Culture, Global, Politics, Religion

Rocking Klezmer Music, Financial Aid, Snazzy T-shirts, Ruth Messinger, and the Best Shabbat You've Ever Spent in New Hampshire

For some less depressing news, here’s a public service announcement brought to you by BZ, Shamirpower, Ruby K, Rooftopper Rav, and many other Jewschool contributors:
BREAKING NEWS:
The Vulgar Bulgars, Virginia’s hottest klezmer band, are playing live at the Saturday night dance party at the National Havurah Committee Summer Institute!!! We’ll get to dance and jam late into the night accompanied by the Bulgars’ energetic music — a great way to conclude a memorable week in the mountains (August 7-13).
We’ve blogged a bit about the Institute already — it’s a chance for independent grassroots Jewish communities to get together for a week of Jewish learning and living — and a bunch of you are coming already. But we know that not everyone can get away from work/life/etc. for an entire week. Therefore, there is also an option of coming just for Shabbat. For those who can’t afford the full price, we’re very excited to announce that significant discounts are now available for Shabbat if there is financial need. Email [email protected] with any questions.
In addition to the live klezmer dance party, other highlights of Shabbat at the Institute include two special workshops with Ruth Messinger of American Jewish World Service, community-wide song-filled kabbalat shabbat services in a huge outdoor tent, singing Shabbat songs old and new, a poetry reading with published poet Philip Terman and participants who took his class during the week, multiple choices for traditional and creative Shabbat morning services, and a siyyum [festive completion] on the entire “S” volume of the Encyclopaedia Judaica.
For those who can come for the whole week (August 7-13), the exciting developments keep on coming! This year’s workshop schedule is the most extensive and varied in recent years, and includes includes “The Yiddish Curse: Theory and Practice,” “Mei’ein Olam HaBah (a Taste of the World to Come): New Melodies for Shabbat,” “Money and Minyans: Sensitive Fundraising for Sustaining Havurot,” “Jewish Origami,” “Everything You Ever Wanted to Know about Traditional Jewish Prayer but Were Afraid to Ask,” “Hurling Words Heavenward: Aggadah and Halakhah as Narrative,” “Yoga and Hebrew Chanting,” “Franklin Pierce: Good for the Jews?,” and much much more!
We’re also delighted to announce two socially-responsible innovations in the Summer Institute. First, this year’s Institute T-shirts will be both sweatshop-free (i.e., produced under fair labor conditions) and 100% organic cotton! (They’ll also feature Jewschool on the back, in a list of communities whose members are represented at the Institute.) Second, all coffee served at the Institute will be certified Fair Trade. Dean Cycon, from our new coffee supplier (Dean’s Beans Organic Coffee Company, a leader in the fair trade movement), will also lead a workshop on how businesses can participate in meaningful social change and help heal the world. All of these innovations are important opportunities to put our community’s values into practice.
Registration for the Institute is still open, and the registration form can be downloaded at www.havurah.org . Come for the week or come for Shabbat, but either way come prepared for an unforgettable experience!
We look forward to seeing you in New Hampshire in a few weeks!

4 thoughts on “Rocking Klezmer Music, Financial Aid, Snazzy T-shirts, Ruth Messinger, and the Best Shabbat You've Ever Spent in New Hampshire

  1. I’m DOUBLE so there! Those 90 minutes are mostly WEST from Boston, so it’s even closer to New York than NY->Boston!

  2. kol hakavod on the fair trade organic stuff. Its a great move for the Institute to get back to its political roots.

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