Formation 1998 Type Nonprofit Website jewishexperience.org | Founder Rabbi Mark Wildes Director Rabbi Mark Wildes | |
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Location Manhattan, New York
(UWS, UES, Flatiron) | ||
Manhattan Jewish Experience (MJE) is an open community for young Jewish professionals in their 20's and 30's to explore Jewish life and meet new people through social, cultural, spiritual and educational events. Rabbi Mark Wildes founded and directs the organization.
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Background
Wildes founded MJE in 1998 in memory of his late mother Ruth B. Wildes, who was a pillar of the Jewish community of Forest Hills, Queens. MJE hosts the annual Ruth B. Wildes Memorial Lecture on her yahrtzeit (Jewish anniversary of her passing). Past speakers have included Michael Oren, Alan Dershowitz, Lord Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, Rabbi Meir Soloveichik, Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz, Dr. Jacob J. Schacter, Dr. Norman Lamm, and Rabbi Shlomo Riskin.
Programming
MJE programming includes Shabbat dinners, holiday events and parties, weekly classes, beginner services, weekend excursions such as ski trips, and trips to Israel. MJE has grown to include three locations in Manhattan in the Upper West Side, Upper East Side, and downtown, which serve approximately 20,000 attendees and 5,000 unique participants annually. Through MJE, 253 couples have met and married.
Music videos
MJE and filmmaker Erez Cohen have produced Jewish holiday-themed music videos, including "A One Direction Hanukkah" and "Esther's a Jew," a Purim parody inspired by Elle King's Ex's & Oh's.