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Kol Haverim offers warm and creative celebrations of Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Sukkot, Chanukah, Tu B'Shevat, Purim, Passover, and Yom HaShoah. These celebrations have been well-attended, filled with live music, good food, meaningful services, all within a humanistic context; that is, we provide alternative interpretations and reasons for remembering historical events and celebrating them.
Information on our monthy Shabbat programs can be found here.
Passover 2010
Friday, April 2nd at 5:30pm, at Foundation of Light. Reservations Required.
This year's Kol Haverim Passover seder will be held on Friday, April 2, starting at 5:30 pm. This Humanistic seder, with live music, will take place at the Foundation of Light, 391 Turkey Hill Road, just off of Ellis Hollow Road.
In order to keep our admission costs down and to foster a greater sense of shared community, the seder will feature limited catering (brisket and vegetarian Moroccan stew, courtesy of Word of Mouth caterers) and dish-to-pass sides and flour-less deserts. We ask that each member family’s dish-to-pass be large enough to serve 8-10 people. In addition to the main dishes, we’ll provide wine, gefilte fish, and matzoh ball soup with a vegetable broth.
The cost for this year's seder will be:
Member adults $12, member children $6
Non-member adults $20, non-member children $8
Children under 4 are free. Children rates are for ages 4-13.
To reserve a place for your family, please send a check to Kol Haverim, Passover Seder, P.O. Box 4972, Ithaca, N.Y. 14852-4972. If you have Passover questions (other than the usual four), then please call Joan or Roger at 277-4420.
The reservation deadline is March 26.
Purim 2010: The grandest Purim Celebration of them all!
Sunday, February 27th at 1:30pm, Lifelong.
• Abby Cooper is sponsoring a once in a lifetime HAMANTACHEN CONTEST, an event that will test your ability to stop eating! There will be 5 categories: poppy seed, apricot, prune, raspberry, and other. Please bring entries to the Lifelong kitchen. There will be 3 judges in each category, two from among the hungry people attending this event.
• Mr. Hamantachen returns to the scene of his crime!
• A lively craft for those who crave crafts!
• And finally, a rousing version of the Purim Story! Will Queen Esther and the Jews come out on top one more time??
BE THERE!
In the Purim spirit of giving gifts to the needy, we will be collecting dry goods and cash donations for the Food Donation Network. Please bring items that will survive storage in an unheated space until distributed, e.g. pasta, dry beans, diapers, paper goods, and sanitary items, etc. Cans sometimes explode in the freezing environment, so please plan accordingly.
Hope to see YOU on SATURDAY Feb. 27. Fun assured! Costumes encouraged!
Free to members and children. $5 donation suggested per non-member adult.
Tu B'Shevat 2010
Saturday, January 30th at 5:00pm, Lifelong.
This holiday, commonly known as "The Holiday of the Trees" originated in the time shortly after the Jewish people were evicted from Israel. Back then, it was a celebration of the end of winter and the beginning of spring. After being exiled from Spain during the Inquisition in the 15th century, a group of Jewish mystics, the Kabbalists, reinterpreted the holiday as a time to appreciate the importance of plants and the environment to our well-being. In recent years, Tu B'Shevat has become a day in which we recognize our ethical obligations to care for the planet and all its inhabitants.
Please bring a dish-to-pass as well as place settings (cups, plates, silverware). Juice and wine provided.
Supervised childcare available.
Cost for members is free. For non-members it’s $5.00 per person or $10.00 per family.
Please contact Sharon Kaplan for more information.
Chanukah 2009
Saturday, December 12, 2009, 3:00-5:00pm, Lifelong.
Are you ready for....
Fabulous food: freshly made latkes, applesauce and sour cream, holiday pastries, gelt, and drinks
Splendid singing: song circles led by John Simon and Aaron Terkel
Glorious games: dreidel tournament for people of all ages
Superb sharing: bring a song, memory, magic trick, game, or story to share
Terrific tradition: bring a menorah, candles, and dedicate a light to express your value-based commitments to Tikun Olam and our Humanistic Judaism traditions
We will be featuring a "sharing circle" - where we'll try to recreate an old-world style gathering of shared stories, songs, memories and magic tricks. We encourage participation from members and non-members alike, and welcome contributions from all ages. Please plan for your piece to be approximately 3-5 minutes in length and sign up in advance by emailing Wendy Gutman with your schtick. No experience necessary - this is the time for amateurs to shine and for all of us to come together to make this holiday celebration entertaining and enriching. So, don't be shy and hit reply!
We encourage you to bring:
Hanukkah Menorahs
Candles
Dreidels
Pennies or Whole Nuts as gambling "gelt"
Favorite Hanukkah Books
A Holiday Story, Song, Trick, Talent, Movement or Memory to Share
Yourselves, Your Family and Friends!
All are welcome to join this festival of lights!
members: free
non-members: suggested donation of $5/person or $10/family
But that's not all!!! Kol Haverim's B'nei Mtizvah Cultural School class has chosen Food Net as the recipient of this year's Hanukkah tzedakah (good works). They encourage each family attending the Hanukkah Party to bring individual serving size packages of unsweetened applesauce for donation to the Ithaca Food Net. These will then be distributed to low income elderly throughout Tompkins County. So when you're in the store shopping for latke toppings, please think of homebound others who will also enjoy the sweet treat. Thank you on behalf of the B'nei Mitzvah students and the applesauce recipients.
Let us know your plans so that we can be sure to have the right amount of food! RSVP to Diana Riesman
Sukkot 2009
Saturday, October 3, 2009, 11:00am, Private Residence.
Decorate the Sukka! (please bring plant clippers if you can)
Enjoy a Humanistic Sukkot service!
Feast on a potluck lunch! (please bring a dish to pass)
Sukkot is the Jewish fall harvest festival. In the spirit of the holiday, we always try to hold our Sukkot celebration in an outdoor venue with nearby shelter in case of inclement weather. We are delighted to once again hold our celebration at the home of our members Deirdre and Mark Silverman.
We will have a Sukka set up for the children (and adults) to decorate. For decorations, there are lots of materials from the trees, plants, and wildflowers at the Silverman's. Please bring clippers if you own them! Unless we have bad weather, everything will take place outside in and around the Sukka - so please dress appropriately (it's cooler at the higher elevation). We'll have a campfire if it is cold. If it rains, we'll use the porch as our Sukka.
After decorating the Sukka, we will have a short service followed by a potluck picnic lunch. Kol Haverim will provide challah, apples and cider. Please bring a lunch dish to share.
There will be someone to help look after the children. There will also be primitive-pursuits style nature activities. For directions contact Joyce Frank.
Yom Kippur 2009
Adult Yom Kippur Services:
Monday, September 28, 2009, 5:30 pm, Private Residence.
Ancient and modern Hebrews call the 10 days between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur the "Days of Awe". A time for contemplation and renewal. A time to ask those we have wronged for forgiveness, and also to forgive ourselves for any personal indiscretions we've made during the past year.
As Humanistic Jews we look at Yom Kippur not as the day that God closes the Book of Life sealing our fate for the coming year, but as a time to look inside ourselves, to take responsibility for our actions, to pledge to ourselves to look for the best inside us.
We invite you to join us for a small and casual, yet meaningful celebration of Yom Kippur this year. A dish to pass evening this coming Monday September 27 at 5:30 pm, by reservation only. RSVP via email to Joyce Frank.
Rosh Hashannah 2009
Adult Rosh Hashannah Service:
Friday, September 18, 2008, 7:30pm, Lifelong.
We will begin our adult-oriented, humanistic service promptly at 7:30, so that we have enough time afterwards to enjoy snacking and schmoozing at the potluck reception. Please arrive early enough to find parking, settle your child(ren) into childcare, and take your seats to allow us to begin right on time.
For the potluck reception, we ask members to contribute a dessert or snack. We ask people with last names beginning with letters A-M to please bring a dessert or fruit, and those with last names beginning with letters N-Z to please bring a savory snack or finger food. We will provide beverages (and apples and honey) for everyone to enjoy.
The event is free for members. For non-members the cost is $5 per person or $15 for a family. Off-street parking is available in front of Lifelong on Court St. as well as behind the building, accessed from Buffalo St.
Free child-care will be available for children 18 months to 10 years. Please contact Stacia Zabusky at 277-7949, or zabusky77@gmail.com, to confirm a childcare space for your child or children. Feel free to contact me with any other questions you may have.
For questions or additional information please contact Joyce Frank at chair@kolhaverim.net.
Youth Rosh Hashannah Service:
Sunday, September 20, 2009, 10:00am, 4-H Acres
This celebration is geared toward children over age 3 and includes
crafts, a brief service, singing, story-telling, a Tashlikh
ceremony, and some traditional holiday foods.
The event is free for members. For non-members the cost is $6 per
child (free for accompanying adults).
Directions to 4-H Acres on Lower Creek Rd:
Take Rt. 13 North from Ithaca, go past Warren Rd, then Hanshaw Rd., next left onto Lower Creek Rd., 1st building on left.
Passover 2009
Kol Haverim's Annual Passover Seder
Saturday, April 11 at 4:00pm at the Women’s Community Building.
Kol Haverim will host a humanistic family Passover seder, followed by a fully catered dinner, on Saturday, April 11th at the Women’s Community Building, 100 West Seneca St. in Ithaca, starting at 4:00 pm. Since this seder includes a catered meal, please help us by reserving your spot before April 1st!
Preparations for this spectacular event are fully underway and include a beautiful participatory family service with both traditional and non-traditional songs accompanied by live music by David Frumkin & Will Fudeman. Catering will be provided by “Word of Mouth”, a local duo widely known for their delicious food. The menu includes mouth-watering delicacies such as “mildly spiced brisket with leeks and apricots”, “Moroccan vegetable stew”, “asparagus platters with lemon matzo crumble” as well as rich chocolate Passover brownies for dessert. Of course, there will be the traditional seder plates, outstanding wine, and (need I say?) matzo ball soup—it’s even vegetarian!
For the younger members of our group, childcare will be provided in addition to fun activities, prizes and MORE!
Costs:
- Kol Haverim Members: $35 per adult, $20 for college students and $15 for children age 4-12
- Non-members: $45 per adult, $20 for college students and $15 for children age 4-12
- Free for children under 4, but please let us know if they will require a high chair or booster seat.
To RESERVE your place at the seder table, contact Greg Sloan at treasurer@kolhaverim.net AND send your check to Kol Haverim at P.O. Box 4972, Ithaca, NY 14852 (please indicate with your payment the number of adults and children attending). You can also call Roger Hecht at 277-4420.
Since this is a catered event, ONLY pre-payment will confirm your reservation! We must receive a check by Wednesday, April 1st. This date is quickly approaching, so make your reservation today!
Purim 2009
Surrender Esther? NEVER!
Sunday, March 8, noon, Tikkun v'Or, 2550 N. Triphammer.
Purim comes but once a year! This will be a special collaborative celebration as Kol Haverim joins with Tikkun v’Or, the Ithaca Reform Temple, to create an extravaganza extraordinary. Pizza lunch, crafts, a splendid schpiel (“SHUSHAN on the DANUBE,” a klezmer play). The conclusion will include the all-important consumption of frightfully delicious three cornered pastries, aka hamentaschen.
There will be groggers. There will be a King and his evil Minister, Haman. There will be a fair Jewish Queen, Esther, and a noble leader of the Jewish community, Mordecai. And the narrator will be our own Mr. Hamentaschen.
Children are encouraged to dress in costumes, Purim or otherwise.
For more info, contact Mark Silverman.
In keeping with the tradition of assisting needy people during the Purim holiday, we are planning to donate food to the local food pantry. Please bring your contribution to the Purim event. Contributions should be non-perishable items.
As winter becomes spring, Jews celebrate Purim, a joyous spring-welcoming festival that commemorates victory over anti-Semitism.
The holiday's name, "Purim," meaning "lots" or "dice," reminds us of how the evil character Haman drew lots to determine the fate of the Jews of Persia. According to the Book of Esther, were it not for the goodness and intervention of Esther and her uncle Mordecai in the court of King Ahasuerus, the Jews would have been exterminated by the king's advisor Haman. Purim became the joyous celebration of an epic Jewish victory over anti-Semitism and threatened annihilation.
In addition to celebrating the story of Esther during the festivities, people dress in costumes depicting the major characters of the story. During the telling of the story, the heroes are cheered and the villain, Haman, is booed and his name is drowned out by the sound of noise-makers or groggers.
Tu B'Shevat 2009
Saturday, February 7, 2009, 5:00pm Lifelong.
This holiday, commonly known as "The Holiday of the Trees" originated in the time shortly after the Jewish people were evicted from Israel. Back then, it was a celebration of the end of winter and the beginning of spring.
After being exiled from Spain during the Inquisition in the 15th century, a group of Jewish mystics, the Kabbalists, reinterpreted the holiday as a time to appreciate the importance of plants and the environment to our well-being.
In recent years, Tu B'Shevat has become a day in which we recognize our ethical obligations to care for the planet and all its inhabitants.
Please bring a dish-to-pass as well as place settings (cups, plates, silverware).
Supervised childcare is available.
Fees
Members: Free
Non-members: $5 (adult) / $10 (family)
Please contact Sharon Kaplan for more information.
Sukkot Celebration 2008
Saturday, October 18, 2008, 11:00am, rain or shine, location: Silverman Residence
Sukkot is the Jewish fall harvest festival. In the spirit of the holiday, we always try to hold our Sukkot celebration in an outdoor venue with nearby shelter in case of inclement weather. We are delighted to once again hold our celebration at the home of our members Deirdre and Mark Silverman.
We will have a Sukka set up for the children (and adults) to decorate. For decorations, there are lots materials from the trees, plants, and wildflowers at the Silverman's. Unless we have bad weather, everything will take place outside in and around the Sukka--so please dress appropriately. After decorating the Sukka, we will have a short service followed by a brown-bag picnic lunch. Kol Haverim will provide challah, apples and cider. Please bring your own picnic lunch.
There will be someone to help look after the children. There will also be primitive-pursuits style nature activities and crafts for the kids.
For directions, please contact info@kolhaverim.net
Rosh Hashannah and Yom Kippur 2008
Family Rosh Hashannah Service:
Sunday, September 28, 2008, 1-4 pm, 4-H Acres
This celebration is geared toward children over age 3 and includes
crafts, a brief service, singing, story-telling, a Tashlikh
ceremony, and some traditional holiday foods.
The event is free for members. For non-members the cost is $6 per
child (free for accompanying adults).
Directions to 4-H Acres on Lower Creek Rd:
Take Rt. 13 North from Ithaca, go past Warren Rd, then Hanshaw Rd., next left onto Lower Creek Rd., 1st building on left.
Adult Rosh Hashannah Service:
Monday, September 29, 2008, 7-9pm, Lifelong.
This will be an adult-oriented humanistic service with a potluck dessert and reception to follow. Music and songs led by David Frumkin and Will Fudeman.
The service will be held at the Lifelong Center located at 119 W. Court St. Off-street parking is available in front of the building on Court St. as well as behind the building, accessed from Buffalo St.
Child-care will be available.
For our evening Rosh Hashanah reception, we ask everyone to
contribute a dessert or snack. We ask people with last name beginning
with the letters A-M to please bring a savory snack or finger
food; Those with last names beginning with letters N-Z, to please bring
a dessert or fruit. We will provide wine, juice and iced tea for everyone
to enjoy.
Holiday events are free to members. Non-members will be charged $5 per person or $15 per family
For questions or additional information please contact Joyce Frank at chair@kolhaverim.net.
Yom Kippur Services:
Thursday, October 9, 2008, 6:00 pm, Home of Dee Thaler.
Adults are invited to participate in a Yom Kippur break-the-fast at the home of Dee Thaler. The evening will include an introspective service, enjoying a cello recording of the Kol Nidre, and a dish-to-pass dinner. The evening events will begin at 6:00pm on Thursday, October 9. Remember--if you arrive on time, we can eat earlier!
Space is limited and an RSVP will be required. Please RSVP by Monday, October 6 to dthaler@twcny.rr.com or 272-5897 for directions and to coordinate the meal.
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