HaMatmid meets at 2 pm every Saturday.

Although it began as a way to study the books of the Tanach beyond the Torah, over the past decade we have studied many other topics. These have included how a Torah scroll is created, pre-High Holy Day workshops, deep dives into the Sh’ma and the prayers around the Sh’ma, and everything you need to know about counting the Omer.

(Online, at the same link as services, unless otherwise announced.)

Continuing discussions and raising new questions, this lay-led group meets on Zoom at the main WES link to further delve into the parshah from the preceding week, with volunteer facilitators changing weekly. The group has also been devoting the last half hour of its time each week to reading together through the books of the Nevi’im (Prophets), and Ketuvim (Writings) which follow the Pentateuch. Join us any week!

Zoom only; WES services link. Please check your e-newsletter or admin [at] westendsynagogue.org (contact the office) if you need information on how to join us virtually.

Deborah Dash Moore will discuss her latest book, Walkers in the City. Drawing on the experiences of, and photographs by, a generation of young Jewish photographers who belonged to the New York Photo League, she offers a new perspective on New York as seen through their eyes―a cityscape of working-class people and democratizing public transit. With their cameras, they pictured Gotham's abrasive social milieu.

Deborah Dash Moore is the former director of the Frankel Center for Judaic Studies and a Frederick G.L. Huetwell Professor of History and Judaic Studies at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan. She is the author of at least 15 books on Jewish culture in the United States. In recent years she has been teaching and studying documentary photography. She has also engaged in a number of major editorial projects, including the three-volume award winning City of Promises (2012 NYU Press).

In person and live-streamed.  For the link, please check your e-newsletter or admin [at] westendsynagogue.org (contact the office).

All are welcome to join our ongoing study of the Torah. We read the text in English and consider it from the perspectives of literature, sacred text, religious mythology, family lore, psychology, drama, history, pop culture, and more.

Drop in and join the conversation, or just listen and enjoy! No prior background or knowledge required. Usually the second and fourth Tuesdays of the month.

For Zoom access, please contact admin [at] westendsynagogue.org (Joan).

All are welcome to join our ongoing study of the Torah. We read the text in English and consider it from the perspectives of literature, sacred text, religious mythology, family lore, psychology, drama, history, pop culture, and more.

Drop in and join the conversation, or just listen and enjoy! No prior background or knowledge required. Usually the second and fourth Tuesdays of the month.

For Zoom access, please contact admin [at] westendsynagogue.org (Joan).

During an interview by Dan Van Doren, author Nancy Ludmerer will read from and discuss her stories and recent novel, Sarra Copia: A Locked-in Life.

Her other recent works include Collateral Damage: 48 Stories and Publications.

In person and on Zoom.  For Zoom link, please check your e-newsletter or admin [at] westendsynagogue.org (contact the office).

Don't miss the final event of the season in this beloved series:

Thursday, May 8, 2025 -3-4 selected stories curated by Dan Van Doren and read aloud by WES congregants on the theme of “rabbis and how they deal with families, doubters and skeptics, as well as their own place in the modern world.”

Jazz bassist Boots (Leon) Maleson will discuss jazz and the way that Jews have been involved with, and influenced, the music. This will include not only the multitude of Jewish musicians and composers, but also the Jewish writers, promoters, and club owners who have added to the story of jazz. We’ll also hear about some of the African-American musicians who had connections to Judaism.

For over 30 years, Boots (Leon) Maleson has been one of the top in-demand bassists in New York City in nearly every genre of music. He has worked with such jazz greats as Milt Jackson, Elvin Jones, Jaki Byard, Archie Shepp, Kenny Barron, Dexter Gordon, Stanley Cowell, Jack Wilson and Benny Carter. He has played in the Big Bands of Harry James, Jimmy Dorsey, Bob Alexander, the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra and the Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra. He has performed for many years with jazz artis Ronny Whyte, Daryl Sherman and Marlene Verplanck.

ZOOM ONLY
See weekly newsletter or Members' side of the website for Zoom link or admin [at] westendsynagogue.org (contact the office.)

Rabbi Lester Bronstein and his wife Cantor Benji Schiller will speak and sing on the theme of, “Preparing to Leave the Narrow Places: Personal and Global. Songs and Stories for Pre-Passover.”

In this 3rd session of Gali Rabin's three presentations, Israeli Emissary, Gali Rabin will analyze “the current Kibbutz movement in Israel.”

Gali Rabin has been Upper West Side Senior Shlicha (Israel Emissary), of the NY delegation of the Jewish Agency for Israel to UJA - Federation of NY, since 2022.