Compiled by Sharon Wisch-Ray
sharon@tjpnews.com

Friedman, Schweig come in for Hillel honors

Hillels of North Texas, which includes the campuses of the University of North Texas, University of Texas at Dallas, Collin College and the Texas Women’s College, will honor Mike Friedman and Brad Schweig at its upcoming Desserts and Bellinis Reception. The reception will be held at 7 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 20, at Temple Emanu-El.

Both honorees are longtime Dallas residents and graduates of the University of North Texas. Mike Friedman has served on numerous boards in both the Jewish and non-Jewish communities including serving on the Plano school board. Brad Schweig served as the first co-president of UNT Hillel in 2000 and has been a member and past president of Hillel Advisory Board for the past 13 years. Proceeds from the reception support the continuous activities of Hillels of North Texas, serving nearly 1,000 Jewish students locally and welcoming students of all backgrounds to engage Jewishly on and off campus.
Hillels of North Texas are part of Hillel, the largest Jewish campus organization in the world, devoted to creating vibrant Jewish life on campus no matter the size of the Jewish population.
The cost of the event is $50 per person and reservations and other donations including ads in the tribute book can be made by contacting Melissa Duchin, executive director of Hillels of North Texas, 682-334-4689 or hillelntx.org/desserts2016.
— Submitted by Larry Strauss

Gifted storyteller, scholar at Shearith this weekend

“Some scholars in residence go way over people’s heads,” says Rabbi Adam Roffman of Congregation Shearith Israel. “We have a storyteller-in-residence on Nov. 4-5 who goes straight for the heart. Rabbi Paul Schneider was the headmaster of my day school growing up. He inspired many, many Jews to fall in love with Jewish learning and I am one of them. I owe a great deal to Rabbi Schneider. It was with our Religious School community in mind that I invited Rabbi Schneider to spend Shabbat with us. He is an inspiring presence, a master storyteller and, like a great Pixar movie, manages to speak directly to the hearts of both parents and children of all ages at the same time.”
Shearith Israel has Shabbat services, dinner and learning with Rabbi Schneider on Friday evening, Nov. 4. Dinner is $13 per adult, $9 per child, with a $36 family maximum. RSVPs are required for dinner. Please call 214-361-6606.
Rabbi Schneider will speak again during morning services Shabbat, Nov. 5 and again, after lunch, at 1 p.m. in the Fonberg Chapel. Kiddush luncheon is generously sponsored by the Shearith Israel SISterhood.
— Submitted by Judy Tashbook Safern

Texas Jewish Arts Association Juried Exhibition at the J

The TJAA, a community of Jewish artists, art professionals and art enthusiasts, opened its 2016 juried exhibition Oct. 27 at the Aaron Family Jewish Community Center.
Artwork was submitted without names and selected by a three-judge panel (Gail Sachson, Diana Pollock and Nancy Cohen Israel) from numerous submissions. They will be on display until Friday, Nov. 11.
The jurors chose the artwork to be included in this show based on the quality of the work and whether the artwork answered the theme of the show: Yitzhak (Isaac) They also chose the first-, second- and third-place winners, who each received prize money with their award.
Winners of the exhibition are: first place, You Shall Send the Mother Bird Away (monoprint) by Jan Ayers Friedman; second place, Nan Phillips (fused glass); third place, Rose Marie Mercado (painting).
In addition to the winners, the works of the following artists are also on display: Linda Chidsey, Della Isaacson, Veronique Jonas, Debbie Landa, Eli Lorenz, Charley Peacock, Stephen Potter, Esther Ritz, Jack Schecter, Lori Robertson-Snyder and Carole Wolanow.
During the reception, violinist Sarah Price performed beautiful Jewish music. Rabbi Shira Wallach gave a fascinating talk about the biblical and very human character of Isaac.
TJAA was created in 2013 with a group of five founding members, who, while displaying artwork at the JCC during a Jewish Historical Society program, realized that while they had known each other for years through other arts organizations, most of them did not realize that others in the group were Jewish. The group identified an obvious need for a Jewish arts organization.
Thirty-three members joined at the first meeting in 2014, and in 2016 membership exceeds 90 artists, predominantly in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, but also scattered around the state. TJAA is expanding to include the performing arts, and hopes to include the written art forms in the future. Membership is open to all types of artists, persons in art-related fields and all art-lovers of any kind.
TJAA received its nonprofit status in 2015 followed by a $2,000 grant from the Jewish Federation of Fort Worth and Tarrant County; in 2016, TJAA received a $6,000 grant from the Jewish Federation of Greater Dallas.
Veronique Jonas is president of the TJAA. To join or for more information, contact her at veronique@Ketubah-Art.com or Treasurer/Membership Chair Nan Phillips at nan@nan-art.com.