Calendar
Information on individual events listed below.
If you have any questions or need assistance, email us at admin@nmjhs.org or call 505-348-4471
Tunes and Tints: 18 Jewish Artists Who Played and Painted Their Way to Fame
Presented by Rabbi Jack Schlachter
January 20, 2026
7pm via Zoom
In this presentation, we’ll investigate the lives and creative works of nine Jewish visual artists and nine Jewish musicians for a total of 18 (=Chai) talented individuals. We’ll also explore the apparent restrictions on these two fields stemming from the Ten Commandments. The talk will provide an opportunity to see some familiar faces, view some remarkable works of art, listen to some wonderful music, and learn about these gifted trailblazers.
Jack Shlachter is a physicist who worked at Los Alamos National Laboratory for over thirty years with briefer stints at Brookhaven National Laboratory in New York, the Atomic Energy Agency, and the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty Organization, the latter two based in Vienna, Austria; he led both the Physics Division and Theoretical Division during his LANL career. In parallel, Jack is an ordained rabbi who led the Jewish congregation in Los Alamos for many years, was the rabbi in Center Moriches, NY, during his years at Brookhaven, and now serves as rabbi of HaMakom, a congregation in Santa Fe, NM as well as the Los Alamos Jewish Center. He has also provided itinerant rabbinic support to far-flung Jewish communities including those in Vienna, Beijing, Warsaw, and Bangkok.
For more information email admin@nmjhs.org or call 505-348-4471
How Yiddish Has Shaped America
Presented by Harvey Buchalter
March 19, 2026 at 1pm
Jewish Community Center of Greater Albuquerque
5520 Wyoming Blvd NE, 87109
Yiddish, or “mama loshen,” if you prefer, has shaped the way we communicate with one another, with Yiddish words becoming “Americanized” all the time. Who doesn’t know what a “nosh” is? Or what “gelt” means? But there are many less familiar words – all of fascinating origin- whose meaning is so much more descriptive than English words could ever be. Think “shlep,” for example. In his presentation Harvey will give a brief history of Yiddish, its immigration story, and how Yiddish keeps itself alive.
For almost 30 years, Harvey has been a teacher, writer, and translator in Yiddish. He created the “Vinkel” of Albuquerque, NM, where he is the principal reader of short stories, essays, and poetry – all in Yiddish. He acquired his love of Yiddish growing up in the Bronx and continued his studies in the Workmans’ Circle Shules before service in the Peace Corps, teaching high school for almost thirty years, and also serving as three-time president of Congregation B’nai Israel in his adopted city. He spends his days and many nights creating Judaica in a great variety of wood and stone sculpture. Harvey received a BA from Brooklyn College of the City University of New York and an MA from the University of New Mexico.
For more information email admin@nmjhs.org or call 505-348-4471
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