Jacob Meeting

The Jewish Art Collaborative Of Brooklyn

JACOB meets the third Wednesday of the month at 8pm in Hadas Gallery, 541 Myrtle Ave.

The Jewish Art Collaborative Of Brooklyn is an artist forum sponsored by the Rohr Jewish Center. JACOB serves as a discussion round-table between artist. We are a venue for artist to connect and present on their artwork

No Reservations , Walk-Ins Welcome

Mnyan on Myrtle

Join a hipster community in a fresh vision for translating the inspiration of Judaism for a new generation.

At the Rohr Jewish Centre, 543 Myrtle Ave
Friday Night – Shabbat Service at 7pm
(Starting after Labor Day)

Reinvent the Synagogue as a relaxed and enjoyable setting for personal growth and communal connection.

No Reservations , Walk-Ins Welcome

High Holidays

The Rohr Center serving the Pratt Community High Holidays. Join a community of artists for a contemplative, intellectually stimulating and heart-centered experience.

Services led with meaning, melody and humor by Rabbi Simcha.

English/Hebrew books provided.

Rosh Hashanah (Day 1)

Thursday, September 29
10 – 12pm: Services
(followed by nosh & schmooze)

Rosh Hashanah (Day 2)

Friday, September 30
10 – 12pm: Services
(followed by nosh & schmooze)

Yom Kippur

Friday, October 7
6.30pm: Kol Nidrei
Saturday, October 8
10-1pm: Services
6:30pm: Neila
(followed by serious breakfast)

The Rohr Center – 543 Myrtle Ave
bet. Steuben & Emerson (Facing the Pratt Store) Clinton Hill / Bed Stuy
No Tickets, No Appeals, No Charge.
Everybody Welcome
Reservations Requested, Walk-Ins Welcome

RSVP:Info@RohrCenter.com

Patriot Games: Is Captain America Too American?

In March 1941 — nine months before the attack on Pearl Harbor impelled America to enter the Second World War — one colorful American hero had already joined the battle: Captain America.

The famous front cover of “Captain America #1″ showed its titular hero punching Hitler straight in the face, sending the ridiculous looking Furher tumbling backwards.

With that single unforgettable image, the Nazi ideal of the Aryan ubermensch was dealt a fatal blow, as was what remained of the once respectable American “isolationist” movement.

As the first comic book character to enlist in World War II, Captain America was an instant success, selling almost one million copies per issue. In a way, that’s not surprising, considering the character’s pedigree. Captain America was created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby – the second-generation Jews who made no secret of their source of inspiration. Simon, noted the character of Captain America, “was our way of lashing out at the Nazi menace.”

In that first issue of the Marvel comic, readers meet the superhero’s “everyman” alter ego, Steve Rogers. A sickly Depression-era child, Rogers loses his parents at a young age, then tries to enlist in the military. Too feeble to join the regular forces, Rogers volunteers for a top-secret military medical experiment known as “Operation Rebirth,” being overseen by one Dr. Reinstein. (Note that character’s very Jewish name, one that sounds suspiciously like “Albert Einstein.” In 1941, Einstein was a wildly popular — if little understood — cultural icon in the real world.)

In need of a human “guinea pig” to test his formula, Dr. Reinstein injects Rogers with his Secret-Soldier Serum. Unfortunately, a Nazi spy infiltrates the experiment and kills Dr. Reinstein, leaving the newly empowered Rogers as the serum’s sole beneficiary. Hailed by the U.S. military as a superhuman savior, Rogers dons a patriotic costume of red, white, and blue, with a star on his chest and stripes on his waist. Captain America is quickly dispatched to his most important early assignment: destroy his evil “super soldier” counterpart, a Nazi agent called the Red Skull.

Fast forward to 2011: this summer, Captain America returns to the big screen. Unfortunately, the spirit of 1941 (let alone 1776) is a long way off. In an era of anti-Americanism (at home and abroad) the movie’s director and star have been playing down the character’s “American” identity.

Director Joe Johnston insists, “…this is not about America so much as it is about the spirit of doing the right thing.” Chris Evans, who plays the title character, echoed the sentiment: “I’m not trying to get too lost in the American side of it. This isn’t a flag-waving movie.”

This isn’t the first time Hollywood has eagerly de-Americanized superheroes, sometimes by undercutting traces of “corny” patriotism with doses of winking irony. Take the 2006 film “Superman Returns,” which has Clark Kent’s boss cynically describing Superman as fighting for “Truth, Justice… all that stuff.”

Or take the 2009 movie based on a hugely popular toy from Hasbro. The film’s title, “G.I Joe: A Real American Hero” was trimmed down to just “G.I Joe,” the toy’s iconic logo with the American flag was removed, and the storyline transformed the title character’s American anti-terror squad into an international peacekeeping task force that apparently took its marching orders from the United Nations.

The fact is, Hollywood movies today live or die based on worldwide ticket and DVD sales, and in a world in which American flags are burned regularly from Paris to the Punjab, received wisdom has it that anything too “American” is international box office poison.

Anticipating anti-American blowback, Paramount and Marvel Studios actually offered distributors the choice of marketing the new movie using its real title – “Captain America: The First Avenger” – or opting for simply calling it “The First Avenger” instead.

Most distributors say they’re going with the original title, eager to take advantage of decades of “Captain America” brand recognition. However, three countries – Russia, Ukraine and South Korea – have decided to promote the movie as “The First Avenger.”

By literally cloaking their character in patriotism, Kirby and Simon displayed unabashed love of, and confidence in, the United States. Like many Jewish Americans during World War II, such as the heads of Hollywood studios, they felt duty bound to use their creativity in the service of their country.

Alas, times have changed. Hollywood is now more concerned with international box office numbers than national pride, never mind respecting the obvious wishes of the two artists without whom Captain America wouldn’t exist.

Simcha Weinstein is an internationally known best-selling author. His first book, Up, Up and Oy Vey! received the Benjamin Franklin Award for the best book of 2007. He has appeared on CNN “Showbiz Tonight,” and NPR, and has been profiled in leading publications including The New York Times, The Miami Herald and the London Guardian. He is a regular contributor to the Jerusalem Post and Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA). He chairs the Religious Affairs Committee at the renowned New York art school, Pratt Institute. His latest book Shtick Shift: Jewish Humor in the 21st century (Barricade Books: 2008) is on sale now.

The content on this page is copyrighted by the author and can only be reprinted with permission from the author.

Join Rabbi Simcha for Shabbos Dinner

Dude: How come you don’t roll on Saturday?
Walt: I’m Shomer Shabbos!

What: Join a community of artists for networking opportunities and an gourmet candle lit 4 course dinner.

When: Fridays 8pm (Jewish time)

Where: The home of Rabbi Simcha (campus Rabbi)
Meet in the lobby of 111 Steuben street (Glass Building facing White Castle)

Everybody welcome
Free of charge
Reservations requested
Walk-in’s welcome
Oats soda and Chicken soup

Click here to contact Rabbi Simcha and reserve your place at the Shabbos table!

Art School Rabbi Purim Special Edition

Rabbi Simcha.com is pleased to present the Art School Rabbi Comic, an on going satirical series about Rabbi Simcha’s life as campus rabbi

Please use the comments form below. We welcome all feedback and look forward to hearing your ideas for future storylines.

Art School Rabbi is illustrated by talented artist Dave Ben-Yshay.
Check out his amazing website Shkoyach – The New Age Jewish Comic Strip.

Inaugural Student Art Show Party

Rabbi Simcha invites you all to the Inaugural Student Art Show Party

Sunday March 6th at 8pm
Hadas Gallery 541 Myrtle Ave (across from the Pratt store)
Opening Reception 2-5pm

BEATS BITES AND ARTS
Hadas Gallery is a project of the Rohr Jewish Student Center, a nonprofit educational and cultural center serving the Pratt community

An evening with Martin Fletcher

A Benefit for The Rohr Jewish Student Center Serving Pratt Institute and the Downtown Brooklyn Collegiate Community

An evening with Martin Fletcher NBC News Israel Bureau Chief

MARTIN FLETCHER is one of the most respected foreign correspondents in television news. He has won five Emmys, a Columbia university duPont award, and several Overseas Press Club awards. He spent the last thirty years as NBC News Bureau Chief in Tel Aviv. His first book “Breaking News,” received universal recognition as one of the best books ever on the work of a foreign correspondent. He recently published his second book, “Walking Israel: A Personal Search for the Soul of a Nation.

Sunday, December 12, 2010 at 7pm
Pratt Institute Library – Alumni Reading Room, 5th Floor 200 Willoughby Avenue, Brooklyn I NY 11205

7 PM: Buffet Reception | 8 PM: Lecture
Reservations Requested – Limited Seating RSVP: rabbi@pratt.edu / 718 866 6815

No Gelt, No Glory

Welcome to “Extreme Sports: Jewish Style.” I’ll leave the suicidal skateboarding to the kids. Being a rabbi, I’m more of a dreidel blackbelt!

While they aren’t as transformative as the Kabbalah or as lucrative as a lottery win, I’m uniquely qualified to reveal to you another very powerful secret of the universe: the Upside Down Dreidel Spin.

This is the bubbie of all spins, but in the spirit of Chanukah, remember: just as the oil in the temple burned for eight days, a great dreidel player must cultivate patience and perseverance in order to master this move.

Step 1

Despite what the song says, most dreidels aren’t “made out of clay.” That’s the good news, because when it comes to dreidels, materials matter.

Start with a good quality dreidel, not one of the cheap plastic ones. The ideal dreidel is made of wood and measure about 1-inch square.

Here’s the key: make sure the very top of the handle is smooth, without any nicks or cracks.

Step 2

You also need a hard, smooth surface to spin on. Based on my extensive experience, I highly recommend the underside of a challah board.

Now, grip the dreidel’s handle between your index finger and thumb, with your palm facing upwards. The back of your hand should be no more than 6-inches above the spinning surface.

Step 3

Spin the dreidel with a snap of your thumb and index finger as you normally would — but release the dreidel with a gentle upward toss.

Step 4

Watch the amazed and impressed expressions on the faces of your family and friends.

Because at the end of the day, that’s what it’s all about. The very shape of the dreidel is a metaphor: when all its square, chunky contours spin, the dreidel looks round and smooth.

And just as the circle has no top and bottom and all its points are equivalent, so too is the family. When we come together in a circle of embrace, each member is equally important.

However, that doesn’t stop me from wanting to outdo them all with my Upside Down Dreidel Spin. I’d better start practicing now if I want to be ready for Chanukah.

Simcha Weinstein is an internationally known best-selling author. His first book, Up, Up and Oy Vey! received the Benjamin Franklin Award for the best book of 2007. He has appeared on CNN “Showbiz Tonight,” and NPR, and has been profiled in leading publications including The New York Times, The Miami Herald and the London Guardian. He is a regular contributor to the Jerusalem Post and Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA). He chairs the Religious Affairs Committee at the renowned New York art school, Pratt Institute. His latest book Shtick Shift: Jewish Humor in the 21st century (Barricade Books: 2008) is on sale now.

JSU’s Menorapalooza 2010!

Join the Pratt JSU for a Chanukah Party replete with FOOD and a Menorah Building Competition!

Latkes, doughnuts and more!

Come build a Menorah from recycled materials: Wood, metal, ceramics…anything goes.

First Prize
Your Menorah will be THE OFFICIAL PRATT Menorah
to be lit by President Dr. Tom Schutte.
Also, a $100 PrattStore Gift Card.

Second Prize
$50 PrattStore Gift Card

Third Prize
$25 PrattStore Gift Card

A note about Menorahs: A Menorah consists of 8 lamps (candles/oil) arranged in a straight line. An additional “helper” lamp is placed alongside but separate, usually (but it doesn’t have to be) elevated.
Have a look at the pictures for inspiration but DO YOUR THANG!

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