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How New York is celebrating Shavuot 2023
(New York Jewish Week) — Bring on the blintzes and cheesecake!
Heading into Memorial Day Weekend this year, Jewish New Yorkers have even more reasons to celebrate: Thursday night is the beginning of the major Jewish holiday of Shavuot. The annual festival marks the giving of the Torah on Mount Sinai and signifies the conclusion of counting the omer, a 49-day period that begins on the second night of Passover and “reminds us of this process of moving from a slave mentality to a more liberated one,” according to My Jewish Learning.
Shavuot traditions include staying up all night to learn Torah and to explore other Jewish texts and ideas, as well as eating dairy meals and desserts (like cheesecake, of course).
From comedy shows to dairy dinners to learning centers to park picnics, here are nine ways New Yorkers are celebrating Shavuot in the city this year.
May 24
A Shavuot comedy show with Hey Alma
Our partner site Hey Alma presents “Get Cheesy, Bitch! A Shavuot Comedy Show” featuring Jewy stand-up comedy by a line-up that includes Alison Leiby, Josh Gondelman, Max Gross and Freddie Shanel. Hey Alma’s Evelyn Frick will host. Get tickets for the show, which starts at 9:30 p.m. at Caveat NYC (21A Clinton St.) here. Starting at $15. Livestream is available for $10.
May 25
Shavuot dinner at The Brownstone
Join Jewish events hub The Brownstone (224 East 12th St.) for a Shavuot cocktail hour and dairy dinner starting at 6:30 p.m. Described as “a place to experience New York City from a Jewish perspective and meet like-minded Jewish millennials,” The Brownstone directs its programming towards “young professionals” and welcomes Jews of all denominations. Tickets start at $60. RSVP here.
Discover the Book of Ruth with My Jewish Learning
Rabbi Moshe Steigmann and our partner site, My Jewish Learning, come together to host a virtual learning event exploring how the story of Ruth — who is considered the first convert to Judaism, and whose story is traditionally read on Shavuot — can teach us about self-doubt and belonging in Judaism. Beginning at 8 p.m., the event is free and online. Register for the Zoom link here.
Explore technology and the Torah with Manhattan Jewish Experience
Manhattan Jewish Experience (131 W 86th St.) will explore artificial intelligence, big data, algorithms and social media during their night of learning, which begins at 8:30 p.m. and lasts until the wee hours of Friday morning. With a dairy dinner included, tickets are $50; for those coming post-dinner, tickets are free and include dessert and drinks and, following a sunrise service, a breakfast buffet with mimosas. Register here.
Celebrate Shavuot across Brooklyn
Congregations from all over Brooklyn will band together to host their annual “Shavuot Across Brooklyn,” a night of learning that will take place at Congregation Beth Elohim (274 Garfield Place). The evening begins at 9:15 p.m. with traditional egalitarian, Orthodox or “creative ritualistic” services, and continues throughout the night with dozens of classes, discussions and hands-on projects and learning. Check out the offerings here.
Study all night on the Upper West Side
Join the Marlene Meyerson JCC Manhattan (334 Amsterdam Ave.) for their annual night of studying and celebration, which includes explorations of Jewish film, music, literature, culture and beyond. The in-person event begins the evening of May 25 at 10 p.m. Highlights include “Leopoldstadt” and “West Wing” actor Joshua Malina and Aaron Neil in conversation; Rabbi Joanna Samuels in conversation with actress Tovah Feldshuh; a book talk with Taffy Brodesser-Akner (“Fleishman Is in Trouble”) and a class, “Jewish Jokes About Arguing with God,” led by the New York Jewish Week’s very own editor at large, Andrew Silow-Carroll. Free; no registration required. Check out the full schedule here.
May 26
Drinks and learning with Chabad TechTribe
Join TechTribe, a Chabad organization for young professionals (20s to 40s) who work in the technology sector, for “A Day of Revelation and Rosé.” The evening includes a short service, an al fresco feast and learning on Friday beginning at 5:30 p.m. Located at TechTribe HQ in Brooklyn; address is provided upon registration. Free with RSVP.
May 27
Shake your groove thing with J-Vibe
On Saturday night starting at 10:00 p.m., Jewish nightlife events group J-Vibe will host their annual party celebrating both Shavuot and Memorial Day Weekend. The theme is “Layla Lavan,” or “White Night” in Hebrew, so wear your best white outfits to celebrate the official unofficial start of summer with DJs spinning Top 40, Israeli music and more. Tickets start at $18, location TBD. More information here.
May 28
Shavuot picnic in Central Park
At 2 p.m. on the Sunday post-Shavuot, hang in Central Park, meet other millennial Jews and snack on (more) cheese with Miranda Lapides, writer of The Shabbat Drop newsletter and Brent Delman, a kosher cheesemonger. Bring your own snacks and drinks to pair with the cheese. The event is free but registration is required. The exact location will be emailed prior to the event.
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The post How New York is celebrating Shavuot 2023 appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
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‘The Art of the Yiddish Monologue’ and other mini-courses in Yiddish
במשך פֿונעם חודש יאַנואַר 2026 וועט ייִוואָ פֿירן די ווײַטערדיקע מיני־קורסן אויף ייִדיש:
• „די קונסט פֿונעם ייִדישן מאָנאָלאָג“, וווּ מע וועט לייענען און אַרומרעדן מאָנאָלאָגן פֿון שלום עליכם, י. לץ פּרץ, דער טונקעלער, ב. קאָוונער, משה נאַדיר, רחל ברכות און יצחק באַשעוויס. מע וועט אויל אַרומרעדן די געשיכטע פֿונעם מאָנאָלאָג אין ייִדישן טעאַטער (שיין בייקער)
• שעפֿעריש שרײַבן, וווּ מע וועט אויפֿן סמך פֿון ליטעראַטור־מוסטערן באַטראַכטן די וויכטיקע באַשטאַנדטיילן פֿון פּראָזע — שפּראַך, סטיל, דיאַלאָג, געשטאַלט און פּייסאַזש (באָריס סאַנדלער)
• יצחק־לייבוש פּרץ און זײַנע באַציִונגען מיט די נײַ־געבוירענע ייִדישע סאָציאַליסטישע קרײַזן אין משך פֿון די 1890ער יאָרן (עדי מהלאל)
• די גרויסע אַקטריסע אסתּר רחל קאַמינסקאַ, וווּ די סטודענטן וועלן לייענען אירע זכרונות אויף ייִדיש (מיכל יאַשינסקי)
• די לידער פֿון דוד האָפֿשטײן, וואָס איז מערקווירדיק צוליב זײַן צונױפֿפֿלעכט פֿון דײַטשישע, רוסישע און אוקראַיִנישע ליטעראַרישע טראַדיציעס מיט תּנכישע און מאָדערנע ייִדישע השפּעות (יודזשין אָרנשטיין)
• די ייִוואָ־גדולים אין זייערע אייגענע ווערטער, וווּ מע וועט לייענען די שריפֿטן פֿון א. טשעריקאָװער, מ. װײַנרײַך, י. לעשטשינסקי, י. מאַרק, ש. ניגער, נ. פּרילוצקי, ז. קלמנאָװיטש, ז. רייזען, י. שאַצקי און נ. שטיף (דוד בראַון)
The post ‘The Art of the Yiddish Monologue’ and other mini-courses in Yiddish appeared first on The Forward.
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Suspect at Large in Brown University Shooting that Killed at Least Two, Injured Eight
Police vehicles stand near the site of a mass shooting reported by authorities at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, U.S., December 13, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Taylor Coester
Police in Rhode Island were searching for a suspect in a shooting at Brown University in Providence in which two people died and eight were critically wounded at the Ivy League school, officials said.
Providence Mayor Brett Smiley told a news conference that police were still searching for the shooter, who struck at Brown’s Barus & Holley engineering building, where exams were taking place at the time. Officials said police were looking for a male dressed in black and were scouring local video cameras in the area for footage to get a better description of the suspect.
Smiley said officials could not yet disclose details about the victims, including whether they were students. He lamented the shooting.
“We are a week and a half away from Christmas. And two people died today and another eight are in the hospital,” he said. “So please pray for those families.”
Brown is on College Hill in Providence, Rhode Island‘s state capital. The university has hundreds of buildings, including lecture halls, laboratories and dormitories.
President Donald Trump told reporters at the White House that he had been briefed on the situation, which he called “terrible.”
“All we can do right now is pray for the victims and for those that were very badly hurt.”
Compared to many countries, mass shootings in schools, workplaces, and places of worship are more common in the US, which has some of the most permissive gun laws in the developed world. The Gun Violence Archive, which defines mass shootings as any incident in which four or more victims have been shot, has counted 389 of them this year in the US.
Last year the US had more than 500 mass shootings, according to the archive.
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Rights Groups Condemn Re-Arrest of Nobel Laureate Mohammadi in Iran
Taghi Ramahi, husband of Narges Mohammadi, a jailed Iranian women’s rights advocate, who won the 2023 Nobel Peace Prize, poses with an undated photo of himself and his wife, during an interview at his home in Paris, France, October 6, 2023. Photo: REUTERS/Christian Hartmann
International human rights groups have condemned the re-arrest of Nobel Peace Prize laureate Narges Mohammadi in Iran, with the Nobel committee calling on Iranian authorities to immediately clarify her whereabouts.
Mohammadi’s French lawyer, Chirine Ardakani, said on X that the human rights activist was arrested on Friday after denouncing the suspicious death of lawyer Khosrow Alikordi at his memorial ceremony in the northeastern city of Mashhad.
Mashhad prosecutor Hasan Hematifar told reporters on Saturday that Mohammadi was among 39 people arrested after the ceremony.
Hematifar said she and Alikordi’s brother had made provocative remarks at the event and encouraged those present “to chant ‘norm‑breaking’ slogans” and disturb the peace, the semi-official Tasnim news agency reported.
The prosecutor said Mashhad’s chief of police and another officer received knife wounds when trying to manage the scene.
CALLS FOR RELEASE
The Norwegian Nobel Committee called on Iranian authorities “to immediately clarify Mohammadi’s whereabouts, ensure her safety and integrity, and to release her without conditions.”
The European Union also called for Mohammadi’s release. “The EU urges Iranian authorities to release Ms Mohammadi, taking also into account her fragile health condition, as well as all those unjustly arrested in the exercise of their freedom of expression,” an EU spokesperson said on Saturday.
A video purportedly showing Mohammadi, 53, without the mandatory veil, standing on a car with a microphone and chanting “Long Live Iran” in front of a crowd, has gone viral on social media.
Ardakani said Mohammadi was beaten before her arrest.
Reporters Without Borders said four journalists and other participants were also arrested at the memorial for human rights lawyer Alikordi, who was found dead in his office on December 5.
Authorities gave the cause of his death as a heart attack, but rights groups have called for an investigation into his death.
The US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency said the crowd also chanted “death to the dictator,” a reference to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, as well as: “We fight, we die, we accept no humiliation.”
Mohammadi, who received the 2023 Nobel Peace Prize, has spent more than 10 years of her life in prison, most recently from November 2021 when she was charged with “propaganda against the state,” “acting against national security,” and membership of “illegal organizations.”
This year’s Nobel Peace Prize winner, the Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, said on Saturday that the opposition’s campaign in Venezuela was akin to that taking place in Iran.
“In Oslo this week, the world honored the power of conscience. I said to the ‘citizens of the world’ that our struggle is a long march toward freedom. That march is not Venezuelan alone. It is Iranian, it is universal,” she said on X on Saturday.