See You IRL in November (I Hope!)

Happy Pub Day ON BEING JEWISH NOW

It’s time to take out your calendars. Do you have a paper calendar? I have a thing for people who do. Exhibit A is my friend Penny who, whenever we start to formulate a plan/try to make a date, goes right to her trusty date book/planner flipping page by page which I can sometimes hear happening through the phone. I love it.

Regardless of how you keep track of plans, I hope you can join me and friends/fellow authors this month as we hit the road to share our stories featured in the new book ON BEING JEWISH NOW: REFLECTIONS FROM AUTHORS AND ADVOCATES, which came out in the world TODAY. Happy pub day plus huge thank you and congrats to the book’s editor, creator, publisher and all around hero, Zibby Owens. Zibby has started a movement, and I am happy to be just a little tiny part of that.

OK. Here is what is happening this month!

November 14th at 11am ET. Come to a virtual challah baking class with authors and challah enthusiasts. I can’t wait to spend this time with author Dr. Beth Ricanati, whose book BRAIDED: A JOURNEY OF A THOUSAND CHALLAHS chronicles her journey to wellness through baking challah every week. Also meet author Brenda Janowitz, who wrote about how baking challah during the pandemic grounded her and how the “meditative moments” she found in challah baking have become even more meaningful since October 7th. Get ready to knead, learn and have fun. Sign up at link here.

November 18th at 11:30am. Come to the Streicker Cultural Center at Temple Emanu-El in New York City to this awesome Women on the Move event presented by Zibby Media. Hear from five ON BEING JEWISH NOW contributors in conversation with Zibby. Stay for lunch to chat with twenty book contributors. I can’t wait to see so many author friends (and you!!) there. Who doesn’t love a great book talk/book lunch? Click here for more information and to save your spot.

November 19th at 7pm. Westchester friends - this one is for you!! Join us at the Bedford Playhouse in Bedford, New York. This will be an in conversation event with five author friends/book contributors. It’s a great group!! Books will be available for sale. Did I mention that all profits from the sale of the book will be donated to Artists Against Antisemitism, a group founded by Jewish authors in the aftermath of October 7th, dedicated to fighting the spread of antisemitism. More info on the Bedford Playhouse event at link here.

November 22nd at 6pm. Come to Temple Israel in New York City for an On Being Jewish Now event with Zibby Owens, Courtney Sheinmel and me. This one is of particular significance to me as the rabbi at Temple Israel was my rabbi when I was growing up. He bat mitzvahed me and married my husband and me. And now it seems to have come full circle. More info here.

In Other News/In Case You Missed It:

I had the absolute pleasure of interviewing Dorothea Bongiovi last week. Dorothea is the founder and program director of the JBJ Soul Kitchen, a non-profit community restaurant established by the Jon Bon Jovi Soul Foundation. Dorothea was so inspiring as she explained how she came up with the idea for the restaurants, which provide beautiful and delicious meals and community for paying customers and for those in need all throughout New Jersey. This conversation took place at the JFCS Women’s Alliance event founded by a group of women committed to addressing hunger in our community. Perhaps you would like to know more about the JBJ Soul Kitchen or the JFCS Women’s Alliance? Maybe you would like to join it? Maybe we can go to one of the restaurants together?

And lastly, earlier this week I spoke with fellow ON BEING JEWISH NOW contributors Lisa Barr and Rachel Barenbaum for a very special interview on A Mighty Blaze with host Ellen Comisar. You can listen to/watch that conversation right here to learn more about our essays in the book, what this experience has been like so far and a whole lot more.