Program Description: Come join the City of Raleigh Parks crew at Walnut Creek Wetland Park to add some trees to the area. Learn about planting techniques, plant care, and plant identification while working alongside our horticulture/urban forestry staff.

Where: Walnut Creek Wetland Park, 950 Peterson St, Raleigh, NC 27610

When: Sunday, February 9 from 10am-12pm

For more information: Rachel Van Noordt, rachel.vannoordt@raleighnc.gov, 919-996-4810

Click here to register.

Program Description: Come enjoy lunch with your friends. Our special guest is Jorie Slodki, who is sharing her knowledge of Yiddish and hoping you can share some too!

Where: David R. Kahn Community Campus

When: Thursday, February 13 from 12:30-1:30pm

Cost: $8

For more information: leslie.needham@shalomraleigh.org

Click here to register.

Sylvia and Irving Margolis Lecture on the Jewish Experience

A Pogrom in Chicago: Antisemitism and Free Speech in Modern America

Can we stop antisemitic hate speech before it turns violent? In 1949 a five-day pogrom rocked Chicago and led to a revolutionary First Amendment ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court. In this lecture, historian James Loeffler explores this forgotten episode and its meaning for the questions of public protest, civil rights, and violence that we face today.

James Loeffler is Felix Posen Professor of Jewish History at Johns Hopkins University.

Website for More Info: https://jewishstudies.unc.edu/event/loeffler/

Looking for A Trip To Israel This Summer?  Beth Meyer Synagogue Has Spots Available!

Looking to visit Israel this summer? Rabbis Eric and Jenny Solomon of  Beth Meyer Synagogue are leading a trip from June 16-26, 2025 and there are spots being made specially available to the Raleigh Jewish community.

For information on the itinerary and costs, read this PDF.

February 15, 2025 is the deadline for submitting your deposit. Questions? Feel free to contact Rabbi Eric Solomon: erics@bethmeyer.org

This year in Jerusalem! 

All Jewish children from the wider Raleigh area are invited to mix, roll, and shape their own Challah!

Watch the Snake Experience reptile show while the Challah rises!

Cost is $10/child, $30/family. (No more than 2 adults per family).

RSVP by February 9.

Click here to register.

Program Description: Join Ladies Who Lunch for wonderful food and conversation! Make new friends or visit with old ones. This month, we are dining at Vivo Ristorante.

Where: Vivo Ristorante, 7400 Six Forks Road, Raleigh, NC 27615

When: Tuesday, February 18 from 12-2pm

For more information: leslie.needham@shalomraleigh.org

Click here to register.

Program Description: “My Childhood During WWII as a US Army Brat” with Laura Gutman

Laura Thurston Gutman, author of the 2024 memoir "Army Brat," lived her childhood folded into the middle of the US Army from before the attack on Pearl Harbor, throughout World War II, into the war's immediate aftermath, and up to the start of the Vietnam War. Her family was posted to many historically pivotal places and events of that era, including Hawaii where from her backyard she witnessed the attack on Pearl Harbor and life in post war Germany under Russian hostility. Laura's presentation will blend the nature of her childhood life with the unfolding of history during her father?s military assignments as a liaison officer in the US army.

Laura Gutman is a retired pediatrician living in Durham. A graduate of Stanford University School of Medicine in 1962, she is the author of the 2024 memoir, “Army Brat.”

Where: David R. Kahn Community Campus

When: Wednesday, February 19 from 12:30-2:30pm

Cost: JCC Members Free, General Community $18

Registration Deadline: February 14

For assistance registering: registrar@shalomraleigh.org

Click here to register.

Program Description: Join the Ladies Who Hike for an easy/moderate hike on the beautiful Harris Lake!

Please bring an item to donate to the Food Pantry.

Where: Harris Lake County Park, 2112 County Park Dr, New Hill, NC 27562

When: Sunday, February 23 from 9:30-11:30am

For more information: leslie.needham@shalomraleigh.org

Click here to register.

Program Description: Join Coach Lori for conditioning and stroke instruction to stay in shape. Year round swim is open to both J-Rays swimmers and the general community.

Where: Optimist Park Pool, 5900 Whittier Dr, Raleigh, NC 27609

When: Sundays, February 23-March 16

Cost: JCC Members–$100 / General Community–$125 per day

Click here to register.

Join the Friends of the Judaic Art Gallery for a modern masquerade Purim celebration.

The Purim story is replete with mystery and surprise. Esther masquerades to the Persian court, becomes queen, foils Haman’s evil plot, and saves the Jewish people. In Hebrew the name Esther means hidden.

For this year’s Purim celebration, we encourage you to disguise your identity, whether dressed in cocktail attire, black tie, or

… cloaked in French or Venetian masquerade regalia for a timeless look of elegance.

… veiled in a vintage ensemble for a retro nod to mod fashions.

shrouded in an antistyle genre of punk rock, grunge, or goth garb to unleash your inner rebel.

Embrace your mysterious alter ego—dress up, wig out, and arrive masked for a modern masquerade.

What awaits after you make your grand reveal

• Sparkle and bling station: Have your face painted and bedazzled to replace your mask.

• Glitter bar: Sip shimmering cocktails, beer, and wine.

• Savory and sweet delights: Nosh on delectable bites that satisfy every craving.

• Glitz ’n’ glam photo booth: Step into the spotlight with fun props and strike a pose.

• Dance floor extravaganza: Shake and shine under the disco lights as you dance the night away!

Space is limited; advance tickets are required. Per IRS advisory no portion of the admission is tax deductible unless otherwise noted. For more information about the event and sponsorship opportunities, contact Billy Wilson at (919) 664-6824 or bwilson@ncartmuseum.org.

All proceeds benefit the Judaic Art Fund.

Click here to register.

Program Description: Discussion of "Gateway to the Moon" by Mary Morris lunch at 12:30p lunch with drinks and dessert are provided, and the discussion to begin at 1:00p.

Entrada de la Luna is the sort of town that ambitious children try to leave behind them. Poor health, broken marriages, and poverty are the norm, and luck is unusual. So when Miguel Torres notices an advertisement for a position looking after two small boys a few towns over, he jumps at the opportunity.

Rachel Rothstein is not the sort of parent Miguel expected to be working for, though. A frustrated artist, Rachel moved her family away from New York looking for a fresh start, but so far New Mexico has not solved any of the problems they brought with them. But Miguel genuinely loves the work and he finds many of the Rothstein family's customs similar to ones he sees in his own community.

Studded throughout this present-day narrative are historical vignettes following the ancestors of Entrada's residents, beginning in fifteenth-century Spain and moving forward to the discovery of America, highlighting the torture, pursuit, and resistance of the Jewish people throughout history, leading to the founding of the enclave that Miguel now calls home. A beautiful novel of shared history, Gateway to the Moon is a moving and memorable portrait of home and community.

When: Monday, March 3, 2024, at 12:30pm

Where: David R. Kahn Community Campus

Cost: JCC Members only

For assistance registering: registrar@shalomraleigh.org

Click here to register.

Kalimian Family Lecture in Sephardic Judaism

“Beautiful Friendships: Jewish Refugee Writers in Mexico”

At first glance, Ruth Rewald (1906-1943) and Egon Erwin Kisch (1885-1948) may not have much in common. She wrote realistic novels about feisty, yet principled boys (and sometimes girls) for young audiences, while he gained fame writing literary reportages about his worldwide travels. Rewald was put to death at Auschwitz, while Kisch had the necessary documents, funds, and connections that enabled him to flee from occupied Europe and find refuge in Mexico. Despite these differences, Rewald’s and Kisch’s paths crossed, most visibly in their relationship –or beautiful friendship– with Mexico. This presentation will recount their respective stories of flight, loss, and grief, provide a sense of Jewish experiences along routes to (relative) safety in the Americas, and reflect on the significance of memories of displacement.

Tabea Linhard is a Professor of Spanish, Global Studies, and Comparative Literature at Washington University in St. Louis.

Website for More Info: https://jewishstudies.unc.edu/event/linhard/

You are invited! Members and friends, please join us on Saturday, March 8, 2025 to joyously mark an extraordinary milestone and ‘sheheheyanu moment’ — 150 years of Jewish life at Beth Meyer Synagogue. Journey through our Jewish community’s history, dance the night away, enjoy heavy hors d’oeuvres and desserts, and toast to Beth Meyer Synagogue’s next 150 years.

This adults-only evening kicks off at 7 p.m. with Havdalah in the Sanctuary, followed by a party at 7:30 p.m. in both the Social Hall and a heated tent on the Field. Cocktail attire is requested, and the deadline to RSVP is February 17. For more event information or media inquiries, contact Jonathan Wertheim, Executive Director, at jonathanw@bethmeyer.org. 

Please note, personal finances are NEVER a barrier to participation at Beth Meyer Synagogue. Financial assistance is available for members and their guests — no questions asked. If you cannot afford the ticket price ($118 per guest) for any reason, let us know before registering.

Click here to register.

Let’s play Mah Jongg to help raise awareness and funds for Pancreatic cancer!

This event is open to anyone who likes to play Mah Jongg!

On Saturday, March 22nd at Pine Acres Community Center, 402 Mc Lean St, Fuquay-Varina, NC 27526

Grab a few friends to play a fun, friendly, social Mah Jongg game! Don’t worry if you don’t have a group of 4 to play with, we will have players available for a game for you. We plan on grouping players according to skill level, unless you have friends to play with.

Fee: $20 donation to the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network which will also include a breakfast item, one water bottle and one raffle ticket.

We’re fortunate to have several local businesses from our community donate gift cards and we'll have some other great prizes! You will use your raffle ticket to choose which raffle prize you like best and then at the end the winners will be drawn. And we will have more raffle tickets available for purchase!

The more tickets you buy, the more chances you have to win raffle prizes: $2 per raffle ticket and $5 for three tickets

You must have a 2024 National Mah Jongg League Inc Card in order to play.

No refunds will be given. American Mah Jongg rules will be applied.

All proceeds will be donated to the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network. If you are affected or know someone who has been affected by Pancreatic cancer, please check out pancan.org for more information.

Any questions, please contact Jennifer Kublin at 561-789-6553 or email Jkublin@hotmail.com.

Don’t miss this fun, engaging and worthwhile social fundraising event! Sign up via the participant entry form today in order to participate (required to participate) - https://forms.office.com/r/XPPhturbqW

Here is the FB event with all the information - https://www.facebook.com/share/187uDEUPav/

Morris, Ida and Alan Heilig Lecture in Jewish Studies and Annual Holocaust Studies Lecture

”The Last Ghetto: An Everyday History of Theresienstadt”

Terezín, as it was known in Czech, or Theresienstadt, as it was known in German, was operated by the Nazis between November 1941 and May 1945 as a transit ghetto for Central and Western European Jews before their deportation for murder in the East. Today, Theresienstadt is best known for the Nazi propaganda of the International Red Cross visit, cultural life, and children. But these aspects explain little what defined the lives of its 140,000 inmates. The Last Ghetto offers both a modern history of this Central European ghetto and the first in-depth analytical history of a prison society during the Holocaust.

Anna Hájková is Reader for modern European continental history at the University of Warwick where she co-directs the Centre for Global Jewish Studies.

Website for More Info: https://jewishstudies.unc.edu/event/hajkova/

More information coming soon.