days of awe ………….. 5771 - mishkan...

Days of

Awe …………..

5771

Rabbi Linda Holtzman • Rabbi Yael Levy

Dina Schlossberg, President • Rabbit Brian Walt, Rabbi Emeritus Gabrielle Kaplan Mayer, Coordinator of Spiritual Life for Children & Youth

Rivka Jarosh, Education Director

4101 Freeland Avenue • Philadelphia, PA 19128 Phone: 215-508-0226 • Fax: 215-508-0932

Email: [email protected] • Website: www.mishkan.org

DAYS OF AWE 5771

Shalom, Welcome to a year of opportunity at Mishkan Shalom! Our first of many opportunities will be that of starting the year together at services for the Yamim Noraim. It is a pleasure to begin the year as a community, joining old friends and new, praying and learning together. This year, Rabbi Yael Levy will not be with us at the services for the Yamim Noraim. We will miss Rabbi Yael, and hope that her sabbatical time is fulfilling and energizing and that we will learn much from her when she returns to Mishkan Shalom in November. Our services will feel different this year, but the depth and talent of our many members who will participate will add real beauty to them. I am thrilled that joining us to lead the davening will be Sue Hoffman, Rabbi Rebecca Alpert, Cindy Shapiro, Karen Escovitz (Otter), Elliott batTzedek, Wendy Galson, Susan Windle, Andy Stone, Bill Grey, Dan Wolk, several of our teens and many other Mishkan members. As we look ahead to the new year, we pray that 5771 will be filled with abundant blessings for us and for the world. I look forward to celebrating with you. L’shalom, Rabbi Linda Holtzman

SECTION 1: LOCATION, VOLUNTEER FORM, FEES AND SERVICE INFORMATION

A: WE HAVE • Morning services on the first day of Rosh Hashanah and all services on Yom Kippur will

be held at the Haverford School.

• Evening services on Rosh Hashanah and services on the second day of Rosh Hashanah will be held at Mishkan Shalom.

We are fortunate this year to return to a beautiful space to hold many of our Yamim Noraim services. The Haverford School in Haverford accommodates our needs excellently. There is ample, comfortable space for our services, our children’s programming, our study sessions, and our holiday meals. Directions to the Haverford School are on the blue brochure.

We also once again have the blessing of being able to spend part of the Yamim Noraim at Mishkan Shalom. Last year, we truly enjoyed being in our own building for Rosh Hashanah evening and for the second day of Rosh Hashanah and we look forward to being home for these services again this year. The comfort, familiarity, and joy we share in being in our own home adds to the beauty of the holiday celebration.

B: VOLUNTEER FORM In this packet you will find a volunteer

form (pink) from the Yamim Noraim subcommittee. Please read this form carefully and respond by September 1st. Taking on a responsibility will connect you to others in our community, and is essential to create warm and meaningful services for everyone.

C: FEE SCHEDULE FOR GUESTS

Mishkan Shalom has a wonderful, inclusive tradition of welcoming any and all guests to our High Holiday Services. Each year many unaffiliated Jews participate. We encourage guests to pre-register for the High Holidays at www.Mishkan.org where Visa or Mastercard are accepted. You can also use the form in the blue brochure.

Fee Schedule for Guests

$324 per adult guest for all services

$72 per adult guest per service

Guest fees for prospective members may be applied to membership when joining by

November 1, 2010. All contributions are tax deductible. Please send contributions, along with the enclosed registration form (in the blue brochure), to Mishkan Shalom, 4101 Freeland Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19128.

New Policy: Members must be renewed one week prior to Rosh Hashanah to avoid needing to pay guest fees.

D: SERVICES AND PROGRAMS

PREPARING YOUR SOUL FOR YAMIM NORAIM The Days of Awe invite us to turn and examine our lives. They provide the opportunity and resources

to help us explore who we are, where we have been, what we have created, and how we can best direct our lives. The Yamim Noraim are a time for renewal and forgiveness, for hope and connection. Through text study, reflection, and discussion, these classes will help us prepare to enter this holy time.

Sunday, September 12, 10 a.m. to Noon Safe Fasting and Cleansing Diets with Nancy Post

Fasting is an essential part of spiritual development, intended to purify the body, allowing non-material concerns to emerge; yet many people who fast are plagued with headaches, nausea and dizziness. This class will cover how to prepare for and break fasts, and how to let fasting springboard into healthier eating. We will address such concerns as avoiding caffeine withdrawal headaches, medicines and supplements, drinking water, and medical conditions. Part 1, scheduled before Yom Kippur, will address fasting. (Part 2 will be scheduled later and will describe and help participants learn how to migrate their diets to allow for cleansing on a regular basis.) This class will not be appropriate for pregnant or nursing women, diabetics or people with untreated psychiatric conditions. There is a cost for this class: $18 for Mishkan members, $36 for non-members for both classes. Pre-registration REQUIRED by September 8th.

SELICHOT

The month of Elul is the month that precedes Rosh Hashanah. During Elul we focus on the year that has passed, on all that we are sorry for, on all that we celebrate. We approach our friends and colleagues with any words of apology or healing that are needed. In this way, we are able to enter the new year fully and freely, letting go of all that is stopping us from starting afresh.

At the heart of Elul is the Selichot (forgiveness) service, the first service of the Yamim Noraim. Selichot will be Saturday, September 4, at Mishkan Shalom and will begin at 8:00PM. After making Havdalah, we will watch the movie “Tsotsi” and will discuss the themes in the movie that are closely linked to Selichot. Tsotsi is a powerful movie that will help us explore the deep questions of forgiveness and redemption that are at the heart of Selichot. Selichot is a time that allows us to put closure on the past year and lets us open ourselves fully into the year to come. Tsotsi will be a powerful way to help us open.

The formal Selichot service will begin at 11 PM. The Selichot service is an opportunity for us to get ready for the holy days by focusing on forgiveness and reflecting on the year that has passed. As a community, it is the first time we sing the familiar melodies of the Yamim Noraim. The service will include traditional liturgy and creative ritual and will end at 12:15 AM with a call from the shofar. For those who have never been to a Selichot service, we strongly encourage you to experience this meaningful way to prepare for the Days of Awe.

ROSH HASHANAH

ROSH HASHANAH EVENING SERVICES This year, on the first night of Rosh HaShanah, Wednesday,

September 8th, we will have one service from 7: 3o PM led by Rabbi Linda Holtzman. All are invited to join in this service to welcome the new year and Shabbat.

COMMUNAL MEAL To enhance our celebration of the Days of Awe, we celebrate with a

communal potluck meal following the service on the first day of Rosh HaShanah. We ask each household to contribute something to this festive meal, shared with the entire community. (See blue brochure and general information below for details on what to bring.)

ALIYOT There will be many opportunities during the holidays to stand for an aliyah. On Rosh

HaShanah and Yom Kippur we will dedicate some of our aliyot to the Mishkan Shalom community celebrating who we are, our values and our visions.

This year we will continue a tradition we began two years ago. Everyone who has celebrated his/her Bar/Bat Mitzvah at Mishkan Shalom during the past ten years will be invited to come up for an aliyah. In this way, we will honor our teens, our students who are away at college and come home for Rosh Hashanah, and all who have celebrated their B'nai Mitzvah in our community.

ROSH HASHANAH SECOND DAY Rosh HaShanah is the only Jewish holiday that is celebrated as a two-day holiday throughout the world. The rabbis talk about the two-day holiday as one long day! We encourage all members to come and to bring your children to the service on the second day. Welcoming the Children On the second day of Rosh HaShanah, we honor families who have welcomed children into their home during this

past year with a special aliyah. All families who have new children are invited to participate in this ritual and everyone is invited to attend this celebration.

TASHLICH Tashlich is a traditional Rosh HaShanah ritual that is part of the process of teshuvah,

returning to our center. During this ritual we go to a stream or a river and throw breadcrumbs into the water as a way to cast off the deeds and patterns of behavior we don't want to carry with us into the new year. (Over the past two years we have learned breadcrumbs can harm the digestive system of the animals in the river so we also encourage you to bring leafy greens to throw into the water.) On the second day of Rosh HaShanah at 4 PM, we will gather at Valley Green in Fairmount Park to do tashlich together. Everyone is welcome to participate in this ritual. Please bring breadcrumbs, greens and shofarot.

DIRECTIONS TO VALLEY GREEN From the city, come up Lincoln Drive to McCallum Street. Make a left onto

McCallum and continue straight, passing Allens Lane and then going over a bridge. Continue straight on McCallum across a bridge. A short distance after you cross the bridge, McCallum veers right. Don't follow McCallum when it turns right, continue straight until you have to turn and make a left on to Wolcott Drive. Follow Wolcott down until the intersection with Valley Green Road. Make a left on Valley Green Road and park either in parking lot on your right on the way down, or if there is space at the bottom in the Valley Green parking lot next to the Valley Green Inn.

YOM KIPPUR

The services will start PROMPTLY BEFORE sunset at 6:15 PM on Friday, September 17th,

and end after sunset at 7:45 PM on Saturday, September 18th. We encourage everyone to participate in all our services. If you cannot attend for the entire day, it will intensify our feeling of community if everyone makes a special effort to attend Kol Nidre, the beginning, and Ne'ilah, the ending, services of Yom Kippur, which will be followed by our communal break-the-fast. You are invited to come at 6 PM on Friday night to light yahrzeit candles and join us for niggunim as we prepare to enter into Yom Kippur.

ALTAR OF MEMORY On Yom Kippur we are called to remember family and friends who have

died. You are invited to bring a remembrance of someone and place it on the altar of memory that will be located in the front of the sanctuary on the bima. Through these photographs and objects we open our hearts to the people we have lost and bring their presence with us as we enter into the holiday.

YOM KIPPUR DAY

AVODAH SERVICE

The avodah service, which is one of the additional services of Yom Kippur, is traditionally a service devoted to exploring the offerings the High Priest brought to the Temple in order to cleanse himself and the community of sins. It was believed that these offerings would clear the passages between the people and God. For our avodah services we will also make offerings, of our hearts and souls. You are invited to bring a poem, a story, a song, an experience, thought or a work of art you would like to share. We will make these offerings to each other as a way to draw our souls closer to what we love. This service will take place at the end of our morning service.

AFTERNOON SESSIONS: During the break on Yom Kippur from 3-4 PM the following will be offered:

Tikkun Olam session with Ron Abrams On the afternoon of Yom Kippur there will be a session for adults on the subject of nuclear awareness. It will concern our psychological and spiritual work of dealing with our knowledge and feelings about the planetary crisis of the growing threat of nuclear war. The presentation is intended to build compassion, community and the commitment to act.

On the morning of Yom Kippur there will be a session for teen-agers of 14 to 18 years of age on the subject of nuclear awareness. It will concern our psychological and spiritual work of dealing with our knowledge and feelings about the planetary crisis of the growing threat of nuclear war. The presentation is intended to build compassion, community and the commitment to act. It will be presented in an age appropriate manner. Shmooze with Rabbi Linda and Other Members Take some time on Yom Kippur afternoon to get to know the rabbi and the people who are forming your prayer community. Ask questions you’ve wanted to ask; share ideas for the synagogue you would like to share; find our more about the congregation and its members. This session will be informal and relaxed, and will give people the opportunity to get to know each other and Rabbi Linda more fully as we take time between services to relate on a different level. Deepening Forgiveness: A Guided Chant and Meditation Yom Kippur Break Activity with Wendy Galson— In the mid-afternoon we can feel the looming of the end of a day packed with positive intentions and hard work. We may be acutely aware that our personal "repair and return work" is incomplete. The immense brokenness of the world may evoke a sense of despair and personal insufficiency. When we feel most hopeless and think we need to work harder, perhaps what we need instead is to rest more deeply. At this moment of the day when our physical energy is low, we may be most able to let go of what holds us back from a more loving acceptance of ourselves and this beautiful and broken world. Using chant, gentle stretching and guided, lying meditation, we will move through regret and brokenness, to opening and allowing, toward deepening forgiveness and healing. If you are considering this break activity, please bring mats or blankets to rest on, and perhaps some extra mats or blankets to share with others.

YIZKOR SERVICES 4:45 PM We remember and honor the people in our lives who have died. Amid prayer and meditation

there will be an opportunity to call aloud the names of our friends and relatives we are remembering.

MINCHAH & ELEH EZKERAH SERVICE 5:30 PM This year Eleh Ezkerah service will be based on the theme of “Building Justice into America’s Immigration System”. It will include testimonials from recent immigrants to Philadelphia, exposing the abuses they endure. There will be time to reflect on our own families’ immigrations experiences and on Mishkan’s distinguished participation in the original Sanctuary Movement for immigrant rights. With the Eleh Ezkerah service, our community will be better prepared for pro-immigrant organizing, activism and advocacy by raising our awareness and strengthening our spiritual foundation. Michael Ramberg, an RRC student and Mishkan member who will be our immigration intern this year, has planned this service.

NEILAH SERVICE 6:45 PM This service draws Yom Kippur to a close. The prayers are sung in a new melody with slight

variations as we open the ark and stand watching the day turn into night. We end with shofar and havdalah at 7:45 PM.

CHILDREN'S SERVICES We are blessed to have Gabrielle Kaplan-Mayer lead our Children's Days of Awe services.

Gabby brings her love of tradition and her creative talents to her service leading. Children's services will combine traditional prayers with music, reflection and interactive creative arts including storytelling and drama. There will be a Torah service for each age group and participants will have the opportunity to connect with and explore the teachings of the Holidays and the Torah readings. Children will have an opportunity to blow shofar on Rosh HaShanah, and if they have a shofar we encourage them to bring it.

Services for 1st Day Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur Day

Age 3-4 years old 5-7 years old 8-12 years old

Service Time 9:30- 10:15 AM 10:30-11:30 AM 11:45 AM-12:45 PM

Services for 2nd Day Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur Day

Age 3-4 years old 5-12 years old

Service Time 9:30- 10:15 AM 10:30-11:30 AM

For the Kol Nidre service, parents are encouraged to bring children

7 years and older to the adult service for the chanting of Kol Nidre (6:15 PM on Friday, September 17th). Following Kol Nidre, there will be a dramatic exploration of the Book of Jonah for children 9 and under and a creative exploration of the themes of Yom Kippur for students 10-12.

For all services, parents are encouraged to bring children 10 and

over to our adult services for some time in addition to, or instead of, the children's services. It is important for children to see the adult services and with appropriate direction we hope they will get a lot out of sharing this service with the adults.

SECTION 2: GENERAL INFORMATION

A. MACHZORIM (DAYS OF AWE PRAYERBOOKS) This year we will again use Kol Haneshamah: Yamim Noraim, the Reconstructionist

machzor. The machzor includes a broad and diverse set of readings, a beautiful gender-inclusive English text and transliteration of congregational parts of the service. We invite you to purchase a machzor for yourself and we also invite you to purchase one to donate to the congregation in memory or in honor of someone. The cost is $36. Please contact the office via e-mail at [email protected] or phone at (215) 508-0226.

B. YIZKOR BOOK This year, we will be offering an opportunity to remember family members and other

significant people in our lives who have died. We will be publishing a Yizkor Book (Book of Remembrance) that will be distributed at each of the Yizkor services throughout the year. These services occur on Yom Kippur, Shemini Atzeret/Simchat Torah, the first day of Passover and on Shavuot. Please note that the names will not be read aloud at these times. The book, which will also include poetry and liturgy, will be designed to inspire contemplation and prayer. If you would like to remember someone in this way, please fill out the Yizkor form enclosed in this Yamim Noraim mailing and send it with your donation to Mishkan Shalom, Attn: Maria Paranzino – Synagogue Administrator.

C: TALLITOT If you have your own tallit, please bring it with you. We have a limited number available.

Please note that a tallit is traditionally worn at all morning services and throughout Yom Kippur beginning with the Kol Nidre evening service, the only evening service in the entire year at which we wear tallitot.

D: WEARING OF WHITE Many congregants choose to wear white clothing on Yom Kippur. Traditionally people wear

a kittel, a white robe that is worn at moments of transition and is what we are clothed in when we die. If you own a kittel please bring it with you; if not, consider wearing white for Yom Kippur services.

E. FASTING Yom Kippur is a day out of time on which we focus on our souls by transcending our

physical needs. This includes fasting, abstaining from all foods and liquids. Three other activities are prohibited: 1. washing and anointing for the sake of pleasure; 2. sex; 3. wearing of leather (since, in the past, leather was regarded as a sign of luxury). This latter prohibition is why you'll see some people without belts and wearing sneakers to synagogue on Yom Kippur.

Children younger than 9 are traditionally not supposed to fast at all. Children older than 9 can build up each year, fasting for increasing numbers of hours each year. Once a child becomes bar/bat mitzvah, they are obligated to the entire fast, just like all other adults. In any case where fasting would be harmful to one's health, fasting is prohibited. In all cases where full fasting is not being observed, foods and/or liquids can be consumed for sustenance only, and foods that are particularly pleasurable can be avoided (i.e., skip dessert!).

F. COMMUNAL MEALS During the Days of Awe, we will have two potluck communal meals. Lunch will follow the

first day service of Rosh HaShanah and the Break-the-Fast will follow the end of Yom Kippur. All are welcome and all are asked to bring food and drink to share. These meals are "catered" by us for all of our extended community and guests. Bring enough food in your category for at least 4 times the number of people in your party (e.g. a family of four should bring enough food for at least sixteen people). Please bring serving utensils for your dish. Also bring one liter of beverage for every two people in your party. Mishkan Shalom will provide paper products.

No meat. All food must be DAIRY or VEGETARIAN. Please PROVIDE AN INGREDIENT LIST for all food contributions, to assist those with allergies.

In response to suggestions and comments about recent High Holiday potlucks, we would like to lighten up the menu and offer suggestions for alternatives to the excess of breads and starchy, heavy foods. This is particularly true for Yom Kippur when people are breaking their fast:

Entrees: Meat alternatives—Soy substitutes; Salmon, tuna or whitefish; Baked or seasoned tofu; Egg dishes; Whole grain pastas or rice with sauces, veggies or nuts

Salads: Greens; Whole grains like bulgur, tabouleh, couscous or quinoa or pasta with veggies or nuts; Fruit with yogurt dressing; Grilled Vegetables

Breads: Whole grains with dips (hummus or baba ganuoush) or cheeses (blocks or spreads)

Desserts: Fresh fruit; Dried fruit like dates, figs or apricots; Nuts such as pistachios, almonds or walnuts; Cakes

If your last name begins with .…

On Rosh HaShana you should bring ….

And on Yom Kippur you should bring ….

A - D Salads Desserts

E - J Salads Entrees

K - M Desserts Entrees

N - S Entrees Salads

T - V Entrees Breads and Spreads

W - Z Breads and Spreads Salads

Please mark all dishes and utensils with your name, and remember to pick them up and take them home the same day.

Sukkot to BereshitSukkot to BereshitSukkot to BereshitSukkot to Bereshit It’s a full journey. Join us!It’s a full journey. Join us!It’s a full journey. Join us!It’s a full journey. Join us!

4101 Freeland Avenue Philadelphia, PA 19128 [email protected]

215.508.0226 Wednesday, Sep. 22 at 6:15 p.m.— Come help decorate

the sukkah followed by a 7 p.m. service in the sukkah with stories, songs and blessings to celebrate Sukkot.

Thursday, Sep 23 at 10 a.m. We celebrate the Sukkot harvest festival with hallel, prayers of gratitude and thanksgiving and a holiday service.

Friday, Sep 24 6:30 p.m. Shabbat Services in the Sukkah followed by a community potluck dinner.

Saturday, Sep 25 10 a.m. Shabbat Services in the Sukkah

Wednesday, September 29th, 6:30 pm: Simchat Torah. We sing and dance as we unroll the entire Torah in celebration of all we have learned. We'll read the last part of the Torah and the very beginning, and the evening will be filled with music, dancing and stories for adults and children. Everyone who would like to volunteer to read a short section of their B'nai Mitzvah Torah portion while the scroll is unrolled is invited to do so. Thursday, September 30th, 10 a.m.: Enjoy a Simchat Torah morning service that includes singing and dancing with the Torah and a Yizkor service

Confirmation Class: Saturday, October 2nd, 10 AM: A confirmation service will celebrate Mishkan Shalom’s tenth graders who have been involved in programs and classes since their B’nai/B’not Mitzvah.

Sunday, September 26th. A visit to the farm that will be the interfaith CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) that will supply fresh fruit and vegetables to Mishkan members starting this coming spring. The visit will feature music, a special Sukkot ritual, crafts, a farm tour and a picnic lunch.

Details will follow.

days of awe ………….. 5771 - mishkan...

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