Day of Kabbalah and other February Jewish culture events

If the meditation workshop last weekend which I plugged in my January 29th article whet your appetite for further Kabbalah study head over to the JCCManhattan on Sunday for the 6th Annual Day of Kabbalah! A Mystical Journey to 16th Century Tzfat

Hosted by Rabbi Naftali Citron and The Carlebach Shul Don’t miss this opportunity to spend a full day immersed in learning with today’s master teachers of Kabbalah in an environment that combines academic excellence with spiritual vitality! This year we focus on Tzfat (Safed)—the vibrant center of Jewish learning where Kabbalah grew and flourished in the 16th century. Walk its streets, meet the personalities, enter the conversations and experience the practices. Re-discover relevant and practical insights that can guide you toward a more meaningful life. See below for teachers and a growing list of workshops!
Everyone is welcome; sessions for beginners and more advanced students included in the day. Registration and light breakfast.9:30 am. Kosher Lunch available for purchaseCo-sponsored by the Carlebach Shul, JINSIDER.com, LimmudNY and The Jewish Week. All participants receive a free subscription to The Jewish Week. J. Levine book store will be back and the day will be recorded by GlennK audio. Israeli artist exhibition in the lobby will offer special discounts to participants!

World-renowned scholars and spiritual teachers include: *R. Naftali Citron *Nathaniel Berman *Dr. Lawrence Fine *Dr. Eitan Fishbane *R. Avraham Greenbaum *R. DovBer Pinson *R. David Seidenberg *Chana Bracha Siegelbaum *Dr. Karen Starr

Workshops include: Key Teachings and Meditative Practices of the Tzfat Kabbalistics, Kabbalistic Influences on Prayer and Ritual; Understanding the Moral Consideration of Animals in Kabbalistic Thought (the RAMAK); Can we Live a Kabbalistic Lifestyle?; Tapping Into our Spiritual Guides (Maggid); The Devil and the Shekhina in Kabbalah; Kabbalistic and Psychoanalytic Views on the Tranformational Power of Relationship; The Moral Teachings in 16th Century Kabbalistic Literature, and more!

Late-breaking news! We will be welcoming the chief rabbi of Tzfat, Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu, to the Day of Kabbalah.

Bring your student ID on the day of the event and present it to the folks at the registration tables to get a student price of $25!

Sun, Feb 7
10:00 AM - 5:30 PM
registration 9:30 am, $45 in advance/$60 at the door,includes free subscription to The Jewish Week JCCManhattan is located on Amsterdam Ave and 76th Street.

While you're there check out this exhibit:

Israeli Art and Craft Exhibition! In honor of the 6th Annual Day of Kabbalah which is focusing on the town of Tzfat, we are welcoming artists from Israel to the JCC. Come to lobby anytime time between 9am and 9pm to meet the artists and view and purchase their wonderful work. There will be ceremonial art as well as decorative art in ceramic, glass, wood paper and more. The work ranges in price from $10-$350. Some of the artists who will be with us are Daniel Azoulay, a well reputed Jerusalem artist who creates handpainted ceramic judaica and intricate paper cut artwork, including house blessings and ketubahs; Dabbah Judaica, a long established Jerusalem based silversmith who creates lovely traditional and contemporary judaic designs; Bat Chen Aharonson, a wonderful glass artist, and more! For more information on the artists and their work see Israel Gift Online.
Sun, Feb 7 9:00 AM - 9:00 PM
Location: The JCC in Manhattan, 334 Amsterdam Ave. at 76th St. (Program room assignments will be available at the JCC Customer Service Desk, in the lobby of the Samuel Priest Rose Building.) For more information, or to register, please call 646-505-5708.
Also at JCCManhattan on Wednesday February 10th: Kol Isha: Celebrating Women’s Voices In the Jewish legal tradition there are rules restricting the female voice (kol isha) in public religious rituals. In a unique pre-Pesach program we celebrate these voices. Inspired by artist Judy Chicago’s Dinner Party, an installation on permanent exhibit at the Brooklyn Museum celebrating famous women, we present a new take on a uniquely Jewish ‘dinner party’—the Passover seder. Join us to hear the glorious voices of Jewish women who will present familiar and not so familiar seder melodies reflecting the richness of Jewish music and the spiritual and aesthetic power of women’s voices. The evening will begin with a light supper and text study on the subject of women's voices taught by Rabbi Judith Hauptman, Talmud professor at Jewish Theological Seminary. The musical program will feature the voices of Sarah Aroeste, Ladino-rock musician; Melissa Berman, senior cantorial student at Jewish Theological Seminary; Cantor Angela Buchdahl of Central Synagogue; Adrienne Cooper, renowned interpreter of Yiddish song; Galeet Dardashti, Middle Eastern vocalist and composer; Elizabeth Sacks, Associate Cantor at Central Synagogue and Basya Schechter, leader of the band Pharaoh's Daughter. Master teacher Rabbi Dianne Cohler-Esses will provide the narrative thread between seder selections. Co-sponsored with and held at Central Synagogue, Lexington Avenue and East 55th Street. For more information, please visit JCC Manhattan . Wed, Mar 10 5:30 PM - 8:30 PM $18.00 Member $25.00 Non-Member Member price also applies to Central Synagogue Members!
The New York Sephardic Film Festival opened last night and continues through Thursday Feb. 11th at the Center For Jewish History, 15 West 16th Street in Manhattan . I saw the film that will screen Saturday night, A Matter of Size,  last week at the Brooklyn Israeli Film Festival and recommend it. It's a poignant comedy with a message about body image and acceptance: A MATTER OF SIZE Herzel, a 340-pound chef living with his mother, is frustrated by the relentless pursuit of slim and perpetual diet groups and fitness regimes. All that starts to change when Herzel discovers the one place where fat guys can be rock stars -- the world of sumo wrestling.  Directors: Sharon Maymon, Erez Tadmor.  France, Germany, Israel, USA, UK, 2009, 92 mins.  Hebrew, Japanese w/English subtitles   SATURDAY, FEB. 6 @ 7:30PM General Admission $11.50ASF & YUM members $9.50Seniors $9.50Students with ID $9.50 >>SEE TRAILER       I first plugged Limmud in my October 6, 2009 article and again in my January 4, 2010 article. Later in the month there will be another chance to experience Taste of Limmud NY! Each Taste of Limmud NY program is an opportunity to experience the diversity of programming at the Limmud NY conference in one evening. The minimum required donation for this event is $10, which you can pay at the door. Taste of Limmud NY in Downtown Manhattan Museum of Jewish Heritage: A Living Memorial to the Holocaust Tuesday, February 23 7:00-9:00 pm 36 Battery Place New York, NY 10280 Click here to RSVP, and see more information about individual sessions.     February concludes with the festival of Purim. Kinky Jewish New Yorkers will want to RSVP in advance for  Kinky Jews' CRAZYKINKYPURIM Variety Show which is packed with crazy comedy, sexy song and dance, and steamy burlesque acts (not for the weak of heart!) Enjoy 2-for-1 drink specials and party at the legendary Delancey all night long with a fun, out-going crowd. WHAT'S IN STORE FOR THIS AMAZING NIGHT? 6:15 pm- Megillah reading, complimentary wine & hors d'oeuvres 7:30 pm- Purim Variety Show 10:00pm- Blowout Costume Dance Party! Sunday, February 28, 2010 6:00 PM to 2:00 AM The Delancey: 168 Delancey Street, New York NY $15 in advance, $20 at the door Crazy kinky masquerade costumes are highly encouraged! Buy online or call our 24/7 Ticket Hotline: 1-800-838-3006 NOTE: No one under 21 years old will be admitted.   For other NY Jewish Culture events see the links in the right margin of this page under New York Jewish Culture Events Listings.     For more info: David Cooper