Experience the Boston Jewish Arts Festival!
February 1, 2026, 3:00 – 7:00 p.m.
Enjoy stunning art exhibits, interactive workshops, and captivating storytelling.
Savor delicious food.
Browse handmade goods.
Immerse yourself in live music, hands-on artmaking, and folk dancing.
Our Master of Ceremonies throughout the day is Hal Slifer (Chagigah Radio, 88.9 WERS)
Whether you’re here for the art, food, performances, or connections, the festival promises an unforgettable experience!
The Festival Opens with a Concert by Cantor Alicia Stillman
3:00 – 4:00 p.m., Sanctuary
“Run Walk Fly: Every Journey Begins with a Single Step”
A full concert experience included with festival admission
This year’s Annual Winter Concert invites us onto a musical path of journeys—those we choose, those that surprise us, and those that change us along the way. There’s an ancient proverb that teaches, “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step,” reminding us that even our most daunting dreams become possible the moment we begin.
4:00 – 7:00 p.m.
Immediately following the concert, the entire Temple Israel building comes alive with visual art, live music, folk dancing, hands-on workshops, storytelling, a lively marketplace, and delicious food.
Schedule of Events and Performances
3:00 - 4:00 p.m. Festival Opening Concert with Cantor Alicia Stillman (Sanctuary)
This year’s Annual Winter Concert invites us onto a musical path of journeys—those we choose, those that surprise us, and those that change us along the way. There’s an ancient proverb that teaches, “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step,” reminding us that even our most daunting dreams become possible the moment we begin.
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. expanded that wisdom with a deeper challenge: “If you can’t fly, then run; if you can’t run, then walk…” reminding us that movement—any movement—toward hope and purpose is sacred. Our lives unfold step by step, note by note. Forward is forward, no matter the pace.
Throughout, we will continue our journey together—with music to guide our feet, lift our spirits, and bless every step ahead.
4:00 - 4:30 p.m. Nat Seleen | Performance | Levi Auditorium
Nat Seelen is a Boston-based clarinetist, composer, and educator whose work explores the intersections of tradition, innovation, and community in klezmer music and beyond. A dynamic performer and creator, he is the founder and artistic director of the Boston Festival of New Jewish Music and the founding clarinetist of Ezekiel’s Wheels Klezmer Band. Nat has performed all over the world, from the Oriental Arts Center in Shanghai to the Kennedy Center in Washington, and is based right here in Boston.
4:15 - 4:45 p.m. Rock the Riverway Youth Choir | Performance | Social Hall
Temple Israel of Boston’s youth choir, Rock the Riverway, continues to bring music and joy to our annual events. Singers’ range from 5-9 years old, but all singers are welcome!
4:15 - 5:00 p.m. Jewish Studio Project Workshop: What Emerges When We Begin Together | Hands-on Art Workshop | Youth Room
What if creativity starts with not knowing? In this hands-on workshop, you’ll create simple marks with fresh eyes—setting aside expertise and expectations to rediscover what it means to start from scratch. Through playful mark-making and reflection, we’ll explore how beginner’s mind opens us to curiosity, possibility, and the beauty of creating in relationship with others and with the unknown.
4:15 - 5:00 p.m. International Folk Dancing for All with Marcie Van Cleave | Interactive class | Chapel
Marcie Van Cleave has been teaching participatory folk dancing for over 30 years to people near (Greater Boston area and New England) and far (Czech Republic, Armenia, North Carolina, Kentucky).
4:30 - 5:30 p.m. Mark Binder / Izzy Abrahamson | Storytelling Session | Sanctuary
“What the Chelm?” Stories (and a bit of song) from Izzy Abrahmson’s Village life told by Audie Award nominated storyteller Mark Binder”
Izzy Abrahmson is the author of the Village Life series, which has been nominated for a National Jewish Book Award, and won the gold medal for best fiction audioboook from the IBPA.
“Izzy” is also the pen name for Mark Binder, an Audie-Award nominated storyteller.
Between the two of them, they have written and recorded more than two-dozen books, and have performed on stage before hundreds of thousands on two continents, in seven (or eight) countries.
4:45 - 5:20 p.m. Hamantaschen Making Demonstration with Mamaleh's Co-Owner Rachel Sundet | Levi Auditorium
Hamantaschen Making: Purim is right around the corner! No better time to brush up on your hamantaschen making skills and get ready to enjoy this underrated cookie. Rachel will lead you through mixing the dough, different fillings to use and ways to shape the cookies. You’ll also get the Mamaleh’s recipe to take home and try in your kitchen.
Mamaleh’s (MAH-MUH-LUH’S) Delicatessen is a modern Jewish deli carrying forth Jewish culinary traditions since 2016. We offer a taste of history to connect generations and bring people together, both Jewish and non-Jewish alike. There are plenty of ways to enjoy Mamaleh’s: dine in at the deli, order take-out and delivery, call on us to cater your gathering, or kibitz with new friends at our community events. Save the deli!
Rachel Sundet’s first job in a restaurant kitchen was at the beloved Cambridge institution, Upstairs on the Square, with Amanda Lydon and Susan Regis. She was immediately hooked. After culinary school in London, she moved west to Seattle, where she worked at Brasa Restaurant and Macrina Bakery. She returned to the East Coast and after a stint on a goat farm with her husband, Tyler, landed at Hungry Mother, where she worked as the pastry chef for 5 years and met her future business partners. Together, they opened State Park, Mamaleh’s Delicatessen, Café du Pays and then Vincent’s. In 2015, Sundet was named a StarChefs Rising Star Pastry Chef and Boston Magazine‘s Best Pastry Chef.
5:00 - 5:30 p.m. ApiChorus | A Capella Performance | Social Hall
Acapella repertoire including Hebrew, Yiddish, Ladino, and English music.
We are ApiChorus, Harvard’s Premier Jewish A Cappella Group and an affiliated student organization of Harvard Hillel. Founded in 2023, ApiChorus is a coed group comprised of current students at Harvard University. We sing a diverse repertoire of Hebrew and English classics, represent a broad range of Jewish backgrounds, and perform at venues locally in Cambridge as well as in concerts across the globe.
5:15 - 6:00 p.m. Jewish Studio Project workshop: Creating from the Chaos | Hands-on Art Workshop | Youth Room
We are all inherently creative. In this workshop, you’ll put yourself on the page and then invite in chaos, void, darkness, and depth. Through hands-on experimentation, we’ll discover how messiness and uncertainty aren’t obstacles to creativity—they’re the raw materials. What new possibilities emerge when we befriend the chaos instead of avoiding it?
5:15 - 6:00 p.m. Israeli Folk Dancing with Rina Wagman | Interactive class | Chapel
Rina Wagman‘s parents met Israeli dancing, and she has been dancing for as long as she can remember. In college, she taught an Israeli dance PE class. In Boston, Rina has taught Israeli dance to people of all ages and abilities. She co-runs the two biggest Israeli dance sessions in the area and an annual Israeli dance camp, and teaches a weekly fitness class at JCC Greater Boston.
5:30 - 6:00 p.m. Jack Leopold | Performance, Jewish music, meditation, and mystical teaching leader | Levi Auditorium
Jack Leopold is a Jewish musician, educator, and meditation teacher living in Boulder, Colorado. Jack leads music, prayer, and meditation for Jewish communities, including Temple Emanuel Denver, Congregation Nevei Kodesh, BBYO, and various communities around Colorado. He has been teaching Jewish meditation and Kabbalah for 9 years, most inspired by the teachings of R. Aryeh Kaplan and R. Zalman Schachter-Shalomi. Jack’s passion lies in weaving mystical teachings with the transformative power of communal song for the sake of engaging with the paradox of inherent wholeness and brokenness in the human experience
5:45 - 6:30 p.m. Arnon Z. Shorr and Josh M. Edelglass: “The Pirate Captain Toledano” | Storytelling Session with Film | Sanctuary
Showing of Arnon’s short film, “The Pirate Captain Toledano,” and share information about how we found ourselves adapting it into an award-winning graphic novel.
Arnon Z. Shorr is a screenwriter, director, and author of tales that fuse action and excitement with Jewish heritage, history and folklore. From old-fashioned swashbucklers to sci-fi adventures, his work redefines Jewish storytelling. A JWI and PJ Library Fellow, he champions bold, authentically Jewish narratives.
Joshua M. Edelglass is a freelance illustrator specializing in comic book artwork. In addition to his illustration work, Josh is the Co-Director of Camp Ramah New England.
6:10 - 6:50 p.m. Yoni Avi Battat | Performance, Arab-Jewish music, ancestry, and healing innovator | Levi Auditorium
Music with Storytelling
Yoni Avi Battat brings Arab music into the soundscape of American Jewish life through composition, education, prayer, and performance on viola, violin, oud, and vocals. His debut album Fragments seeks to find new pathways to connect with ancestry and find healing around our fragmented identities. Yoni’s newest project, Kedmah, recently released their first album of Mizrahi Piyyutim (Middle Eastern Jewish liturgical music), entitled Simu Lev. From 2021-2022 Yoni toured nationally as an actor and violinist with the Tony Award-winning musical, “The Band’s Visit.”
6:15 - 7:00 p.m. Jewish Studio Project Workshop: Turning Together | Hands-on Art Workshop | Youth Room
How does meaning change when we shift our perspective? In this collaborative workshop, you’ll create with a partner, then physically turn your work to see it from new angles. Through playful co-creation and literal perspective shifts, we’ll explore how creativity deepens in relationship, how collaboration sparks insight, and what becomes visible when we’re willing to turn something over and look again.
6:15 - 7:00 p.m. Flamenco with Michaela Harari | Interactive Class | Chapel
Michaela Harari is a professional flamenco dancer and teacher with many years experience introducing this wonderful art form to wide audiences. Trained in modern, classical, and jazz genres, she started flamenco in 1980’s with Rosa Montoya in San Francisco. She has studied with myriad masters and performed with dancers and musicians in Spain, Israel, and Europe.
6:25 - 6:55 p.m. Honorable Menschen | A Capella Performance | Social Hall
With a cappella tunes ranging from remixed Shabbat melodies to Israeli folk songs to jazzy originals, Honorable Menschen’s unique sound has thrilled New England audiences since the group’s founding in 1997. Focusing on reinterpretations of classic Jewish music, with covers of bands from today and yesterday, Honorable Menschen provides a cappella music to all of Massachusetts! Membership consists of young professionals from around the Boston area.
Parking
Parking is available at 375 Longwood Avenue.
Questions?
Contact cajl@tisrael.org for more information.
Cosponsors
Chagigah Radio
Hal Slifer plays your favorite music by Jewish Singers on Chagigah Sunday mornings from 7:00 – 10:00 a.m. on WERS, 88.9, and streaming worldwide on WERS.org
Congregation Dorshei Tzedek
Dorshei Tzedek is a dynamic and growing Reconstructionist congregation of approximately 260 households. Our services and Religious School meet in Newton, Massachusetts, and our members live throughout the greater Boston area, as well as in states from Maryland to Wisconsin to Maine!
Humansphere Foundation
At the Humansphere Foundation, we aim to uplift humanity and inspire stewardship of the Earth. Current programs include Citizen Innovation (NASA Space Apps International Challenge, Humansphere Creathon), Emerging Leaders Program, Womensphere Global Institute, Philanthropy, and Art for Humanity.
Instagram: @humansphere.earth
Jewish Family Service of Metrowest (JFS)
Jewish Family Service of Metrowest (JFS) provides vital social, health, and community services to alleviate suffering, enhance lives, and support people in need.
Keshet
Keshet’s Mission:
Keshet works for the full equality of all LGBTQ+ Jews and our families in Jewish life. We equip Jewish organizations to build LGBTQ+-affirming communities, create spaces where queer Jewish youth feel seen and valued, and advance LGBTQ+ rights nationwide.
Facebook: @keshetGLBTJews
Instagram: @keshetlgbtqjews
Threads: @keshetlgbtqjews
LinkedIn: @keshet
La Bonne Maison
admin@labonnemaison.com
Temple Beth Zion Brookline
TBZ is an independent, inclusive Jewish congregation with members of all ages who are committed to each other; to joyful participatory worship; to meaningful Jewish learning, spiritual growth, and acts of social justice.
Temple Ohabei Shalom
Temple Ohabei Shalom, a Reform synagogue, is an inclusive Jewish community committed to nurturing, sustaining, and touching Jewish lives through lifelong learning, joyful worship, and repair of the world in word and deed.
Vilna Shul
The Vilna Shul is a cultural center in a historic synagogue building in downtown Boston. Our mission is to spark excitement and curiosity about Jewish culture and our American immigrant story through vibrant and meaningful experiences.
laura@vilnashul.org