Events Archive

Pardes Pop Up Beit Midrash

Understanding Torah, Understanding Ourselves / Leah Rosenthal

When the Rabbis of the Talmud imagined the transformational event of receiving the Torah at Sinai they described the ultimate model of Torah study. What is it that happened there and what is it that should happen each time we engage in the study of the Torah? This class will examine different approaches to this question found in Talmudic texts and discuss some of the possible implications of these texts for Jewish education today.

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Pardes Pop Up Beit Midrash

Truth with a Capital "T" - Danger or Gift? / Rabbi Zvi Hirschfield

Together we will explore the role truth plays in our connection to the beliefs and practices of Judaism and our Jewish identity.  Is it important to believe that the claims Judaism makes about God, history, and values are true, or is it enough that we claim them as our own? Moreover, can believing one's religion to be true lead to extremism?

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Pardes Pop Up Beit Midrash

Decision Making: Sinai As Case Study / Dr. David Bernstein

The Midrash offers us differing understandings of how the Jewish people received the Torah.  Was it divine coercion?  Blind faith? Something else? We will examine some of the sources and apply them to our own decision-making.

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Cinema Yiddishland: A Program of Three Short Films

This program of three short films presents Yiddish culture across diverse cinematic genres – ranging from surrealist essay to poetic documentary. Though distinct in style, the films are unified by a search for Jewish roots. This selection offers a view of Yiddish not as a closed chapter of history, but as a living medium for dialogue between generations and the cultures of the diaspora.
After the screening, a discussion with filmmaker Shoshana Simons (50 Voices Across the Shtetl Multiverse) will follow.

Fragments of Language
Eli, an idealistic young diaspora enthusiast, accidentally brings back to life her literary idol — the renowned Yiddish poet Peretz Markish. Peretz leads Eli on a surreal journey through a blooming forest, where she gradually discovers that the path to transforming Hebrew reality lies not in mourning the dead but in immersing herself in a vibrant, original life in Yiddish.
Hebrew Title:  רסיסי שפה (Resisei Safa)
Fiction, 14:29 min, 2025, Color
Written and directed by Ethel Niborski
Language: Hebrew, Yiddish, with English and Czech subtitles
Produced at: The Sam Spiegel Film & Television School, Jerusalem

The Niggun 
The rabbi of the ghetto has one request, that the family name not be forgotten. One night there is a knock at his door demanding that he issue a decree in regard to the Nazi demand for a list of 10 names to be executed. Should this list not be produced, they will take the first born of each family. The rabbi has no intention of ruling on such a horrific pronouncement, but when he realizes that his own son is at risk he must comply - and does so with assistance from his ancestors.
Hebrew Title: הניגון
Fiction/doc min, 2025, Color
Written and directed by: Raphael Pomeranz
Language: Yiddish, with English and Czech subtitles
Produced at: The Sam Spiegel Film & Television School, Jerusalem

50 Voices Across the Shtetl Multiverse - a short poetic documentary by Shoshana Simons
Drawing on over 50 hours of interviews with Jewish women across the diaspora on liberation and Jewish identity, 50 Voices Across the Shtetl Multiverse weaves intimate inner worlds with sounds and images from the former shtetl of Žagarė, Lithuania. United by shtetl heritage but with diverse nationalities, ideologies, and lived experiences today, the film brings together diverse, often dissonant voices to build dialogue, empathy and understanding across difference in a time when they are especially needed.
The film also serves as a prequel to Simons’ broader project, The Shtetl Multiverse.
Language: Yiddish, with English and Czech subtitles.

Online ticket purchase via GoOut or on the Ponrepo Cinema website.
Full admission – 120 CZK
Reduced admission – 100 CZK
Ponrepo Cinema members – 60 CZK

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An Evening with Israeli Novelist Omer Friedlander

The lecture has been relocated from Maisel Synagogue to Auditorium OVK, located at Maiselova 15, Prague 1, 3rd floor.

In cooperation with Prostor Publishing, we would like to invite you to an evening with the Israeli author Omer Friedlander.

The author will read from his short story "Jellyfish in Gaza" (Czech translations will be available in hard copy for those interested), followed by a Q&A session with the audience. After the event, the author will be signing copies of the Czech edition of his book, "The Man Who Sold Air in the Holy Land." Copies will be available for purchase on-site at a discounted price.

The author will be introduced and the discussion moderated by Hana Ulmanová, the translator of his short stories. She will also provide interpreting between Czech and English as needed.

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An Evening with Israeli Reporter, Writer, and Winemaker Tsur Shezaf / Book Signing for Karel Cudlín’s Latest Book

Author of two dozen books, traveler, and producer of magnificent Negev wines, Tsur Shezaf, who contributed to the latest book Burning Love by leading Czech documentary photographer Karel Cudlín, will visit Prague, and you shouldn't miss it. Come and listen to captivating storytelling surrounded by unique photographs. The book, which you can have signed by both authors, will be available on-site and in selected Prague bookstores.

The event is part of the accompanying program for the exhibition Burning Love: Israel through the Lens of Karel Cudlín (Jewish Museum in Prague, Klausen Synagogue, April 17 – September 6, 2026).

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Cinema Yiddishland: Labzik Tales of a Clever Pup (2021)

Adapted from a book of children’s stories by Yiddish author Chaver Paver, Labzik: Tales of a Clever Pup follows the (mis)adventures of a clever mutt named Labzik and the working-class Jewish family that adopts him. Balancing playful humor with gritty realism, the stories find Labzik and the other residents of the Bronx up against social and political forces that are no less relevant today: unemployment, political protest, racism, police brutality, even an airborne disease.
In its visual style, the film evokes the book’s original 1935 ink illustrations. A cast of both student and professional voice actors bring the characters and stories to life, including award-winning Yiddish actor Shane Baker. Featuring original music from Klezmer greats Michael Winograd and Jake Shulman-Ment and singing by Lisa Fishman and Mikhl Yashinsky of off-Broadway’s Fidler afn Dakh (Yiddish Fiddler on the Roof) and Lorin Sklamberg of Grammy award-winning klezmer band The Klezmatics.
A discussion with the director, Yankl Krakovsky, who will join online, will follow the screening.
Director: Yankl (Jake) Krakovsky
Language: Yiddish, with English and Czech subtitles, 52 min.
Online ticket purchase via GoOut or on the Ponrepo Cinema website.
Full admission – 120 CZK
Reduced admission – 100 CZK
Ponrepo Cinema members – 60 CZK

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Cinema Yiddishland: Mir Kumen On (Poland, 1935)

On the occasion of the 120th anniversary of the founding of the Jewish Museum in Prague, we invite you to the film series “Cinema Yiddishland,” which presents Yiddish culture as a living space and an inexhaustible source of artistic inspiration. The program connects pre-war films that evoke the long-vanished worlds of Eastern European Jewish communities with contemporary works for which Yiddish serves above all as a creative language.

Directed by Lodz native Aleksander Ford and financed by the Jewish Labor movement in Poland, Mir Kumen On (Children Must Laugh) is one of the few surviving documentaries about Jewish life in Poland before WWII. This institutional film was produced to raise funds for the Vladimir Medem Sanitarium which, noted for its modern and spacious facilities, stood as the embodiment of health and enlightenment, in striking contrast to the grim images of urban Polish-Jewish poverty.
The sanitarium's theme song, “Mir Kumen On” (Here We Come), punctuates the film with a sense of hope and accomplishment. The Bund's optimistic internationalism, exemplified by the children's endearing performances, permeates the film, creating powerful yet unintended ironies for post-Holocaust audiences.
A post-screening discussion will be led by Karolina Szymaniak, a leading Polish Yiddish scholar.
Language: Yiddish, with English and Czech subtitles, 63 min.

Online ticket purchase via GoOut or on the Ponrepo Cinema website.

Full admission – 120 CZK
Reduced admission – 100 CZK
Ponrepo Cinema members – 60 CZK

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Open Synagogues Day

The Jewish Museum in Prague is commemorating the 120th anniversary of its founding this year. To mark this occasion, we cordially invite you to Josefov for the Synagogue Open Day. This extraordinary day offers a unique opportunity to visit the entire exceptional complex of monuments in the Prague Jewish Town free of charge.

A rich accompanying program also awaits you throughout the day: music and dance, a new exhibition by photographer Karel Cudlín, a lecture on Jewish vegetarian cuisine, and a series of themed guided tours. Families with children will also find plenty to enjoy — an interactive scavenger hunt and theatre performances for younger visitors have been prepared.

Come and celebrate 120 years of the museum with us and discover the unique stories told by Prague’s Jewish monuments!

The event is held with the support of the Jewish Community of Prague.

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Ladino—More than a Language: On the Culture of Sephardic Jews with Nesim Bencoya, Director of the Izmir Jewish Heritage Project

Ladino—a form of fifteenth-century Castilian Spanish enriched with elements from Hebrew, Arabic, Greek and Turkish, as well as from Balkan and Romance languages—is the ancient language of Sephardic Jews. Despite a dramatic decline in the number of native speakers, its legacy remains alive. This is because Ladino is not just a language, but a powerful cultural code expressed through music, literature, clothing, culinary arts, life-cycle traditions, domestic culture, the organization of social life, and more.
 
With the aid of musical and visual examples, Nesim Bencoya will be sharing his personal and professional experiences and explaining the role that the language and its associated culture play in contemporary efforts to preserve Jewish cultural heritage in Izmir, Turkey.
 
Event hosted by Michaela Sidenberg, Chief Curator of the Jewish Museum in Prague.
In association with Instituto Cervantes, with simultaneous interpretation from English into Czech.

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