Wednesday, November 3
12:01 AM
To Friday, November 5
12:01 AM
Film discussion Zoom meeting Sunday, November 7
11 AM
Jewish Film Festival Presents Nir Bergman’s Here We Are
The 32nd Annual Orange County International, now in its 32nd season, showcases Jewish-themed feature and documentary films from November through March. Founded by University Synagogue and co-sponsored by eight partner organizations, the festival welcomes people of all faiths and backgrounds.
Director Nir Bergman’s road trip across Israel is a loving portrait of a father and his autistic son. Aharon has devoted his life to raising his autistic son, Uri, but Uri is now a young adult and is due to move into a residential home. Aharon, however, believes he knows his son’s needs better than anyone else. While on their way to the residence, Aharon decides to take his son on a road trip across Israel with the ultimate aim of fleeing the country. In Hebrew with English subtitles.
To sign up, visit https://universitysynagogue.shulcloud.com/form/2021-OCJFF.
Thursday, November 4
10 AM
Orange County Arts Festival Presents Naomi Ragen: An Observant Wife
After the joy of their wedding day, ultra-Orthodox widower Yaakov and newly-observant Leah are plunged into the complex reality of their new life together. Yaakov leaves his yeshiva to work in the city, and Leah confronts the agonizing religious restrictions governing even the most intimate moments of their married life. Some in the community view Leah as an interloper, questioning her sincerity and adherence to religious law. While trying to balance their human needs and spiritual obligations, a forbidden relationship between troubled daughter Shaindele and a local boy precipitates a frenzy of life-changing consequences for all.
Naomi Ragen is an award-winning novelist, journalist and playwright. An outspoken advocate for human rights and an active repudiator of anti-Semitic propaganda, she has lived in Israel since 1971. An Observant Wife is her 13th novel.
The cost is $10 JCC members, $15 for the public. A Zoom link will be provided prior to the event.
To register, visit https://www.jccoc.org/events/2021/11/04/oc-jewish-arts-festival/naomi-ragen-i-an-observant-wife-i/.
Sunday, November 7
2 PM
Bingo – Women of Beth David & NCJW, GLB & WOC
Enjoy an afternoon of bingo, friends and fun at Beth David, 6100 Hefley Street, Westminster, CA 92683. The event is sponsored by Women of Beth David & NCJW, GLB & WOC.
Families are welcome. There will be cash prizes and snacks.
To RSVP, visit https://www.templebethdavid.org/events/bingo-women-of-beth-david-ncjw-glb-woc/.
Wednesday, November 10
6 PM
Orange County Arts Festival Presents Joel Poremba: My Name is Staszek Surdel: The Improbable Holocaust Survival of Nathan Poremba, the Last Jew of Wieliczka
The biography of Holocaust survivor, Nathan Poremba, explores his life and survival in Poland before, during and after the war. It is a story of resistance, survival, tragedy and hope, and the resilience of a nine-year old Polish Jew who never submitted to antisemitism. Written by his son Joel, who was stunned to hear Nathan’s testimony to the Shoah Foundation Visual History Archive in 1998, it was only after an inspiring trip to Israel twenty-one years later that Joel finally watched his father’s video testimony.
Determined to fulfill the promise that he made in his Bar Mitzvah speech to one day tell his father’s story, Joel subsequently interviewed his father about the details of his Holocaust survival. Joel Poremba is a business attorney with 23 years of litigation experience in both state and federal courts.
The cost is $10 JCC members, $15 public. The In-person presentation and post-event reception are in the Chase Family Holocaust Memorial Garden.
For reservations, visit https://www.jccoc.org/events/2021/11/10/oc-jewish-arts-festival/joel-poremba-i-my-name-is-staszek-surdel-the-improbable-holocaust-survival-of-nathan-poremba-the-last-jew-of-wieliczka-i/.