Shul News & Notes
After 100 years, A Yiddish Theater Is Revived In Tbilisi, Georgia
In 2019, when Lasha Shakulashvili was a graduate student at Tbilisi State University, he stumbled onto Yiddish posters in the National Archives of Georgia from 1910 that were announcing theater performances. Almost nothing had been written about Ashkenazi Jewish heritage in Georgia, and Shakulashvili was eager to find out more.
Born in Tbilisi to Christian parents, he was raised in part by a Jewish nanny who taught him Russian and Yiddish. That early exposure set him on his scholarly path and instilled in him a love for Yiddish and Ashkenazi culture.
That persistence led him to write a dissertation on his findings on the role of Yiddish theater in Georgia. When he began speaking publicly about the long-lost Yiddish theater, actors and directors reached out. A question emerged: Could the theater be revived?
A century after its last performance, the Tbilisi Yiddish Theater reopened in 2023. Although Shakulashvili has since stepped back from the theater, his research has paved the way for recovering the forgotten Yiddish culture of Georgia. He is now based in Israel, but spends the spring semester teaching in Tbilisi.
Letter from Veronica Kaliski
To the editors: I thought our members would like to know about a program at the Floyd Memorial Library, sponsored by the Friends of the Library and Dolly Parton. The program, titled the Dolly Parton Imagination Library, sends free, age-appropriate books to Greenport, East Marion, and Orient kids, who are 5 years old and younger.
If any of our members know of youngsters who would benefit from this program, please encourage parents to complete an application, available at the library, or on the Dolly Parton Imagination Library website.
Thank you. —Veronica Kaliski
Book Circle Explores Four Brave Women In Historical Fiction Account
The Dovekeepers by Alice Hoffman is a fictional retelling of the Siege of Masada (70-73 CE) through the eyes of four resilient women — Yael, Revka, Asisa and Shirah — who find refuge there, each bearing secrets and past traumas. When the Romans besiege the fortress, only two women and five children survive the brutality and loss, leading to the tragic historical outcome.
The members of the Book Circle will meet on Thursday, Feb. 19, at 3:30 p.m., on Zoom, to explore the lives of women — how they survived and how the experience affected them.
The Book Circle meets monthly to examine the work of Jewish authors writing on Jewish themes. For more information, email ctigreenport@gmail.com with a message for Susan Rosenstreich, coordinator of the group.
Purim Party On Zoom Only, Monday, March 2 at 6 P.M.
To all members and friends:
Purim is nearly here, and our shul is celebrating the holiday, of course. But please note a necessary change in our plans:
OUR PURIM PARTY THIS MONDAY, MARCH 2, WILL BE A ZOOM EVENT ONLY, AT 6 P.M.
Please join us on Zoom for the Purim story we all know, plus some PG-rated schpiel (oh, my goodness) from Chuck Simon.
Be sure to download the Book of Esther from the Internet so you can participate in the discussion and the (ahem-ahem) real story from Chuck.
Shabbat Alert
To the members and friends of Congregation Tifereth Israel,
Owing to the threat snow, plunging temperatures, and high winds, which could impact ferry
service from Connecticut for Rabbi Cantor, I am closing the shul for in-person services. We will
observe and celebrate Shabbat on Zoom only.
Please join us on Zoom Friday evening at 7:30 p.m., and again Saturday morning at 9:30 a.m. to
welcome Rabbi Cantor and to enjoy her always inspirational services.
Be well. Be warm. And have a good Shabbat weekend. See you on Zoom.
Sara Bloom, President
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