Cool Jew Goes Global!

ANNOUNCING THE COOL JEW WORLD TOUR:

NEW YORK * JERUSALEM * LONDON * PARIS * NEW YORK

It's the tour that keeps on ticking! The 2009-2010 Cool Jew World Tour officially begins this weekend, when I set off for New York City! With books in tow, I'll be joining the sixth annual Carlebach retreat at the beautiful eco-friendly Isabella Freedman Jewish Retreat Center in Falls Village, Connecticut. Next stop?

First, The Motherland. Then, The Mothership

Tick, tick, tick! The overseas leg launches December 1st, as we blast off for Tel Aviv! Among other events we'll be announcing online, we'll be celebrating Chanukah Cool Jew-style with a come-one, come-all Cool Jew-licious Tweet Up! It's a joint event with one of my favorite blog-spots, Jewlicious and stand-up comedian Benji Lovitt. Catch us at sunset at the public menorah lighting in Zion Square in downtown Jerusalem the third night of lights. Or join us after work at a downtown libation-location TBA. For late-breaking deets, follow me on Twitter @lisaklug, friend me on Facebook or visit CoolJewBook.com!

December 23^rd, it's off to London for the celebrated festival known as Limmud UK: 2,000 Yidden * 800 sessions * 5 days plus a pre-festival Shabbat! It's all held at the University of Warwick. This Californian will be bracing the cold to present five times and enjoy all the festivities at this mothership of all Limmud festivals worldwide!

Then it's off to Paris! January 4th - 10th, the city across the Channel brings on private events in the historic city of lights. Catch these updates on Twitter. Then it's back across the pond just in time for...

More Schmooze, Less Snooze!

Schmooze: The IJPA Jewish Culture Conference for international Jewish arts and culture presenters and artists takes place January 11^th - 12^th at City Winery in Manhattan. I've loved being part of planning Schmooze the past few years and am thrilled by the awesome line-up we'll be presenting one more time. In addition to Schmooze, I'll be catching the spectacular shows that always run concurrent with each night of Schmooze at the Oy!hoo Music Festival. Imagine 20 rockin' innovative and emerging Jewish performers across two NYC venues. Tickets to Schmooze, which includes an all-access pass to the music festival, and festival tix ala carte are available at Oyhoo.com.

There's one more big event on this ground-breaking tour and that's Limmud NY, January 15^th - January 18^th. It's four days of eye-opening sessions, book signings, concerts, Shabbat, and more at the Hudson Valley Resort in Kerhonkson, New York. Registration is now open.

In Other Headlines

You asked for it, you've got it! New this holiday season, pair up a book with awesome Heebster gear from the Cool Jew Book Store. Now you can score an entire grocery store worth of rockin' goods featuring the iconic book jacket or the ridonkulously cool Cool Jew necklace designed by yours truly. It's all currently on sale at reduced "Black Friday" rates, so swagger on over and pick up some swag!

Wishing you a Happy Thanksgiving with blessings of gratitude and abundance,

A Chanukah Sameach -- may the light of Chanukah illuminate your world with joy, meaning and fun,

And as always,

A l'chaim in your punim!

Lisa

Cool Jew: The Ultimate Guide for Every Member of the Tribe, a 2008 National Jewish Book Award Finalist, makes a great gift!

Now booking: lisa (at) cooljewbook.com

Hello, Rochester!

Catch the THE MAIN EVENT

This year, Women's Philanthropy of the Jewish Federation presents its 19th annual opportunity to celebrate the power of a woman's gift! Join us on Tuesday, October 27th with keynote speaker, Lisa Alcalay Klug, author of

Cool Jew: The Ultimate Guide for Every Member of the Tribe.

THE MAIN EVENT will take place at Temple Beth El, 139 South Winton Road in Rochester, New York

beginning with a 6:15 PM reception followed by 7:00 PM dinner and program.

Cost for the evening is $40 per person. During the evening each woman will have the opportunity to make a personal pledge to the 2010 UJA Federation Campaign; a minimum gift of $200 is suggested. The MAIN EVENT is sponsored by Jewish Community Federation of Greater Rochester.

More info on registering is available here.

Limmud UK

A week long chag - a festival of the mind and the spirit.

http://www.limmud.org/conference/

Start Time:
Friday, December 25, 2009 at 8:00am
End Time:
Thursday, December 31, 2009 at 2:00pm
Location:
The University of Warwick
City/Town:
Coventry, United Kingdom
Phone:
4402084587965
Email:
office@limmud.org

* Choose from over 800 sessions
* A wide range of options every hour
* Hundreds of speakers from all over the world
* Torah, Spirituality, Israel, History, Politics, Social Action, Community, Society, Arts, Culture, Music, Performance and more
* Over 2,000 fellow participants to meet and keep the discussions going

Featuring:
* Efraim Zuroff, Nazi hunter and candidate for the 2008 Nobel Peace Prize
* Bernard Kops, the East End poet and playwright
* Michelle Citrin, singer and YouTube phenomenon
* Hephzibah Anderson, author of Chastened: No More Sex in the City
* Lisa Klug, author of Cool Jew: The Ultimate Guide for Every Member of the Tribe

NEW PRESENTERS ANNOUNCED
* Darshan, New York Hip Hop artists
* Kobi Oz, Israeli singer / songwriter who has represented his country at Eurovision
* Hagai El-Ad, Chief Exec of Association for Civil Rights in Israel
* Jonathan Fine, authority on terrorism and geopolitics from the International Institute for Counter-Terrorism, Herzliya
* Shalva Weil, historian of Ethiopian and Indian Jewry
* Jay Michaelson, editor of Zeek, the Manhattan based Jewish youth culture magazine
* Robert Rabinowitz, climate change expert

http://www.limmud.org/conference/conference09/Presenters/

Plus:
*spotlight sessions on sustainability and the Jewish world
*new tracks including Jewish Communal Professional covering the core skills of fundraising, strategy, education and more
*in Mind, Body, Spirit you’ll be engaging your whole Jewish being to explore texts in new and interesting ways.
*recreational activities like the pub quiz, the ‘Unfire’, a late night bar and top film, theatre and musical performances

The very best value:
We’ve kept a low price of only £370 for five days - only £74 per day including all your food, accommodation, sessions and entertainment. A new low price on ensuite single rooms, reduced to only £430.

If you’re under 30 a great way to experience Conference for as little as £115 is by spending a few hours a day volunteering in our Young Adult Development programme.

Book by November 23, before our prices rise.

Apply online at www.limmud.org

Where will Limmud Conference 2009 take you?

THE MAIN EVENT

The Jewish Community Federation of Greater Rochester

announces "THE MAIN EVENT" for the Women of Rochester, New York!

This year, Women's Philanthropy presents its 19th annual opportunity to celebrate the power of a woman's gift! Join us on Tuesday, October 27th at THE MAIN EVENT, this year presenting Lisa Klug, author of "Cool Jew: The Ultimate Guide for Every Member of the Tribe."

THE MAIN EVENT will take place at Temple Beth El, 139 South Winton Road beginning with a

6:15 PM reception followed by 7:00 PM dinner and program. Cost for the evening is $40 per

person. During the evening each woman will have the opportunity to make a personal pledge

to the 2010 UJA Federation Campaign; a minimum gift of $200 is suggested.

More info on registering is available here.

Shanah Tova and Mazal Tov

Wishing you a good and sweet new year!

Winner of the Cool Jew New You Giveaway is Michele P., Philadelphia

Michele is casting off and starting new in 5770:

"The mainstream New Year is often about resolutions and I no longer 'just resolve' to do anything. It sounds passive and gives me a feeling of a last ditch attempt, like I've let something go horridly wrong in the past. The shofar, and the Jewish New Year, is empowering, it is about opening one's eyes.

So, my wake up call is to be more aware every day. Be aware of my temple needs, as membership chair, be aware of the Jewish community and, the mainstream, to help all not just a group. To be aware of my role as a mother and wife. To be aware of my own needs and desires, to be the best person I can be. To network more to help raise others up to their aspirations. So, the shofar call is my awareness call, and it isn't even sounding yet, and I can see more clearly and hear it echo through me - I am honestly blessed."

Congratulations to Michele. Thank you to all who shared your reflections with us. Read them all at www.tinyurl.com/coolyou.

Please remember to vote! http://www.jewishcommunityheroes.org/nominees/profile/lisa-alcalay-klug/

Abundant thanks to you all for making this such a memorable year ~

Shana tova -- ketiva v'chatima tova!

Jewish Diversity Rocks

What do a rapper, a dancer, a comedian and a handful of Sefardic, Ashkenazi and Hasidic performers have in common? They're all sharing the stage this Sunday in a show that celebrates Jewish diversity.

After an amazing year of events across North America, we're celebrating the first anniversary of the publication of my book with a blow-out show in New York City this Sunday. The Cool Jews Every Member of the Tribe Artist Showcase features an amazing cast of multicultural Jews. And, in an online giveaway we're running in conjunction with this event, one lucky winner will receive a prize package valued at almost $300 packed with their innovative creations.



The Cool Jews Every Member of the Tribe Artists Showcase is slated for 5 pm, Sept. 13th at the JCC of Manhattan. Our diverse group of multicultural Jewish artists will hit the stage with their greatest hits. Performers include:
Sarah Aroeste, Ladino chanteuse
Yisrael Campbell, comedian/Jew by choice
Eprhyme, Ashkenazi rapper Eden Pearlstein (on the Shemspeed label)
Elie Massias, Gibraltar-born Sephardic guitarist/solo artist
Adam McKinney, classically trained African-American Jewish dancer who has performed with Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater and other acclaimed companies, filmmaker and arts educator
Rachel Ravitz & Matti Brown, married singer/songwriter folk duo; Rachel is a storyteller in the tradition of Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach and Matti is a cantor and Jew by choice
Rav Shmuel, hasidic rabbi and rock n' roller

In conjunction with the Cool Jews Every Member of the Tribe Artists Showcase, we've created the Cool Jew New You Giveaway in partnership with http://ModernTribe.com. This innovative website shares Cool Jew's approach to celebrating Jewish culture. Together, we have invited the Showcase Artists and several other Jewish mensches -- friends and colleagues, artists, writers, performers and entrepreneurs -- to donate prizes to the Cool Jew New You Giveaway in honor of the Jewish New Year, Rosh HaShanah, which falls on September 18th.

To enter to win the Cool Jew New You Giveaway, visit http://tinyurl.com/coolyou and submit your answer to this question: "In what ways are you "casting off" and starting new this year?'" You can also click through to purchase elements of the Giveaway. (No purchase is required to win. This contest is open to residents of the U.S. and Canada.)

The Cool Jew New You Giveaway winner will be chosen from all submissions and announced on Sept. 17th at the ModernTribe.com blog.

The Cool Jew New You Giveaway contains prizes valued at approximately $300. One lucky mensch will receive:

* Ladino chanteuse Sarah Aroeste's Puertas CD ($15)
* Stand-up comedian Yisrael Campbell's Circumcise Me DVD ($20)
* Eprhyme’s debut CD WAYWORDWONDERWILL ($15) and 7-inch vinyl single, Punklezmerap, on K Records as part of its International Pop Underground Series ($5)
* Jewcy.com’s “Table Topics: Spirit Box” discussion cards ($25)
* Author Lisa Alcalay Klug's book Cool Jew: The Ultimate Guide for Every Member of the Tribe ($13)
* Living Tree Community Foods’ organic Snugglespoon honey, raw almond butter and raw tahini ($47 total)
* Rachel and Matti’s CD sampler Your Kindness ($5)
* Jennie Rivlin Roberts' "No Limit Texas Dreidel" game from ModernTribe.com ($20)
* Jean Roth’s Rotem Gear What Would Maimonides Do? t-shirt ($24)
* Author Matthue Roth’s books, Never Mind the Goldbergs ($8) and Yom Kippur A Go-Go ($15)
* Musician/composer Elie Massias’ Brooklyn Days CD ($10)
* Singer/Songwriter Rav Shmuel's "Protocols" and "B'yameinu" music CDs ($18 each) and two t-shirts ($15 each)

Meet the folks behind the giveaway:

Inspired by her Sephardic roots from Spain and Greece, Ladino chanteuse Sarah Aroeste fuses Judeo-Spanish folk songs from her unique background with rock, funk, jazz and blues. Her exotic blend of flamenco melodies, Middle Eastern rhythms and modern soul presents a fresh take on Sephardic sounds. saraharoeste.com

American-born Yisrael Campbell performs stand-up comedy throughout the English-speaking world and Israel, his adopted home. Yisrael is currently creating a production of his one-man show, "Circumcise Me," to open off-Broadway in November, 2009. He trained for the stage at Circle in the Square. yisraelcampbell.com

Incorporating Kabbalah, psychology and politics, Eprhyme (aka Eden Pearlstein) spits rhymes intertwined with elements of jazz, funk, klezmer and Middle Eastern music. A kaleidoscopic counter-cultural exchange for mystics, punks and b-boys, his raps are a powerful, poetic plea for peace, justice, joy and unity. Ephryme.com, http://tinyurl.com/eprhymevid

Jewcy.com is an entertainment and media company devoted to helping Jews (and anyone else) find, use, share, and expand meaning and community. Jewcy operates an online site, theatrical productions, and a steady diet of exciting events for progressive free-thinkers. jewcy.com

Award-winning journalist Lisa Alcalay Klug is the author of Cool Jew: The Ultimate Guide for Every Member of the Tribe, a 2008 National Jewish Book Awards Finalist. A contributor to the New York Times, Forward and many other publications, Lisa also edits the multicultural blog, Tolerant Nation. cooljewbook.com tolerantnation.wordpress.com

Living Tree Community Foods is a pioneering natural foods company distributing kosher creations from its base in Berkeley, California throughout the world. Living Tree products are alive, organic and certified kosher. livingtreecommunity.com

Gibraltar native Elie Massias sings and plays acoustic and electric guitar, soprano saxophone and cajon and, using a boomerang sampler, creates loops in real-time, integrating the beautiful intricacies of Flamenco Guitar, Jazz, Middle Eastern and Sephardic music. Billboard Magazine named Elie among the top 10 acts of the U.S. North East at the Independent Music World Series 2007. eliemassias.com

Rachel Ravitz & Matthew Brown met while exploring the world's various religions and married soon after their first musical collaboration. Fifteen years later, they continue to harmonize, compose and perform new Jewish melodies. Rachel is a singer and storyteller in the Chasidic tradition of Reb Shlomo Carlebach. Matthew, a Jew by choice, is a composer and cantor for several congregations in New York City. Rachel and Matti are currently recording their first CD of original Jewish music. rachelandmatti.com

Jennie Rivlin Roberts is the founder of ModernTribe.com (this website!), an online Judaica and Jewish gifts store for progressive minds, spirits, and style, and the co-inventor of No Limit Texas Dreidel (NLTD), which crosses dreidel with Texas Hold'em poker. NLTD has received national recognition in media outlets such as NPR and Newsweek. TexasDreidel.com

Designer R. Jean Roth embraces diversity daily at her graphic design studio and through her apparel designs at Rotem Gear. Having lived in the US, Israel and Japan, she brings her multi-hued background into her designs, along with a dose of American pop culture and quirky humor. Rotem Gear has been featured in fashion magazines, Jewish publications and the Cool Jew book! RotemGear.com

Matthue Roth is the author of three novels, Losers, Never Mind the Goldbergs, and Candy in Action, as well as a memoir, Yom Kippur a Go-Go. He lives in Brooklyn with his wife and daughter, and he keeps a secret diary at matthue.com

Rav Shmuel is a hasidic rabbi who hangs out in Greenwich Village and plays original compositions on his guitar. Billboard described his acclaimed debut CD as "immediately likeable... good humored anti-folk." Views of his animated video, "Protocols," have surpassed 125,000 on YouTube. ravshmuel.com

Take a moment for fun and enter to win the Cool Jew New You Giveaway!

Cool Jews Artists Showcase & New You Giveaway

This Sunday, come celebrate Jewish diversity at the Cool Jews Artist Showcase at 5 pm at the JCC of Manhattan. And join 13 Jewish innovators & entrepreneurs who have teamed up to celebrate Rosh Hashanah by celebrating online. We've all contributed close to $300 worth of gifts to give away to one lucky person.

A diverse group of multicultural Jewish artists will hit the stage with their greatest hits. Performers at the Cool Jew Artist Showcase are

Sarah Aroeste, Ladino chanteuse
Yisrael Campbell, comedian/Jew by choice
Eprhyme, Ashkenazi rapper Eden Pearlstein (on the Shemspeed label)
Elie Massias, Gibraltar-born Sephardic guitarist/solo artist
Adam McKinney, classically trained African-American Jewish dancer who has performed with Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater and other acclaimed companies, filmmaker and arts educator
Rachel Ravitz & Matti Brown, married singer/songwriter folk duo; Rachel is a storyteller in the tradition of Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach and Matti is a cantor and Jew by choice
Rav Shmuel, hasidic rabbi and rock n'roller

You can win their creations and other holiday shwag in the Cool Jew New You Gift Box. The gift box contains

Ladino chanteuse Sarah Aroeste's Puertas CD ($15)
Stand-up comedian Yisrael Campbell's Circumcise Me DVD ($20)
Eprhyme’s debut CD WAYWORDWONDERWILL ($15) and 7-inch vinyl single, Punklezmerap, on K Records as part of its International Pop Underground Series ($5)
Jewcy.com’s “Table Topics: Spirit Box” discussion cards ($25)
Author Lisa Alcalay Klug's book Cool Jew: The Ultimate Guide for Every Member of the Tribe ($13)
Living Tree Community Foods’ organic Snugglespoon honey, raw almond butter and raw tahini ($47 total)
Rachel and Matti’s CD sampler Your Kindness ($5)
Jennie Rivlin Roberts' "No Limit Texas Dreidel" game from ModernTribe.com ($20)
Jean Roth’s Rotem Gear What Would Maimonides Do? t-shirt ($24)
Author Matthue Roth’s books, Never Mind the Goldbergs ($8) and Yom Kippur A Go-Go ($15)
Musician/composer Elie Massias’ Brooklyn Days CD ($10)
Singer/Songwriter Rav Shmuel's Protocols and B'yameinu CDs ($18 each) and two t-shirts ($15 each)

To enter to win the Cool Jew New You Giveaway, go to http://tinyurl.com/coolyou and submit your answer to this question:

"In what ways are you 'casting off' and starting new this year?"

A winner will be chosen from the answers and announced on Thursday, September 17. (No purchase is required to enter. This contest is open to residents of the U.S. and Canada. Void where prohibited.)

Take a moment for fun and enter here.