Shepherd School of Music Concert: Sounds of the Sephardic Diaspora
2024-02-25 16:00 (America/Chicago) | Congregation Emanu El, 1500 Sunset Blvd, Houston, Texas, 77005, United States
Enjoy an afternoon of music by composers who were influenced by their Jewish or Sephardic heritage, featuring Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco. We are honored to be joined by his granddaughter, Diana Castelnuovo-Tedesco, who will teach us about her grandfather’s life, music and legacy.
Presented by Congregation Emanu El and the Evelyn Rubenstein JCC

Toddler Tales: Story & Play Time
2024-02-29 10:30, 2024-03-07 10:30, 2024-03-21 10:30 | Indoor Playscape @ the J, 5601 S Braeswood Blvd, Houston, Texas, 77096
Join your friends for Toddler Tales: Story & Play Time in the J’s indoor playscape! Hear a children’s story and stay and play in the J’s indoor playscape!
These fun weekly story times will feature guest readers from the Houston Jewish Community.
Toddler Tales: Story & Play Time is FREE and open to the public, though spots are limited and reservations are required.
For questions and more information, please contact Andrea Wolfe at awolfe@erjcchouston.org or 713.792.3200 ext. 3109.

Ben Noam: New Works Gallery Opening
2024-02-29 18:00 - 20:00 | Zinn Boardroom / Art Gallery, 5601 S Braeswood Blvd, Houston, TX, 77096
Join us at the Zinn Family Boardroom / Art Gallery for the opening of Ben Noam: New Works with the exhibit’s artist, Ben Noam.
New York based contemporary artist, Ben Noam will be presenting new works in an exhibition that deals with contemporary Judaica and Jewish identity in today’s society. The exhibition will feature a series of charcoal drawings and Ben’s ceramic mushroom menorahs that are for sale at The Jewish Museum in New York City.
The exhibit will run from February 29 – March 29.

Open Gym & Tot Shabbat
2024-03-01 10:30 - 12:00, 2024-03-08 10:30 - 12:00, 2024-03-15 10:30 - 12:00, 2024-03-22 10:30 - 12:00 | Houston Gymnastics Center, 5601 S. Braeswood, Houston, TX, 77096
Celebrate Shabbat with your friends and family with open gym in the gymnastics center followed by musical services.
Open gym will begin at 10:30 AM in the gymnastics center, followed by music and services at 11:30 AM in the atrium of the Samuels Family Community Pavilion. RSVPs are required and spaces are limited.
Cost: $5 (including fees)/child for open gym
Space is limited and reservations are required.
*Tot Shabbat is free and open to the public. Cost only applies to children attending open gym.

Children's Scholarship Ball
2024-03-01 - 2024-03-02 | Evelyn Rubenstein JCC, 5601 S. Braeswood, Houston, TX, 77096, United States
The annual Children’s Scholarship Ball is an evening of dinner, dancing and silent auction. Proceeds benefit the Irvin Kaplan Children’s Scholarship Fund, which provides financial support for children of all ages to attend early childhood education and summer camps.
Learn more here!

Houston Jewish Film Festival: Bella!
2024-03-06 19:30 | Kaplan Theatre @ the J, 5601 S. Braeswood, Houston, TX, 77096
INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY CELEBRATION
Bella!
Wednesday, March 6 | 7:30 PM
Documentary | Directed by Jeff L. Lieberman
2023 | USA | English | 102 Min. | Kaplan Theatre
Guest Speaker Leandra Zarnow, author of Battling Bella, in attendance
Bella Abzug, daughter of Russian Jewish immigrants, was a pivotal and trailblazing figure in 1970s politics. With her successful campaign for U.S. Congress, Bella took her never-say-die advocacy for equal rights and justice to Washington. Using fantastic old footage and interviews with Hillary Clinton, Gloria Steinem, Barbra Streisand and more, Jeff Lieberman’s documentary shows Bella’s lifelong activist efforts—as well as her simultaneously charming and abrasive personality—as she blazes a trail for women’s rights.
Sponsored by the Lillian Kaiser Lewis Foundation in honor Dolores Wilkenfeld
Community Partners: Houston Chapter of Hadassah, Jewish Feminist Reading Group, NCJW Greater Houston Section, Rice University’s Program in Jewish Studies

Spring Break Camp
2024-03-11 09:00 - 15:30, 2024-03-12 09:00 - 15:30, 2024-03-13 09:00 - 15:30, 2024-03-14 09:00 - 15:30, 2024-03-15 09:00 - 15:30 | Evelyn Rubenstein JCC, 5601 S. Braeswood, Houston, TX, 77096, United States
Kinder & Kaleidoscope (first and second grade)
Spring has sprung and we can’t wait to play at the J! Experience our beloved J Camp rooms with counselor-led activities, camp crafts and board games plus tons of fun in the arts studio, gymnastics center, sports gym and aquatics complex. Each day will have a different theme as we explore the different areas of the J.

Mascot Monday
Make and Take Tuesday
Wacky Wednesday
Thank a Super Hero Thursday
Rodeo Shabbat Friday

Best of Houston (third through fifth grade)
We can’t wait to explore some of Houston’s most exciting attractions! The campers will have a blast traveling to Houston’s most sought-after attractions, and then come back and spend the afternoon exploring different areas of the J including the gymnastics center and aquatics complex.

Monday: Sam Sann Warriors All Star Ninja
Tuesday: Top Golf
Wednesday: Broomball and Ice Skating at Sugar Land Ice and Sports
Thursday: Jurassic World Exhibit
Friday: Oil Ranch

Safe Sitter Babysitter Training Class
2024-03-15 09:30 | Evelyn Rubenstein JCC, 5601 S. Braeswood, Houston, TX, 77096, United States
Do you have a teen in grades 6, 7 or 8? Make sure they are ready for anything that comes their way. Sign them up for the J’s upcoming Safe Sitter class on March 15, 2024. Register early as classes fill quickly!

Purim-Palooza: A Purim Family Event
2024-03-17 10:00 - 12:00 | Merfish Teen Center, 9000 S. Rice, Houston, TX, 77096
Presented in collaboration with Israeli American Counsel (IAC) Houston
Honor the resilience of our Jewish community this Purim!
Join us for a fun family Purim event with music, a bounce house, craft stations, Purim parade and lots more.
Come dressed in your favorite costume.
Cost: $8 per child

Houston Jewish Film Festival: Let the Party Begin
2024-03-20 19:30 | Kaplan Theatre @ the J, 5601 S. Braeswood, Houston, TX, 77096
SNEAK PREVIEW
Let the Party Begin
Wednesday, March 20 | 7:30 PM
Drama | Directed by Aki Avni
2023 | Israel | Hebrew with English subtitles | 87 Min. | Kaplan Theatre
This award-winning drama is the story of the country’s greatest film producer whose film wins at the Cannes Film festival. Two years later, post Covid and a difficult divorce, Jonathan is struggling and must sell everything. Unaware of the situation, his new wife decides to throw him a surprise party to celebrate his win at Cannes. When Jonathan finds out, he wires the house with cameras: who wouldn’t want to be a fly on the wall at his own Hollywood party, to really hear what people think of him?
Patron Sponsors: Susan and Sandy Baum
Community Partners: AIPAC – American Israel Public Affairs Committee, Congregation Shma Koleinu

Babies & Ballet
2024-03-21 09:20 - 10:20 | Indoor Playscape @ the J, 5601 S Braeswood Blvd, Houston, Texas, 77096
Combining dance and music, Babies & Ballet provides entertainment for your baby while you move your body.
Liberally called ballet, this class will flow through easy dance steps and stretches. Here, babies being babies are welcome! This is a safe space for all to feel understood without judgment.
Please wear socks and comfortable clothes for easy movement.
This class is intended for infant age babies and their caregiver.
Cost: Free, though advance registration is required. Please RSVP one time for each caregiver/baby combination.

Hamantaschen Happiness: The Purim Pastry Party
2024-03-21 19:00 - 21:00 | Cramer-Jacobs Family Culinary Studio @ the J, 5601 S Braeswood Blvd, Houston, TX, 77096
Indulge in a creative twist on traditional hamantaschen with pastry chef Sarah Schnitzer. Explore innovative recipes, like chocolate hamantaschen filled with luscious banana jam. Unleash your culinary creativity, perfect your pastry skills, and savor the delightful fusion of flavors in these unique Purim treats.
Menu:
Chocolate banana hamantaschen
Blueberry cheesecake hamantaschen
Cheddar and tomato jam hamantaschen
Ages: 12 and above
Skill level: This class is for all skill levels, ages 12 and above.
Cost:
Member: $55
Public $77
Instructor: Sarah Schnitzer

Houston Jewish Film Festival: The Dinner
2024-03-21 19:30 | Kaplan Theatre @ the J, 5601 S. Braeswood, Houston, TX, 77096
SNEAK PREVIEW
The Dinner
Thursday, March 21 | 7:30 PM
Drama | Directed by Matti Harari and Arik Lubetzki
2020 | Israel | Hebrew and Russian with English subtitles | 79 Min. | Kaplan Theatre
A smart dinner party turns into a cold buffet of secrets and lies in this gripping film. Emma and Gregori, new Israeli immigrants from Ukraine, yearn for their old lives. Alon and Yael, a well to do young couple, find their marriage in crisis. While Yael flirts with Alon’s best friend, Alon initiates an affair with Emma who, unbeknownst to him, is married to one of his employees. When all five gather one evening things begin to unravel dramatically.

Houston Jewish Film Festival 2024
2024-03-22 - 2024-04-04 | Evelyn Rubenstein JCC, 5601 S. Braeswood, Houston, TX, 77096, United States
New promising, entertaining and exceptional award-winning films are featured in this annual festival, which brings Jewish lives and stories to the big screen. The Festival, now in its 20th year, shines the spotlight on Jewish and Israeli culture, art and history.

Heroes, Handstands & Havdalah
2024-03-23 16:00 - 17:30 | Houston Gymnastics Center, 5601 S. Braeswood, Houston, TX, 77096
Unleash your inner superhero while we close out the end of Shabbat and welcome a new week with HEROES, HANDSTANDS & HAVDALAH! Run, stretch and tumble in the gymnastics center followed by a musical havdalah program.
We will learn about a wonderful hero, Esther from the Purim story. Kids will enjoy superhero-themed crafts and snack on some Hamentaschen. Come dressed in costume to celebrate Purim.
The indoor playscape will be open for children 5 and under only to play in during the event.
For kids ages 0-10 and their families
RSVPs are required and spaces are limited. Please RSVP PER CHILD.
Cost is $5 per child (including fees).

HC68 Purim Party
2024-03-23 19:00 | Merfish Teen Center, 9000 S. Rice, Houston, TX, 77096
Celebrate Purim with the J! Celebrate with live music, arcade games, airbrush tattoos, raffles and hamantaschen! Don’t forget your Purim costume!

Houston Jewish Film Festival: June Zero
2024-03-24 19:00 | Kaplan Theatre @ the J, 5601 S. Braeswood, Houston, TX, 77096
OPENING NIGHT
June Zero
Sunday, March 24 | 7:00 PM
Drama | Directed by Jake Paltrow
2022 | Israel | Hebrew, with English subtitles | 105 Min. | Kaplan Theatre
American filmmaker Jake Paltrow revisits the 1962 trial of Adolf Eichmann with a gripping Hebrew-language historical drama centered on three Israeli characters on the periphery of Eichmann’s last days: a precocious Libyan immigrant boy, a Moroccan prison guard and a Polish Holocaust survivor working for the prosecution. With Eichmann relegated to the background, the trio’s seemingly ordinary lives become intertwined in the extraordinary, seminal moment. Warmly saturated 16mm filming gives a rich, antique texture to all three storylines.
20th Anniversary Celebration: 6:15 PM – 7:00 PM
Join us on Opening Night to celebrate 20 years of the Houston Jewish Film Festival with light bites, live music and a glimpse down memory lane.
Underwritten by The Margolis Family
Community Partners: Congregation Beth Israel, Holocaust Museum Houston

School's Out Camp
2024-03-25 09:00 - 15:30 | Evelyn Rubenstein JCC, 5601 S. Braeswood, Houston, TX, 77096, United States
School’s out, so let’s have some fun at the J! Kindergarten through 5th graders will stay active with counselor-led activities, camp crafts and board games plus tons of fun in the art studio, gymnastics center and aquatics complex. Camp hours are 9:00 AM – 3:30 PM and PM Care is available from 3:30 PM – 5:30 PM.

Opera To Go! Katie: the Strongest of the Strong
2024-03-25 11:00 - 12:00 | Kaplan Theatre @ the J, 5601 S. Braeswood, Houston, TX, 77096
Opera To Go! is Houston Grand Opera’s fully staged, high-energy, 45-minute opera, sung entirely in English and designed with students and families in mind. Join HGO in the Kaplan Theatre at Evelyn Rubenstein JCC on March 25 at 11:00 a.m. for this year’s Opera to Go!, Katie: the Strongest of the Strong.
ABOUT KATIE: THE STRONGEST OF THE STRONG:
HGO’s 2023-2024 Opera to Go! is the company-commissioned opera Katie: the Strongest of the Strong, by composer Faye Chiao and librettist Anton Dudley. The opera made its digital world premiere in 2020. The 45-minute opera celebrates women’s strength and confidence through the inspiring true story of protagonist Katie Sandwina, a circus strongwoman who defied expectations and went on to help lead the U.S. suffrage movement in the early 1900s.
Like the story of Esther, The Strongest of the Strong illuminates a remarkable woman from the darkness of history. Katie was married to a Jewish man, raised her kids Jewish and is buried in a Jewish cemetery.
Tickets are FREE! Please reserve a ticket per person requiring a seat.

Houston Jewish Film Festival: Children of Nobody
2024-03-25 19:30 | Kaplan Theatre @ the J, 5601 S. Braeswood, Houston, TX, 77096
Children of Nobody
Monday, March 25 | 7:30 PM
Drama | Directed by Erez Tadmor
2022 | Israel | Hebrew with English subtitles | 108 Min. | Kaplan Theatre
Inspired by a true story, this compassionate drama tells the story of at-risk youths living on the fringe of society on the outskirts of Tel Aviv. Margalit provides the neglected boys refuge and motherly love in a shelter she runs in a run down old house. When tragedy strikes, and with real estate developers threatening to demolish the home, Jackie, a graduate of the shelter, comes up with an ingenious, risky plan to ensure that he and the boys can continue living together. Erez Tadmor’s new film tenderly depicts their struggles and aspirations.
Community Partners: Congregation Emanu El

Houston Jewish Film Festival: Home
2024-03-26 19:30 | Kaplan Theatre @ the J, 5601 S. Braeswood, Houston, TX, 77096
Home
Tuesday, March 26 | 7:30 PM
Drama | Directed by Benny Fredman
2023 Israel | Hebrew with English subtitles | 111 Min. | Kaplan Theatre
This dramatic portrayal of a young and recently married Orthodox man’s dream to open a computer store in his Ultra-Orthodox neighborhood goes awry when his entire community sees him as an existential threat. His whole world turned upside down, his own neighbors threaten his home and put his marriage to the test. Nominated for multiple awards and based on the filmmaker’s own experience, this film depicts the constraints of free will within a predetermined world.
Patron Sponsors: Esther and Gary Polland
Community Partners: Emanu El Sisterhood
