Join us at Congregation Beth Israel, 7 p.m. Monday, February 24, 2025, to hear from Yardena Schwartz, author of “Ghosts of a Holy War: The 1929 Massacre in Palestine that Ignited the Arab-Israeli Conflict.”
Click here to register (required).
Jan. 30 is your LAST CHANCE to join CBI members and friends to see Parade, a Tony-winning Broadway musical about an important chapter in the history of Jews in America. We will sit together at the 1:30 pm matinee, Sunday, April 27, 2025, at the 5th Avenue Theatre, Seattle.
Jan. 30 registration deadline is necessary to secure our block of orchestra seats.
Click here to register.
Video: https://www.5thavenue.org/
Book by Alfred Uhry
Music and Lyrics by Jason Robert Brown
Co-conceived and originally directed by Harold Prince
Direction by Tony Award® winner Michael Arden
Based on a true story, Leo and Lucille Frank are a newlywed Jewish couple struggling to make a life in the old red hills of Georgia. When Leo is accused of an unspeakable crime, the aftermath propels them into an unimaginable test of faith, humanity, justice and devotion. Riveting and gloriously hopeful, Parade reminds us that to love, we must truly see one another. The New York Times hails it as a Critic’s Pick and “the best-sung musical in many a New York season. It recalls an era of big casts, big stories, and big talent – a time when musicals actually felt like events.”
Congregation Beth Israel is pleased to offer an an afternoon program with Aimee Ginsburg Bikel, the widow of the legendary Theodore Bikel and director of The Theodore Bikel Legacy Project, on what would have been his centennial year.
Aimee will share stories and lessons from the life and legacy of this giant of Jewish culture, from Bikel’s childhood in Vienna through his magnificent 70-year career and his age-old teachings, with video, music, and wonderful anecdotes.
Although Bikel has been gone for 9 years, his remarkable life and legacy, his contributions in the fields of music, drama, yiddishkeit and tikkun olam continue to influence and move us.
As a stage actor, he was best known for his role as Tevye (which he played over 2,000 times), and for creating the role of Captain von Trapp on Broadway in the Sound of Music (the song “Edelweiss” was written for him personally). Bikel was also a distinguished, Oscar nominated film actor, in such films as My Fair Lady, The African Queen, The Russians Are Coming, and the Defiant Ones. He acted in more than 30 major films. His last film, the documentary “In the Shoes of Sholom Aleichem”, was made only a few years before he died, and was his tour de force.
But Bikel was perhaps best loved for his musical career. Co-founder of the Newport Folk Festival, he recorded 37 albums — more than 20 on the Elektra label. Considered one of the founding fathers of American folk music he sang with Pete Seeger and the Weavers and was responsible for the establishment of world folk music, singing and recording songs in Hebrew, Yiddish, Ladino and Russian, bringing the love of Yiddish and Israeli songs into the vogue with American listeners.
Bikel also was a tireless activist for human rights, for justice, and for peace, deeply involved in both Jewish issues as well as the betterment of the lives of fellow workers.
The program will be presented by Aimee Ginsburg Bikel, an award-winning journalist, author, poet, and public speaker. She has lived in Israel, India, and the United States and her work has been published worldwide. She served as the senior Israeli India Correspondent for more than a decade and has extensive experience as a radio editor and host. She has spoken to audiences around the world about her work and life experiences and is currently on tour with her book, “The City Of Light.” Her first volume of poetry, “Take Me With You” will be published in 2024.
Paintings and pastels by CBI member Beth Anna Margolis will be on display in the CBI foyer and social hall from September 27 through February 2025. Please join us for the official opening of the exhibition at the 7:30 pm Shabbat service on September 27. Beth Anna Margolis’ Artist Talk is scheduled for 1 pm on Sunday, October 20.
Read about Beth Anna Margolis and her art on Page 4 in the September/October 2024 Shul Shofar
Member tickets are included in membership benefits; nonmembers click here for ticket information.
HHD Sechedule 2023
Congregation Beth Israel and Temple Beth Or in Everett are recipients of a joint grant from the SAMIS Foundation in Seattle for a new Israel studies pilot program, MASSA: A Teen Journey Toward Israel and Self-discovery. We are now registering post B’nei Mitzvah students who are interested in participating.
The program will meet once a month, October 2022 and through May 2024, during regular religious school hours. The curriculum will focus on Israeli history, geography, people and current events, including a significant focus on environmentalism and climate work being done in Israel. Students from both synagogues will hear from guest speakers and have opportunities to study and learn together.
Students who have participated throughout the entire program will have the option of traveling to Israel with the group in July 2024 for a two-week immersive experience.