Torah Curious

Anna Schapiro thinks how we live matters. From her earliest memories of her grandparents in Moscow to her travels and travails in school and society, Anna believes in putting more goodness and love out into the world. Anna is rooted---but also wants to use this rootedness to dig deeper. Come and learn from Anna about learning, art, and how to figure out what something is really about.  For more on Anna, check out her website: https://www.annaschapiro.com/

Dana Vowinckel was the only child at the Fraenkelufer synagogue when she was growing up, a German-American Jew in a sea of memory, tension, and light. From lighting Hanukkah candles in Potsdamer Platz to summers in Chicago, her confluence of identities have allowed her to see behind the curtain of both the American and German Jewish experience. Come and learn with Dana as she tells us about blessing grandchildren, Art emerging from tragedy, and the complexities of growing up at a Jew in Kreuzberg. 

Big welcome to our second LABA fellow, Paola Pilnik! Paola grew up in a progressive Jewish family in Brazil, went to University in the U.S., and now makes theatre and TV in Berlin---but none of those places are what Paola calls home. Whether in drag or confronting his own death, it's on the stage that Paola feels most comfortable. Come and learn from Paola about family trees, being yourself, and the Torah of the stage.  The LABA Berlin Artist Fellowship program is preparing a series of exhibitions and performances in November and December, at Salon am Moritzplatz from November 6-15th and at Framed in Friedrichshain from December 3-5th. This diverse group of 8 Jewish artists has worked and studied together since the spring, exploring the idea of ‘Chosen’ within Jewish texts and literature. Their installations, performances, readings and shows will confront this theme and hope to engage their audiences - you - with something truly special and thoughtful.  For a full schedule and further details about this exciting program, please visit www.aufbruch-am-ufer.berlin/laba-berlin.

Talya Feldman's grandfather had his own way of reading Tanach, the Jewish Bible that he passed down to his granddaughter: An internalization of the words and stories, something to be experienced, not just understood. Come and learn from Talya as she talks about being a Jewish artist in Germany, drops quotes from the Psalms and V'ahavta, and tells us the importance of having our own words heard---and felt.  Talya Feldman is the winner of the 2021 Dagesh Kunstpreis!

Big welcome to our first LABA fellow, Gur Liraz! Gur is first and foremost a guitarist----and the other labels come a bit later. Come and learn from Gur as he tells us about Saul Bellow, why he didn't have a Bar Mitzvah, and why it's never to let to make the next note even more beautiful than the last one.  The LABA Berlin Artist Fellowship program is preparing a series of exhibitions and performances in November and December, at Salon am Moritzplatz from November 6-15th and at Framed in Friedrichshain from December 3-5th. This diverse group of 8 Jewish artists has worked and studied together since the spring, exploring the idea of ‘Chosen’ within Jewish texts and literature. Their installations, performances, readings and shows will confront this theme and hope to engage their audiences - you - with something truly special and thoughtful.  For a full schedule and further details about this exciting program, please visit www.aufbruch-am-ufer.berlin/laba-berlin.

TORAH CURIOUS HAS GONE LIVE! To celebrate our THIRD season, and our Festival of Resilience, we recorded a live episode deep in the heart of Neukolln! Come and learn about the amazing work of Sharon Ryba-Kahn, as her and Laura explore the complexity of heritage, of growing up Jewish in Germany, the meaning of resilience, and the miracle of waking up in the morning. 

Lars' memories are filled with feelings----feelings of alienation but also of love, of acceptance, and of family. Just because we don't know each other, doesn't mean we aren't connected. Come and learn with Lars some Yiddish music, the importance of radical inclusion, and why nostalgia for a time we never new is just a means of expression of our Jewishness. 

Growing up in Stuttgart, Anna didn't know a lot of other Jewish children, and she was often shamed for being 'different.' But as Anna attended Machane and grew into her own as a young Jewish leader, she emerged as a powerful advocate for the richness of Judaism and the rights of people. Come and learn from Anna as she talks about the value of listening, the problem with Sinat Chanim, and why a combination of 'stepping up' and humility is the right concoction for bringing our ideas (and not just ourselves) to fruition. 

Julia Kildeeva sees no conflict between her social justice values and her love of Torah Judaism. The Torah is an activist text, and it is asking us to act. Come and learn from Julia about where she feels Hashem (God) in her life, why she tries to keep Shabbat, and why the demands of the Psalms echo in our times. 

Hanna Veiler is a builder. Hanna came to her Jewishness a bit later in life---and as soon as she was exposed to the magic of community, especially Jewrovision, she was hooked. Her first thought was: How do I build the infrastructure so that other young Jews in Germany can be brought inside the communal fold? Come and learn from Hanna about bringing in Jews from the margins, the power of Judith, and the importance of being a fighter.