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- Hanukkah Party Tuesday December 20th 6:00 to 8:00 pm
- Yom Kippur Services 5772, Nyack NY
- Join Friends Of Hebrew Learning Circles
- Israel Trip With Rabbi Modek February 19-26, 2012 (Presidents Day Vacation Week)
- Study TALMUD…THE JEWISH “RUBIK’S CUBE”, at your Office
- Hanukkah Celebration
- Deep Jewish Education for All, Talmud
- New Circles Forming Now in the Following Locations:
- Happy Suckkot Season to the Entire HLC Community
- Join us for High Holiday services 5771
- Where? and How? A Midrashic and Psychospiritual Perspective on Tisha B’Av By Judith Rose
- What Is The Legacy Passage Bar and Bat Mitzvah Program?
- Home As Hebrew School
- Transformational Bar and Bat Mitzvah
- The Paradox of Being Jewish
Posts Tagged ‘Jewish Holidays’
Hanukkah Party Tuesday December 20th 6:00 to 8:00 pm
December 1st, 2011
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Where: F.O.R. 521 North Broadway, Nyack NY 10960
Cost: to be determined
Eco Menorah candle lighting
Dreidle Tournament
Holiday foods
Entertainment - Trio Shalva, the Israeli Jazz band, with Assaf Gleizner
Food drive – bring non-perishable foods to the party and we will donate it to
People to People of West Nyack
The creative Eco-Menorah project will enhance this year’s celebration. Each Learning Circle will build a uniquely designed menorah to reflect the theme of preserving the environment and saving energy to be presented and lit at the party.
Now, what does Hanukkah have to do with the environment, you may ask? Just like in the Hanukkah miracle story - “a one-day flask of lamp-oil magically burned for eight days” – so too we can and must use “oil” (or any energy source) efficiently so we get much more production out of much less fuel for the preservation of the planet.
Jewish tradition charges us to be the “guardians” of the earth. Waste and destruction are clear prohibitions according to Jewish law, thus we are emphasizing the theme in relation to Hanukkah this year.
Finally, we are now gathering the organizing team and volunteers.
Needed are:
1. A raffle coordinator
2. A flyer maker and distributors
3. A Shopper for latkes and donuts
4. Set up/clean up people
Your help would be so much appreciated.
Please let us know which of the above jobs are calling to you.
We look forward to seeing you at the party.
Tags: Add new tag, Dreidle, Hanukkah, Jewish Holidays, Jewish tradition, Latkes, Menorah, religion, synagogue, Trio Shalva
Posted in Announcements, Hanukkah, Jewish Holidays
Yom Kippur Services 5772, Nyack NY
September 2nd, 2011
Mindful New-Year Celebrations for the Open Minded
Reserve your seats now
845 641 1106 and/or hlchighholidays@gmail.com
Evening Service (Kol Nidrei): Friday, 10/7 7:30-8:45
Daytime Service: Shabbat, 10/8 (Yizkor included)
Silent meditation 8:30 am to 8:50 am
Service 9:00 am – 1:00 pm
Concluding Service (Ne’ila): 5:30 – 7:45 pm
With Rabbi Reuben Modek, Chani Getter, Judith Rose
Musical support by Assaf Gleizner of Trio Shalva
Suggested Contribution per the holiday:
$60 per person /$30 per child under 13
Family package $170
[Parent/s and dependent children]
Make check payable to Hebrew Learning Circles
Mail to P.O. Box 212, Nyack NY 10960
Childcare provided for Yom Kippur Day services only.
All are welcome! Financial considerations will be honored.
Location: Lift Nyack Yoga & Wellness Center
42 Main Street, Nyack NY 10960
Tags: Jewish Holidays, Jewish tradition, prayer services, religion, Rosh HaShannah, synagogue, Yom Kippur
Posted in Announcements, Being Jewish, Classes, HLC Article, High Holidays, Jewish Holidays
November 19th, 2010
Sunday, December 5, 2010, TIME: 6 pm - 7:30 pm
LOCATION: CAFE TASCHA, 140 Main Street - Nyack, NY 10960
(corner of Main Street & Franklin)
The Program
* Candle lighting and prayers with Rabbi Modek
* Latkes and jelly doughnuts available for purchase at Cafe Tascha’s counter
* Live Band, starring our teacher Assaf Gleizner and his band Trio Shalva
* Poetry Jam
o by kids
o by adults
* Dreidel contest with prizes for the kids
* Hanukkah crafts for the kids
* Raffle and awesome prizes
Sponsors Invited
Would you donate in honor of a relative or friend by covering
the cost of one of the items listed below? We would like to
publicly acknowledge your donation and the person (and
cause) to whom the donation is dedicated.
* the band ? ($500)
* the raffle prizes? ($150)
* the chocolate Hanukkah Gelt for the kids? ($100)
* the Dreidel contest prizes? ($50)
Great volunteering opportunities during the party:
1 volunteer for the admissions’ table
1 volunteer to be the Master of Ceremony of the Poetry Jam
1 volunteer to run the Dreidel contest
1 volunteer for the Hanukkah crafts with the children
1 volunteer to coordinate and draw the raffles
3 volunteers to sell the raffle tickets
Call (845) 348-9810 or email hlcoffice@mac.com to sign up!
Warmly, Rabbi Reuben Modek
Tags: Candle Lighting, Dreidel, Hanukkah, Jewish Holidays, Jewish tradition, Poetry Jam, religion
Posted in Jewish Holidays
Happy Suckkot Season to the Entire HLC Community
September 29th, 2010
Tags: Jewish Holidays
Posted in Announcements
Join us for High Holiday services 5771
August 11th, 2010
with Rabbi Reuben Modek, Judith Rose, & Lisa Sokolov, Cantor
Rosh Hashanah
Evening Service: Wednesday, September 8, 2010, 7:45 pm–9:00 pm
Morning Service: Thursday, September 9, 2010, 9:30 am–12:00 pm,
followed by Kiddush and Tashlikh at Hook Mountain, 1 pm
Yom Kippur
Evening Service: (Kol Nidrei): Friday, September 17, 2010, 7:45 pm-9:00 pm
Morning Service: Saturday, September 18, 2010, 9:00 am-1:00 pm
(Yizkor included)
Contribution: $60 per person per holiday ($20 per child under
Bar/Bat Mitzvah age). Childcare will be provided for morning services.
Maximum: $150 per family per holiday.
(No one turned away for lack of funds/College students attend free)
Location: Nyack
Advance reservation is required. Contact: 845-709-0026
Tags: Jewish Holidays, Jewish tradition, prayer services, religion, Spirituality, transformation
Posted in High Holidays, Uncategorized
Where? and How? A Midrashic and Psychospiritual Perspective on Tisha B’Av By Judith Rose
July 19th, 2010
If the Book of Kohelet (Ecclesiastes) teaches that there is a time to mourn and a time to dance, Tisha B’Av (the ninth of the Hebrew month “Av”), which begins Monday night at sundown, is a time that has been set aside for mourning. Traditionally it is observed as a day of fasting and prayer in commemoration of the destructions of both the first and second Temple in Jerusalem, and the expulsion of the Jews of Spain. The Book of Lamentations, known as Eikha, written by the prophet Jeremiah, is read morning and evening along with a compendium of extremely sad poems that are called Kinot. Conflated within the observance of the day is the remembrance of other destructions in our history that took place during this spiritually tender time.
Latest findings in archaeology have given us a graphic depiction of the violence and devastation that occurred to the Jewish people during Temple times. This matches the horrific descriptions of destruction and its ensuing horrors in Jeremiah’s mournful words. The Book of Eikha is organized into five chapters, three of which begin with the plaintive cry that gives its name to the title of the book, Eikha—How—How could this have happened?
In an effort to open the deep psychospiritual potential of this time, let us journey through a couple of textual landmarks. The prophet Jeremiah cries out, Eikh — Eikh How – How, how could you have broken trust with Yud__ Heh___ Vav___ Heh___ (GOD)? His Eikh here anticipates his later Eikha which painfully expresses “Alas, How?”, or “ Oh, How?”, the prophet’s heart felt language of distress and lament.
From the 6th century B.C.E. Jeremiah, let us travel back in time to the beginning of beginnings inside the mythic Garden. Adam and Eve have just disobeyed G-d’s admonition and have eaten from The Forbidden Fruit. God’s spirit (wind) is moving through the garden. Adam and Eve are terrified and hide. God calls out “Adam, Adam, Ayekah (where are you)? The G-d that is omniscient, omnipotent, asking two quaking humans where they are? Didn’t God know? Clearly this is not a question about locus. What do you think the Torah is teaching us here? The answer is hinted in the words themselves. The word Ayekah, where are you, of Genesis, read without vowels, can read as Jeremiah’s Eikha, “Alas, How?”
We all have moments of delusion, illusion, and confusion where we act in ways that are contrary to our inner compass of knowing right from wrong. Thus, Tisha B’Av is a day to reflect on national destruction, but also a time to contemplate upon the devastation that our own habits bring upon ourselves. It is also the first step, the toe in the water, of the high-holiday period. From Tisha B’Av we continue on through the month of Elul preparing us for Rosh HaShannah leading to the Days of Awe that culminate with Yom Kippur.
This Tisha B’Av as we read the Book of Lamentations, perhaps we can spend time asking ourselves: Ayehka? Where am I? and Eikha: How did I get here? And most importantly, where do I want to go?
Tags: Jewish Holidays, religion, reward and punishment, Tisha B'Av
Posted in Jewish Holidays
September 9th, 2009
Please join us for another year of joyful and interactive services with Rabbi Reuben Modek and Cantor Lisa Sokolov.
Rosh HaShannah,
Saturday, September 19th, 2009
9:30am to 12:00pm
Immediately followed by Kiddush and Tashlikh at Hook Mountain parking lot (our location is nearby).
Yom Kippur
Monday, September 28th, 2009
9:30am to 1pm
Suggested tax deductible contribution (we are now a 501c3 not for profit):
Rosh HaShannah: $50 per person
Yom Kippur: $50 per person
Children under 13: $15 per child per service
Maximum: $130 per family per service
(No one turned away for lack of funds. Please contribute from your heart as appropriate to your means)
Beautiful Nyack Location
Advanced reservation requested
Contact:
845 641 1107 (leave message) or hlcoffice@mac.com
We look forward to sharing these special celebrations with you.
Warmly,
The Production Team
P.S.
How would you like to join the high holidays production team? Next meeting is on Sunday September 13th, 7pm to 8:30pm. Logistical roles are available for setup, close-down, greeting table, etc. Your help is needed. If you can’t make Sunday’s meeting, please let us know if you can help out on the day of either event.
We are seeking teen volunteers to staff our child-care program during services, who will earn community service points toward fulfilling their school’s requirements. Please call 845 641 1106.
Can you chant from the Torah, blow the Shofar, drum, play a musical instrument? We have a role for you. Contact Rabbi Modek at 845 348 9810.
Feel free to invite a friend.
Tags: Jewish Holidays, Jewish tradition, prayer services, religion, Spirituality, synagogue
Posted in High Holidays
April 6th, 2009
A few weeks before Passover during the end of the second world war a Hasidic Jewish refugee in Russia chanced upon a then scarce batch of Shemurah Matzah flour, a type of Matzah flour that would uniquely qualify for the strictest standards of Passover observance.
Excited by his amazingly good fortune, the Hasid rushed to bake as many Matzas as he could squeeze out of the limited amount of flour. Once done, the Hasid happily sent messages to all the strictly observant Rabbis in his area inviting them to pick up the precious holiday commodity. However, he also stipulated that due to short supply he could only provide three pieces to each Rabbi on a first come first serve basis.
In no time whatsoever representatives from the different communities arrived at our Hasid’s residence to collect the generous gift of Shemurah Matzah. One of the messengers, though, displayed a particularly brash attitude. He fiercely proclaimed that three Matzahs were not enough and that his Rabbi had insisted on receiving no less than six pieces of Matzah in spite of the original stipulation. After quite some arguing the Hasid abided by the unusual request and begrudgingly made the exception.
The day before Passover had arrived and lo and behold at our Hasid’s doorstep for the second time appeared the difficult messenger. “I came to explain why I insisted on receiving six Matzahs” he stated. While not entirely happy about the man’s repeat visit, the Hasid asked his visitor to “please go on”. “Do you have any Shemurah Matzah for yourself?” asked the visitor. “No” replied the Hasid. “The supply was too short and the need too great. I did not keep any for myself”. “My Rebbe new that you wouldn’t, and asked me to secure an extra three pieces for you” said the messenger as he pulled out three Matzahs from his pack and handed them back to the Hasid. “That is why I had to insist on six Matzahs. On behalf of myself and my Rebbe I wish you a sweet and happy Passover”.
How do we become truly liberated? Not only by reminding ourselves of our collective experience of slavery through the observances of Passover. Not only by providing for those less privileged than ourselves during Passover. But also by acknowledging and caring for those who go out of their way to care for us and for others around us. May we all merit liberation of body and spirit as we turn our holiday observances into opportunities for true caring and heart felt connecting.
Tags: Jewish Holidays, Jewish tradition, liberation, Matzah, Passover, religion, Shemurah Matzah
Posted in Passover
The Washushan Bailout, A Dr. Suess-style Purim Shpiel
February 28th, 2009
Reading tips:
1. Familiarity with the outline of the Purim story is recommended for full laughter factor. Click here for wikipedia plot summary
2. Names and terms related to the classical Purim story are (✶1,2,3…) referenced at the end.
Once upon a time
in the great United States
of Purse-ia (as of Persia),
there ruled Akhashbenbernake✶1
the head of the fed.
In his magnificent capitol city of Washushan✶2
he threw a huge gala for all who were down.
When he demanded that
his queen Vashti✶3 chairwoman of S.E.C
(Securities and Exchange Commission)
present her nakedness to his company,
she said no way Jose,
thinking she could get away.
Have you ever heard of a greater travesty?
Out went Vashti of the S.E.C.
in search of a new destiny.
The head of the fed appointed HAMAN✶4
(short for: Home? A Mortgage? A Never-never-land!)
as chief economic advisor to the crown.
HAMAN the fine, was into sub-prime,
making a dime, and havin’ a good old time.
Esti✶5 Pelosi, or Nancy for short,
now the new queen
in Washushan held court.
Crisis looming, cousin Obamordechai✶6 begged,
“dear Esti, dear Esti, raise hell, ring a bell.
Many a kosher home are being pork-closed.
The poor Jews are in danger and so is their tender,
not to mention all others no matter their gender.
Credit is drying, great is the crying.
What can you do?” Yes you can, yes you can.
“Anything you can do I can do better,
but here is a challenge I better have not.
You my wise cousin what do you preach?”
“Go to bed with the fed oh Esti, dear Esti,
raise interest, trade assets,
prepare to give birth,
to a stimulus package.”
“Dear king of Washushan my sugar my daddy,
a plea for you at this time I carry.”
“Yes my beloved what is your request
half of the GDP would be your bequest.”
“An evil sub-primer, sub-primate, sub-human
is out there to evict me, convict me, suck me dry.
He’s intent on subjecting kosher balabatim
(Yidish for home-oweners)
to awful pork-closers
while shrimping their life-savings,
oh my.”
“Let me guess that must be,
the asset toxic Haman,
who bundles and fondles and can’t get enough.”
Said the fed: “off with his head.”
Let Obamordechai now rise from the dead
and ascend to the crown of Washushan town.
A new day of rememberance was then instituted
in the united states of Purse-ia,
to forever recall,
that while purses were rather empty,
hope prevailed despite un-certainty…
That change could be found
in each purse, in each pot,
inevitable change believe it or not.
Cause’ of the gambles
that left us in shambles
this holiday was named (Purim) lottery,
should ever again we be tempted
to invest in shards of pottery.
Rabbi Reuben Modek
The classical Purim story characters:
✶1 Akhashverosh - The king of the Persian empire who divorced his first wife Vashti to marry his second wife Esther the Jewess.
✶2 Shushan - The capitol of Persia in which the principle of the Purim story takes place.
✶3 Vashti - Akhashverosh’s first queen.
✶4 Haman - The evil advisor to Akhashverosh the king who chose a date by lottery on which all Jews would be killed.
✶5 Esther - A Jewish woman who was chosen to become Akhashverosh’s second queen. She was Mordechai’s cousin.
✶6 Mordechai - Queen Ester’s uncle who uses his influence with his niece to eliminate Haman’s hateful designs. He ends up replacing Haman as chief advisor to the king.
Tags: Dr. Suess, economy, Jewish education, Jewish Holidays, Jewish tradition, parody, politics, Purim, religion, satire, shpiel, spiel
Posted in Purim