On Wednesday night, Brandeis Hebrew Academy hosted Comedy for a Cause starring renowned Long Island comedian Talia Reese. The fundraiser, which welcomed more than 100 attendees, brought in more than $5,000 to benefit the El Ami Wounded Soldiers program. The event also featured an Israeli wine tasting provided by Israeli Wine Direct owner Arie Hochberg, with 10% of every wine bottle purchase affiliated with the project being donated to El Ami. (Still active- www.israeliwinedirect.com using promo code ISRAEL10)
Brandeis Hebrew Academy has partnered with El Ami for several years, welcoming IDF soldiers to speak to our students and parents at various campus programs. The group has also coordinated simulated IDF training obstacles for our student body in conjunction with Yom Ha’Atzmaut and Lag Ba’Omer.
Talia Reese:
Talia Reese is a stand-up comedian who’s been featured on The Wendy Williams Show and Sirius XM. She’s shared the stage most recently with Jim Gaffigan, Nick Cannon and Ronny Chieng. The New York Post called her show a “Hot Ticket” in a full-page article about her comedy and life as an orthodox Jewish wife and mother. Additionally, Talia has been written about in The Wall Street Journal, The Times of Israel, and The Jerusalem Post (“Toning It Down For The Rabbi”). Talia left bankruptcy law to pursue comedy which thrilled her parents to no end! Luckily, her career move worked out. Her recent sold-out New Year’s Eve show was featured in the Daily News and her jokes often appear on Page Six. https://www.taliareese.com/
El Ami/Together For Them:
The El-Ami "Together For Them" project strengthens the Jewish-Zionist identity among Jewish Youth by Empowering IDF Wounded Soldiers to lead by example through local workshops and community events in Israel and the diaspora.
The group’s goals are to raise awareness towards the wounded IDF veterans and their heroic stories, to acknowledge and be inspired by the process of overcoming difficulties and disabilities and succeeding in life despite injuries and to strengthen the bonds with the diaspora by establishing a long-term program that deepens the understanding of Jewish values and heritage, and the importance of defending Israel. https://www.together-for-them.com/en