The Legendary Jon Simon: Jazz Great at Knesset Israel, August 23

Voted a top Jewish instrumental performer by Moment Magazine, renowed contemporary jazz pianist Jon Simon will interpret melodies from Jewish tradition as well as the stage and screen at 7:30 p.m. Monday, August 23 at Congregation Knesset Israel, 16 Colt Road, Pittsfield.

Co-sponsored by the Jewish Federation of the Berkshires, tickets are $10 and may be charged at 413-445-4872, ext. 10 or via check to Concert Tickets, Congregation Knesset Israel, 16 Colt Road, Pittsfield, MA 01201.  Paid ticket holders will be listed at the door.

Jon Simon divides his time between composing and performing his works for ensembles and solo piano.  He tours North America performing music from five highly successful recordings of jazz interpretations reflecting Jewish heritage including, "Hanukkah...and all that jazz," "Zoom Gali Boogie," and "Shabbatjazz."

In addition, taking a secular turn, Simon's recordings also see his passion, extraordinary technique and improvisational skills applied to such music as the Beatles', "Beatles on Ivory," and timeless show tunes, "From Broadway to Hollywood."

Simon is a frequent featured artist at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, the Merkin Recital Hall in New York, and the Concord Resort.  He has performed his jazz interpretations of Jewish and other music at the U.S. Senate, the Israeli Embassy, and at a Presidential Inaugural Gala - with The Washington Post noting, "Jon Simon's music is harmonically sophisticated and hauntingly beautiful."

Jewish Humor: No Laughing Matter, July 26

At 1 p.m. on Monday, July 26, the Jewish Federation of the Berkshires will sponsor the program "Jewish Humor...No Laughing Matter," with Rabbi Daniel Fried of Congregation Anshe Emeth in Greenport, New York.

Free and open to the public, 'No Laughing Matter' will be held at Congregation Knesset Israel, 16 Colt Road, Pittsfield, following the Federation sponsored "Older Adult Kosher Hot Meal Program," which has a $2 suggestion donation.  Reservations required by 9 a.m. to attend meals by calling 413-442-2200.

Fried noted that while his program will be filled with "jokes, lots of jokes, the main thrust of his lecture will be "the serious side of Jewish humor in light of the precarious nature of Jewish existence throughout its long history."

"It should come as no surprise," said Fried, "that Jews should have developed a wonderful sense of humor.  How else can the amazing resiliency and vitality of the Jewish people be explained?"

For more information contact Nancy Maurice Rogers, Program Director at 413-442-4360 ext. 15

The Changing Face of Israel Advocacy

At 11 a.m. on Sunday, August 15, J.J. Goldberg, a leading voice in contemporary Jewish journalism, will provide an assessment of the future of Israel advocacy at Hevreh of Southern Berkshire, 270 State Road in a program co-sponsored by the Jewish Federation of the Berkshires. Goldberg's presentation will be preceded by a 10:30 a.m. bagel brunch.

Serving as editor-in-chief of The Forward from 2000 to 2007, under Goldberg's leadership the newspaper grew to be the most honored and authoritative Jewish journal in America.

Goldberg has served as: The United States bureau chief for the Israeli newsmagazine, The Jerusalem Report; managing editor of The New York Jewish Week, a nationally syndicated columnist, editor-in-chief of the monthly Jewish Frontier, world and national news editor of the daily Home News of New Brunswick, New Jersey and as a metro and police-beat reporter for Hamevaker, a hebrew-language newsweekly published for the Israeli emigre community of Los Angeles.

A donation of $10 for members and $12 for non-members is requested. Further information is available at 413-528-6378.

Give Me Seltzer: A Search For Meaning

At 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, August 19, Congregation Ahavath Sholom, 15 North Street, will welcome Barry Joseph, the "Seltzer Guy."

Co-sponsored by the Jewish Federation of the Berkshires, Joseph's program, "Give Me Seltzer: A Search for Meaning," is a whirlwind tour of the cultural history of seltzer water.

Based on five years of research, and his written work-in-progress,  "The First History of Seltzer," Joseph will explore what makes people think that seltzer is healthy, refreshing, funny and Jewish.  Joseph will share excerpts from his writing and interviews, highlights from his podcast series, and snippets from popular media, such as The Mary Tyler Moore Show and The Simpsons.

Admission is free. For further information, please call 413-528-4197.

Carol Goodman Kaufman's 'Food Travels'

South County Lunch Program at Hevreh

A presentation of its "South County Lunch Program," at 10:45 a.m. on Friday, August 13, the Jewish Federation of the Berkshires will sponsor"Peanut Peregrinations and Other Tales of Food Travels," with Berkshire Jewish Voice food and travel columnist Carol Goodman Kaufman.

The program, which is free and open to the public, will be held at Hevreh of Southern Berkshire, 270 State Road, Great Barrington, and will be followed at noon by a catered buffet lunch by Freund Farm Market and Bakery, at $5.

Kaufman will look at the geographic travels of selected foods while discussing their relation to the cuisines, rituals, and cultures of the people who enjoy them.

Carol Goodman Kaufman, Ph.D. is currently Visiting Scholar at Northeastern University's Brudnick Center on Violence and Conflict, where she conducts research in areas of domestic violence and terrorism.

By avocation she is an avid traveler, gardener, cook, reader and writer, and pens the "Traveling with Jewish Taste" column for the Berkshire Jewish Voice.

For lunch reservations due by Monday, August 9 and further information contact Nancy Maurice Rogers at 413-442-4360 ext. 15.

The Jewish Immigrant Experience

At 1 p.m. on Monday, August 9, the Jewish Federation of the Berkshires will sponsor the program, "The Jewish Immigrant Experience in Song," with contralto Diana Bregman Feld.

Free and open to the public, Feld's presentation will be held at Congregation Knesset Israel, 16 Colt Road, Pittsfield, following the Federation sponsored "Older Adult Kosher Hot Meal Program," which has a $2 suggested donation.  Reservations required by 9 a.m. to attend meals by calling 413-442-2200.

With accompanist Ruth Nodiff, Feld's program of melody and narration will highlight in Yiddish song the experience of those who left Eastern Europe to face a new world - trip from Europe, across the Atlantic, past Ellis Island to the "Goldene Medinah." the Golden Land.

Feld's renderings will express the immigrants feelings, longings, and absorption into the United States.

Diana Bregman Feld has combined careers in music and education. A scholarship voice student at both the Julliard School of Music and the Brandeis Hebrew Art Institute, she specializes in Yiddish and Hebrew music.

For more information contact Nancy Maurice Rogers, Program Director, at 413-442-4360 ext. 15.

How To Be A Green Mensch, August 16

At 1 p.m. on Monday, August 16, the Jewish Federation of the Berkshires will sponsor the program, "How to be a Green Mensch: Jewish Environmentalism in the Berkshires," with Beth Reitman Moser.

Free and open to the public, Moser's presentation will be held at Congregation Knesset Israel, 16 Colt Road, Pittsfield, following the Federation sponsored "Older Adult Kosher Hot Meal Program," which has a $2 suggested donation.  Reservations required by 9 a.m. to attend the meal  by calling 413-442-2200.

The focus of Moser's presentation will be an overview of current environmental efforts in the Berkshires from a Jewish perspective.

Moser has lived in Great Barrington for over twenty-five years. She is a former co-owner of "Daily Bread Bakery" and a founding member of the local environmental groups "Green for a Change" and "Green Barrington."

For more information contact Nancy Maurice Rogers, Program Director, at 413-442-4360 ext. 15.