Fraytik tsu Nakht Cultural Shabbes & Potluck
Fri, Jun 13
|Peretz Centre for Secular Jewish Culture
Our monthly Secular Humanist Shabbes celebration, potluck, and for June, filmmaker Rachel Epstein shares a gem of Peretz history with her documentary The Anarchist Lunch
Time & Location
Jun 13, 2025, 6:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.
Peretz Centre for Secular Jewish Culture, 6184 Ash St, Vancouver, BC V5Z 3G9, Canada
Event Description
Fraytik tsu Nakht Cultural Shabbes & Potluck is open to all, beginning with our community's Secular Humanist Shabbes observance (songs and readings) followed by a potluck dinner and, for June, an after-dinner screening of the documentary film The Anarchist Lunch and a discussion with the filmmaker Rachel Epstein.
This special film features a host of Peretzniks including Epstein's late father Norman (who passed away on July 29, 2023). We celebrate and honour these members of the Peretz community and their ongoing legacies of intergenerational activism, radical Jewish politics, and commitment towards a better world for all.
Our community shabbes event is open to members and friends of all ages. During the film screening, there will be an alternative hang-out space for kids organized by the Peretz Child Activities Committee.
Doors will open at 6pm (event starts at 6:30pm); the film screening and discussion will start around 8pm (with dessert, coffee, tea).
Admission: a contribution to the pot luck OR pay $18.00 per person (children are free) OR select the "Just coming for the movie" ticket to join during dessert/after dinner ($10.00).
Please register by Wednesday, June 11th to help us make sure there's enough food for everyone.
This month's after-dinner learning:
The Anarchist Lunch Film Screening & Discussion
The Anarchist Lunch (46 minutes) follows a remarkable group of ardent leftists who, for over 30 years, met every week at Lin Chinese Cuisine and Tea House on West Broadway to discuss politics, philosophy, and current events. Started by four UBC professors in the 1980s, this group of activists and organizers worked for decades to support anti-war and anti-nuclear movements, advocate for climate justice, union organizing, Palestinian liberation, civil liberties, and more. The Anarchist Lunch was filmed between 2018 and 2023 and was featured in the DOXA Documentary Film Festival, the Toronto Jewish Film Festival (programmers' pick), a Social Justice Finalist at the Lane Doc Fest, and nominated for the 2025 NFMLA Award for best independent documentary feature.
"The filmmaker Rachel Epstein, daughter of one of the group’s founders, Norman Epstein, has made a remarkably charming and inspiring documentary about these men and the personal and political bonds they created and nourished over the decades." -- Tom Sandbord, Rabble
Watch the Trailer:
Our Speaker: Rachel Epstein grew up in a secular Jewish household imbued with politics, social justice and the music of Pete Seeger, Tom Lehrer and the Wobblies. Her work and activist life have included 10 years working with migrant domestic workers, 25 years as a 2SLGBTQ+ parenting activist and 5 years as Executive Director of a community-based secular Jewish organization. She currently works as a workshop facilitator, mediator, coach, wedding officiant and filmmaker. See the film's Facebook page here