H eadlines
New Events Replace Old Favorites on Christmas
L OCA L
SASHA ROGELBERG | JE STAFF
CHRISTMAS DOESN’T just
entail Chinese food and movies
for Jews anymore.

The pandemic has turned
many traditions on their head
in 2020, and 2021’s lineup of
things to do on Christmas
has changed as well. For those
looking to switch up the usual
tried-and-true Christmas to do,
there are options around the
city on how to spend the day.

However, along with new
possibilities for Jews to find
some cheer on Dec. 24 and 25,
some old favorites have gone
missing. Regardless of how one plans
to spend the day, they can take
comfort knowing they have a
few options.

Missed Traditions
After 30-plus years of hosting
the singles event MatzoBall
in the Philadelphia area, the
event has dropped the ball this
year. Though MatzoBall will
take place in six U.S. cities
on Christmas Eve this year,
Philadelphia will not be one
of them.

Founder Andrew Rudnick
declined to comment on why.

But this isn’t the first year
Philadelphia has missed out on
the party. In 2020, MatzoBall
went virtual, holding an online
speed dating event, but holding
off on an in-person party. In
2019, Voyeur Nightclub in
Philadelphia hosted the event.

In previous years, MatzoBall
was hugely popular among
Jewish singles, said David
Finger of Wilmington. Finger
attended the MatzoBall in
Philadelphia for several years
in the 1990s. He even met a
lawyer there one year whom he
dated for several months.

In the ’90s, MatzoBall was
held at the now-defunct Aztec
Club on Delaware Avenue,
along with several other clubs
4 DECEMBER 16, 2021
Moo Shu Jew Show, a comedy night and accompanying Chinese food
dinner on Christmas Eve, used to be sponsored by the Gershman Y.

Courtesy of Gershman Y
Jewish Relief Agency, which assists 6,000 low-income Philadelphia-
area families, is holding the Caring Cards program for food box
recipients. Courtesy of Jewish Relief Agency
A lot of the people that we serve are older, live alone and are struggling with isolation.

So taking some time out of your day ... to send a little light into someone else’s world can be
really useful.”
JENNY RUBIN
on the same strip, with atten-
dance ballooning to 1,000
people, Finger said. He remem-
bered a huge paper mâché
dragon with lasers coming out
of its eyes at the Aztec Club.

“It was kitschy, but it was
fun,” he said.

For Finger, who spent
Christmas day in the typical
Jewish fashion of watching
flicks and eating Chinese food
with his family, MatzoBall
was a fun way to make the
sometimes arduous task of
dating a little easier. Everyone
there already had one thing in
common: They were all Jewish.

It helped break the ice.

“I thought it was a brilliant
idea,” Finger said. “It catered to
an audience that was available
then and wanted something
to do.”
MatzoBall wasn’t the only
event that catered to Jewish
Philadelphians on Christmas
Eve that locals will miss
this year. The Gershman Y,
formerly at 401-11 S. Broad
St., sponsored the Moo Shu
Jew Show, a comedy night
produced by comedian Cory
Kahaney and accompanying
Chinese food dinner.

Philadelphia Jewish Film
and Media, the surviving
offshoot of the Gershman Y,
stopped hosting the event after
the organization left Broad
Street in 2018.

Along with the Moo Shu
Jew Show, other popular
events, such as Latkepalooza,
were also canceled indefinitely.

“They’re in limbo right
now,” PJFM Program & Digital
Marketing Manager Matt
Bussy said. “I mean, we’d love
to bring them back, but, yeah,
they’re done.”
Bussy said there is still some
hope for a Moo Shu Jew Show
revival in Philadelphia, but not
by PJFM. After the Gershman
Y move, community members
also were upset by the cancella-
tion of the Y’s Gay Bingo event.

Congregation Rodeph Shalom
picked up the program.

But because Latkepalooza
and Moo Shu Jew Show no longer
JEWISH EXPONENT
align with PJFM’s mission, Bussy
said the organization won’t pick
up those events.

“Now that we are strictly
film and media, our programs
need to have something related
to that,” Bussy said.

New Opportunities
some time out of your day
... to send a little light into
someone else’s world can be
really useful.”
Jewish families also can
attend the Weitzman National
Museum of American Jewish
History’s “Being ___ At
Christmas” virtual event, a day
of programming on Christmas,
consisting of a tot Shabbat,
storytelling and music.

WNMAJH has historically
been open on Christmas and is
closed to the public due to the
pandemic. Previous iterations were
called “Being Jewish At
Christmas,” but the event was
renamed to accommodate
the diversifying audience it
attracted. “Whoever you are on Dec.

25, you are welcome to be that
with us on this day,” WNMAJH
Director of Communications
and Public Engagement Emily
August said. l
Though some old favorites
may be missing this year,
new opportunities for Jews
on Christmas have emerged,
adapting to changing Jewish
demographics, such as inter-
faith families, and changing
needs, such as pandem-
ic-friendly events.

The Jewish Relief Agency,
which serves 6,000 low-in-
come families in the Greater
Philadelphia area, is holding
the Caring Cards program,
asking community members
to create cards for recipients of
food boxes.

“A lot of the people that we
serve are older, live alone and
are struggling with isolation,”
Volunteer Program Manager srogelberg@jewishexponent.com;
Jenny Rubin said. “So taking 215-832-0741
JEWISHEXPONENT.COM