Delancey to Doughnuts: A Chanukah Walking Tour

Sunday, December 25, 2011

Join us for our last public tour of 2011!

The tour starts at the LESJC Kling and Niman Family Visitor Center with a look at the photo exhibit, "If You Live in New York..." On display through New Year's Eve we are proud to display the works of photojournalist Julian Voloj. In this show he captures the vibrancy of the Lower East Side.

From there we move on to the incomparable Kehila Kedosha Janina Synagogue and Museum presented by resident scholar and museum director, Marcia Haddad Ikolomopolis.

The last stop on our tour brings us to Congregation Bnai Jacob Anshe Brzezan (Stanton Street Shul) a site of old world warmth and tradition. Shul 'elder' and board member Elyssa Sampson will be on hand to share the dramatic history of this charming site.

Our program concludes with lighting the menorah, soufganiot (doughnuts) and coffee.

Time: 11:00 a.m. (2 1/2 hours)

Meeting Place: Meet at the LESJC Kling & Niman Family Visitor Center. 400 Grand Street between Clinton and Suffolk .

Fees/Info: Adults: $16; seniors and students: $14
($2 additional day of tour)

Buy Now!	Adult $16.00 Senior/Student $14.00

Jewish Community of Colonial New Amsterdam Walking Tour

Sunday, November 20, 2011

Join us as we trace the origins of Jewish settlement in New Amsterdam. We will visit the former locations of Jewish sites in Lower Manhattan and discuss their historical significance. Sites include early Spanish and Portuguese rented synagogues and Mill Street Synagogue, the first synagogue built in North America.

A tour of Congregation Shearith Israel's cemetery at Chatham Square (now Chinatown) is included. This is the oldest known Jewish cemetery in New York City. From 1654 to 1825 all Jews in New York City belonged to this one congregation. This Jewish cemetery dates from 1683.

Time: 10:45 a.m. (3 hours)

Meeting Place: Meet at the corner of Pearl Street and Broad Streets across from Fraunces Tavern.

Fees/Info: Adults: $16; seniors and students: $14
($2 additional day of tour)

Buy Now!	Adult $16.00 Senior/Student $14.00

Our most popular tour focuses on Bialystoker Synagogue, the largest active congregation on the Lower East Side, with it’s beautifully restored murals and stained glass.

From Bialystoker walk historic East Broadway and visit a shteibl, one room house of prayer, where men still gather for thrice daily prayer.

Jewish Harlem Walking Tour

Sunday, July 10, 2011

Join Marty Shore, urban historian, as he leads you through the sites of Jewish religious life in the remarkable urban settlement of Harlem, once the second largest Jewish community in the United States. In 1917, it was home to more than 175,000 Jews. Delight in the exteriors of grand synagogues that remind us of Harlem's Jewish past. Including the Ethiopian Hebrew Synagogue called "The Commandment Keepers."

You will walk by the former homes of Temple Israel of Harlem, Congregation Shaarei Zedek, The Oheb Zedek Synagogue-home to Cantor Yossele Rosenblatt in the 1910-1920's.

Lower East Side Arts and Architecture Festival

Sunday, October 30, 2011

Opening for Julian Voloj, Photographer;
Jewish Heritage Tours;
Jewelry + Vintage Tchotchkes Sale;
Meet the "Gals from the Hood"

Join us for a day of art, photography, touring, shopping and reminiscing with the Gals from the Hood. Gallery opening and tours throughout the day. Admission to gallery and talks are free - tours are $10 adults; $8 seniors; $6 students; children under 8 are free.

Visit our Special Events page for tour schedules and more information.

Distinctive Brooklyn Neighborhoods I: Greenpoint and Chasidic Williamsburg — Bus and Walking Tour

Sunday, June 12, 2011

Travel by bus over the Williamsburg Bridge to visit the Satmar Hasidic community of Williamsburg. Time will be allotted for shopping and lunch on the bustling streets of this unique neighborhood.

From Williamsburg ride to Greenpoint for a very special visit to the Greenpoint Shul, a charming survivor of a once thriving working-class Jewish community. Visit with synagogue leaders and hear about the resurgence of the Shul as an influx of Jewish families settles in the neighborhood.

Additional tour sites include: The Domino Sugar Factory - long shuttered, now undergoing conversion to high end condos; The Williamsburg Public Library, featured in A Tree Grows in Brooklyn; the breakaway "Miracle Shul;" a Flaishgesheften & Refuah pharmacies, and the best Hungarian delicacies this side of the Atlantic!

On the return the tour will split. You can choose to take the bus back to the Visitor Center, or you can choose to join us for a guided tour across the famed Williamsburg bridge back to the Visitor Center.

Second Hand Rose: A Journey down the Yiddish Rialto Walking Tour

Sunday, June 26, 2011

Second Avenue is rich in cultural history. You’ll stroll down the historic street of the famed “Yiddish Rialto,” and explore the connections between what is now the East Village and the Lower East Side.

You’ll see names of many famous performers of the Yiddish theater on the Second Avenue Deli's “Starwalk.” Visit Community Synagogue, originally St. Marks Lutheran Church, spiritual home of the German congregation that lost 1,000 parishioners in the General Slocum disaster. Meet Herb Latner, a senior officer of Community Synagogue, and hear his charming description of life as a choir boy in a Yiddish theater.

Hear about citizen activism at a selection of charming “hidden” gardens.

Enjoy seeing sacred sites where immigrants worshiped – from the spectacular to the simple. You’ll also learn how Jewish traditions are being carried on at these sites today.

Visit the Bialystoker Synagogue, the largest active orthodox congregation on the Lower East Side today; the exterior of Beth Hamedrash Hagadol – former home of the largest Russian-Jewish orthodox congregation in the United States; and Kehila Kedosha Janina, the only Romaniote (Greek heritage) synagogue in the Western Hemisphere.

We've Got Mazel!!! — presentation and panel discussion

A presentation exploring Mazalos, a sacred Jewish art form featuring zodiac symbols.

At the turn of the century, there were dozens of these paintings on the Lower East Side, today only two examples remain. A panel of experts will discuss the history and preservation of this endangered tradition.

This unique presentation explores Mazalot, a sacred Jewish art form featuring zodiac symbols. A panel of experts including conservator Beth Edelstein and urban historian Elyssa Sampson will discuss the history and preservation of Mazalot.

While few examples of Mazalot remain, two prime examples can be found on the Lower East Side: the Bialystoker Synagogue and Congregation B’nei Jacob & Anshei Brzezan (a.k.a. The Stanton Street Shul).

The zodiac tradition is discussed in the Talmud, and in the writings of Medieval Jewish scholars, including Nachmanides, and the 16th century Kabbalist Isaac Luria. Earliest examples are the floor mosaics of second to sixth century Roman synagogues in ancient Palestine. In Eastern Europe, the Jews revived the ancient tradition of depicting the zodiac by painting the motifs on the walls and ceilings of their wooden synagogues. The destruction unleashed by World War II resulted in the elimination of many of these synagogues or their conversion for general use.

This program will trace the history of this endangered 2,000 year old synagogue art tradition which made its way to the Lower East Side via immigrants from Galitzia, a region on the borders of modern-day Poland and Ukraine.

Ms. Beth Edelstein, Objects Conservator at the Metropolitan Museum of Fine Art, received her degree in Art Conservation from NYU’s Institute of Fine Arts. Ms. Elyssa Sampson, urban historian, LESJ Conservancy tour leader, and PH.D candidate in Urban Geography (University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill), will discuss the significance of the mazelot and the way in which they made their way to the Lower East Side via Galitzia.

SLIDESHOW: View our our related slideshow, Mazalot of the Lower East Side.

Twice Weekly Insider Public Walking Tours of the Lower East Side

June 17 - December 30, 2010

Thursdays: Crossing Delancy, 1:45 PM

Sundays: Bialystoker the Beautiful, 11:45 AM

To accommodate tourists and visitors interested in experiencing the sacred sites and rich history of the Lower East Side, the Lower East Side Jewish Conservancy (LESJC) is initiating a program of mini-tours that will begin on Thursday, June 17th, and continue through Friday, December 30, 2010.

Two insider walking tours are planned. The tour based on highlights of the LESJC's public tour "Crossing Delancey" and a mini-tour based on highlights of the LESJC's "Bialystoker the Beautiful" tour. Read more about the insider walking tours on our Public Tours page.

NOTE: Due to holidays there will be no Crossing Delancy tours on September 9th, 23rd and 30th, and November 25th. There will be no Bialystoker the Beautiful tour on July 4th.

Meeting Place: All public tours start at the Kling-Niman Visitor's Center of the Lower East Side Jewish Conservancy, 400 Grand Street (between Clinton and Suffolk Streets) across from CitiBank.

Fees/Info: Adults: $12; seniors and students: $10. Children under 6 are free.

7^th Annual Noshing Tour Extravaganza

Sunday, December 26, 2010 SOLD OUT!

When does noshing (snacking in Yiddish) combine with visiting magnificent sacred sites on the Lower East Side?

On the annual Noshing Tour Extravaganza of the Lower East Side Jewish Conservancy (LESJC). This unique tour and eclectic eating experience continues to be one of the most popular and eagerly awaited events presented by the Conservancy each year.

Join us as we visit and eat at unique historic sites. Start with Rugelach, and coffee then end with a sample of foods from a classic Eastern European kiddish of herring, arbis, potatonick, schnapps, dried fruit and halvah.

During the tour we will marvel at the stunning interior of the Angel Orensanz Cultural Foundation, the oldest surviving structure built as a synagogue in NYC. This building housed the former Congregation Anshe Chesed, the third Jewish Congregation founded in New York, and the second reform congregation.

Next we will soak in the surroundings at Congregation B’nai Jacob Anshei Brzezan (also known as The Stanton Street Shul), one of the few remaining tenement style synagogues left today.

Congregation Chasam Sopher, NYC’s oldest continuously operating active synagogue building will also be visited (exterior only) .

Crossing Delancey Walking Tour

Sunday, September 12, 2010

Enter sacred sites that reveal the Lower East Side of the early 20th century and how it has evolved to reflect today’s changing culture north of Delancey Street.

The remarkably restored Congregation Chasam Sopher, the oldest continually operating synagogue in New York City, will be included on your tour.

Marvel at the stunning interior of the Angel Orensanz Cultural Foundation (formerly Congregation Anshe Chesed), the oldest synagogue building in New York City, and one of Manhattan’s most popular event spaces.

Tour Congregation B’nei Jacob Anshe Brzezan (also known as the Stanton Street Shul) – one of the few remaining tenement-style synagogues on the Lower East Side. Learn about the renaissance taking place in this warm, old-world space.

When Harlem Was Jewish: Slide Lecture

Sunday, March 21, 2010

Enjoy a fascinating slide lecture on Harlem’s Jewish past delivered by Yeshiva University History Professor, Jeffrey S. Gurock, Ph.D., author of When Harlem Was Jewish: 1870-1930. In 1917, Harlem was home to more than 175,000 Jews.

A distinguished scholar of this remarkable era will discuss the historical forces that shaped Jewish Harlem.

Yiddish Theater Brunch: “The Big Bupkis” Performed by the New Yiddish Rep Company

Sunday, January 31, 2010

Join the Lower East Side Jewish Conservancy (LESJC) for a unique Yiddish Theater Brunch program, "The Big Bupkis! A Complete Gentile's Guide to Yiddish Vaudeville." This irreverent performance will include comedy, magic, ukulele music, hypnotism, stories about Sophie Tucker, a Yiddish bullfight poem, and other theatrical rarities. For those who may have attended last year's Yiddish Theater Brunch and enjoyed Shane Bertram Baker's show, this will be a different and more elaborate performance.

There will be an ample, strictly kosher, dairy brunch served which includes bagels, bialys, spreads, dried fruit, coffee and pastries.

In the lead role will be Shane Bertram Baker, Yiddish vaudeville actor extraordinaire. A Kansas City native, he is acknowledged to be the first Gentile to perform Yiddish vaudeville. How he escaped life in a trailer park in rural Missouri to gain renown in New York's booming Yiddish vaudeville community is richly described and illustrated in this fascinating performance. Mr. Baker will be accompanied by the legendary Steve Sterner, New York's premiere silent film accompanist. Rimshots, bells, and whistles will be delivered by the remarkable klezmer drummer, Matt Temkin. Allen Lewis Rickman, who has extensive experience in Yiddish theater, co-conceived and directed "The Big Bupkis!" The show combines English and Yiddish, with English supertitles projected over the stage.