Cafe Anatevka November 4, 2007

The newly expanded and enhanced Jewish Learning program at Congregation Beth Elohim--recipient of the 2007 Union of Reform Judaism Congregation of Learners Award--is proud to present Café Anatevka: Subversive Yiddish Songs of Humor and Protest. Led by Congregation Beth Elohim Cantor Janet Leuchter with special guest Lorin Sklamberg of the Klezmatics, this one-of-a-kind event blends music and learning for an illuminating experience and a wonderful time.

America’s Ashkenazi Jews have traditionally been typed as subversively funny and passionately politically involved. We’ve been accused of fomenting the mass political ideologies and movements of the last two centuries—from Karl Marx on the left to Ayn Rand and the Neo-Cons on the right.

Through the lens of music, Café Anatevka will dig up the East European roots of this sly and fiery dual image, as participants sing and explore a range of earthy, biting, and passionate Yiddish songs of humor and protest sung in homes and shops, on kibbutzim and picket lines, in cafes and theater. These songs paint an indelible portrait of intensely fermenting tradition and change among people who have always taken ideas seriously.

Participants should come prepared to sing (or listen), to learn, and to enjoy.
This class will take place in the Congregation Beth Elohim Rotunda, 271 Garfield Place at 8th Avenue in Park Slope, Brooklyn. Transliterated texts and refreshments will be provided. There is a $15 class fee.

Janet Leuchter, cantor at Congregation Beth Elohim, was the vocalist of the klezmer revival’s first all-women band, Klez-meydlekh. She has been studying, performing and teaching Yiddish songs for many years, and loves introducing people to the gems of this astonishingly rich and moving repertoire.

Lorin Sklamberg—singer, accordionist, guitarist—is a founding member of the Grammy-award-winning The Klezmatics, and performs and teaches Yiddish song and klezmer music internationally. A Park Slope resident, he is also the sound archivist at the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research.

Congregation Beth Elohim is located at the corner of Garfield Place and Eighth Avenue in Park Slope, Brooklyn. For directions or to find out more about our packed schedule of Jewish Learning courses and programs, please visit www.congregationbethelohim.org.

Official Website: http://www.congregationbethelohim.org