Tibor Spitz is a 95 year old Holocaust survivor who lives with his wife Noemi (also a survivor) in Kingston NY.

Born and raised in former Czechoslovakia, during the deportations of Jews to close by Auschwitz his family learned about the mass killings of deportees.  Six members of Spitz family decided to resist. Their running & hiding culminated in living in the high snow covered mountains in an underground dugout for seven months.

Despite enduring five years without formal schooling, following World War II, he escaped to the West where he became an engineer and scientist and earned a Ph.D. After he retired, he dedicated himself to his passion and became a full-time artist and lecturer.

Margot Leverett was the original clarinetist in the Klezmatics in 1985 before leaving the band to launch a solo career. Her first CD "The Art of Klezmer Clarinet" was followed by two more with her band "Margot Leverett and the Klezmer Mountain Boys," which combined klezmer and bluegrass. She has toured and taught workshops all over the world and has recently settled in Kingston.

This will be an overview of klezmer history including some recent amazing discoveries of lost Jewish music in Ukraine and Russia.

Rabbi Adam Cerino-Jones has been the spiritual leader of the Jewish Congregation of New Paltz since 2022. Ordained by the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College, Rabbi Adam previously worked for congregations in Pennsylvania and New Jersey and for the Hillels of the University of Delaware and Haverford College

He is a skilled musician and composer of Jewish music, a passionate teacher of Torah, and an approachable pastoral presence dedicated to meeting Jews where they are and accompanying them on the unique path of their lives.

What is Reconstructionist Judaism? An Introduction
If you're a Jew living in the United States, you've likely heard of Reconstructionism, and may even have a general sense of where it falls in relation to other mainstream movements. But what exactly does a Reconstructionist approach to Judaism look like? Where and how did it develop? How does it differ from other movements and approaches? In this session, Rabbi Adam Cerino-Jones will offer a general introduction to Reconstructionist Judaism and the unique place it occupies in the American Jewish milieu.

Jonathan Kligler is rabbi emeritus of the Woodstock Jewish Congregation. Rabbi Jonathan is also a talented vocalist and guitarist, and has performed around the United States and in Europe. Among his recordings are Songs of Love, Hope and Courage; There’s a Place for Us: Jewish Songs and Spirit from the Broadway Stage; Holy Ground: Music of the High Holy Days; and Let My People Go: A Jewish and African American Celebration of Freedom (with Kim and Reggie Harris.)

Bassist Robert Bard began his career playing music on the streets and in the clubs of New York City. He graduated from Columbia University in 1981 and studied at Mannes School of Music shortly thereafter. He worked for 15 years as a composer and music director for CBS-TV, where he was nominated for 8 Emmy Awards. He then moved to New Paltz, NY, where he currently performs with the Bernstein Bard Trio and numerous other ensembles. Robert has recorded countless artists at Skytop Sound, his production and recording company. He also teaches bass privately.

“The American Jewish Songbook”
Over the past century American Jewish composers have played a central role in the development of American popular musical forms, such as Jazz, Broadway and Folk music. In return, the Jewish community has absorbed all of those American influences into our own music, and a distinctly American Jewish music has emerged over time. In this performance we will present a variety of engaging songs, some well-known, others less so, that reflect this dynamic melding of Jewish and American cultures.

Reb Kugel, the Rubbadubdubber Rebbe, says:
What, you ask, is sacred clowning? And what is the role of sacred clowningin Judaism? The Sages teach us that most cultures have forms of ritual humor inwhich the most sacred tenets of the group's faith are parodied and significant partsof social control are allowed to lapse for a period of festival. A party! A party!

Ritual clowning is common in many cultures as part of seasonal ceremonies orrites of passage such as weddings. When I was looking for sacred clowns, wasn’t it logical to look in Judaism?

Why not, bubbie? That's what I thought! Judaism is so serious about both God and the world, and Jewish ritual life is so structured. Concentrated. Even pressurized. Such a spirituality would make clowning a valuable and logical development. Like a steam valve! PSSSSSHT! In fact, hasn't sacred clowning had a crucial place in Judaism for a longtime? It has! And Purim is only one part of the tradition.

Come to Reb Kugel’s workshop to find out more.

The making of our contemporary Haggadah “In The Voice of Our Mothers: A New Way To Tell The Story of Passover,” by a group of women from The Woodstock Jewish Congregation,” led us through personal journeys of living midrash as we entered into and celebrated the lives of the women of Exodus. Carol Fox Prescott and Susan Rosen, conceivers, workshop leaders, editors, and co-authors, will bring you into and through the process that led to the creation of our beautiful Haggadah.
Note: On the second night of Passover, the WJC will be reading from “In The Voice of Our Mothers” at our annual community seder. You are welcome to join us.

Carol Fox Prescott, actress, singer, acting teacher, and performance coach, was raised and confirmed at The Stephen Wise Free Synagogue in New York City and became an adult Bat Mitzvah there in 1993. She taught regularly at Elat Chayyim, a Jewish retreat center in Accord, NY. She became a member of The Woodstock Jewish Congregation in 1996, where she helped to create The Lev Shalem Institute, co-leading two workshops with Rabbi Jonathan Kligler, including the joyous and eye-opening “The Torah of Broadway,” celebrating Shabbat with songs written for the American musical theater by Jewish composers and lyricists. Currently, she offers a class combining creativity and Jewish values called “Breathing, Awareness, and Joy. With her creative partner, Susan Rosen, Carol co-conceived, edited, and authored “In The Voice of Our Mothers: A New Way To Tell The Story of Passover.”

Susan Rosen is an observer of and a participant in life as it unfolds. She has been a member of the WJC since the mid-1990s. where she experiences rich, joyful, and participatory services. Her studies with Rabbi Jonathan have become a part of her soul's journey. Susan studied Kabbalah in the mid 90's and was moved to create Miriam’s Well, a retreat center in Saugerties, NY, hosting workshops and gatherings designed to explore paths towards becoming a truly incarnated, educated human being. Presently, Miriam's Well, now in Port Ewen, NY, hosts monthly dreamwork gatherings and sponsors projects, including the making of "In the Voice of our Mothers: A New Way To Tell The Story of Passover." She was a participant in the original Lev Shalem Institute with Rabbi Jonathan - it was a natural progression for her, along with Miriam's Well.

The impulse to share our stories—to pass on ideas that have shaped us and to use our gifts in the service of the greater good—springs from the deepest, most truthful place within us.  If you feel compelled to speak up, to be heard, to resist the silencing forces of the inner and outer status quo, this workshop is for you.

Through experiential processes, we will:

• • Explore how our writing fits into the tradition of Tikkun Olam—repairing the world through language and action
  • Introduce the elements of the Fertile Heart Birthing Practice through the lens of Torah, understanding Bereshit as a blueprint for the creative process
  • Experience writing as an act of revelation—an invitation to deeper knowing
  • Access the voice of our inner authority and cultivate the confidence to speak from that place
  • Identify the key elements of our personal book-birthing practice
  • Learn how to replenish our inner resources when we feel discouraged in our writing
  • Explore the publishing landscape, weighing the pros and cons of traditional publishing  versus self publishing

Julia Indichova’s day job entails supporting women and couples wishing to birth a child. In her parallel work she aims to deepen the discourse on the roots of violence and support the birth of a more peaceful future. She is the author of Inconceivable & The Fertile Female, Birth Your Next  Creation Audio Program and the founder of @FertileHeart & @FertileHeartedHuman Her work and story have been featured on Good Morning America, NPR’s 51%, the Oprah Winfrey Show, in Tablet Magazine, HuffPo, the Chronogram & more. The second edition of One-Heart Revolution, a collection of essays and poems is due for publication in September of 2025.

A creature feature exploring rabbinic conceptions of difference.

R’ Jack Sherratt was ordained by Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in the spring of 2024 and thereafter installed as the sole Rabbi at Congregation Emanuel of the Hudson Valley (Kingston, NY). R’ Jack also holds a MA in Religious Studies from Wilfrid Laurier University and a MSW from the University of Toronto. Prior to entering rabbinical school, Jack worked as a trauma therapist for at-risk populations in NYC, including with homeless LGBTQ youth and homeless Jewish seniors. Jack is also a carpenter, a beekeeper, and an aspiring scribe.

Long before humans adopted the belief in and worship of one male god to the exclusion of all others, they worshipped many gods and goddesses. Throughout most of the world, for much of human history, the goddess reigned supreme. Even the early Israelites—the originators of monotheism—worshipped the divine feminine for centuries. In this program, discover how the Hebrew Bible inadvertently serves as a written record of the polytheism and goddess worship of our Jewish forebears.

Sivan Rotholz is the Director of Adult Education and a Rabbi in the Center for Exploring Judaism at Central Synagogue in Manhattan. Sivan comes to the rabbinate as a professor of gynocentric Torah (Torah centered on the stories and experiences of women) and creative writing.

"Combatting Antisemitism 101"
Definition of antisemitism, how to identify instances of antisemitism and how they differ from legitimate criticism of the state of Israel. Various, proactive ways of combatting antisemitism, including the importance of education, telling your story, and nuanced fact-based discussions including a framework for having these discussions. Also, legal tools available for combatting antisemitism.

Bella Schneider is a Chicago-suburbs native with a BA in journalism and mass communication from Arizona State University. During her time at ASU, Bella was an active member of Alpha Epsilon Phi, the historically Jewish sorority, where she served as Vice President of Recruitment, New Member Educator, and Chapter President. Bella was the 2023 recipient of the AEPhi Susan Rudd Cohen Award for Jewish Communal Service for her work combating antisemitism on campus and is a proud StandWithUs Emerson Fellow alum (2022-2023). Bella's passion for Israel comes from her late grandfather, an officer in the Sinai Campaign and a proud Zionist. She further developed her love for Israel when she participated in Onward Israel and interned in Tel Aviv's communications department, working on their social media accounts. When Bella is not connecting with students in the Tri-State region, she can be found running around Central Park with the run club, Nice Jewish Runners.

With news of breaches and hacks almost daily, involving every company and government agency and health care organization you do business with, you need protection. These breaches can compromise your identity and bank accounts. The problem is that no one can protect you but yourself.

You need new life skills. It’s 2025. If you don’t understand modern criminal and therefore victim behavior, you will become the latter. It’s just a matter of time. There is no containing breached data—your bank account numbers, passwords, social security number, etc.— once it’s out there. You cannot put the toothpaste back in the tube.

The good news is you can become impervious to the constant barrage of breaches that involve your personally Identifiable Information. You can learn new behaviors, apply new principles so that your breached data actively being trafficked on the dark web no longer leads to your assets or identity. Welcome to Cyber Boot Camp.

Rivka Tadjer spent 20 years as a business and tech journalist, covering privacy, security, identity theft, data mining, artificial intelligence and supply chains, focusing on the sociological implications of technology: how our behavior is changing in a TikTok/Dark Web culture. Leveraging what she learned as a journalist, Rivka has spent the last 17 years zeroing on cybercrime prevention, mitigation and incident response, her research becoming forensic cyber investigation on threat intel systems and how criminals use cyber intel to target victims for financial and other crimes in the physical world. Rivka served on the White House National Infrastructure Advisory Council (NIAC), in the Cyber Security Working Group for Critical Infrastructure. She has been a C Level executive at fintech firms, nonprofits protecting kids, and Cyber Team Six, specializing in fraud and financial crimes. She also worked with several threat intel system companies which ZeroHack currently partners with. Rivka served on the Advisory Board of K-12 Six, a Global Resilience Federation ISAC devoted to protecting U.S. schools. She holds a patent for co-inventing a secure payments app that replaces University Student ID cards.