Kvetch In the City October

Remember when you’d return to school, and teachers would have you write a page about your summer vacation? Although a month overdue, I thought it might be cathartic to put my summer vacation in writing. I’m still trying to make sense of it since it turned out to be the kind of vacation in which I needed a vacation from my vacation when I returned home. Have you ever had one of those?

Revere Jewish Montessori Preschool

Chabad Hebrew School

Hadassah Happenings

On Nov. 3, Hadassah is sponsoring the closing film of the Nashville Jewish Film Festival at 7pm at the Belcourt Theater. The film is a sexy, German romcom titled, "Love & Mazel Tov." Join Hadassah members for dinner at 5:30pm before the film. Film Tickets are $10, and dinner is a separate charge. Please rsvp to Mindy Drongowski (615-613-4946) at mandmski@comcast.net

Hadassah Nashville Holds Fundraiser October 30 to Support Ukraine

The Nashville Chapter of Hadassah is planning an evening of food and song on Sunday, October 30 at West End Synagogue and invites all to attend. After a wine, hors d’oeuvres and dessert reception beginning at 5 pm, internationally known artist, Batsheva, will perform her program entitled, ”The Secret Jewish Soul of Leonard Cohen.” Originally from Toronto, and now based in Nashville, Batsheva has a robust following due to her ability to sing in English, Hebrew, Yiddish, and Ladino. To sample her superb voice, place your phone camera over the QR code in the ad.

The Film Three Minutes

Three Minutes: A Lengthening Explores Precious Moments Before the Holocaust

Under One Roof Returns October 9-17 at the Gordon JCC

A 31 Day Benefit-of-the-Doubt Challenge

David and Tamar Sheinberg were engaged during Chanukah of 2019, with plans to marry on March 30th, 2020. But their plans were upended right after Purim that year when the Covid-19 pandemic struck, and the Israeli government started implementing limits on crowds. Taking no chances, the couple quickly moved to hold the wedding as soon as possible while they still could. They asked their friends to stay home and held a small but beautiful celebration for family only. As they sat down to enjoy the wedding feast, the celebration came to a halt when David’s brother-in-law ran into the hall to tell everyone that the police were outside and were about to come and shut the wedding down.

Nashville Jewish Book Series

Announcing the Inaugural Jewish Art & Music Festival in Nashville, TN

                                                                           “NASH JAM FEST”

Vanderbilt Hillel on Observer Podcast

Vanderbilt Hillel celebrates its 20th Building Anniversary on October 13, 2022. To commemorate this date, Hillel will host a special small group dinner on October 13 for those who have been deeply involved with Hillel and its mission of engaging the next generation of Jewish leaders. Hillel will also celebrate its anniversary on Friday, October 7th from 2:30-5:30 p.m. with its alumni during Vanderbilt University’s Reunion weekend. There will be a special photo slideshow with pictures commemorating Jewish involvement at Vanderbilt University that will include historical photos from Vanderbilt University’s photo archive. Alumni will also enjoy special “Throwback” stations with vintage materials and flyers from the last 20 years of Hillel’s programming. The last 20th Building Anniversary event will be with the local community at the annual Taste of Hillel Fundraiser on Sunday, February 26th.

2022 NJFF being hosted by Nashville Institutions

Over the years the Nashville community has joined the Nashville Jewish Film Festival to support the 15 film festival by hosting screenings. We have grown from a handful of groups to a full schedule of hosts, and we are proud to list and thank them for their financial support of the 22nd Annual NJFF.

JCC POOL

Summer at the Gordon JCC came to a close on Labor Day with the closing of the Outdoor Pool for the season. We hope everyone had a wonderful summer enjoying our newly updated space, thanks to the generous donors to the Our Community. Our Future. Capital Campaign. We look forward to many more summers in this wonderful space!                          

Open Letter to Nashville’s Jewish Community…

Being part of the Nashville broader community and the Nashville Jewish community for the past 45 years has been insightful and rewarding. Often, we hear that Nashville has a very unique Jewish community, as it is very welcoming and open to new voices and ideas. We have certainly found that to be the case as we have chosen to participate in various aspects of this community over time.

October in the Gordon JCC Galleries

The work of the Middle Tennessee Region of the Tennessee Watercolor Society and Marilyn Johnson.

Heartwarming Signs of Support in Cherokee Park

NASHVILLE JEWISH DAYS SCHOOLS CULTIVATE COMMUNITY MINDEDNESS

IN PURSUIT OF A BETTER WORLD

Micah Workshop to provide Support and Resources for “Sandwich Generation”

We have heard about Gen X, the Greatest generation, and Gen Z, but do you know about the Sandwich generation?” The Sandwich Generation is the “caught in the middle,” generation who have living parents and children. More specifically, the term often refers to middle-aged people who support both their parents and their children, whether financially, physically, or emotionally. Is this you? If so, you are far from alone. Multigenerational needs have become even more pressing during the Covid-19 pandemic, with record numbers of adult children moving back home and with elderly parents needing new forms of care. Moms in the Sandwich generation, ages 35-54, feel more stress than any other age group as they balance the demanding, delicate acts of caring for growing children and their aging parents, according to the American Psychological Association’s 2007 Stress in America survey. "It’s not surprising that so many people in that age group are experiencing stress,” says psychologist Katherine Nordal, PhD, executive director for professional practice, American Psychological Association. “The worry of your parents’ health, and your children’s well-being as well as the financial concern of putting kids through college and saving for your own retirement is a lot to handle.”

Letter to the Editor - Antisemitism

In August, CNN aired an hour- long program on antisemitism narrated by Dana Bash. The program’s subject interested me and so I looked forward to its showing. Unfortunately, it was quite weak in its content and dealt exclusively with video presentations of Jews being beaten or killed, swastikas painted on Jewish buildings, and verbal abuse hurled at Jewish individuals. The hour was filled with well- known images on the subject with little mention of the root causes of antisemitism or what could be done about it. The show did mention that antisemitism was on the rise in America as well as around the world, however, it did little else to help the viewer understand the basic causes of the problem.

The Fog Horn

In 1951, the American writer Ray Bradbury published a short story called “The Fog Horn.” It told the story of two guys working at a remote lighthouse in Lonesome Bay. As the night came in and the fog began to thicken, the workers added to the lighthouse the use of a horn to guide the possible ships around.