In the Jewish legal tradition there are rules restricting the female voice (kol isha) in public religious rituals. In a unique pre-Pesach program we celebrate these voices. Inspired by artist Judy Chicago’s Dinner Party, an installation on permanent exhibit at the Brooklyn Museum celebrating famous women, we present a new take on a uniquely Jewish ‘dinner party’—the Passover seder. Join us to hear the glorious voices of Jewish women who will present familiar and not so familiar seder melodies reflecting the richness of Jewish music and the spiritual and aesthetic power of women’s voices. The evening will begin with a light supper and text study on the subject of women's voices taught by Rabbi Judith Hauptman, Talmud professor at Jewish Theological Seminary. The musical program will feature the voices of Sarah Aroeste, Ladino-rock musician; Melissa Berman, senior cantorial student at Jewish Theological Seminary; Cantor Angela Buchdahl of Central Synagogue; Adrienne Cooper, renowned interpreter of Yiddish song; Galeet Dardashti, Middle Eastern vocalist and composer; Elizabeth Sacks, Associate Cantor at Central Synagogue and Basya Schechter, leader of the band Pharaoh's Daughter. Master teacher Rabbi Dianne Cohler-Esses will provide the narrative thread between seder selections. Co-sponsored with and held at Central Synagogue, Lexington Avenue and East 55th Street. For more information, please visit JCC Manhattan .

Ruth is a stranger in more senses than one. Who is this unknown woman who is destined to become mother of royalty? What is the process by which she finds her way into a foreign and unwelcoming culture and religious tradition? How does destiny come about? Dr. Avivah Zornberg, renowned teacher and author (most recently) of The Murmuring Deep: Reflections on the Biblical Unconscious, brings her unique perspective to bear on the stranger who becomes the ancestress of King David and the model for conversion to Judaism.

In response to many requests, we are delighted to offer a beginning class in Judeo-Spanish (also called Ladino) with an extraordinary teacher, Daisy Sadaka Braverman, a Ladino speaker and linguist. This is a rare opportunity to learn the language once spoken by Jews in North Africa, Italy, and throughout the Ottoman Empire—all the places where Sephardic Judaism flourished and its culture developed. Join us!