As the week draws to a close, relax, sing, make new connections and break bread with old friends and new connections. Get to know your host and others in the community, and really connect as we give one of the oldest Jewish traditions our own unique flavor.

This month's theme is Simhat Torah!

Note: This dinner will be kosher style.

When: Friday, October 17, 2014, 7 PM

Where: Private home. North Manhattan. 

Details to registrants by email

Cost: $30/person (+$2 PayPal processing)

Space is limited and advance registration required.
 

Prep kitchen is small, so we have space for 15 participants only. Participants can be 10 years and older, so bring your kids and share this experience with them, engaging in a conversation about Jewish Values.

10:30 - 11:00 AM Breakfast and presentation by Masbia leadership. Jewish Values, Tikkun Olam and why do we do what we do...

11:00 - 1 PM Food prep. We roll up our sleeves and prepare hundreds of pounds of produce for a week's worth of cooking

Cost: $10 to cover breakfast, $2 for processing = $12

 Masbia Address: 1372 Coney Island Ave Brooklyn, NY 11230

The protagonist of A Replacement Life, Slava Gelman, like many of us, was removed from his birth place in the USSR and resettled in Brooklyn, where he uses his creative and linguistic talents to forge Holocaust restitution documents on behalf of his recently deceased grandmother, then later for dozens of elderly South Brooklyn Jews. In the process of crafting replacement lives for his grandmother and his "clients", Slava confronts the actual and metaphorical replacement of his own life and identity.

As we all continue on our distinct and unique yet communal journeys of building our lives and identities as Jewish New Yorkers, we can't help but ask, what does replacement mean to you?
 

The rules are simple. Each story can be no more than 5 minutes long. You cannot use any props (written notes, costumes, instruments) when telling the story. Whether the story is funny or sad, it must be a genuine personal account, with a point. How you interpret the theme is up to you. Each story will receive a score on a scale of 1 to 10, judged on how well it is told, how well it is constructed, how well the story explores the theme, and how well it honors the time limit. At the beginning of the event, four people will be randomly selected from the audience to be judges, in addition to Boris Fishman, who will be the fifth judge. The story teller with the highest score at the end of the evening will win an all-expense-paid dinner with the author of 'A Replacement Life' at his favorite restaurant - Vanka Cafe in Brooklyn (vodka included, of course -- no replacements here), as well as an autographed copy of Boris's book.

The Story Slam will be followed by Boris Fishman reading from A Replacement Life, which the NYTimes has called "bold, ambitions and wickedly smart." 

The evening will be hosted and moderated by RJeneration's own Lenny Gusel.

To be one of the participating storytellers, submit a brief summary of your story to veronica.price@gmail.com by Friday, October 24. Participants will be accepted on a first-come, first-serve basis. Maximum 8 storytellers will be admitted. The admission fee for the storyteller plus one guest will be waived. 

To be part of the audience at the Story Slam, purchase your tickets now.  Replace your day-to-day work attire with a Halloween costume and get a free drink.

When: Wednesday, October 29, 6:30 PM

Where: Woodrow's Tavern , 43 Murray St, New York, NY 10007

Price: $15 in advance / $20 at the door 

After eight years of sold-out performances all over Israel and most recently Australia, Tziporela is proud to present a new show that weaves together movement, music, and slapstick in a night of hilarious comedy that cuts across cultural lines.

From the moment you enter the theater, the flow from one theatrical sketch to the next transcends boundaries between stage and audience as laughter and love soar from the inner depths of each and every one of us.

Members of the award-winning indie theater group met twelve years ago at Israel's top acting studio Nissan Nativ and went on to form the outrageous Tziporela - nine young and sexy guys and gals with a theatrical approach to daily life with no reservations.

Odd Birdz: Inventively weaving together movement, music, physical theater, and outrageous comedy, this unique show creates an evening of hilarious entertainment that transcends barriers of language, culture, and age. Created by the "most inventive performance ensemble around," the 8 versatile members of this award-winning company met 12 years ago at Israel's top acting studio and have been collaborating ever since. Whether you are 13 or 100, Odd Birdz will lift your spirit and leave you laughing so hard your cheeks hurt!    A clip from Tziporela, the show

When: Thursday, October 16 through November
Where: Player's Theatre, 115 MacDougal Street, NYC

To purchase tickets with a 25% discount for the first two weeks of the show including the 23rd. Follow the link from "tickets" right above or use code TZFR on www.Tziporela.com