A meetup for young Jewish professionals will be held 6 p.m. at Giddy’s Pizza & Café in Highland Park on Tuesday, Aug. 6. The event’s goal is to bring together community members to socialize whether they are single and looking to meet a partner, make new friends or find a professional connection as well as to support a kosher business, said Adar Darnov, a founder of Young Jewish Professionals of Temple Beth Ahm (YJPTBA) in Aberdeen, one of the sponsors of the event. He added this is the fourth event his group has organized, although the first in partnership with others—in this instance the Jewish Young Community of the Morristown Jewish Center. Darnov hopes to have other such events throughout the area to bring together young Jews in their 20’s and 30’s.
Giddy’s offers a large menu with various dairy, vegetarian, gluten-free and vegan choices, including appetizers, salads and sandwiches and is under the kosher supervision of the Vaad of Raritan Valley. Its full menu can be viewed at giddyspizzeria.com. Thanks to a generous donation by an anonymous benefactor, the first slice of pizza is free.
Membership in a synagogue is not required. To register or for more information go to the YJPTBA Facebook page, facebook.com/groups/yjpbethahm, its events page, https://cwu2.short.gy/zQ4HKe, or contact Darnov at adardarnov@gmail.com.
The Axelrod Performing Arts Center in Deal Park will host its 14th Annual Jewish International Film Festival, featuring 10 new Israeli and Jewish films, Aug. 4-14 at the center and at Bell Theater at Bell Works in Holmdel. The festival will open at the center with “Seven Blessings,” Israel’s entry into the Academy Awards best international feature film, playing at 4 and 7 p.m. The film revolves around an eventful Jewish Moroccan family wedding and the traditional blessings during the ceremony, reception and for seven nights as loved ones host dinners in the couple’s honor.
It will conclude on the Aug. 14 with the 4 p.m. showing of “One Life” at Bell starring two-time Academy Award winner Sir Anthony Hopkins as Sir Nicolas Winton, a British stockbroker who in real life saved Jewish children during the Holocaust by helping them escape from Nazi-occupied Czechoslovakia. The other films, many award-winning, range from semi-autobiographical, to comedy and political intrigue and are set in ancient and modern times as well as during the Holocaust.
A series pass for all 10 films is $78; individual tickets are $12 and can be purchased at axelrodartscenter.com, where a description of each film can be found. For information, contact the center box office center box office at (732) 531-9106, ext. 14.
Rabbi Dr. Edward Reichman, a professor at Yeshiva University’s (YU) Albert Einstein College of Medicine, will be Shabbat scholar-in-residence Aug. 2-3 at Congregation Brothers of Israel in Long Branch. He specializes in Jewish medical ethics and serves as professor of emergency medicine and at the division of education and medical bioethics at the college.
Reichman received his ordination at YU’s Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary and writes and lectures internationally on Jewish medical ethics. He also holds the Rabbi Isaac and Bella Tendler Chair in Jewish Medical Ethics at Yeshiva College in Manhattan. His research is devoted to the interface of medical history and Jewish law. His most recent book is “The Anatomy of Jewish Law: A Fresh Dissection of the Relationship Between Medicine, Medical History and Rabbinic Literature.”
Reichman has been elected to the Davidoff Society for Excellence in Medical Teaching at Einstein and awarded the Outstanding Mentor Award for two years at YU. He has also served on the advisory board of the New York Organ Donor Network, Center for Genetics and Public Policy, program for Jewish genetic health at Einstein and the Rabbinical Council of America.
RSVP required for Friday night dinner by Greenwald Caterers. Cost is $75. To RSVP and for information contact the synagogue office at (732) 222-6666 or office@brothersisrael.org.
The women’s support group of the Jewish Family Service of Middlesex County (JFS) in North Brunswick will hold its next monthly session on Monday, Aug. 5 at 11 a.m. The group, which is coordinated through JFS’ Women’s Center, provides a safe and welcoming space for displaced homemakers. The women’s center also provides career services, one-on-one coaching, referrals to financial, legal, educational and other services, tuition aid for eligible participants for short-term career training, support groups and referrals to mental health services, personal development workshops and networking opportunities and ongoing case management.
Support group meetings are held the first Monday of the month. For more information on services offered by the center or to join the group call (732) 777-1940 or e-mail womenscenter@jfsmiddlesex.org. The Women’s Center is a member of the Displaced Homemaker Network of New Jersey, Inc.