging from aging in place to a variety of other options potentially available to us. As always, guiding questions will support our conversation with one another. Participation:If you would like to participate in person, join us at Boston Workers Circle, 6 Webster St, Brookline. We are in the heart of Coolidge Corner, just off Harvard St. And, parking is easy on Sundays! There is also public transportation via the Green line, only a block away from BWC. For those who prefer to join us via zoom, we will send out a zoom link next week.
For more information contact aic@circleboston.org

Shule Session 18
2024-03-24 10:30 - 12:30

Shule/TASC - Purim Party
2024-03-24 10:30 - 12:30

Building A World Beyond Capitalism: BWC Members in the Solidarity Economy, Part I
2024-03-27 19:00 - 20:45 | Zoom
Register Here.
Join us on Wednesday, March 27th, 7-8:45PM for a virtual event with the amazing BWC members working on Solidarity Economy projects aimed at bringing about a world of racial and economic justice outside of the extractive relations of racial capitalism.
In Part I of this two-part series, we will learn from BWC members about their work in the solidarity economy movement. We will hear from Liza Behrendt, leader in the Resource Organizing Project at Movement Sustainability Commons; Enid Eckstein, leader of the PILOT Action Group; Seth Kirshenbaum, leader of Movement Sustainability Commons; Richard Krushnic, leader in the movement for a Public Bank in MA; Eliza Parad, Center for Economic Democracy leader in participatory budgeting; Jonathan Rosenthal, co-founder of Equal Exchange, founder of Just Works Consulting (see also New Economy Coalition); and Jenny Silverman, co-founder of the Dorchester Food Co-op.
In Part II, we will focus on how our community at BWC can get more involved in Solidarity Economy projects and practice Solidarity Economy values in the work we do across our organization.
Register Here.

Yiddish Sing Special Edition: Purim
2024-03-28 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.
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.
For this special edition of Yiddish Sing, we will sing Purim and drinking songs.

Crafty Brunch at BWC!
2024-03-31 11:00 - 13:00 | Boston Workers Circle: Center for Jewish Culture & Social Justice, 6 Webster St, Brookline, MA 02446, USA
Join BWC’s Young Adult Community for a cozy brunch with crafting, music, and food! Come for a workshop or to freestyle, or just to hang out as we celebrate our Gragger team.
Register Here.

Storytelling Across Generations
2024-04-05 18:00 - 19:30 | Boston Workers Circle: Center for Jewish Culture & Social Justice, 6 Webster St, Brookline, MA 02446, USA
The Shabes Committee, Teens Acting for Social Change (TASC) and Aging in Community, invite you to an intergenerational storytelling Shabes potluck on April 5th from 6:00 to 7:30 pm at the BWC building.
Our goal is to bring our groups together to create connections within the BWC community and to break down generational barriers. We ask that you bring a dish that has a story or personal significance that you can share with the group. Also, in advance of the event, think about one question you have for participants of the other group.
Register Here.

Circle Book Group
2024-04-07 10:15 - 12:15 | HYBRID — Boston Workers Circle: Center for Jewish Culture & Social Justice, 6 Webster St, Brookline, MA 02446, USA
Note on Start Times: The Book Group begins at 10:15am for in-person at the BWC Building and 10:30 for folks attending on 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 Golem of Brooklyn by Adam Mansbach

Shule Session 19
2024-04-07 10:30 - 12:30

TASC Session #12
2024-04-07 10:30 - 12:30

Zayen Presentations
2024-04-07 10:45 - 12:15
Come hear the Zayen class present their projects on zoom in this hybrid event celebrating the learning of our Zayen class. Please RSVP to get the link. Open to BWC members and Shule families.
RSVP Here.

Kumzits: Adult Shule Book club
2024-04-07 10:45 - 12:15 | Shule Kumzits Room
“The Golem of Brooklyn” Adam Mansbach
Shule parents meet to talk about the Circle Book Group book of the month at a satellite in-person meet-up at Shule. See Shule e-mail for details.
Book Description:In Ashkenazi Jewish folklore, a golem is a humanoid being created out of mud or clay and animated through secret prayers. Its sole purpose is to defend the Jewish people against the immediate threat of violence. It is always a rabbi who makes a golem, and always in a time of crisis.
But Len Bronstein is no rabbi—he’s a Brooklyn art teacher who steals a large quantity of clay from his school, gets extremely stoned, and manages to bring his creation to life despite knowing little about Judaism and even less about golems. Unable to communicate with his nine-foot-six, four hundred-pound, Yiddish-speaking guest, Len enlists a bodega clerk and ex-Hasid named Miri Apfelbaum to translate.
Eventually, The Golem learns English by binge-watching Curb Your Enthusiasm after ingesting a massive amount of LSD and reveals that he is a creature with an ancestral memory; he recalls every previous iteration of himself, making The Golem a repository of Jewish history and trauma. He demands to know what crisis has prompted his re-creation and whom must he destroy. When Miri shows him a video of white nationalists marching and chanting “Jews will not replace us,” the answer becomes clear.
The Golem of Brooklyn is an epic romp through Jewish history and the American present that wrestles with the deepest questions of our humanity—the conflicts between faith and skepticism, tribalism and interdependence, and vengeance and healing.

Harvard Natural History Museum Trip in Yiddish
2024-04-14 10:30 - 12:30 | The Harvard Museum of Natural History, 26 Oxford St, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
Join fellow Yiddish speakers and students for shmues un shpatsir (chat and stroll) in the Harvard Museum of Natural History. We’ll walk through the galleries and talk informally in Yiddish about what we see. We welcome all levels of Yiddish, from beginners to fluent speakers.
Admission to the Harvard Museum of Natural History is free on Sunday morning for Massachusetts residents–just bring an ID/proof of residency!
Register Here.

Passover Flash Mob Chorus
2024-04-17 15:00 - 17:00 | Downtown Boston – Exact Locations Provided at Rehearsals
We’ve adapted lyrics to a familiar song to call for immediate humanitarian aid to Palestinians and to say: There is a growing American Jewish voice that believes the current rightwing Israeli government is an obstacle to peace, security, and human rights for both Palestinians and Jews. Through making beautiful music, we aim to reach both hearts and minds.
Register Here.

BWC Community Seder
2024-04-20 16:30 - 18:30 | Hellenic Cultural Center, 25 Bigelow Ave, Watertown, MA 02472, USA
Boston Workers Circle is hosting our annual seder this year on April 20 at 4:30 pm ET. We’ll be gathering in person at the Hellenic Cultural Center and on Zoom for a wonderful program rooted in our love of Jewish Diaspora culture and social justice. Come for wonderful music, resonant ritual, and warm community as we celebrate Passover together. We have suggested ticket prices, but as with all BWC events, no one is turned away for lack of funds, and we welcome folks to purchase tickets at an amount that meets their needs.
Learn more and register here

BoFIPA Meeting
2024-04-25 18:45 - 20:30 | HYBRID – Boston Workers Circle: Center for Jewish Culture & Social Justice, 6 Webster St, Brookline, MA 02446, USA
Meeting of the BoFIPA (Boston Friends of Israeli Palestinian Alliances) sub-committtee. BoFIPA supports Israeli/Palestinian alliances working for equality and peace.

Shule Session 20
2024-04-28 10:30 - 12:30

TASC Session #13
2024-04-28 10:30 - 12:30

Faces of Oppression; Faces of Liberation
2024-04-29 19:00 - 20:30, 2024-05-06 19:00 - 20:30, 2024-05-13 19:00 - 20:30, 2024-05-20 19:00 - 20:30
Faces of Oppression; Faces of Liberation: Untangling the Intersections of Antisemitism, White Supremacy, and Transphobia
In this four-part course, teachers Andy Izenson and Heron Greenesmith will expose the faces of oppression impacting our communities: particularly antisemitism, transphobia, and white supremacy. Participants will begin with using their existing understanding and analysis of systems of oppression to enter into an analysis of transphobia. The group will deepen its understanding of gender, power, and violence through lenses both somatic and deeply practical. Ranging from kabbalistic understandings of the gendered body to the landscape of anti-trans feminist activism, this class will bring together a variety of frameworks to paint a comprehensive picture of how our oppressions are interrelated and how our liberation must be as well.
Register Here.

The Jewish Left
2024-05-03 09:00 - 16:00 | Boston University, Commonwealth Ave, Boston, MA 02215, USA
Amid dark days, many have found courage in the rise of a brave new generation of activists reaffirming an old truth: none of us are free until all of us are free. Join Boston University’s CURA: Institute on Culture, Religion, and World Affairs on May 3rd for our inaugural symposium on the Jewish left, showcasing an intergenerational and intersectional movement raising their voices for a ceasefire in Gaza, equal rights for all humans, and rejecting any conflation of anti-semitism and anti-Zionism.
Register Here.

Wake up the Earth with BWC
2024-05-04

Mayday! May Day! Songs of Hope in Times of Struggle
2024-05-04 19:30 - 21:30 | Eliot Church of Newton UCC, 474 Centre St, Newton, MA 02458, USA
Mayday! May Day! Songs of Hope in Times of StruggleA Besere Velt Yiddish Chorus of Boston Workers CircleFeaturing: Judy Bressler and Hankus NetskyDerek David, Music Director
In-Person & Livestreamed
The world is in distress and sending urgent calls for help! On May 4th we invite you to lift your spirits with the power of music.
A Besere Velt, the vibrant intergenerational Yiddish Chorus of Boston Workers Circle, is excited to announce a spring concert featuring two of the most significant performers of Yiddish music, Judy Bressler and Hankus Netsky. They are founding members of the internationally renowned Klezmer Conservatory Band and leaders in the klezmer music revival.
Join the Host Committee!
Tickets Available Here
Judy Bressler, a third generation performer and vocalist, is one of the most renowned interpreters of Yiddish song in our time, featured on all 10 Klezmer Conservatory Band CDs and was seen in the PBS documentary A Jumpin’ Night In The Garden Of Eden. Being part of Itzhak Perlman’s In The Fiddler’s House tours since 1996, she has performed at Carnegie Hall, Radio City Music Hall, the Hollywood Bowl, San Francisco Symphony Hall and Boston Symphony Hall.
Hankus Netsky, a multi-instrumentalist, composer, and ethnomusicologist, is co-chair of New England Conservatory’s Contemporary Improvisation Department and director of the Klezmer Conservatory Band. He has composed extensively for film, theater, and television and collaborated on major creative projects with Itzhak Perlman, Robin Williams, Joel Grey, Theodore Bikel, and Robert Brustein.
Derek David has been Music Director of A Besere Velt since 2018. An accomplished composer, conductor, and music educator, Derek’s music has been performed in Europe and throughout the United States. With degrees from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and the New England Conservatory, he is currently Lecturer in Music at The Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Shule Session 21
2024-05-05 10:30 - 12:30

Circle Book Group
2024-05-05 10:30 - 12:30 | 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.

Lasting Peace: What will it take?
2024-05-08 19:30 - 21:00 | Zoom
Register Here.It is six months since October 7th, and our hearts are still breaking. How can the recognition of our joint humanity help move the world forward to a resolution of the tragedy taking place in Gaza and Israel?
Please join us for a webinar with leading thinkers and activists on the crisis in the Middle East. This event has been developed through a collaboration between the Islamic Council of New England and the Jewish Muslim Solidarity Committee of the Boston Workers Circle.
Participants:Opening Reflection Rabbi Aryeh Cohen, PhD, Professor of Rabbinic Literature, Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies.
Moderator: Eman Khadra Ansari, M.D., Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School; PICU committee, Palestinian Children’s Relief Fund
Panelists:Susan M. Akram, Clinical Professor & Director, International Human Rights Clinic, Boston University School of Law Leila Farsakh, Professor of Political Science, University of Massachusetts BostonGregory Khalil, Co-founder & President, Telos; Adjunct Professor, Columbia University Graduate School of JournalismJon A. Levisohn, Jack, Joseph, and Morton Mandel Assoc. Professor of Jewish Educational Thought, Brandeis UniversityNadav Weiman, Deputy Director, Breaking the SilenceSpeaker Bios
Rabbi Aryeh Cohen, PhD
Rabbi Aryeh Cohen, PhD is Professor of Rabbinic Literature and a former chair of the Rabbinics Department in the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies. Cohen’s research is on the border of scholarship and activism. His latest book, Justice in the City: An Argument from the Sources of Rabbinic Judaism, emerges from rabbinic literature and contemporary philosophy to engage concerns of the city: restorative justice, labor, houseleness.
Dr. Cohen is a co-convener of the Black Jewish JusticeAlliance (BJJA) and a member of Clergy for Black Lives. With Clergy for Black Lives, he co-organized one of the largest memorial demonstrations in Downtown Los Angeles after the murder of George Floyd. Dr. Cohen is a commissioner of the Los Angeles City Ethics Commission, and an advisor to the Los Angeles County District Attorney as a member of the DA’s Interfaith Advisory Board. Dr. Cohen is the president of the Society of Jewish Ethics, and past co-chair of the board of CLUE (Clergy and Laity United for Economic Justice).
Eman Khadra Ansari, M.D. Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School
Eman Ansari is a Palestinian-American pediatric pulmonary and critical care physician, a practicing pediatric emergency physician at Boston Children’s Hospital (BCH), and an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School. She is the head of the PICU committee at PCRF and has been active in the space of health and humanitarian aid to Palestine. She’s a mother of four and lives with her husband and children in Newton, MA.
Susan M. Akram Clinical Professor and Director, International Human Rights Clinic, Boston University School of Law
Professor Susan Akram is a graduate of the University of Michigan (BA), Georgetown University School of Law (JD), Oxford University (MsT), and the Institut International des Droits del’Homme (Diplome). She directs BU Law’s International Human Rights Clinic, in which she supervises students engaged in international advocacy in domestic, international, regional, and UN fora. She teaches or has taught courses in International Human Rights, Refugee and Migration law, US Immigration law and Palestinian Refugees under International Law. She has taught at the American University in Cairo, Egypt, at Al-Quds and Birzeit Universities in Palestine, the Oxford University Refugee Studies Center and the University of Murcia in Spain. She is a double Fulbright Senior Scholar award recipient, to Palestine (1999-2000) and Spain (2021-22). Her research and publications focus on immigration, asylum, refugee, forced migration and human and civil rights issues, with an interest in the Middle East, the Arab, and Muslim world.
Leila Farsakh, Ph.D. Professor of Political Science, University of Massachusetts Boston
New Book: Rethinking Statehood in Palestine
Latest Article: “The Refugee Problem”
Webpage: SelectedWorks – Leila Farsakh
Leila Farsakh is Professor of political science at the University of Massachusetts Boston. She is the editor of Rethinking Statehood in Palestine: Self-Determination and Decolonization Beyond Partition (University of California Press, 2021), and author of Palestinian Labor Migration to Israel: Labour, Land and Occupation, (London: Routledge, second edition, 2012). She has also published widely on the political economy of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and alternative to partition in Israel/Palestine in a wide range of academic journals and non-academic venues. In 2001, she won the Peace and Justice Award from the Cambridge Peace Commission, in Cambridge-Massachusetts.
Gregory Khalil, Co-Founder & President, Telos and Adjunct Professor, Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism
Gregory Khalil is the co-founder and President of Telos, a Washington D.C.-based non-profit that equips American leaders and their communities to better engage seemingly intractable conflict. Much of Telos’ work has centered on the role of faith leaders and culture shapers in America’s relationship to Israel/Palestine and the broader Middle East. Before founding Telos, Greg was a legal and communications adviser to Palestinian leaders on peace negotiations with Israel. Since 2019, Greg has also co-taught a course called “Covering Religion” at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism.
Jon A. Levisohn, Ph.D. Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Associate Professor of Jewish Educational Thought, Brandeis University
Jon A. Levisohn is a philosopher of education, who focuses primarily on Jewish education. He is on the faculty at Brandeis University, where he chairs his department (which encompasses both Jewish and Islamic studies) and directs a research center that focuses on Jewish education. Among his books and articles, he is the editor of the forthcoming book, The Aims of Religious Education: Catholic, Islamic and Jewish Perspective. For about a decade, he has been active in Encounter, which is dedicated to bringing American and Israeli Jews to meet with Palestinians in the West Bank, and to understand more deeply the Israeli-Palestinian reality.
Nadav Weiman, Deputy Director, Breaking the Silence
Nadav Weiman was born and raised in Tel Aviv. During his army service, he served in a sniper’s team in the special forces of the Nahal brigade, where he attained the rank of staff sergeant. He studied Democratic Education. He worked as a high school history and literature teacher and was the legal guardian and counselor for a home for underprivileged teens in Tel Aviv. Nadav first joined Breaking the Silence as a Testifier-Activist in 2012. In 2019 Nadav became Breaking the Silence’s Deputy Director,
Breaking the Silence (BtS) is an organization of former Israeli soldiers, which collects and utilizes testimonies from soldiers who have served in the Occupied Palestinian Territories since 2000. Through testimonies, lectures, and direct-encounter tours, BtS strives to increase opposition to increase opposition to the occupation among audiences in Israel and around the world.

May Day Yiddish Shabes
2024-05-10 18:00 - 20:00 | HYBRID – Boston Workers Circle: Center for Jewish Culture & Social Justice, 6 Webster St, Brookline, MA 02446, USA
Celebrate the May Day workers’ holiday with a special Shabes program conducted in Yiddish. Non-Yiddish speakers are welcome! Written English translations and transliterations will be provided for the readings and the songs.
This event is pay-what-you-can (suggested donation of $5 to $10+). Registration is required.
All registrants (in person and online) will be invited to actively participate, with the option to read aloud from the program. The written program will be provided closer to the date to those who register. Shmoozing will begin at 6pm; the program will begin at 6:15.
The Shabes ceremony will be followed by an optional potluck dinner (and more singing) for those attending in person. If you attend the potluck, please bring food to share (your choice of a main, side, salad, or dessert dish).
If you are attending online, here is a list of ritual items that we invite you to have during the ceremony:

candles
wine or juice
challah

Questions? Contact yiddish@circleboston.org
Register Here.

Mothers' Day Walk for Peace
2024-05-12 08:00 - 10:00 | Town Field, 1565 Dorchester Ave, Boston, MA 02122, USA
We are gathering a BWC team to walk in the 28th annual Mothers’ Day Walk for Peace, sponsored by the Louis D. Brown Peace Institute in Dorchester. The Walk is on Sunday, May 12 (Mothers Day), 8:00 – 10:00 am and will be a 4.3 mile loop, beginning and ending at Town Field Park in Dorchester. This is a family event, and can be a meaningful way to help celebrate Mothers’ Day.
Last year, BWC was represented by about 25 walkers, joining several thousand people from faith organizations, healthcare organizations, and community groups in this spirited collective endeavor. We aim to match last year’s successful fundraising, in which we exceeded our initial $1500 goal to reach $2200 in donations.
The Peace Institute was founded by Dorchester resident Chaplain Clementina Chéry to honor her teenage son Louis D. Brown, who was murdered in the crossfire of street violence. The Walk is the major fundraiser for the Institute, whose mission is to serve as a center of healing, teaching, and learning for families and communities impacted by murder, trauma, grief, and loss.
Register Here.

CfP Joint Memorial Watch Gathering
2024-05-12 13:15 - 15:00 | Boston Workers Circle: Center for Jewish Culture & Social Justice, 6 Webster St, Brookline, MA 02446, USA
Commemorating the Nakba/Israeli War Dead
Join Boston Workers Circle to watch the 19th annual Israeli-Palestinian Memorial Day Ceremony, broadcast live from Israel/Palestine. As described by Combatants for Peace, “the joint memorial event is a unique opportunity for Israelis and Palestinians to grieve together and stand united in demanding an end to the bloodshed. In mourning together, we seek not to equate experiences, but rather transform despair into hope and build compassion around our shared humanity. We remind ourselves and the world that occupation, oppression, and conflict are not inevitable.”

We will watch this moving ceremony together on a large screen, followed by time to share our thoughts and feelings, especially in light of the ongoing tragedy in Gaza. The 1:15pm gathering time makes it perfect for a post Mother’s Day Brunch or pre-Mother’s Day Dinner family activity. This event is appropriate for family members of all ages. Light refreshments provided.

Please register here to watch the Memorial Day Ceremony together on May 12, 1:15-3pm at Boston Workers Circle, 6 Webster Street, Brookline. On Wednesday, May 15, 1pm there will also be a live streamed Nakba Remembrance.
Register Here.

Building a Culture of Repair
2024-05-14 18:30 - 19:30 | Zoom
The Reparations Interfaith Coalition, of which AFREJ/BWC is a core member, is collaborating with the Resource Organizing Project to support Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC)-led grassroots organizing in MA. The UN Report on Reparations calls on us to guarantee non-repetition of racial and economic injustice, and many of these needed changes are being fought for by the grassroots. Join the Reparations Interfaith Coalition (RIC) on May 14, 6:30-7:30pm and hear from organizers engaged in building a socially just and caring world outside the carceral and extractive relations of racial capitalism. We will hear from representatives from the Youth Justice & Power Union, Families for Justice as Healing, and Stories Inspiring Movements.
Learn how you can support their work and participate in the big event this summer, the Celebration of Grassroots Organizing, on June 29th!
Click Here to Register for the May 14th Webinar.
Click here to learn more about or register for the June 29th in-person celebration.

2nd Annual Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream Social
2024-05-14 19:00 - 20:30 | HYBRID – Boston Workers Circle: Center for Jewish Culture & Social Justice, 6 Webster St, Brookline, MA 02446, USA
This is the second annual Ben & Jerry’s Ice cream social, Tuesday May 14 7PM at 6 Webster St in Brookline. Sponsored by the Anti-anti-BDS subcommittee of the Israel-Palestine committee. Our speaker over zoom will be Brian Hauss, ACLU’s principal attorney fighting against anti-BDS laws in states like Texas and Alabama. You can read one of his writings on Common Dreams.
Register Here.

BWC Night at Fenway!
2024-05-15 19:00 - 22:00 | Fenway Park, 4 Jersey St, Boston, MA 02215, USA
Join the Boston Workers Circle for Jewish Heritage Night at Fenway and be sure to arrive early for a special performance of the National Anthem by our own A Besere Velt Yiddish Chorus!
Tickets will include the special Red Sox City Connect Jewish Heritage Jersey.
Seating is limited and available on a first come, first serve basis.
Get tickets here.

Taste of Yiddish: Klezmer Music Class
2024-05-15 19:30 - 21:00, 2024-05-29 19:30 - 21:00, 2024-06-05 19:30 - 21:00 | Boston Workers Circle: Center for Jewish Culture & Social Justice, 6 Webster St, Brookline, MA 02446, USA
Calling all instrumentalists! Want to learn how to play klezmer? Already know some tunes and want to expand your repertoire? Join fiddler Rebecca Mac of Mamaliga for a class in klezmer music. Each class, participants will learn a tune or two by ear, with lots of practice and repetition. In addition to teaching tunes, Rebecca will share information about style and ornamentation in klezmer music. All instrumentalists are welcome. No knowledge of klezmer is required, though basic familiarity and comfort on your instruments is recommended.
This class will meet on three Wednesdays– May 15, and 29 and June 5th–at 7:30 pm-9:00 pm at the Boston Workers Circle building. Participants are also encouraged to join us for an open klezmer jam the following Wednesday, June 12, at 7:30 pm. The jam will also meet at BWC and will be open to all–and it will include the tunes taught in class.
More Info & Registration Info Here

Aging in Community Meeting
2024-05-19 10:30 - 12:00 | Zoom Only
Aging in Community invites you to our May meeting to gather in small groups.Join with this link.

Final Shule Session of the Year
2024-05-19 10:30 - 12:30

TASC Session #14
2024-05-19 10:30 - 12:30

Kumzits Adult Shule: "Beyond Capitalism"
2024-05-19 10:45 - 12:15 | Shule School Cafeteria
Beyond Capitalism: BWC members in the solidarity economy
Mirroring the event that was held by the BWC’s AFREJ Committee in March, this event is a chance to hear from BWC members working on Solidarity Economy projects aimed at bringing about a world of racial and economic justice outside of the extractive relations of racial capitalism.
In this in-person session, we will learn from BWC members about their work in the solidarity economy movement. We will hear from a panel of current and former Shule parents which includes Eliza Parad, Center for Economic Democracy leader in participatory budgeting; Leah Madsen, Equal Exchange and Micha Josephy, Cooperative Fund of the Northeast.

Book Talk with Alice Rothchild
2024-05-19 12:30 - 14:00 | Shule School Cafeteria
Join Shule families after the Shule day for lunch and book talk with long time BWC member and author, Alice Rothchild. Alice will be leading a conversation and kid friendly activities with Shule families about her new book “Old Enough To Know” The story weaves together the history of Palestine, then and now, through the life of young Mohammad, a fourth grader attending a new school in America, and his relationship with his grandmother.
The book is best for kids ages 7-12
There is an option to order lunch in the RSVP form as well as order the book.
RSVP Here.

Gezang varshtat un zingeray mit Adah Hetko
2024-05-19 19:00 - 21:00 | Boston Workers Circle: Center for Jewish Culture & Social Justice, 6 Webster St, Brookline, MA 02446, USA
Lomir zingen tsuzamen af der ershter trefung fun farbreng:boston! Adah Hetko vet onfirn mit a gezang varshtat un lernen a lid-tsvey. Dernokh, veln mir hobn a zingeray un zingen alerley lider tsuzamen. Di program vet forkumen in gantsn af yidish. Ale yidish reders un studentn vos viln farbrengen in a yidish-redndiker svive zaynen hartsik farbetn!
Di program iz a tsuzamenarbet funem bostoner arbeter-ring un farbreng:boston, a yugntruf-proyekt vos shaft gelegnheytn tsu redn un farbrengen af yidish ponem-al-ponem a gants kaylekhdik yor.
Frages? Shrayb farbreng-boston@yugntruf.org
לאָמיר זינגען צוזאַמען אויף דער ערשטער טרעפֿונג פֿון פֿאַרברענג:באָסטאָן! עדה העטקאָ װעט אָנפֿירן מיט אַ געזאַנג װאַרשטאַט און לערנען אַ ליד־צװײ. דערנאָך, װעלן מיר האָבן אַ זינגערײַ און זינגען אַלערלײ לידער צוזאַמען. די פּראָגראַם װעט פֿאָרקומען אין גאַנצן אויף ייִדיש. אַלע ייִדיש רעדערס און סטודענטן װאָס װילן פֿאַרברענגען אין אַ ייִדיש־רעדנדיקער סבֿיבֿה זײַנען האַרציק פֿאַרבעטן!
די פּראָגראַם איז אַ צוזאַמענאַרבעט פֿונעם באָסטאָנער אַרבעטער־רינג און פֿאַרברענג:באָסטאָן, אַ יוגנטרוף־פּראָיעקט װאָס שאַפֿט געלעגנהײטן צו רעדן און פֿאַרברענגען אויף ייִדיש פּנים־אל־פּנים אַ גאַנץ קײַלעכדיק יאָר.
פֿראַגעס? שרײַב farbreng-boston@yugntruf.orgRegister Here

Zayen Class Rehearsal for the B’nai Mitzvah
2024-05-22 19:00 - 21:00
Zayen students practice a run-through of the B’nai Mitzvah, parents meet to review outstanding items on B’nai Mitzvah planning and also rehearse the parent led portions of the ceremony.

Alice Rothchild Talk on Gaza War
2024-05-23 18:00 - 21:00 | HYBRID – Boston Workers Circle: Center for Jewish Culture & Social Justice, 6 Webster St, Brookline, MA 02446, USA
Alice Rothchild will report on the consequences of the Gaza war on health and human rights conditions. She has visited Gaza four times, the last in August 2023. Her talk will include background on conditions in the Strip prior to the Hamas attack and Israeli bombing campaign and then a detailed description of the status of the health care system and personnel, patients, destruction of homes, universities, etc etc, hostages, status of the ICJ re: accusation of genocide by South Africa, the work of We Are Not Numbers, and whatever developments occur between now and then. She will end the presentation with thoughts on what we can do. Boxed Meals from Aceituna at 6; Hybrid program begins at 7.
Register here.

Brookline Peace Coalition Standout For Peace
2024-05-30 18:00 - 19:00 | Brookline High School
Support Brookline Town Meeting vote on a resolution calling for a ceasefire in Gaza at a community rally before the meeting.
More info: Brookline Peace Coalition

B'nai Mitzvah
2024-06-01

Circle Book Group
2024-06-02 10:15 - 12:15 | HYBRID — Boston Workers Circle: Center for Jewish Culture & Social Justice, 6 Webster St, Brookline, MA 02446, USA
Note on Start Times: The Book Group begins at 10:15am for in-person at the BWC Building and 10:30 for folks attending on 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 Japanese Lover by Isabel Allende.

All Shule Picnic & Park Play
2024-06-02 10:30 - 12:30

TASC Session #15
2024-06-02 10:30 - 12:30

Melissa welcome lunch! (Skylight)
2024-06-03 12:00 - 13:00

Anyuka: A Bisl Film Screening & Art Workshop
2024-06-06 19:00 - 20:30 | Boston Workers Circle: Center for Jewish Culture & Social Justice, 6 Webster St, Brookline, MA 02446, USA
In this member to member learning session, BWC member, award-winning filmmaker, animator and educator; Maya Erdelyi will explore how art can help us make sense of the family stories that were passed down to us. Maya will share her 20 minute film, Anyuka (Hungarian for mother). Anyuka interweaves super 8 family films, archival material and experimental animation to explore the indomitable life of her grandmother, a WWII refugee and Holocaust survivor. The film will be followed by a question and answer with Maya and then an opportunity to create a visual response to a family story of your own.
What is in your family history? And what are the stories that you heard again and again? What do you want to pass down to the next generation?
Attendees are invited to bring an artifact from their own ancestors as inspiration for the workshop component but this is not required.
Suggested donations of $10-$15 are invited at the door.
RSVP here.

Neighborhood Shabes
2024-06-07 18:30 - 20:30 | Various Locations (In Person)
The Shabes Committee invites you to join us for a relaxing evening of schmoozing and sharing a Shabes ritual and potluck dinner. We will be gathering in different areas of the city and you may choose which location is most convenient for you via the registration form. Options are: Medford, Jamaica Plain and Brookline. All are welcome including long term members and newcomers.Registration closes Thursday, 5pm.
Registration is now closed.

Israel-Palestine Committee Meeting
2024-06-11 19:00 - 20:30 | Zoom

Wrestling with Covenant: Shavuot Learning Dedicated to Ceasefire
2024-06-11 21:00 - 23:30 | Boston Workers Circle: Center for Jewish Culture & Social Justice, 6 Webster St, Brookline, MA 02446, USA
Shavuot commemorates the revelation on Mt. Sinai and the covenant that binds the Jewish people to one another, the divine, and our sacred and expansive relationship to Torah. Many communities celebrate Shavuot by spending the night learning. As we move into the eighth month since October 7th, we invite Boston Jews committed to ceasefire to come together and wrestle with Torah and other texts on the themes of covenant and liberation.
This program will be held at Boston Workers Circle (6 Webster St Brookline), in proximity to the Brookline Community tikkun hosted at KI (Kehillath Israel) on Harvard Street. We encourage people to participate in both!
If you have any questions, please reach out to Cynthia at Nehar Shalom (communications@neharshalom.org) who will pass these on to the organizing team.Register Here!

Klezmer Jam
2024-06-12 19:30 - 21:00
Join fiddler Rebecca Mac of Mamaliga who is leading a rousing drop-in klezmer jam session. All levels of instrumentalists are welcome! A range of Klezmer tunes will be covered including the ones taught at the BWC Klezmer class.
Suggested donation of $5-$15 which can be paid at the door or through the registration form.
Register Here.

New Member Happy Hour @ Aeronaut Brewing
2024-06-13 18:00 - 21:00 | Aeronaut, 14 Tyler Street, Somerville, MA 02143
A space for new (or potential!) members of BWC to meet other members of the community! Come grab a beer, a kombucha, and learn about what makes BWC so special.
First 25 to register will receive a free drink ticket!
Register Here!

New Member Happy Hour
2024-06-13 18:00 - 21:00 | Aeronaut Brewing Company, 14 Tyler St, Somerville, MA 02143, USA
Join with Google Meet: https://meet.google.com/jnb-pnfe-kyh
Learn more about Meet at: https://support.google.com/a/users/answer/9282720

BWC Annual Member Meeting
2024-06-18 18:30 - 20:00 | HYBRID – Boston Workers Circle, Brookline, MA, United States
Join us for BWC’s Annual Member Meeting!
Register here.
Not yet a member? Become a member today!

Membership Month Phonebank (hybrid)
2024-06-20 17:30 - 19:30 | skylight
Join Zoom Meetinghttps://us06web.zoom.us/j/8528708724
Meeting ID: 852 870 8724
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One tap mobile+13017158592,,8528708724# US (Washington DC)+13052241968,,8528708724# US
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Dial by your location• +1 301 715 8592 US (Washington DC)• +1 305 224 1968 US• +1 309 205 3325 US• +1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago)• +1 646 558 8656 US (New York)• +1 646 931 3860 US• +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• +1 689 278 1000 US• +1 719 359 4580 US• +1 720 707 2699 US (Denver)• +1 253 205 0468 US• +1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma)• +1 346 248 7799 US (Houston)
Meeting ID: 852 870 8724
Find your local number: https://us06web.zoom.us/u/kP6Zw7se

The Road to Peace: A Collaborative Jewish-Muslim Discussion
2024-06-20 19:00 - 20:30 | Fireplace South Gallery, Woburn Public Library, 45 Pleasant St, Woburn, MA 01801, USA & Zoom
The Road to Peace event is hosted by Know Your Neighbor Woburn in collaboration with the Islamic Council of New England and Boston Workers Circle. The panel will feature Jewish, Muslim, and Christian thought leaders in a moderated conversation. It takes place Thursday, June 20 at 7:00pm at the Woburn Public Library and on Zoom. Click here for registration or to find out more.

Molly Bajgot Revelry Album Concert
2024-06-23 16:00 - 17:30 | Nehar Shalom Community Synagogue, 6 Eliot St, Jamaica Plain, MA, United States
Join Nehar Shalom, Kavod Boston, and Boston Workers Circle for an evening of new Jewish music and powerful song with Molly Bajgot. Molly will share music from her new first full-length album, Revelry, a collection of original tunes for Jewish liturgy and songs of hope. Molly’s soulful voice and alluring melodies bridge the realms of Jewish, folk, and devotional music. Her orientation to community building and prayer shines through in her musical leadership. Together, we’ll create a sacred and songful space to revel in our aliveness, our grief, our healing, and our work for collective liberation.
Register Here.

Yiddish Reading Group
2024-06-28 10:30 - 12:00 | Zoom
Yiddish Reading Group will not meet in July. Weekly meetings will resume in August.
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

Membership Month 2nd Phone Bank (If needed)
2024-07-07 15:00 - 17:00
Join with Google Meet: https://meet.google.com/dqq-zfcj-kbt
Learn more about Meet at: https://support.google.com/a/users/answer/9282720

World Fellowship Weekend
2024-07-12 - 2024-07-14 | World Fellowship Center, Conway, NH, United States
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. Beautiful Whitten Pond is a 1/4 mile walk through the woods for boating and swimming in a quiet place with wild blueberries and great views. 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 and note you are part of the BWC group.
If you have any questions contact Shule parent, Leah Madsen at leahmadsen@gmail.com or 617-792-7529.

Membership Month Potluck Shabes
2024-07-19 18:00 - 20:30 | Boston Workers Circle, Brookline, MA, United States
Join BWC members, new and longtime, for a shabes potluck dinner at the BWC building. This is a chance to meet some new community members and learn what makes BWC so special.Register Here!

CANCELED: Jewish Muslim Solidarity Committee Meeting
2024-07-24 19:00 - 20:30 | Zoom

Membership Phone/Textbank Bank Pt 2! (Zoom)
2024-08-01 18:00 - 19:00
Join Zoom Meetinghttps://us06web.zoom.us/j/83953423018?pwd=[REDACTED]
Meeting ID: 839 5342 3018Passcode: [REDACTED]
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One tap mobile+13092053325,,83953423018#,,,,*[REDACTED]# US+13126266799,,83953423018#,,,,*[REDACTED]# US (Chicago)
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Dial by your location• +1 309 205 3325 US• +1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago)• +1 646 558 8656 US (New York)• +1 646 931 3860 US• +1 301 715 8592 US (Washington DC)• +1 305 224 1968 US• +1 689 278 1000 US• +1 719 359 4580 US• +1 720 707 2699 US (Denver)• +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
Meeting ID: 839 5342 3018Passcode: [REDACTED]
Find your local number: https://us06web.zoom.us/u/kbTE5H3Xs7
Join with Google Meet: https://meet.google.com/yyc-wqir-dsf
Learn more about Meet at: https://support.google.com/a/users/answer/9282720

CANCELED: Yiddish Vinkl
2024-08-08 19:00 - 20:30 | 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.

פֿאַרברענג:באָסטאָן ″פּאָטלאָק″-בראָנטש (Farbreng:boston "potlok" brontsh)
2024-08-11 11:00 - 13:00 | Belmont, MA – address will be sent to registrants before the event
זונטיק, דעם 4טן אויגוסט 11:00 אין דער פֿרי. פֿאַרברענגט מיט אַנדערע ייִדיש־רעדערס אויף אַ ″פּאָטלאָק″־בראָנטש בײַ יונהן און עלקען אין בעלמאָנט. די פּראָגראַם װעט פֿאָרקומען אין גאַנצן אויף ייִדיש. אַלע ייִדיש־רעדערס און סטודענטן װאָס װילן פֿאַרברענגען אין אַ ייִדיש־רעדנדיקער סבֿיבֿה זײַנען האַרציק פֿאַרבעטן
זײַט אַזוי גוט, און ברענגט אַ מאכל אויפֿן ″פּאָטלאָק.″ אַלץ מוז זײַן װעגעטאַריש
יונה און עלקע װוינען אין בעלמאָנט. מיר װעלן שיקן דעם אַדרעס צו די אַלע אָנטײל נעמערס פֿאַרן בראָנטש. דער בראָנטש װעט פֿאָרקומען אין דרויסן טאָמער איז דער װעטער שײן. טאָמער נישט, װעלן מיר פֿאַרברענגען אינעװײניק. אַז מיר װעלן זײַן אינעװײניק, מוזן אַלע זײַן װאַקצינירט קעגן קאָװיד. אַז איר האָט סימפּטאָמען, בעטן מיר, איר זאָלט נישט קומען
די פּראָגראַם איז אַ צוזאַמענאַרבעט פֿונעם באָסטאָנער אַרבעטער־רינג און פֿאַרברענג:באָסטאָן, אַ יוגנטרוף־פּראָיעקט װאָס שאַפֿט געלעגנהײטן צו רעדן און פֿאַרברענגען אויף ייִדיש פּנים־אל־פּנים אַ גאַנץ קײַלעכדיק יאָר
Zuntik, dem 4tn oygust, 11:00 in der fri. Farbrengt mit andere yidish-reders af a “potlok”-brontsh by Yoynen un Elken in Belmont. Di program vet forkumen in gantsn af yidish. Ale yidish-reders un studentn vos viln farbrengen in a yidish-redndiker svive zaynen hartsik farbetn
Zayt azoy gut, un brengt a maykhl afn “potlok.” Alts muz zayn vegetarish
Yoyne un Elke voynen in Belmont. Mir veln shikn dem adres tsu ale onteyl nemers farn brontsh. Der brontsh vet forkumen in droysn tomer iz der veter sheyn. Tomer nisht, veln mir farbrengen ineveynik. Az mir veln farbrengen ineveynik, muzn ale zayn vaktsinirt kegn kovid. Az ir hot simptomen, betn mir, ir zolt nisht kumen
Di program iz a tsuzamenarbet funem bostoner arbeter-ring un farbreng:boston, a yugntruf-proyekt vos shaft gelegnheytn tsu redn un farbrengen af yidish ponem-al-ponem a gants kaylekhdik yorRegister Here

Boston Says: Not Another Bomb
2024-08-18 16:00 - 19:00 | TBD – Registrants will receive location details via email.
We know that in order to achieve a permanent ceasefire in Gaza, the U.S. must stop arming Israel’s war and occupation against Palestinians. That’s why we are calling for an immediate embargo on US arms to Israel. Join us in calling on Biden and Harris to do the right thing and end this Administration’s disastrous policy of arming Israel’s war and occupation against Palestinians.
RSVP to our action on Sun 8/18 at 4PM in Boston
The call for a ceasefire and arms embargo is a moral and human imperative, as well as a necessity as dictated by preexisting American and international law. We are witnessing a humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza, with a reported >40,000 Palestinians killed, including, a truly staggering amount of children, and public health and infrastructure destruction that will lead to the indirect death of hundreds of thousands Palestinians.
The time is now to act! Register to join our action on Sun 8/18 at 4PM to support the movement for arms embargo. For Gaza, for the lives that are stake, and for freedom for all.

CANCELED: Aging Outside the Box
2024-08-27 17:30 - 19:00 | Zoom

2024 Yiddish / Klezmer Community Potluck & Campfire
2024-09-02 16:30 - 20:00
The BWC Yiddish Committee invites Yiddish speakers and students of all levels, klezmer musicians, and their families/friends to enjoy an outdoor potluck picnic and campfire in Medford. 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 opportunities to chat in both Yiddish and English. Musicians are invited to bring instruments.
For the potluck, we welcome snacks, main courses, salads, desserts, drinks (non-alcoholic or beer/wine/mashke welcome). If you know what you’re bringing, let us know on your registration form.
The location address will be shared with you after you register.
Questions about the event? Email yiddish@circleboston.org
Register Here

Di Nest: Yiddish Arts Incubator
2024-09-05 19:30 - 21:00
Di Nest is an incubator for Yiddish-language creative projects! Join us 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 from several participants; if you have material you would like to workshop, please email Lily at 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 to get the Zoom link.

A Besere Velt Yiddish Chorus Open Rehearsals
2024-09-08 15:00 - 17:00 | Temple Beth Zion, 1566 Beacon St, Brookline, MA, United States
Email ABV@circleboston.org for more information.

Shmuesklas
2024-09-09 19:30 - 20:45, 2024-09-16 19:30 - 20:45, 2024-09-23 19:30 - 20:45 | BWC Building
Class Description: Have you learned the basics of Yiddish but want to improve your speaking skills? Join us for a Yiddish conversation class! We’ll spend each session talking, focusing on practical uses of the language and topics of interest to students. Along the way, we’ll explore grammar and learn new vocabulary. There will be plenty of time to talk in small groups, so everyone can practice speaking in a friendly, low-stress environment.
Level Description: This class is geared towards advanced beginner-intermediate Yiddish learners. Students should be familiar with the past, present, and future tenses. Students are not required to know the alef-beys.
Cost: $30 for all three classes ($10/class) with pre-registrations and $15 per class at the door. The payment can be submitted here ( you will also get the link in the confirmation email). No one will be turned away for lack of funds.
Register here.

Shabes Committee Potluck
2024-09-13 18:30 - 20:30
The Shabes Committee invites you to join us on Friday, September 13 at 6:30 PM at the BWC building. We will be holding an informal Shabes with a potluck dinner and brief ritual to welcome the new season and spend time together. Anyone is welcome to come who is considering joining the Shabes Committee, or helping out with any of the Shabes gatherings that we are planning for this year. Registration required. Register here.
Sign up to bring a potluck dish here.

Circle Book Group
2024-09-15 10:15 - 12:00
This is an open group that welcomes all readers interested in expanding their understanding of the wide variety of Jewish experiences throughout history and across the world.
September’s book is The Lost: A Search for Six of Six Million by Daniel Mendelsohn
The Book Group page lists titles discussed previously. Scroll down to see the list at this link.
To be added to the Book Group listserv or if you have questions or want to attend via Zoom, email BookGroup@circleboston.org.

Shule Session 1 / New Family Orientation
2024-09-15 10:30 - 12:30

TASC
2024-09-15 10:30 - 12:30 | BWC Building
Teens Acting for Social Change (TASC) is back! Through our year-long TASC program, teens ages 13-18 will build community with each other, grow as social justice organizers and activists, engage in the broader Boston social justice community, and deepen their understanding of the connections between being Jewish and acting for social change.
This year TASC will meet for 16 sessions between September-May on Sundays in conjunction with Shule. Final calendar to follow!
Teens Acting for Social Change (TASC) is a group of teens making a difference in our world. TASCers build community, learn about social justice issues, and take action.
Teens run the group with the assistance of an adult coordinator. TASC meets on Sunday mornings during the school year at various Boston locations.
TASC is open to Shule graduates and all interested teens in grades 8-12. Contact the coordinator with any questions: elias@circleboston.org.
REGISTER HERE

Anti-Racism Study Group
2024-09-16 19:15 - 20:30, 2024-10-21 19:15 - 20:30

Adult Ed Course: The Cop in the Head of the Jewish Left: Breaking Out of 19th Century Norms to Organize Our People
2024-09-17 19:00 - 20:30, 2024-09-24 19:00 - 20:30, 2024-10-01 19:00 - 20:30, 2024-10-08 19:00 - 20:30 | Virtual
REGISTER HERE
4 Sessions | September 17, 24, October 1, 8 |Tuesdays 7:00-8:30 pm ET | Virtual
Course Instructor: April Rosenblum, author of The Past Didn’t Go Anywhere and To The New Jewish Left
Course Description: The Jewish Left is contained by invisible walls that prevent us from fully claiming our power and steering our people in a new direction. We aren’t just up against obvious things, like the entanglement of many Jews in privilege and white supremacy, or well-funded Right-wing strategies. We are held in place by limitations dreamed up for us more than a century ago by the European Left.
To rise to all the challenges we face – including the immediate challenge of seeking Palestinian freedom and the imminent challenges to democracy and the earth’s climate – it is essential that we break out of these limits so that we can access our full power and help our people play our strongest, most liberatory role. Over four sessions, we’ll use April’s new MA research, the wisdom of the organizing tradition, analysis of Christian dominance, and participants’ own reflections to make visible what has been holding us back.
This course is for Jewish Leftists who want to strengthen their leadership and critical thinking skills and come out with a bolder sense of Jews’ place in movements and in the world.
All sessions will be recorded and made available to registrants.
Pre-Course Reading: Participants are asked to read or listen to “To the New Jewish Left” (2021)
Course Sessions:

Session #1 on 9/17: Setting the scene in the late 19th century, and grounding ourselves in organizing wisdom
Session #2 on 9/24: Dueling visions for Jews in the first half of the 20th century, and how the expectations of the European Left created the mold for today
Session #3 on 10/1: The creation of an Invisible Jewish Left in the 1960s, and why we don’t question existing theory
Session #4 on 10/8: Building a 21st-century Jewish Left and moving beyond cultures of domination

REGISTER HERE

Electoral Politics and Left Activism
2024-09-19 19:00 - 20:30
Many people feel that the stakes of the 2024 election are higher than perhaps they have ever been before. Much of that concern revolves around Project 2025 and recent Supreme Court decisions that have taken away reproductive rights, challenged climate policy, and have seemed to affirm Trump’s assertions that a “deep state” is undermining democracy and has to be dismantled. Others feel that electoral politics are not terribly relevant to the ongoing work of social justice grassroots organizing. Still others are withholding their votes or voting for third parties because of the ongoing war on Gaza. Join us for a free-ranging discussion on the relation between electoral politics, left activism, and grassroots organizing.
Register for this discussion here.

Aging in Community Beginning of the Season Gathering
2024-09-22 10:30 - 12:00 | Zoom and Offsite Location
Email Dianne at diannp27@comcast.net for additional details.

A Besere Velt Yiddish Chorus Open Rehearsals
2024-09-22 15:00 - 17:30 | Temple Beth Zion, 1566 Beacon St, Brookline, MA, United States
Check out our 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.
Come sing with us!
We welcome singers of all ages and abilities.
No auditions, you don’t need to know Yiddish, and you don’t have to be Jewish.
For more information about BWC and for samples of ABV performances check out our website here.
Email ABV@circleboston.org for more information.

Outing to Parents Circle Families Forum
2024-09-25 18:45 - 20:30
All BWC members are welcomed to join us to hear representatives of the Parents Circle Families Forum at Temple Beth Zion where Palestinians and Israelis will discuss their experiences of political violence and efforts to move beyond it to peace and justice.
Learn more about the event here, including how to register if you’d like to attend via Zoom.

Yiddish Sing
2024-09-26 19:00 - 20:30, 2024-10-24 19:00 - 20:30 | Hybrid: BWC Building & Zoom
Drop in for this free informal monthly gathering to sing Yiddish songs! All are welcome, regardless of singing ability or knowledge of Yiddish.
Attendees are welcome to attend in person or online. We will sing from the Yosl and Chana Mlotek collection of Yiddish songs. These songbooks will be available in person and are also available online at https://yiddishsongs.org. Online participants can request songs and listen and sing along with their mics muted.
REGISTRATION REQUIRED. Please register here before the event.

Zayen Field Trip Day
2024-09-29 09:00 - 18:30

Shule Session 2
2024-09-29 10:30 - 12:30

TASC Session 2
2024-09-29 10:30 - 12:30 | BWC Office – 6 Webster Street

Kumzits: Organizing Around The Election
2024-09-29 10:45 - 12:15 | Shule

Shule Open House
2024-09-29 11:30 - 12:45
Thinking about enrolling your child in BWC’s Shule program, but not sure if it’s the right fit? Learn more about Boston Workers Circle’s secular Jewish cultural school at our open house. RSVP here for the location.

Rosh Hashanah Services
2024-10-03 10:00 - 12:00
Learn more and register here.

farbreng:boston piknik in park פֿאַרברענג:באָסטאָן פּיקניק אין פּאַרק
2024-10-05 15:00 - 17:00 | Cambridge Public Library lawn – 449 Broadway Cambridge, Cambridge, MA, United States
לאָמיר פֿאַרברענגען צוזאַמען אויף אַ פּיקניק. מיר װעלן זיך טרעפֿן שבת, דעם 5טן אָקטאָבער, 3:00 א″ז אויף דער לאָנקע פֿון קײמברידזשער ביבליאָטעק. דער אַדרעס פֿון ביבליאָטעק איז 449 בראָדװײ, אין קײמברידזש. אַלע זײַנען פֿאַרבעטן צו ברענגען נאַשן און פֿאַרברענגען צוזאַמען אויף ייִדיש די פּראָגראַם איז אַ צוזאַמענאַרבעט פֿונעם באָסטאָנער אַרבעטער־רינג און פֿאַרברענג:באָסטאָן, אַ יוגנטרוף־פּראָיעקט װאָס שאַפֿט געלעגנהײטן צו רעדן און פֿאַרברענגען אויף ייִדיש פּנים־אל־פּנים אַ גאַנץ קײַלעכדיק יאָר
Lomir farbrengen tsuzamen af a piknik. Mir veln zikh trefn shabes, dem 5th oktober, 3:00 a”z af der lonke fun keymbridzher biblyotekb. Der adres fun biblyotek iz 449 Broadway in Cambridge. Ale zaynen farbetn tsu brengen nashn un farbrengen tsuzamen af yidish.
Di program iz a tsuzamenarbet funem bostoner arbeter-ring un farbreng:boston, a yugntruf-proyekt vos shaft gelegnheytn tsu redn un farbrengen af yidish ponem-al-ponem a gants kaylekhdik yorRegister here.

Tashlikh Ritual to Honor Anniversary of Oct. 7
2024-10-06
This has been a year of staggering loss and grief. We invite you to join together as members of the BWC community for a tashlikh ritual to mark the anniversary of October 7th. We will mourn the lives lost that day, and the lives lost in the year since. As we come up on a year of devastation, we may be feeling grief, heartbreak, rage, despair, uncertainty, confusion, and fear. No matter what is coming up for you, we welcome all BWC members to come together in a safe and supportive community.
We will gather together on Sunday, October 6 at 2:00pm at Brookline Reservoir Park across the street from 80 Dudley Street, Brookline MA. Registration is encouraged but not required. Register here.

Shule Session 3
2024-10-06 10:30 - 12:30

Circle Playtime
2024-10-06 10:45 - 12:15, 2024-10-20 10:45 - 12:15
Circle Playtime is a free playgroup for families with children ages 2-5 years old. Each session includes fun, age-appropriate activities filled with music-making and storytelling related to a Jewish or social justice holiday. It is followed by open play at the nearby playground in Brookline, MA.

Kumzits: Convo re: 10/7 + BoFIPA
2024-10-06 10:45 - 12:15 | Shule

Zayen Parent Kick-off Meeting (attendance rqd)
2024-10-06 10:45 - 12:15 | Shule

BWC Membership Committee Meeting
2024-10-09 18:00 - 19:00
Join Zoom Meetinghttps://us06web.zoom.us/j/89275125408?pwd=[REDACTED]
Meeting ID: 892 7512 5408Passcode: [REDACTED]
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Find your local number: https://us06web.zoom.us/u/ku1GyJvXF

AFREJ: Fight Voter Suppression in Ohio!
2024-10-10 19:00 - 21:00 | 6 Webster St, Brookline, MA, United States
Join AFREJ and Jewish Alliance for Law and Social Action (JALSA) organizer, Rachel Scarpino, to write postcards to fight voter suppression in Ohio. In 2023, Ohio passed several outrageous laws which will make voting more difficult this year: e.g., creating stricter voter ID policies, shortening early voting deadlines, and imposing criminal penalties on anyone who tries to drop off an absentee ballot that does not belong to them.
We’ll be writing to registered voters in key districts who have not voted in the last few elections, a list also used during a previous JALSA campaign regarding reproductive health legislation in Ohio. JALSA will supply the postcards, names/addresses of Ohioan voters, and a sample message, but please bring your own postage for 24 cards. Rachel will also tell us about JALSA’s other campaigns, including canvassing for One Fair Wage in MA.
This event will take place at BWC’s Office at 6 Webster Street in Brookline from 7:00 – 9:00pm. Registration is required.

Yom Kippur
2024-10-12 10:00 - 12:00

Yiddish Language Class: Advanced Beginner Yiddish In-Person
2024-10-15 19:00 - 20:30, 2024-10-22 19:00 - 20:30 | BWC Building
Course Description: This joyful and inclusive class is a celebration of Yiddish grammar, vocabulary, history, and culture. Join us for a weekly session where we practice conjugating verbs, declining noun phrases, and putting together increasingly-complex sentences in the ancestral mother tongue of ashkenazic jewry. Ask questions, get answers, and find camaraderie with other learners on a guided tour of the grammar and structure and culture of this wondrous Jewish language.
Level: For students who have taken a BWC Beginner course. Also open to those who already know the Yiddish aleph beys, some basic grammar & vocabulary, and who feel the class description fits their level, including those who have worked through Duolingo and feel ready to dive into more conversation and culture.
Instructor: Jonah Sidman
Materials: Colloquial Yiddish by Lily Kahn. Students can purchase this textbook from The Yiddish Book Center, Routledge Textbooks, or at other on-line sites.

Yiddish Language Class: Advanced Beginner Yiddish Virtual
2024-10-15 19:00 - 20:30, 2024-10-22 19:00 - 20:30 | Zoom
Course Description: Do you know about der, di, dos, and dem, but shudder when you hear the words “dative” and “accusative”? Do you know how to exchange pleasantries in Yiddish but not how to talk about what happened yesterday? Do you know the alef-beys, but not have enough vocabulary to tell a story? Would you like to study Yiddish every week with an enthusiastic teacher who showers you with positive feedback no matter how many mistakes you make? This advanced beginner Yiddish class might just be right for you.
Level: For students who have taken a BWC Beginner course. Also open to those who already know the Yiddish alef-beys, some basic grammar & vocabulary, and who feel the class description fits their level, including those who have worked through Duolingo and feel ready to dive into more conversation and culture.
Instructor: Sasha Berenstein
Materials: In eynem: The New Yiddish Textbook, Vol I. Starting on Chapter 7. Students can purchase this textbook through The Yiddish Book Center (print or digital/PDF is fine), and have it accessible for use during class sessions.

Yiddish Language Class: Intermediate Yiddish Virtual
2024-10-15 19:00 - 20:30, 2024-10-22 19:00 - 20:30 | Zoom
Course Description: Build confidence in your Yiddish – reading, speaking, listening, and writing, in a supportive and welcoming classroom of intermediate Yiddish students, as we delve into the treasure trove of short stories by Sholem Aleichem, one of the most celebrated authors in all of Yiddish literature. In this class, you will find abundant opportunities to stretch and grow your Yiddish, as we work together to make the leap from the textbook’s careful examples into the vast and exciting world of Yiddish literature. We’ll read slowly, translate continuously, and look up every unfamiliar word as we delight in the hilarious and heart-wrenching adventures of Menachem-Mendl, Sheyne-Sheyndl, Tevye der Milkhiker, and other beloved characters from the canon of Sholem Aleichem.
Level: This class is appropriate for students who can read and understand Yiddish sentences with the help of a dictionary. BWC students who have completed Advanced Beginner, those who want to continue in Intermediate, and newcomers at this level are all welcome to join.
Instructor: Abby Howell
Materials: The Complete Works of Sholem Aleichem. Students can find this text online for free here.

Yiddish Language Class: Beginner Semester I In-Person
2024-10-15 19:00 - 21:00, 2024-10-22 19:00 - 21:00 | BWC Office
Course Description: Let’s learn Yiddish — lomir zikh lernen yidish! This course introduces students to the fundamentals of Yiddish conversation, reading, and grammar through highly-interactive games, songs, activities, and short texts. Students who don’t yet know the Hebrew/Yiddish alphabet will be asked to join the class a half hour early for the first several sessions.
Level: Students new to Yiddish, or those who know a few basics but want a structured start to learning anew. Also recommended for Duolingo learners looking for a structured introduction to grammar, conversation, and culture.
Instructor: Sarah Biskowitz
Materials: In eynem: The New Yiddish Textbook, Vol I. Students can purchase this textbook through The Yiddish Book Center (print or digital/PDF is fine), and have it accessible for use during class sessions.
Note: 7:00-7:30pm is for aleph beys

Israel/Palestine Committee Meeting
2024-10-16 19:00 - 20:30 | Zoom
IPC meetings are for conducting IPC business, discussing BWC-wide (Exec-endorsed) campaigns, sharing news of the subcommittees, and holding community-wide conversations. Contact ipc@circleboston.org for more info. Register for the Zoom meeting here.

Yiddish Language Class: Advanced Dropkin Dertseytl Nokh Vayter Virtual
2024-10-16 20:00 - 21:30, 2024-10-23 20:00 - 21:30
Course Description: Celia Dropkin (1887-1956) is a dynamic writer whose work is exciting, intense and confronting. Best known for her fierce and intimate poetry, Dropkin brings the same bold, unflinching voice to her short stories. Dropkin’s stories take the reader deep under the skins of sharply drawn characters, casting a critical gaze on the settings and social circumstances that they encounter. In this course, we will read a selection of Dropkin’s short stories in the original Yiddish, and will discuss the themes, characters, contexts and stylistics of these works. The course will consist entirely of new materials. No stories previously covered in 2023 or 2024 will be studied this semester.
די נאָוואַטאָרישע שרײַבערין ציליע דראָפּקין (1887-1956) האָט אַרײַנגעפֿירט פֿרישע טעמעס און סטיליסטיק אין דער ייִדישער ליטעראַטור. די דרײַסטע, אינטימע שטימע פֿאַר וועלכער איר פּאָעזיע איז אַזוי באַקאַנט, געפֿינט זיך אויך אין דראָפּקינס דינאַמישע דערציילונגען. דערצו באַגעגנט מען אין דראָפּקינס דערציילונגען איר שאַרפֿן בליק אויף דעם אַרום, ווי אויך איר פֿעיִקייט קריטיש און קרעפֿטיק צו באַהאַנדלען וויכטיקע סאָציאַלע ענינים.
מיר וועלן צוזאַמען לייענען אויף אַ קול אַן אָפּקלײַב פֿון דראָפּקינס דערציילונגען, און וועלן אַרומשמועסן די טעמעס, פּערסאָנאַזשן, סיטואַציעס, סטיליסטיק און קאָנטעקסטן פֿון די דערציילונגען.
Level: The class is suited to advanced readers and speakers of Yiddish, including students in previous BWC advanced classes. Students who want to listen rather than read are welcome to join the class. We will discuss Dropkin’s work in Yiddish, in a supportive environment that encourages each person to speak Yiddish freely and fearlessly to the best of their ability.
Instructor: Hinde Ena Burstin
Materials: This class will read and discuss stories that appear in Celia Dropkin’s 1959 edition of In Heysn Vint, which can be found online for free here.

Circle Book Group
2024-10-20 10:15 - 12:00
This is an open group that welcomes all readers interested in expanding their understanding of the wide variety of Jewish experiences throughout history and across the world. The October meeting will take place on ZOOM ONLY.
October’s book is When the Angels Left the Old Country by Sacha Lamb
The Book Group page lists titles discussed previously. Scroll down to see the list at this link.
To be added to the Book Group listserv or if you have questions or want to attend via Zoom, email BookGroup@circleboston.org.

Kumzits: BWC Committee Fair
2024-10-20 10:15 - 13:15 | Shule

Shule Session 4 / Sukkes/Sukkot / All Parent Assembly
2024-10-20 10:30 - 12:30

TASC Session 3
2024-10-20 10:30 - 12:30 | BWC Office – 6 Webster Street

Yiddish Language Class: Beginner Semester I Virtual
2024-10-20 16:00 - 18:00 | Zoom
Course Description: Let’s learn Yiddish — lomir zikh lernen yidish! This course introduces students to the fundamentals of Yiddish conversation, reading, and grammar through highly-interactive games, songs, activities, and short texts. Students who don’t yet know the Hebrew/Yiddish alphabet will be asked to join the class a half hour early for the first several sessions.
Level: Students new to Yiddish, or those who know a few basics but want a structured start to learning anew. Also recommended for Duolingo learners looking for a structured introduction to grammar, conversation, and culture.
Instructor: Sasha Berenstein
Materials: In eynem: The New Yiddish Textbook, Vol I. Students can purchase this textbook through The Yiddish Book Center (print or digital/PDF is fine), and have it accessible for use during class sessions.
Note: 4:00-4:30pm is for aleph beys.
