Congregation Am David’s new havuruh

Congregation Am David in Warwick has formed a havuruh. Besides attending various activities, such as plays, movies, concerts and sporting events, the group is planning numerous cultural and educational activities, including a tour of early Jewish holdings in the Rhode Island Historical Society archives, a night under the stars from dusk to dawn at the Frosty Drew Observatory in Charlestown and a talk by National Park Service Ranger John Mcniff about Roger Williams and religious freedom.

Monthly hikes are planned at local refuges, as well as walking tours of places of interest throughout New England. Social activities are planned, such as a monthly chess group, poker game and, when warmer weather arrives, golfing and chartering a sail boat for cruising Narragansett Bay. Nonmembers of Congregation Am David are welcome to join.

Until a webpage is created to track the Am David Havuruh, consult The Jewish Voice, Grapevine, Providence Journal Online Calendar, WJAR TV Online Calendar, The Cranston Herald, The Warwick Beacon and other media outlets for events. Alternatively, contact either Mike Schlesinger at 914-815-1002 or Mark Sweberg at 401-248-5010.

Mark Sweberg will lead the following activities:

Winter Wonderland Walk 2, Sunday, Feb. 15, 1:30-3:15 p.m.

Get out and stretch your legs on this delightful winter ramble in Trustom Pond National Wildlife Refuge in South Kingstown. Two miles of wide trails at a gentle pace is a walk that children and their families can handle with ease. The water features are spectacular and scenery enticing. Dress for the weather. Meet directly at the Refuge at 1:20 p.m. The walk is limited to 15 people.

Contact Mark at 401-248-5010 to register, find out more information and cancel at the last minute. 

Early Jewish Holdings in the Rhode Island Historical Society archives, Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2-3 p.m.; Snow Date Tuesday, March 3, 2-3 p.m.

Founded in 1822, the Rhode Island Historical Society is the fourth oldest state historical society in the United States. The archives have the largest and most important historical collections in existence relating to Rhode Island. We have arranged for a private tour of the archives, including a visit to the rarely accessible storage area, where historical collections are housed and processed. The curator has generously agreed to showcase items of Jewish interest, taken from the extensive holdings of mid 17th-century Newport Jewry. Admission, payable at the door, is $7. The tour limit is 15 people. The strict registration deadline is Feb. 15.

Contact Mark at 401-248-5010 to register, find out more information and cancel at the last minute. 

Afternoon under a Planetarium Dome, Sunday, March 8, 2-3:15 p.m.

The little-known Planetarium on URI’s Kingston campus is the second smallest free-standing planetarium in the world. Seating 21 people with a comfortable carpet for the younger set, it is both quaint and modern. Noted Rhode Island astronomer Francine Jackson has graciously agreed to offer a private showing of a dynamic, visually stunning program, along with a tour of the nighttime sky over Rhode Island. This will certainly appeal to kids and to the kid in all of us. Admission is $5, payable at the door.

Contact Mark at 401-248-5010 to register or find out more information.

Winter Wonderland Walk 3, Sunday, March 22, 1:30-3:15 p.m.

The weather is moderating; walk off your late-winter blues in Warwick City Park. The 2.8 mile paved trail winds through the woods and past coves, fields and a beach. The walk is appropriate for all ages. Dress for the weather and bring water. Meet directly at the park entrance parking lot at 1:20 p.m. The walk is limited to 15 people.

Contact Mark at 401-248-5010 to register, find out more information and cancel at the last minute.  

Roger Williams and Religious Freedom, Tuesday, March 24, 7-8:15 p.m.

National Park Service Ranger John Mcniff will be offering a free and engaging talk at the Temple on this timely topic. An expert and well-informed authority on Rhode Island history, Ranger McNiff will look at Roger Williams’ time in 17th-century New England and at the end result of the struggle to establish the first place in the New World with complete religious freedom. The talk will last about an hour, and there will be plenty of time for a Q and A. Please join the conversation.

Contact Mark at 401-248-5010 for more information. 

Singer/Songwriter to Warm up Cold Winter Day, Sunday, March 29, 2-4 p.m.

Join us for a pleasant afternoon of music with Singer/Songwriter Craig Sonnenfeld, of Brookline, Mass., at the temple. Born and raised a block from the Atlantic Ocean on the South Jersey shore, Craig grew up during the folk-boom of the ‘60s and was influenced by such artists as Bob Dylan, Gordon Lightfoot, Tom Paxton, Eric Andersen and Linda Ronstadt. Many have described Craig’s original songs as sounding like traditional folk songs; some are influenced by old classic country music, and some by old rural blues stylings. Craig tours throughout the east. Admission is $5, payable at the door. Visit craigsonnenfeld.com for a sample of his music and be prepared for a thoroughly enjoyable afternoon.

Contact Mark at 401-248-5010 for more information. 

Night Out Under the Stars, Saturday, April 18, Anytime, Dusk to Dawn

Skilled astronomer and Director of the Frosty Drew Observatory, Scott MacNeill, has invited us to a free private viewing through the powerful telescope located at Ninigret Park, in Charlestown. The moon will be down most of the night, affording unsurpassed dark sky viewing of deep sky objects. We will observe planets and distant galaxies, nebula, star clusters, binary stars and constellations. We will look at objects tens of thousands of light years away. Knowing that there are 5.88 trillion miles in one light year, we’ll let you do the math.

The Observatory will stay open as long as clouds, or the rising sun, will allow or until the last visitor falls asleep.

The heated sky theater will be showcasing some of Scott’s astro-photography and providing a respite from the cold night. Dress for winter conditions.

Call Mark at 401-248-5010 for more information. 

Early Spring Wonderland Walk 4, Sunday, April 26, 1:30-3:15 p.m.

The warm breezes of spring are calling us outdoors to the Rhode Island Audubon Society’s Maxwell Mays Wildlife Refuge in Coventry. This moderate walk is about two miles long, winding past meadows and through the forest to Carr Pond. Bring water. Meet directly at the Refuge at 1:20 p.m. The walk is limited to 15 people.

Contact Mark at 401-248-5010 to register, find out more information and cancel at the last minute.