The Board of Jewish Education of Atlantic & Cape May Counties has announced a series of workshops at area synagogues. The board is committed to creating and developing the highest-quality educational opportunities for the entire Jewish community. Its curriculum emphasizes Jewish ethics, culture, history, spirituality and the arts, while also promoting a lifelong connection to Israel.
BJE Throwback Thursday Brunch: The Lost Shuls of the Pine Barrens, Thursday, July 24, 10:30 a.m., Beth El, 500 N. Jerome Ave., Margate
Join a captivating journey into the forgotten Jewish past of South Jersey’s most unexpected region. This program uncovers the stories of small, often hidden synagogues and Jewish communities that once dotted the Pine Barrens and built by immigrant farmers, peddlers and Holocaust survivors who sought refuge and community in the sandy soil of South Jersey. Discover how faith, memory, and identity were preserved in modest wooden shuls nestled among cranberry bogs and pine trees, and why their stories still matter today. This brunch program led by Josh Cutler. Free to attend, advance registration required by emailing info@jewishbytheshore.org or calling 609-822-4404. More information at www.bjeatlantic.org.
BJE Brunch & Learn – Margins of Memory, Forgotten Voices: The Roma & Sinti, Wednesday, July 16, 10:30 a.m. at Beth El, Margate
This program explores the rich yet often overlooked history of the Roma and Sinti peoples of Europe. From their migration out of northern India to their diverse cultural traditions, the Roma and Sinti have long faced marginalization, persecution and harmful stereotypes. Josh Cutler will highlight their contributions to European society while confronting dark chapters of history, including their persecution and genocide during the Holocaust. By tracing their resilience, cultural identity and ongoing fight for recognition, this talk offers deeper insight into one of Europe’s most misunderstood and enduring communities. Free to attend, advance registration required by emailing info@jewishbytheshore.org or calling 609-822-4404. More information at www.bjeatlantic.org
BJE Beyond the Bookshelf with Judy Rakowsky, Wednesday, July 23, 7 p.m. at Shirat Hayam, 700 N. Swarthmore Ave., Ventnor
Rakowsky will delve into her family’s Holocaust history. Her new book, “Jews in the Garden,” is a haunting blend of memoir, mystery and historical investigation that reads like a true-crime thriller rooted in Holocaust history. When Rakowsky joins her cousin Sam, a Schindler’s List survivor, on a journey back to his Polish hometown, they set out to uncover the fate of family members who vanished during the war. What begins as a personal search soon unearths mass graves, hidden crimes and a chilling truth: many Jews in hiding were betrayed not by Nazis, but by their own neighbors. As Rakowsky peels back decades of silence and denial, she challenges Poland’s sanitized national memory and confronts the buried legacy of local complicity. Gripping and emotionally charged, this book is both a detective story and a powerful reckoning with the past. A limited number of books will be for sale at this event. Free to attend, advance registration required by emailing info@jewishbytheshore.org or calling 609-822-4404.
Katherine Fennelly – “Family Declassified: Uncovering My Grandfather's Journey from Spy to Children's Book Author,” Wednesday, July 30, 7 p.m. at Shirat Hayam, Ventnor
In “Family Declassified,” Fennelly draws on her expertise as a social science researcher to uncover the hidden story of her maternal grandfather, a Jewish Hungarian immigrant who arrived in the U.S. a century ago. Among the sparse search results about his life, a few hinted at his time in the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), the precursor to the CIA, but none revealed how a foreign-born sailor, shaped by early tragedy, rose to lead an elite Allied espionage unit during World War II. Fennelly traces his covert role in the ULTRA project, which decrypted German Enigma messages and was critical in thwarting nearly all major German intelligence operations. She pieces together his concealed Jewish identity, his secret work as a spy, and the devastating loss of his sister and nephew, murdered by Hungarian Nazis. The result is a gripping portrait of a man whose life intersected with some of the most extraordinary events of the 20th century told through a deeply personal and historical lens. A limited number of Fennelly’s books will be for sale the night of the event. Free to attend, advance registration required by emailing info@jewishbytheshore.org or calling 609-822-4404. More information at www.bjeatlantic.org
