Rejoice in the vastness of Jewish culture in America. Trace family portraits from the Old Country to the New World through
Interactive Dramatic Performances. Experience the challenges and salute the achievements Jews made in America. Celebrate the freedoms this country offers. Explore what it means to be a Jew in America.

By integrating the Arts and Jewish learning, programs such as Ethnic Journeys: Celebrating 350 Years to American Jewry, delight in the spirit of Judaism. The Board of Jewish Education brings talent from all walks of creative arts and education to your door. You can book these exciting Interactive Programs for your school, synagogue, community center, or organization. Please contact us with any inquiries.

350 Years of New York Jewry
Written and Performed by :
Alisa Phillips & Ester Fischer

The first Jews settled in New Amsterdam as early as 1654. They hoped to find lasting freedom and peace in the Dutch colony. Throughout American history they contributed to the struggle for human liberty, equality and justice.

This two-session interactive performance will acquaint its audience with the historical timeline of New York Jewry. While ‘passing through’ Jewish neighborhoods such as the Lower East Side of Manhattan, it will introduce characters from American Jewish History including Asher Levy and Emma Lazarus. Its colorful portrayals of Jewish life will illuminate the contribution of the Jews in the New World.

'Women of Valor':
A Walk through Jewish Women's Herstory (commissioned by the Jewish Women's Archive)
Written and Performed by: Vered Hankin

An interactive storytelling program interweaving ancient folktales with true historical encounters of prominent American Jewish women. Take a walk into Barbara Meyerhoff's humorous and touching account of the day to day life of an elderly Jewish community in California; peer into Bobbie Rosenfeld's Olympic Gold Medal winning stint; experience the headstrong political hat-woman Bella Abzug and fall into the magical grace of New York choreographer Anna Sokolow.

Jews of Spain
Written and Performed by: Misha Shulman

The Jews contributed much during the Golden Age of Spain. They held influential positions in areas such as government, science and business. They blossomed there and then wilted with the onset of the Inquisition as they were forced to convert, flee or die.

Seeking religious freedom many of the Jews of Spain fled to the New World. Here they faced challenges and fought to establish a secure Jewish life. Very soon the Jews were able to own land; they built a synagogue, established a butcher shop and set aside land for a cemetery. The Jewish immigrants from Spain set the foundations for Jewish life in America.

The Jews of Germany
Written by: Ruth Priscilla Kirstein
Performed by: R.P.K & Michael Goldstrom

Here we learn of the Samsons, a Family of German Court Jews. Why were they given a schutzbrief? What privileges and duties did it entail? How did the Samson family adapt and change from one generation to the next? How did they interpret and practice their Judaism?

This portrait of history will dramatize the story of a family and its contribution to Jewish and German culture. It will bring us closer to the people who initiated the development of Reform Judaism.

The Jews of Eastern Europe
Written by: Alisa Phillips
Performed by: Alisa Phillips & Ester Fischer

A Jewish town had to have a Shul or synagogue, a Bais Medrash or religious school, a Mikveh, a ritual bath, a Shokhet, a kosher butcher and a Bais-Kvaros a cemetery. An elected group, the Kahal, managed the town. Only in the Jewish towns was there democracy in Eastern Europe.

The promise of the Goldene Medina, the Golden Land, brought Jews seeking safety from Eastern Europe to the United States. Many hoped to live freely as a Jewish community, or Kehillah.