“The Flying Lovers of Vitebsk” Melds Multiple Types of Art

Artwork for the play/ image courtesy of Theater J

There’s a bit of symmetry to the players on stage for The Flying Lovers of Vitebsk, as they enter in pairs of two.

First, we’re introduced to the two musicians—Katrina Michaels and Jeremy Crawford—who walk down the stairs of the house singing a Yiddish tune. They break the fourth wall to welcome the audience (and of course remind us to turn off our cell phones,) before spending most of the performance confined to the corner of the stage. But this is a misleading sentence, given the soundtrack they provide (including vocals and many instruments) and an occasional acting assist when a supporting character is needed. (My favorite is Michaels playing Bella’s mother, who expresses her emotions through accordion pulls. :P)

Then there’s the actors—Jamie Smithson as the famous 20th century painter, Marc Chagall, and Dani Stoller as his wife and often muse, Bella. In broad strokes, the play covers their love affair (a dramaturgy timeline is also included in the playbill.) They meet in their hometown of Vitebsk, fall madly in love, and struggle to hold it together while the world around them changes, particularly with the Russian Revolution.

Chagall’s paintings of the lovers in flight serve as the cornerstone for the play, but how to portray them on stage? With the introduction of the final two players—aerialists Thomas Martin and Rachael Small. The final curtain on the stage pulls back to reveal them on a rectangular aerial hoop. They come in and out to contribute to the most emotional moments, bringing this trifecta to its ultimate peak.

Perhaps it’s unfair to say that six performers across three art types are all that comprise the play. In another amusing, fourth-wall moment, Smithson as Chagall at one point criticizes actors. Historically, this was during the time that the artist was painting for the Moscow State Yiddish Theater. To paraphrase the line: “I wish the actors would stop moving, so people could admire the scenery!” 😛

In this play, “the scenery” was largely made up of Chagall’s paintings, which were carefully projected onto a variety of backdrops, brought to life by several other designers. Yes, it really is unfair to not include this art type in a play that is, after all, predominately about a painter.

But for me and my biases (speaking of the EDCJCC, my choir just started rehearsing there again for the Chanukah season!) I was most taken with the music. Although this play was first performed a decade ago in Bristol, England, the Theater J version includes entirely new compositions by Sarah O’Halloran. The original Ian Ross music is also present, alongside Yiddish folksongs and a revolutionary number or two, all adding to the complicated reality of the Chagalls and other Russian Jews of the time.

Marc and Bella escaped the Holocaust by fleeing to New York. But unfortunately, due to penicillin shortages, Bella died at 54 after contracting strep throat. One of the final images of the play features Stoller, now on the aerial hoop, flying away from Chagall, in a rendition of his painting “The Promenade.”

Throughout October, Theater J and the EDCJCC are offering special programming about the play and about Chagall’s legacy more broadly. For a final art form—writing—I left the theater intrigued to learn more about Bella Rosenfeld Chagall, who published memoirs about her life and a vanished Jewish history. Vitebsk was largely destroyed by the Nazis in 1944. They rounded up and murdered the Jews of the Vitebsk ghetto in 1941.

Once again, it all comes back to art—so many types of art—keeping places and history, and also the intimate love between two people, alive. “Marc and Bella were confronted with a whirlwind of events that set the world they knew spinning,” Director Hayley Finn wrote in the playbill. “Though not always easy, they remained anchored to each other, and that deep connection inspired them both artistically…Together, they not only created a life filled with art, but saw the world through a lens that connects art with love and unlocks the possibility of imagination.”

The Flying Lovers of Vitebsk was written by Daniel Jamieson, and Hayley Finn directed the DC premiere. Gwynne Flannagan Cox was choreographer and aerial consultant. It’s opening Theater J’s ’26-’27 season, and will be on stage through November 1.

For more of my theater coverage, check out my “Books, Plays, Movies and Music” tab.

High Holidays Highlights: 5787!

This “mini Adas” was a set piece of the annual giving fund / photo taken by Rachel Mauro

I have to resist the urge to whine whenever Rosh Hashanah falls on a weekend. Can’t hear the shofar both days, boo hoo, and the District Wharf, where I spend afternoons, is crowded!

On the flip side of things, I remembered this year, hearing the shofar blast just one day can increase it’s sense of power. (It was also Rosh Hashanah Day Two, when I sang with the Adas flash choir!) And witnessing the crowds at District Wharf is kind of like witnessing life itself. I spied on two bridal parties taking professional pictures on or near the pier. There were also party goers, tourists, and so many others taking advantage of cloudy days that never quite spilled over into rain (unlike Yom Kippur!)

As we heralded in the new year over at Adas, Rabbis Holtzblatt and Alexander talked about modern Jewish identity. What do we owe strangers vs what we owe our own community? Rabbi Holtzblatt asked. As antisemitism rises, how do we feel at home in the United States? Rabbi Alexander continued.

Rabbi Holtzblatt also invoked 9/11, as Rosh Hashanah began during the 25th anniversary of that catastrophe. “This concept of Tzelem Elohim– of really caring for humanity- each person as if they are infinitely valued feels nearly impossible,” she said. “Would it not be unfeasible, impractical, to really, really, see God in every single other person? It’s why the stories of emergency personnel, firefighters running into burning buildings, flooded neighborhoods, cities destroyed by earthquakes feel so miraculous – like such manifestations of the divine.”

But for those of us who don’t engage in such extreme altruism: “The Torah does not teach us to love the universal by asking us to skip over the particular. It teaches us to love the universal through the particular.”

“The question is not whether we should love our own or love humanity,” Holtzblatt argued. “The question is whether our love for our own can become a way of recognizing the humanity of others.” She went on to invoke Rachel Goldberg-Polin, as she often does, particularly Goldberg-Polin’s response to grieving her own son, murdered by Hamas, as well as the deaths of Gazan children. On a related note, I read Rachel Goldberg-Polin’s memoir earlier this year; if you’re on GoodReads, then my review is here!

Rabbi Alexander equated Jewish at-homeness in the United States with our autonomy to make political decisions. But with antisemitism rising on both sides of the aisle, where do we go? For example: “Are we still home if we have to choose between those who silence & attack us under the guise of their version of human rights, or those who so effortlessly dehumanize us and others under the guise of extremist Nationalism cosplaying as Patriotism?”

The core of his argument is that no matter what, for those of us who whole-heartedly live our Jewish lives, it is “Ivri Anokhi. I am a Jew.” And this also means acknowledging the complexity of our worldwide community.

“Shame eats away my core identity, the center of my very being,” Alexander said. “My Jewish being. I will give it no space. I will not be humiliated. I will not apologize for our extraordinary story. I may too often have to take cover for it, but I will not hide from it, or because of it.”

But he also acknowledged the reality of Jewish groups that have or do embrace dark impulses, from violent war to interior xenophobia. So, how do we find where we belong? “I’m home when I don’t have to be perfect to be accepted,” Alexander concluded. “I’m home when I can proudly claim my people without diminishing our contributions, or wishing away our flaws. When I don’t have to choose one or the other just to fit in. I’m home, when my full Jewish identity doesn’t jeopardize my safety.”

Fast-forward a week to Kol Nidre. I left the robust and security-cocooned community of what I call the “Adasphere” to join my mother at her small congregation in Baltimore. She was also singing!

It had been awhile since I attended services outside of Adas, but so much of my mother’s new community reminded me of my childhood one. Her congregation rents space from a church, meaning that large crosses and other Christian symbols are elaborately covered (except for the stained glass windows, of course. :P) There was one guard, maybe 100 congregants for the holiest night of the year, and generally a quieter service with fewer bells and whistles. I prayed from my old friend, the Reconstructionist machzor!

I also got to see some people who I knew growing up, so that was special. In terms of the service, I particularly liked the alternative aleinu prayer, and positive additions to the al het (adding in some examples of community strengths alongside community weaknesses.)

I returned to Adas for the rest of Yom Kippur, where we spent most of the afternoon in the HaMakom Tent despite the rain. (Later on, we moved inside for the Neilah.)

While still outside, we listened to our habitual Yom Kippur afternoon speakers. I was reminded of the significant community presence at Adas when some of our members, all professionals at renowned institutions, convened to talk about the Israeli elections and the Jewish state’s evolving relationship with the U.S. We were told in no uncertain terms that this was an “off the record” conversation—suffice to say that they crammed in some highlights, and it was certainly more enlightening than getting sucked back into the social media mire.

But in terms of ending with more spiritual umph, I’ll highlight Rabbi Krinksy’s Neilah sermon. “I worry that we have – understandably, but also dangerously – sometimes obscured the lines between safety and power,” she said. “We ignore either one at our existential physical peril – that is clear. But we confuse or conflate the two at our existential spiritual peril – that is clear, too.”

“We pray for Jewish safety,” she concluded. “We thank God and humans for every instance of continued Jewish safety. But Jewish power requires something more….It’s also in what can emerge when we let the defenses fall and allow ourselves to see those who are under the auspices of what we have amassed for who they are and for the heartbreak they are holding. And then saying – ‘yeah, hey, by the way – me too. I’m broken too.’”

G’mar Chatimah Tovah. Onward to Sukkot! I’m very excited for this song and prayer-filled experience in the Adas sukkah, where we will be visited by one of the hostages, Guy Gilboa-Dalal, alongside his brother. TMI—I’m experiencing some cold symptoms right now. So I hope I can still go, but we shall see!

Wishing the DC Jewish community and the Jewish community at large a meaningful fall holiday season.

DC High Holidays Classes and Events 5787

Graphic created by Rachel Mauro; Images courtesy of wirestock and katemangostar on freepik.com

L’shanah tova! Another new year will be upon us in a couple weeks. And with that, my favorite holiday. Bring on the apples and honey!

I thought I’d take a moment, as I have done in years past, to highlight some DC-area events leading up to and including the High Holidays! Many of these events come from J-Fed of Greater Washington’s High Holidays page, which also includes additional information for people looking to celebrate in the area. Also: check out GatherDC’s High Holiday Guide. Here’s some of the events that speak most to me.

Tuesday, September 1

I Will Be What I Will Be: Teshuva, the New Year, and Becoming Ourselves
7pm, EDCJCC

Wednesday, September 2

Queering Taschlich with GLOE
7pm, address provided with registration

Tuesday, September 8

Remember & Return: Sarah, Hannah & the Work of Becoming
7pm, The Den Collective

Wednesday, September 9

Rosh Hashanah Challah Bake & Learn
6pm, The Den Collective

Thursday, September 10

New Year’s Erev Bash
7pm, Luv with Lev

Tuesday, September 15

The Gates are Still Open: A Community Discussion on the Ten Days of Teshuvah
7pm, Adas Israel

Wednesday, September 16

Preparing to Let Go: A Creative Practice for the New Year
7pm, The Den Collective

Thursday, September 17

Honest to Goodness: A Teshuvah Workshop
6:30pm, Sixth & I

Saturday, September 19

Reflect & Stroll: Tashlich with JWI
10:30am, Rock Creek Park

Sunday, September 20

Reverse Tashlich Trash Clean Up with Living Classrooms
10am, EDCJCC

CJM Parses Jewish History and the Declaration of Independence for USA’s 250th Anniversary

Author Michael Auslin in conversation with Jewish history lecturer Lauren Strauss / photo taken by Rachel Mauro

Usually I’d be covering the Smithsonian Folklife Festival around this time, but the 250th anniversary of the nation altered plans a little bit! Luckily, the Capital Jewish Museum is stepping in with some patriotic programming.

On July 16, patrons online and in person gathered to hear Michael Auslin give the Jewish angle to his recently-published book: National Treasure: How the Declaration of Independence Made America. The talk was held in the historic Adas Israel synagogue, which itself was dedicated on the U.S.’s centennial anniversary in 1876.

Michael Auslin is the Payson J. Treat Distinguished Research Fellow at Stanford University’s Hoover Institution. He was in conversation with Lauren Strauss, Director of Undergraduate Studies for American University’s Jewish Studies Program.

Although no Jewish citizens were present for the signing of the Declaration in 1776, or indeed served on the Continental Congress, one of the 25 remaining original broadsides survived because Jewish merchant Jonas Phillips sent it to an associate in Europe. Despite a Yiddish note on top, meant to disguise the parcel, it was nevertheless intercepted by Redcoats. But in general, the Declaration wasn’t wideley venerated until after the War of 1812.

In 1939, former pharmacist Charles Promislo once again made the document more accessible to the public by selling crinkle-paper reproductions at the New York World’s Fair. It was a hit, and as patriotism grew throughout the decades, he and other Jews disseminated copies more widely.

Auslin was invested in studying the Declaration as a statement of enduring American principles. As such, George Washington’s famous 1790 letter to Touro Synagogue in Rhode Island stands as a testament. Arguably the most famous line is a promise that the United States government will give “bigotry no sanction [and] persecution no assistance,” providing a home where Jews can live as full and free citizens.

Most Jews living in the colonies at the time of the Revolutionary War sided with the American patriots, Auslin surmised. Their numbers were around 2,000 strong at the time, and many congregated in urban population centers like Baltimore and Philadelphia. Although the Declaration of Independence provided a high bar for idealism, American Jews faced patterns of public and private antisemitism, especially before the postwar period following the Holocaust. In the Q&A session, members of the audience discussed with the panelists resurgent anti-Jewish prejudice in the wake of October 7.

For more information on American Jews and our nation’s founding document, check out this Tablet article. The Library of Congress also features an exhibit, on display until next July, called The Declaration’s Promise: A Revolutionary Idea, which includes one of the original broadsides!

CJM is continuing its 250 anniversary programming with an event on August 5 on our national origin stories. Dr. Beatrice Gurwitz, the executive director of the museum, will be moderating Professor M.J. Rymsza-Pawlowska and Dr. Laura Schiavo in conversation.

Also this month: on the 27th, CJM will augment their special exhibit, “Blacklisted,” with a concert featuring music from the Red Scare era. Check out my review of the exhibit here!

2026 in Jewish DC: Pride Shabbats, Book Reccs and More!

Happy June and Happy Pride! We’re nearing the first Shabbat of the month, and the schedule is hopping. Here’s a little sneak peak of what’s coming up:

Friday, June 5: Sixth & I Pride Shabbat + Dinner!

Saturday, June 6: Heated Rivalry Havdalah at the EDCJCC!

Friday, June 12: Pride Shabbat @ WHC (Washington Hebrew Congregation)! Pride Shabbat with Bet Mishpachah (and GLOE!)

Saturday, June 20: Capital Pride Parade!

Sunday, June 21: Capital Pride Festival!

Friday, June 26: Adas Israel Pride Happy Hour followed by Kabbalat Shabbat!

For something a little special, I also took a gander at the inventory at the DC queer bookstore, Little District Books. These four Jewish titles I’ve read and enjoyed and, as of publishing this blog post, should be available on their shelves! Check them out. 😀

Beyond the Pale by Elana Dykewomon
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was my first purchase from Little District Books! The story follows two Jewish women who make their way from the Pale of Settlement in Russia to the Lower East Side in New York in the early 20th century. There’s a mix of religion, persecution, politics and queer life at play. Chava, who didn’t meet her cousin Rose until the former was orphaned as a teenager by the Kishinev Pogrom, falls into an intimate relationship with her. Gutke, meanwhile, lives with a woman who presents herself as a man. “When it comes to trans identity in the novel, there’s little way to see it as anything but a social choice rather than an intrinsic one,” I wrote in my review. Dovida, who publicly goes by Dovid, explains herself this way: “Being a man with money seemed like the surest way to be free.” Dykewomon isn’t afraid of exploring how this clashes with Chava’s more radical politics about capitalism. The novel won a Lambda Literary Award in 1998.

Full Review

Disobedience by Naomi Alderman
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Ronit, a 38-year-old non-practicing Jew, is called home to her Orthodox community in the United Kingdom to attend to the death of her estranged father. As a woman, her role would be limited anyway, and she chafes at her cousin/ her father’s protégé, Dovid (a male this time) taking on the mantle. Dovid is also married to Ronit’s childhood sweetheart, Esti. “There’s a lot that I like about Ronit, chief among her attributes is that she’s unlikeable,” I wrote in my review. “She’s a brassy, argumentative chick who likes to stir the proverbial pot for fun, and has a penchant for shooting herself in the metaphorical foot.” Dovid and Esti also bear complicated subplots, not that you can tell that from the movie adaptation, alas. And it turns the lesbian aspect tawdry, imho, despite a great cast. But the novel won the Orange Award for New Writers in 2006! Two years later, it was a finalist for fiction in the National Jewish Book Awards, too.

Full Review

Orphan Number Eight by Kim van Alkemade
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

In this dual-timeline narrative, Rachel Rabinowitz is a four-year-old orphan in 1919 who is subjected to medical experimentation, and a 39-year-old nurse in 1954 who finds her abuser, now dying, in her care. The queer aspect (Rachel enters into a lesbian relationship) is a little less prominent on the page. Alas, I noted in my review that some of the “criticism” on GoodReads was direct homophobia. Other complaints might be that the story was more ruminative than plot-based. It worked for me. “I wanted to learn the history of New York Jewish life in the first half of the 20th century, and I wanted to see Rachel as a complex, fully formed human being,” I wrote in my review. “Van Alkemade didn’t necessarily pen a literary novel, but I think it’s closer to that distinction than to that of a pulpy drama.” It may also, arguably, be “auto-fiction,” as the story is based on historical research the author conducted into her own family. Primary sources are included in the back of the book.

Full Review

Thistlefoot by GennaRose Nethercott
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Going fully into genre fiction, this novel may read as fantasy, but the author prefers the term magical realism. Isaac and Belllatine are brother and sister puppeteers who inherit a house that walks on chicken legs from their ancestor, Baba Yaga. One might recognize the character from Slavic folklore, but she’s been reappropriated here for a Jewish story. The queer representation isn’t part of the main storyline, but it’s definitely an accepted identity amongst the main characters. The narrative is, by and large, a commentary on generational trauma. Trauma also dots the lyrical worldbuilding, as Nethercott indulges readers with such lines as (“Buildings petaling with thick, water-resistant scales during floods, or sprouting wings to escape an avalanche.”) Isaac and Bellatine already grapple with personal magical inheritances before the house even comes (or walks?) to them. 😛 “The author is interested in how their experiences shape them as people, and they are unique characters to follow,” I wrote in my review. The 2022 release made a splash at the Association of Jewish Libraries Awards and the Sydney Taylor Book Awards, and also the GoodReads Choice Awards!

Full Review

The Maccabeats Bring Music and Fun to 2026 JxJ Festival!

As indicated by the above, I rode out the tail end of the 2026 JxJ: Jewish Music, Film and Arts Festival by attending a concert at the EDJCC by the famed a capella group, The Maccabeats! Listen above to the group of seven singing an un-micced, soulful rendition of “Oseh Shalom.”

The Maccabeats originally formed in 2007 at Yeshiva University. They’ve since dropped multiple albums and performed in various places, including the Obama White House!

Their claim to fame, which includes over 20 million views on YouTube, was their original Chanukah parody, “Candlelight.” They’ve since performed multiple holiday parodies (my favorite is their Les Mis medley for Passover. :D)

At this concert, the Maccabeats sang some Chanukah and Purim songs, making jokes all the while about the incorrect time of year. (Maybe for some variety, you should tackle Counting the Omer next, guys!) They also sang some more liturgical favorites like “Od Yavo Shalom Aleinu” and “Lecha Dodi” arranged to Leonard Cohen’s “Halleluyah.”

The theater was packed; sometimes audience members held up phone flashlights or stood to dance. At one point, the group’s beat boxer, Meir Shapiro, invited three kids onstage to help him lead us all in verbal percussion. We didn’t do as well as he did. 😛

This proved to be both a fun and relaxing way to spend a Sunday afternoon! The JxJ festival is over for 2026, but you can find more of my coverage under the “Annual Events” tab.

In the meantime, Jewish music in DC contines! The choral group Kolot Halev is singing at Ohr Kodesh Congregation in Chevy Chase, Md. this coming Sunday at 4pm. Click here for tickets!

On June 3, the Jewish Study Center is hosting the class, Sing to Remember: Jewish Choral Music Across Time. They will explore Jewish music in Western canon throughout five centuries.

My own Jewish choir, HaKol, is singing at the Hebrew Home of Greater Washington on Father’s Day! If you would like to join us as a singer next semester, visit the link above.

Happy end of American Jewish Heritage Month! 😀

Jewish American Heritage Month 2026: Revolutionary War, Bible Illuminations and More!

The Library of Congress promoting its 2026 JAHM programming / photo taken by Rachel Mauro

May is Jewish American Heritage Month in the United States, which for the last few years has been powered by the Weitzman National Jewish Museum of American Jewish History in Philadelphia, Pa. But that doesn’t mean there’s not events going on around DC!

Particularly at the Library of Congress alone! See the accompanying image for some of their curated events happening next month. Go into more detail below:

Wednesday, May 6
Jews and the American Revolution

Award-winning historian and author Professor Laura Arnold Leibman will talk about the outsized Jewish response to the American Revolutionary War. Fighting on both sides, they fractured their own community in the moment but also created new ones. Leibman co-edited Jews Across the Americas: A Sourcebook, 1492-Present (published 2023), alongside writing and contributing to several other books.

Wednesday, May 13
Letters in Light: An American Illuminates the Bible

Debra Brand will talk about her five biblical illuminated manuscripts that the Library of Congress recently acquired. Her artwork blends a distinctly American flavor with interpretations of the Song of Songs, Psalms, and early women’s narratives of the Hebrew Bible. She also covers Shabbat liturgy and Ecclesiastes. Discover more about her work on My Jewish Learning.

Wednesday, May 13
AFC@50: An Evening of Jewish Music

Join the American Folklife Center in welcoming Lily Henley, who performs traditional and original songs in the Ladino language. Henley fuses inspiration from Sephardic Jewish culture across Europe and western Asia, Celtic music, American music and other folk genres. AFC is holding this concert as part of their Homegrown Concert series to celebrate their 50th anniversary. Listen to some of Henley’s music here.

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A little bit off the American heritage path, but the Library of Congress is also hosting Professor Yakov Z. Mayer next Monday, May 4. He will explore some of the earliest printed tractates of the Talmud, which originated in 15th century Italy. These volumes played a foundational role in establishing the canonical layout of the Talmud page.

And, if you’re not Shabbat observant and are OK with leaving DC for the Maryland suburbs, check out some Jewish authors speaking and signing at the May 16 Gaithersburg Book Festival! Some names I recognize from the Jewish Book Council: Holocaust fiction writer Sharon Kurtzman, women’s fiction writer Sara Goodman Confino, and literary fiction writer Sam Sussman, whose debut novel was shortlisted in the 2025 National Jewish Book Awards.

Find more JAHM coverage under the Annual Events tab!

“Blacklisted” Special Exhibit at CJM Showcases How Fear Campaigns Imperil the First Amendment

Visitors are invited to take a seat and read through the testimony of three Jewish federal workers brought before HUAC. How would we answer “un-American” charges brought against us? Remember, flash cards warn us, there was no presumption of innocence. / photo taken by Rachel Mauro

In 1948, the Committee of Un-American Activities (HUAC) published a booklet titled “100 Things You Should Know About Communism in the U.S.A.” They structured their literature in the form of Q&A.

“Could I start up a business and hire people to work for me?
To do so would be a crime and you would be severely punished.

Could I teach what I please with ‘academic freedom’?
You would only teach what Communists authorize you to teach. You would be asking for jail or death to try anything else.

…Could I have friends of my own choice as I do now?
No, except those approved by the Communists in charge of your life from cradle to grave.

…Why shouldn’t I turn Communist?
…Before you do, remember you will lose your independence, your propperty, and your freedom of mind.”

As always, political extremists don’t understand irony.

“Blacklisted: An American Story” is a special exhibit created by the Jewish Museum of Milwaulkee. It will be on display at the Capital Jewish Museum until September 7.

The exhibit chronicles the time of the mid-20th century Red Scare, when anti-communists in government targeted individuals with presumed communist sympathies. HUAC was specifically concerned about the movie industry, with a particular focus on the Jewish community.

Jews were scapegoated since the 1930s and 1940s, with isolationists labeling anti-fascist films as “a Jewish plot to push the country into war.” After the U.S. did enter WWII, films that were made with government approval were later labeled as communist agitation.

The FBI started screening films for subversion in 1942. Ayn Rand was hired as a guide for topics screenwriters should avoid. Still, many artists were targeted for their involvement in leftwing (communist and otherwise) activism. The Hollywood Ten, a group of directors and screenwriters, became infamous. These were “unfriendly” witnesses who, when dragged before the Congressional House Committee on Un-American Activities in 1947, refused to cooperate. In 1950, they were sent to prison. (A related pamphlet from thier wives implored the public: “We are gravely concerned for our husbands, but…our deepest concern is for America iteself.”)

Another pamphlet on display, “New Dangers Facing the Jewish People,” highlighted an event by the (six) Jewish members of the ten in 1949. They spoke on the dangers of Naziism and Communism abroad, and how antisemitism fueled the blacklists at home. Senators like Pat McCarran (R-Na.) went after people of “miiddle European” ancestry, mostly Jews. His goal was to prove communist ties and to limit the immigration of Holocaust survivors.

Meanwhile, the U.S. started taking away passports from the “Blacklisted” as some, like the family of Ten screenwriter Dalton Trumbo, pictured in Mexico in 1949, tried to flee. (Another Q&A from “100 Things You Should Know About Communism:” “”Could I travel abroad or marry a foreigner? You could do nothing of the sort except with the permission of the Communists.”)

The multimedia portions of the exhibit are largely given over to movie clips later created by the comdemned. The curators posit certain themes–like endorsing unions in Salt of the Earth or opposing slavery in Spartacus.

Two of the films are explicitly Jewish in nature, and they made me think about how Judaism was flattened into a religion-only in the American mind. In Exodus a character pulls one over on an antisemitic Brit who claims he can spot a Jew from a mile away–but misses the one standing in front of his face. In Gentleman’s Agreement, Gregory Peck plays a lawwyer who explains to his son that Jews are Americans, too. “The people who go to that particular church are called Catholics, and there are people who go to different churches and they’re called Protestants, and there are people who go to different churches and they’re called Jews, only they call their churches temples or synagogues.” A powerful call for camaraderie in 1947 anyway.

Even more dynamic than the movies are the taped testimony from “unfriendly” Hollywood witnesses at the HUAC hearings. Like that of future Salt of the Earth director Herbert Bilberman who shouted over his opposition: “It has become very clear to me that the real purpose of this investigation…your purpose is to use this to disrupt the motion picture industry. To invade the right not only of me but of the producers to their thoughts and their opinions, and I will not permit this!”

Unfortunately the Hollywood executives were definitely spooked. Months after the Hollywood Ten hearings, they met at the Waldorf Hotel to discuss their options. Concerned about financial and political pressure, tey assented to police their emplpoyees for “un-American” activities. Louis B. Meyer defended this with “Our first job must be to protect the industry and draw the greatest amount of people into theaters.”

Loss of income led to some devestating consequences. “Blacklisted” individuals’ names were stricken from the films they worked on (in the 1980s, the Writers Guild of America restored some of those credits, and awarded pension increases.) Hundreds more people lost all or part of their livlihood. When Alvah Bessie, one of the Ten, died, his family blamed the stress of the “inquisition.”

For local flair, CJM highlights Washingtonians who were targeted. Millions of federal employees were asked to fill out loyalty forms between 1947 and 1953. Over 25,000 were investigated, with several hundred people fired or suspended from their jobs.

Sylvia Bernstein was called to testify in 1954 for her involvement in left-leaning groups. The Yiddish language school where she sent her kids was listed in a government roster of subversive organizations. Sylvia took the fifth and was ostracized. In his memoir, her son wrote of the FBI camping outside of his bar mitzvah in Silver Spring, Md. and taking down liscense plates.

Courtesy of the Gordon Archives at Washington Hebrew Congregation, Rabbi Norman Gestenfield’s 1950 Rosh Hashanah sermon underlines this: “A man is innocent until he is proven guilty: and there is a difference between heresey and conspiracy.” The local rabbi continued, “A man’s right to differ must be preserved in a free society.”

A map of the United States near the end of the exhibit details that the vast majority of states held hearings targeting private citizens like school teachers, civil rights organizers, professors and union organizers. Many groups advocating for peace, workers rights and racial justice blinked out of existence. The Red Scare, and HUAC’s strangelhold, ultimately dwindled in the late 1950s.

But at CJM, the past is paramount to the present. A large poster of the constitution is filled with post-its from visitors, encouraged by the museum to write ideas of how best to protect the First Amendment. “Right wins over might!” one highlighted on the website proclaims.

For coverage of past and ongioing exhibits at CJM, check out my museum tab under Books, Plays, Movies and Music.

Celebrate Purim in 5786!

graphic courtesy of freepik.com, clipart library and the Library of Congress

Purim starts on March 1, a festive holiday of rejoicing, yet again, in the fact that we (the Jews) have survived a persecution attempt. Huzzah! Though not as noticeable to the outside world as, say, Chanukah, it is definitely as fun—allowing people of all ages to dress up, eat special sweets, and wave noisemakers called groggers as the Megillah (book of Esther) is read out enthusiastically.

On Purim, people of all ages dress up, eat special sweets and wave noisemakers called groggers. Jews are called to listen to the Megillah, and most communities follow the reading with a parody performance. (Adas Israel is doing a “funhouse” motif, and as part of the flash choir, I get to sing backup in parody songs like “Defying Royalty” from Wicked and “The Greatest Spiel” from The Greatest Showman! :D)

GatherDC has compiled a variety of DC-area events for before, during and after Purim here! Jewish organizations can also submit their events to the Jewish Federation of Greater Washington community calendar. Here’s just a smattering of what’s coming up.

Friday, February 27

Shabbat Purim: Purim in Oz
At Washington Hebrew Congregation

Battle of the Hamentaschen Filling
With Moishe House Adams Morgan

Shabbat Shabbang Family Purim Celebration
At the Bender JCC

Saturday, February 28

Purim Boys Purim Spiel
At Congregation Adat Reyim

Hamentaschen Bake
At the New Synagogue Project

Purim Singles Bash
With Luv With Lev

Sunday, March 1

Purim Carnival Day! Including but not limited to Temple Emmanuel, Temple Shalom, Tifereth Israel, Congregation Beth Emeth, and Kol Ami!

Also, GLOE is throwing Queen Esther’s Ball!

Erev Purim: Monday, March 2

The Megillah According to Monty Python
At Rodef Shalom

Pink Pony Purim
At Temple Micah

Sparks in Adar; Purim Happy Hour
With Bet Mishpachah

Purim in Candyland
At the Pozez JCC

A Very Wicked Purim
At Congregation Beth El

Let Them Eat Cake: A Purim Revolution
At Sixth & I

DC’s Premier Purim Bash
With American Friends of the Lubavitch

Purim: Tuesday, March 3

Mexican Fiesta Purim
With Chabad of Potomac

Purim Party
With Hill Havurah

Jews of Color and their Families Celebration
At EDCJCC

Friday, March 13

Purim Shabbat: Queer Edition
At the Den Collective

Celebrate MLK Weekend 2026 and Tu B’Shevat 5786!

graphic courtesy of classroomclipart.com

Happy new year! We’re well into January by this point, but before I venture into the future, allow me to assess some of the past. Here are some 2025 stats for JewishDC. According to WordPress, the blog got 888 views and 744 visitors, with the largest numbers hailing from the United States, Brazil, India, the United Kingdom, Australia, Poland, Mexico and Germany. My most popular post of the year was my Jewish American Heritage Month post, where I talked about cultural events sponsored by the Library of Congress.

Thank you for your support, and here’s to a fruitful new secular year! Let’s get the coverage up and running again, starting with some holidays and community service.

The American Jewish public commemorates two holidays—one religious, one secular—near the start of the Gregorian calendar year. MLK Weekend takes place imminently, Jan. 17-19. Tu B’Shevat occurs between Feb. 1-2. Check out these ways to get involved with the local Jewish community!

MLK Weekend

• For MLK Shabbat, Sixth & I’s Visions of Freedom and Justice (both in person and virtual) includes their annual focus on the relationship between Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel. Also on the scene: special speaker, Yolanda Savage-Narva, Sixth & I board member and vice president of Racial Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (REDI) for the Union for Reform Judaism. The service will feature music from Sixth & I performers and the Covenant Baptist UCC Choir.
• Washington Hebrew Congregation’s in person and virtual MLK Shabbat Service. Rev. Canon Leonard Hamlin of the National Cathedral will serve as special speaker. Also featuring music from the Shiloh Baptist Choir and WHC’s Kol Rinah. On Sunday, WHC is hosting a day of service, with onsite projects including baking blueberry muffins, building bookcases, decorating Purim bags for MD state legislators and more. They’re also accepting food donations, and new or gently-used clothing.
• Adas Israel’s MLK Weekend. Includes musical Shabbat services, both virtual and in person, featuring the Roderick Giles & Grace Gospel Choir. Reginald L. Douglas, Artistic Director of Mosaic and director of Young John Lewis, will be guest speaker Shabbat morning. Congressman Jamie Raskin, discussing Lewis’s legacy, will feature on Friday night. A Sunday Day of Service offers opportunities like advocacy letter writing, bracelet-making for LGBTQ+ youth, cooking meals for La Casa Shelter and more.
• EDCJCC is a variety of mitzvah projects on Monday. Families are invited to sort donations for A Wider Circle, which helps people transition out of homelessness. Teens and up can hear from Free Mind graduates, a program that supports incarcerated and formerly incarcerated individuals.

Tu B’Shevat

• CJM’s Family Day! Families with young children are encouraged to come to the Capital Jewish Museum for pot decorating and seed planting, a dance and singalong, a Tu B’Shevat seder and more.
• Tu B’Shevat Seder: Celebrating Nature’s New Year. At the Den Collective, this evening will feature a seder, storytelling, reflective discussion, and perhaps even literal tree hugging.
• Hollow Tree movie showing. This event at the EDCJCC feels adjacent to Tu B’Shevat, and is around the same time. Co-presented by the DC Environmental Film Festival, it follows three teens of different life experiences learning about the challenges facing the Mississippi River.
• Refilling Our Cup: A Tu B’Shevat Seder and Wine Tasting.Hosted by Sixth & I, this adult event takes participants to a northwest DC bar to learn about natural wine and explore the symbolism of the holiday foods.