Congregation for Humanistic Judaism

Shabbat Candle Lighting
2026-01-16 18:30 - 19:20, 2026-01-09 18:30 - 19:20, 2026-01-02 18:30 - 19:20, 2025-12-26 18:30 - 19:20, 2025-12-19 18:30 - 19:20, 2025-12-05 18:30 - 19:20, 2025-11-28 18:30 - 19:20, 2025-11-21 18:30 - 19:20 (America/New_York) and 2 more dates | Zoom
Zoom opens at 6:30pm just to kibbutz.
At 7pm we light candles with a short service. We listen to music and short lectures. Watch for the Zoom link on the listserv Friday afternoon.

Board Meeting
2026-01-13 19:00, 2025-12-09 19:00, 2025-11-11 19:00 | Zoom
We will begin work on the year’s programs and any activities of specific interest.
Please send me subjects of interest you wish the Board to consider in order to prepare the agenda.
Open to all CHJ members. Request the Zoom link from Previn Patel.

Women's Rap
2026-01-11 10:30 - 12:30 | Member’s residence
Come join other CHJ women to talk about a topic to be chosen at the meeting. It’s a great way to get to know one another.
Venue to be advised. Please watch the listserv .
RSVP: rcfnpl2@gmail.com

Book Group - The Yid by Paul Goldberg
2026-01-10 10:30 - 12:30 | Member’s residence
CHJ BOOK GROUP

The Yid by Paul Goldberg

Saturday, January 10th at 10:30 AM

debut novel of daring originality, The Yid guarantees that you will never think of Stalinist Russia, Shakespeare, theater, Yiddish, or history in the same way again Moscow, February 1953. A week before Stalin’s death, his final pogrom, “one that would forever rid the Motherland of the vermin,” is in full swing. Three government goons arrive in the middle of the night to arrest Solomon Shimonovich Levinson, an actor from the defunct State Jewish Theater. But Levinson, though an old man, is a veteran of past wars, and his shocking response to the intruders sets in motion a series of events both zany and deadly as he proceeds to assemble a ragtag group to help him enact a mad-brilliant plot: the assassination of a tyrant.
While the setting is Soviet Russia, the backdrop is Shakespeare: A mad king has a diabolical plan to exterminate and deport his country’s remaining Jews. Levinson’s cast of unlikely heroes includes Aleksandr Kogan, a machine-gunner in Levinson’s Red Army band who has since become one of Moscow’s premier surgeons; Frederick Lewis, an African American who came to the USSR to build smelters and stayed to work as an engineer, learning Russian, Esperanto, and Yiddish; and Kima Petrova, an enigmatic young woman with a score to settle. And wandering through the narrative, like a crazy Soviet Ragtime, are such historical figures as Paul Robeson, Solomon Mikhoels, and Marc Chagall. As hilarious as it is moving, as intellectual as it is violent, Paul Goldberg’s The Yid is a tragicomic masterpiece of historical fiction.
New CHJ participants are always very welcome; All CHJ members are invited.
Let bookgroup@humanisticjews.org know if you are planning to attend, or if you want to be put onto the CHJ Book Club mailing list.

Hanukkah Party - Save the Date ***NEW TIME***
2025-12-13 14:00
CHJ’s Pot Luck Dinner Party with Homemade Latkes and return of the popular Donut Decoration Board (with ice cream and toppings)

100 latkes baked by CHJ chefs
Music by Adam & Howard of The Shul Band – get ready for some dancing
Light the menorah with CHJ friends
Bring your guests
Please stock up on non-perishables to support our food drive for Operation Hope. Remember to bring food for neighbors in need…
…along with your pot luck dish for the party

Watch the listserv for venue.

Women's Rap
2025-12-07 10:30 - 12:30 | TBA
Come join other CHJ women to talk about a topic to be chosen at the meeting. It’s a great way to get to know one another.
This month the meeting will be held on Zoom Please watch the listserv for the link.
RSVP: rcfnpl2@gmail.com

New Members' Brunch
2025-11-23 12:00 - 14:00 | Member’s residence
CHJ Pot Luck Brunch to welcome New Members

Attendance is limited to 35, so please respond to debbietechct@gmail.com to secure your spot

Shabbat Program - SAVE THE DATE
2025-11-21 19:30 | Zoom
PROGRAM TBA
Watch the listserv for the Zoom link.

Men's Rap
2025-11-16 09:30 | Member’s residence
9:30 kibbutzing
10 Meeting
RSVP lbwtz35@gmail.com
Watch the listserv for the venue.

Forum on Anti-Semitism
2025-11-09 13:30 - 15:00 | Member’s residence
These groups are organized by Loretta Jay, Michelle Tomarkin and Jessica Wolf for CHJ members to have a safe place to talk about anti-Semitism and other related topics and how we are affected. George Rockmore
has volunteered to serve as a back-up facilitator.

See listserv for venue.

RSVP forum@humanistcjews.org.

Forum on Israel and Anti-Semitism
2025-11-09 13:30 - 15:00 | Member’s residence
These groups are organized by Loretta Jay, Michelle Tomarkin and Jessica Wolf for CHJ members to have a safe place to talk about Israel, anti-Semitism and other related topics and how we are affected. George Rockmore
has volunteered to serve as a back-up facilitator.

See listserv for venue.

RSVP forum@humanistcjews.org.

Book Club - The Woman They Could Not Silence - by Kate Moore
2025-11-08 10:30 | Member’s residence
1860: As the clash between the states rolls slowly to a boil, Elizabeth Packard, housewife and mother of six, is facing her own battle. The enemy sits across the table and sleeps in the next room. Her husband of twenty-one years is plotting against her because he feels increasingly threatened – by Elizabeth’s intellect, independence, and unwillingness to stifle her own thoughts. So Theophilus makes a plan to put his wife back in her place. One summer morning, he has her committed to an insane asylum. The horrific conditions inside the Illinois State Hospital in Jacksonville, Illinois, are overseen by Dr. Andrew McFarland, a man who will prove to be even more dangerous to Elizabeth than her traitorous husband. But most disturbing is that Elizabeth is not the only sane woman confined to the institution. There are many rational women on her ward who tell the same story: they’ve been committed not because they need medical treatment, but to keep them in line – conveniently labeled “crazy” so their voices are ignored. No one is willing to fight for their freedom and, disenfranchised both by gender and the stigma of their supposed madness, they cannot possibly fight for themselves. But Elizabeth is about to discover that the merit of losing everything is that you then have nothing to lose…
Let rhonarobbin@yahoo.com know if you are planning to attend, or if you want to be put onto the CHJ Book Club mailing list.

Shabbat Candle Lighting
2025-11-07 18:30 - 19:20, 2025-10-17 18:30 - 19:20

Shabbat Program - Jewish Pirates of the Caribbean
2025-10-24 19:30 | Zoom
We will be presenting the little known, yet fascinating topic of Jewish Pirates of the Caribbean.
Manny Ratafia will introduce the presentation, and then we will show two short videos, followed by time for questions after each video. This program was inspired by a book about Jewish pirates (recommended by Manny) that our CHJ book group read recently, titled Jewish Pirates of the Caribbean by Edward Kritzler.
A Zoom link will be sent out to the listserv at a later date.
Hope to see you then.
Rhona Robbin & Sheila Felsen
Programming Committee Members

Yom Kippur Day
2025-10-02 13:00
Members’ Workshop via Zoom. Topic TBD @ 1:00pm
Meditation via Zoom @ 2:30pm
Memorial/ Closing Service @ 5:00p
Members will receive links to the live-stream service through the Listserv. Non-members who wish to view our services virtually are asked to please register in advance by clicking here and going to the bottom of the webpage.To follow along with the services, download our printed booklet here.
Doors open 30 minutes before services begin. The live-stream services will commence at the times listed above.
Guests interested in learning about CHJ membership or wishing to join CHJ, please click here. Address inquiries to membership@humanisticjews.org

Yom Kippur Service - Kol Nidre
2025-10-01 19:30
We are pleased to present our 2025 Yom Kippur service in person to our
members, their families and guests. We will also be live-streaming the service to members and
non-members who wish to join us virtually. As always, our services are free of charge.
CHJ celebrate Yom Kippur with contemplative services incorporating
music, readings, and rituals that strike a balance between our connections to the broad stream
of Judaism and our secular humanistic view of Jewish culture and customs. Our services invite
us to reflect on our values and commitments, both as individuals and as a community
Members will receive links to the live-stream service through the Listserv. Non-members who wish to view our services virtually are asked to please register in advance by clicking here and going to the bottom of the webpage.To follow along with the services, download our printed booklet here.
Doors open 30 minutes before services begin. The live-stream services will commence at the times listed above.
Guests interested in learning about CHJ membership or wishing to join CHJ, please click here. Address inquiries to membership@humanisticjews.org

Rosh Hashanah Day - Taschlich Ceremony
2025-09-23 13:30
We invite our members to join us on the first day of Rosh Hashanah
for a Taschlich ceremony, in which we symbolically cast off our bad actions and thoughts.

Rosh Hashanah Eve - Rosh Hashanah Service
2025-09-22 19:30
We are pleased to present our 2025 Rosh Hashanah services in person to our
members, their families and guests. We will also be live-streaming the services to members and
non-members who wish to join us virtually. As always, our services are free of charge.
CHJ celebrates Rosh Hashanah with contemplative services incorporating
music, readings, and rituals that strike a balance between our connections to the broad stream
of Judaism and our secular humanistic view of Jewish culture and customs. Our services invite
us to reflect on our values and commitments, both as individuals and as a community.
Members will receive links to the live-stream service through the Listserv. Non-members who wish to view our services virtually are asked to please register in advance by clicking here and going to the bottom of the webpage.To follow along with the services, download our printed booklet here.
Doors open 30 minutes before services begin. The live-stream services will commence at the times listed above.
Guests interested in learning about CHJ membership or wishing to join CHJ, please click here. Address inquiries to membership@humanisticjews.org
