A reminder to join us as we welcome Philip Levine, the United States Poet Laureate, for a reading at Congregation Beth Elohim tonight on Thursday, May 10, at 7:30 p.m. Mr. Levine will be introduced by Jo-Ann Mort. The reading will be followed by a Q&A with CBE’s Senior Rabbi Andy Bachman. There will be a reception and book signing afterwards. Books will be sold by the Community Bookstore, which will donate 10% of all sales made that night to CBE.

The event is free for members, with a $10 suggested donation for non-members.

More here.

Congregation Beth Elohim is proud to announce the appointment of Marc Katz as Assistant Rabbi, beginning July 1, 2012. Marc has been the Revson Rabbinic Intern at CBE since 2009, working as part time program director of Brooklyn Jews, CBE’s innovative engagement effort with young Jews making their home in Brooklyn. In addition Marc has taught Torah across the generations, primarily as lead teacher of Chevre Torah, the Shabbat morning Yachad Torah Study class at CBE, and has served as one of the instructors of our weekly Basic Judaism class.  Marc’s appointment means that he will also expand his efforts within the Congregation (with youth and adults) and with Brooklyn Jews. Expect an expansion of an already wide array of programming in the coming year.

Andy Bachman, CBE’s Senior Rabbi, said, “Marc is extraordinarily energetic and deeply committed to reaching people from all backgrounds and making them feel welcome in Jewish life.  His work across the generations at CBE and with Brooklyn Jews is a real blessing for our community.”

Marc writes, “Working with the Brooklyn Jews community has been one of the highlights of my time at Congregation Beth Elohim. It is a warm and vibrant community and I am so excited to be able to continue and expand my work with them.”

In 2003, Brooklyn Jews was begun with early support from the Charles H. Revson Foundation, the Samuel Bronfman foundation and UJA Federation of New York.  We remain grateful for their support and for our ability to reach a new generation of Jews in Brooklyn!

To learn more about Marc click here.

If you are around Saturday stop by CBE after religious school services (appox. 11:20) as Congregation Beth Elohim honors Marc Katz with a special oneg. Marc and Rabbi Andy Bachman will give a short shuir (festive class) on the history of ordination. Click here for more.

BanG Studios have begun work on a new installation in our sanctuary called “Jacob’s Ladder.” The installation is part of the new initiative announced yesterday, which is that Congregation Beth Elohim has been chosen as one of the 40 finalists in the American Express Partners in Preservation (PiP) program with the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission and the National Trust for Historic Preservation. Learn more at our new campaign website, cbeconnects.com.

We hope you’ll vote for CBE every day during the campaign atpartnersinpreservation.com. And we hope you’ll join us as we unveil the installation on Sunday, May 6, from 2:00 to 5:00 p.m., at CBE CONNECTS: A COMMUNITY OPEN HOUSE. We will be presenting musical performances by Brooklyn’s finest ensembles, featuring the artwork of our ECC, Afterschool and Yachad children, and celebrating the launch of a new CBE social media campaign. The entire Brooklyn community is welcome! (Pictured: a detail of a preliminary digital schematic for “Jacob’s Ladder” by BanG Studios.)

Join us on May 11th at 7:30pm in Brooklyn Heights for a Shabbat potluck dinner hosted by Bethany Rogosin. Like all “Shabbat in the Hood” dinners, we’ll begin with the blessings over the wine, challah, and candles. Then we’ll move to dinner, including a very short discussion framed by the week’s Torah portion. It’s fun and free. Check it out!

RSVP to Bethany (bethany@natan.org) to find out the address and what you can bring.

Learn more about the Shabbat in the Hood Program by clicking here.

We are happy to invite you to join us in celebration of Israel’s Independence day, Thursday April 26th at 6:00pm at Congregation Beth Elohim in Park Slope, Brooklyn.
At the program:

6:00 Israeli food, drinks and desserts

6:45 live music performance by The Mika Hary Group

7:45 Israeli dance party

Feel free to invite your friends.

It’s free!

Please RSVP at: info@israelisinbrooklyn.org