Cafe Komen

The Cool World Tour Returns

If you've been following my posts on Twitter & Facebook, then you know Cool Jew has been showing up lately all around the world. It's been one amazing race!

This long list of fantastic events, aka the The Cool Jew World Tour, began with the Annual Carlebach Retreat over Thanksgiving weekend. From there, it was off to Chanukah in the Holy Land and books talks at the Technion in Haifa and the Pardes Institute in Jerusalem. In late December, it was off to Limmud UK, with a whopping eight sessions on Cool Jew, Tikkun Olam, the Heebster Jewke Box and more. January took me to beautiful Paris, then back to the states for Schmooze: The IJPA Jewish Culture Conference and Limmud New York. February ushered in Limmud LA and Jewlicious Festival 6.0 and March served up Toledo for a few private talks, New York City and Limmud Atlanta.

And now, the Cool Jew World Tour 2.0 is back in full force, with stops in Budapest * Jerusalem * Tel Aviv * Berlin * Amsterdam, as well as an artist's residency in Jerusalem while I work on my next book. Stay tuned for updates!

I'm writing this note from Israel, and I'll be here through May 11, when I depart for Limmud Berlin and Limmud Netherlands. I'm grateful for every opportunity and really enjoying bringing my message about celebrating Jewish culture with love, pride and a reverent irreverence to enthusiastic communities around the world. Be sure to say hello if you're in these parts and check out Twitter & Facebook for the latest posts as I continue this adventure around the world... The only thing missing is a hot air balloon!

With Passover approaching, I want to wish you a wonderful holiday, filled with joyous liberation

as Mama Doni, PopJudaica, Modern Tribe and I join together to announce

Do you have unique traditions for your seder?

Are you doing something different this year?

Share your thoughts to enter to win!

One lucky winner will receive the following gifts:

Mama Doni's t-shirt and music CD for kids and parents: I Love Herring (www.MamaDoni.com)

Matzah Madness gifts from PopJudaica.com: Matzah Sweeper & Giant Inflatable Matzah Ball

ModernTribe's "No Limit Texas Dreidel" game -- Dreidel isn't just for Hanukkah anymore!

Cool Jew: The Ultimate Guide for Every Member of the Tribe (www.cooljewbook.com)

TWITTER BONUS ROUND:

Receive an extra entry for every Tweet! Use http://tinyurl.com/fourcups + @ModernTribe_Jew. Your entry also earns you a 10% discount at PopJudaica and ModernTribe.

Winner will be notified Thursday, April 1st!

Remember, Cool Jew makes a great Afikomen and Passover host gift. Chag kasher v'sameach!

Now booking!

Amazon: http://tinyurl.com/66uljk
Twitter.com/lisaklug
Facebook: http://tinyurl.com/6hltzb
QTV: http://tinyurl.com/6zu73r
Red Room: http://tinyurl.com/6cj3wu
JewTube: http://tinyurl.com/6xny9v

The Ten Days of Awesomeness

If you've been following us on Twitter or Facebook, then you know Cool Jew has been showing up lately all around the world. From the Technion in Haifa to the Pardes Institute in Jerusalem, to a whopping eight sessions at Limmud UK, and then back to the states for Schmooze: The IJPA Jewish Culture Conference, Limmud New York and more...

What more you ask? You may have heard of the Ten Days of Awe -- the days between Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur. Well, l'havdil, with a profound departure from that time of spiritual introspection, we're now in the Ten Days of Awesomeness. You know those sunny, yummy, playful days between one awesome festival and another: Limmud LA, which we rocked last weekend, and Jewlicious 6.0, which we'll rock starting tomorrow in Long Beach. If you're nearby, come join the fun! Read all about it and grab last-minute tickets to the fest or the Saturday night concert, jam-packed with awesomeness, at www.jewliciousfestival.com.

Naturally, the miracles and wonders don't stop there! The Ten Days of Awesomeness fall in Adar, the Hebrew month of merrymaking, making this the perfect time to announce the Mamalah's Purim Giveaway. We know this little shindig may come as a surprise, so we're spelling it all out here!

The Mamalah's Purim Giveaway

In the Purim Megillah, Esther hides her Jewishness from the King. Even the name Esther means hidden. G-d is hidden in the Purim story. Sometimes your truest self is hidden, too.

But on Purim, “hiding” in costume gives you the freedom to let-it-all-hang-out and celebrate sometimes hidden aspects of who you are! What part of you do you want to party-up on Purim?

Visit PopJudaica.com and tell us your Jewish doppleganger to enter to win the Mamalah’s Purim Giveaway!

One lucky winner will receive the following gifts:

• Author Lisa Alcalay Klug’s book Cool Jew: The Ultimate Guide for Every Member of the Tribe
• ModernTribe’s “No Limit Texas Dreidel” game.
• Mama Doni’s music CD for kids and parents: I Love Purim. (www.MamaDoni.com

Who is your Jewish doppelganger? Which Jewish celebrity, historic figure, or bible character is your inspiration, your alter ego, your evil twin? Share your thoughts to enter to win! Click here to enter the Mamalah’s Purim Giveaway

TWITTER BONUS ROUND: Receive an extra entry for every Tweet! Use hashtag #mamalah

The lucky winner will be notified Friday, February 26th.

The fun never stops... Next up: Cool Jew Spring Travels. We'll be in Toledo, Ohio March 4, New York City March 5 - 13, Limmud Atlanta + SE March 14 and Limmud Berlin May 13 - 16.

Now booking!

Cool Jew: The Ultimate Guide for Every Member of the Tribe, a National Jewish Book Award Finalist
CoolJewBook.com
Amazon: http://tinyurl.com/66uljk
Twitter.com/lisaklug
Facebook: http://tinyurl.com/6hltzb
QTV: http://tinyurl.com/6zu73r
Red Room: http://tinyurl.com/6cj3wu
JewTube: http://tinyurl.com/6xny9v

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.