Purim @ Nightlife

Written by Chanah Poltorak

I hadn’t known what to expect from my first Purim in Crown Heights. I was unsure about where I would be comfortable hearing the Megillah, and when I received Nightlife’s flier about their Purim night event, I got to wondering about whether I would actually be entertained by the game of “Simon Sez” that they were advertising. I need not have worried at all.

When I rushed into the Rubashkin home and down the stairs to the Nightlife Lounge, I found a room filled with young women and dozens of rows of chairs, with Nightlife organizers quickly bringing out and unfolding more to accommodate a steady flow of new arrivals. Girls milled around wishing one another “A freilechen Purim.” Funny hats and full costumes spiced up the crowd. I had walked into Purim.

Among us were a pair of clowns in inflated plastic suits, a sorority of well-wrapped Middle Easterners, a bundled up Babushka, a pink visitor from the fifties and a wannabe Bais Rivkah student wearing her old uniform. We had Rabbi Yehuda Dukes to provide an exclusive Megillah reading. We had a spacious room and Megillahs for all. We were set.

My first concern resolved by a superb Megillah reading and my stomach satisfied by a delicious and healthy break-fast meal, I took a seat for the next part of the program.

First, a fellow Nightlife-goer shared an inspired Dvar Torah. I pocketed it, knowing that its message would be a bit of Purim that I could take with me throughout the year. Then, Paul Krohn, a.k.a. “Simon Sez” took the stage.

“I do what I love and I love what I do,” he told us. No wonder. He spent the evening making us laugh, making fools out of us and making us laugh some more.

His trademark fast-paced and unpredictable Simon Sez game kept us competing. He promised one thousand dollars – five thousand were on the table in cold cash – to anyone who could stay in a solo game with him for over a minute. We were ambitious. Some of us came pretty close. All anybody won, though, was side-splitting, Purim befitting hysteria.

Entertained I was. And then the real fun began. The chairs were cleared and the music turned on, and we filled the dance floor.

We danced together and separately. We jumped, clapped and sang with the music, letting it weave Simchas Purim throughout and within us. So our Purim night escalated until we dispersed as better friends, inspired, exhausted and invigorated.

Thank you, organizers and sponsors of Nightlife. You took my Purim to a whole new level of Achdus and joy. I’m looking forward to joining you for the next special evening that you are sure to transform.

Bsd

Yud Shvat @ Nightlife

By Ashirah Welton

Nightlife’s Yud Shvat Farbrengen was a greatly welcomed lifeline. From the moment that familiar e-mail popped up in the inbox, girls all over Crown Heights had plans for Wednesday night. Yud Shvat can seem like a “boy’s holiday” to girls living in Crown Heights, with the black hats swarming the streets, and even taking over that bastion of femininity, Beis Rivkah. A girl can feel a little bit lost in the sea of black and white. But with Nightlife’s amazing program, we had a place where we, too, could farbreng and connect to what Yud Shevat is all about. And thanks to the generous sponsorship of the CHJCC, the event was free. Yup, all the sushi, wraps, lasagna, salad and brownies one could want were on the house!

The girls started pouring in at 8:30, and kept coming all night.  Soon, the Nightlife Lounge which we are so fond was full to the brim, from sunny-colored wall to sunny-colored wall. Girls piled up plates full of delicious food and found their seats, crowding in around the tables set up for the farbrengen and curling up on the comfortable couches.

Rabbi Dov Yonah Korn, shliach at NYU, was the chosen ‘farbrengener’. Dressed colorfully as usual (he’s a self-avowed non-white shirt wearer), Rabbi Korn inspired and entertained a roomful of 130 young ladies. He spoke about “staying in the game”. We’ve got some serious advantages – we live in a place where G-d’s essence is, we’ve got souls that are naturally equipped to connect to G-d, and in Rabbi Korn’s words, we have a ’seriously awesome Rebbe’.

We’ve got a couple of hurdles to overcome, however. The pain of being so close to the perfection of Geulah, and still having to contend with the concealment of G-d has a rather depressing effect on the Jewish spirit. We’ve all experienced that sluggishness. Rabbi Korn compared it to the feeling you get when you skip a day of exercise. It’s the spiritual equivalent of the “couch potato effect”. So how do we combat it and stay in the game?

Confidence, Regimen, Focus, and Demand. CRFD. (No, it doesn’t spell anything.) When you have confidence that you are a chossid carrying the Rebbe’s message, the knowledge that you are a player in this ‘game’, a regimen of achievable goals, and a focus on our mission in this world (two words: Dirah B’Tachtonim), combined with constant demand from Hashem for more of His revealed good, we can accomplish what our Rebbe wants, and stay in this game until we win!

Any farbrengen is lacking unless there are a sufficient amount of sidetracks, of course. Among those traversed upon that night were discussions about the connection we have to Hashem when His goodness is concealed (aka when bad things happen), instructions from Rabbi Korn to ‘argue’ with your mashpia, and – in one of the funniest of the personal stories we heard that night – what to do when you fall asleep on the subway. We all got ‘into it’ – many girls asked questions, others contributed their own opinions to what the Rabbi had to say. It was a real interactive experience.

Rabbi Korn farbrenged for two hours, an incredible two hours. What was it that girls liked the most about the farbrengen? “The energy in the room was great,” one participant said. “No one was hiding themselves.” “He’s the funniest rabbi I’ve ever heard,” said another. “When you get caught up in the repetitiousness of your daily schedule, it’s hard to get inspired by what you’re doing. Rabbi Korn makes the familiar seem fresh and new,” explained Sara, who was really glad to have made it that night.

Most girls stayed for a couple of hours afterwards, catching up with friends, or holding mini-farbrengens at the tables, on the couches, or tucked into the pillows on the carpet at the back of the room. Everyone looked glad to be back. The Nightlife volunteer sheet was full of signatures by the end of the night.”I’m really looking forward to what they’ll be doing next!” said Sara. “And I signed up for the emails, so I’ll be in-the-know from now on.”

Well, in the opinion of the girl writing this, being in the know about Nightlife is definitely something you want to be! We’re all eagerly anticipating the next invitation to join our fellow Crown Heights dwelling females for a night of great entertainment and inspiration in the oasis of Nightlife.

Next Nightlife Event: This Motsai Shabbos, Feb.14, in honor of our Rebbetzin!

To receive regular email updates contact CrownHeightsNightlife@gmail.com.

NightLife is a joint project of the CHJCC, BYIT, and Taharas Hamishpacha International

NightLife is sponsored by the CHJCC

We miss you too, but don’t worry we’ll be back soon. While we revamp peruse pictures from this past year. Let us know what NL means to you, why we need to start up again soon, what you liked, and your suggestions for the coming year. E-mail us at crownheightsnightlife@gmail.com

with Esther Rachel Russel

This Thursday, August 28, is the last Nightlife event of summer 2008. Nightlife will, G-d willing, resume after the holidays. Look out for new exciting programming and special events in November! Suggestions and comments always welcome!

Wishing a K’siva V’Chasima Tova to all!

This Thursday, August 28th Cost $5 8pm Comedy Night!* with Esther Rachel Russell Join in this evening’s Comedy Improv fun!! You haven’t laughed as hard as you will with Esther Rachel in a long time! Esther Rachel Russell, MA, is a screenwriter, performer, producer, laughter therapist and the creator of the Comedy Improvisation Workshop: To Break Through Barriers. Most recently, she performed in the popular off-Broadway comedy, A Match Made in Manhattan – The Interactive Jewish Weddings Experience where she played the role of Rivky Lowenstein, as well as starring in The Permeable Man, a film by Leibel Cohen. Her improv comedy career began at the famous Groundlings Theater in Los Angeles where she wrote and performed in numerous comedy sketches. Esther Rachel is the writer/producer of the internationally acclaimed one-man show Gathering the Sparks starring her husband, actor and comedian Reuven Russell and has recently written and directed the cutting-edge documentary Shame, Shanda & Silence. Currently, Esther Rachel is an adjunct professor of screenwriting at Stern College in New York City. In her previous incarnation, she worked on various television sets in Hollywood as a producer of Lifestyles of the Rich & Famous, Benson and Wheel of Fortune.  She received her Master’s degree in Theater at NYU. *All new performance! Not a repeat of the winter comedy improv. **Special surprise additions to the dinner menu! (Dairy)

NIGHTLIFE Bonfire & BBQ August 2008