‘Sh’mini Atzeret’ Category

Sh’mini Atzeret

October 1, 2013
By bethmordecai
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DAY 458: Numbers, Holidays, and Crafting a Special Sauce

Dear Hevreh, On Kol Nidre, I challenged our community to build something special that will last. Yet if we are truly going to build something special then throughout this process we must identify the ingredients that will go into our "special sauce." Identifying these ingredients will require opportunities for us to come together on an individual and communal basis to share our Jewish passions with one another, which means that one of the key indicators for knowing that we are on our way to crafting our special sauce is how successful we are at coming together and showing up at schul. Enter Exhibit A...Holiday attendance. I'm not talking about the High Holidays, but rather the joyous holidays of Sukkot, Sh'mini Atzeret, and Simhat[...]

Category : Rabbi's Journal Sh'mini Atzeret Simhat Torah Sukkot Yom Kippur
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Sh’mini Atzeret

September 24, 2013
By bethmordecai
no comments.

DAY 451: Hakafot, Yizkor, and Anxiety

Dear Hevreh, As I sit at my desk trying to think about how to describe our upcoming celebrations of the holidays of Sh'mini Atzeret and Simhat Torah, I'm struck by a particular thought. Judaism is a religion that thrives on anxiety. Now bear with me, for a moment -- we just celebrated the High Holidays which is a period of serious reflection as we consider the aspects of our character that we'd like to work on for the following year. Yet Rosh Hashanah is supposed to be a joyous holiday, and Yom Kippur is considered to be a Shabbat Shabbaton, the greatest of all Sabbaths, and no one would mistake Shabbat for a sad occassion. The juxtaposition of the solemnity[...]

Category : Holidays Rabbi Rabbi's Journal Rosh Hashanah Sh'mini Atzeret Simhat Torah Yom Kippur
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Sh’mini Atzeret

September 23, 2013
By bethmordecai
no comments.

Yizkor & Hakafot

Thursday, September 26, 9:30 am Celebrate the holiday of Sh'mini Atzeret as we pray for rain, remember our loved ones with Yizkor, and dance with the Torah to celebrate Simhat Torah!

Category : Holidays Services Sh'mini Atzeret Simhat Torah

Sh’mini Atzeret

September 12, 2013
By bethmordecai
no comments.

Emphasizing the First Day; Reimagining the Second Day — A plan for our synagogue observance of the Jewish Holidays (High Holidays 5774)

Rabbi Ari Saks Congregation Beth Mordecai High Holidays Bulletin Article, 5774 Last Friday, for the second day of Rosh Hashanah, we had a special and unique High Holiday experience that was not the normal, traditional service. The order of the service was different, there was no Torah service, and we had opportunities for discussion and some dancing, in addition to some other innovative methods used to enhance our Rosh Hashanah experience. Overall, the feedback has been that it was a fun and meaningful service. Yet the service would never have been possible if it were not for a combination of a unique quirk of the Jewish calendar and the unique customs in which we observe our holidays. The unique quirk of the Jewish calendar is the existence[...]

Category : Bulletin Articles Passover Rabbi Rosh Hashanah Sh'mini Atzeret Shavuot Simhat Torah Sukkot Yom Kippur
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