Toward Strength and Commitment5777

Deepening Our Engagement – Growing Together

When the numbers 5-7-7-7 are transformed into Hebrew letters though their numeric valuethey represent strength (Ohz-Ayin-Zayin) and movement (Zuz).

Strength and movement invite us to engage with our deepest values and step forward together with a fierce commitment to radically transform our lives, our communities and world.

Throughout the Days of Awe and the year ahead, we will explore and move to act on ourMission and vision as a spiritually activist, caring, inclusive and committed Mishkan Shalom.

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~ Rabbi Shawn Israel Zevit and Rabbi Yael Levy ~Mishkan Shalom Yamim Noraim/ Days of Awe 5777

SLICHOT

Preparing The Ground For Renewal And At-One-MentSaturday, September 24 – Slichot Service & Workshop7:30 – Ori Alon – transFORMation workshop – laying the groundwork for forgiveness 9 p.m.-10:30 p.m. - “Return to the Home of Your Soul” Led by Rabbi Shawn Zevit and Rabbi Yael Levy.

A ritual and prayerful focus on teshuvah, letting go and preparing the inner ground for the holy days. We will sing, study, journal and discuss the places of challenge and opportunity in our lives as we enter this new Jewish year together.

ROSH HASHANAH

Rosh Hashanah Services led by Rabbis Shawn Zevit, Yael Levy, Margot Stein, Myriam Klotz and members of the Mishkan Shalom High Holy Day team as indicated.

Rosh Hashanah Evening Service at Mishkan ShalomSunday, October 2, 6:00 p.m.Led by Rabbi Shawn Zevit

We welcome the Jewish New Year, 5777, with song, prayer and spiritual preparation for the Days of Awe. An Oneg follows the service, giving us the opportunity to reconnect with old and new friends and welcome new members.

First Day Rosh Hashanah at The Haverford School

Monday, October 3:Led by Rabbis Shawn Zevit, Yael Levy, Margot Stein, Myriam Klotz and members of the Mishkan Shalom High Holy Day team.

Join us as we create an experience of celebration and transformation through Prayer, Music, Torah and the Resonant Sounds of the Shofar.

9:00-10:30 a.m. – Shacharit (morning) service using Kol Haneshamah Machzor

10:30 a.m. -1:00p.m. – Torah service, sermon, shofar, and musaf

Aliyot – As we read the creation story anew, as an alternative Rosh Hashanah reading, we continue the tradition of celebrating our community, our leaders and our journeys.

Communal Meal – To deepen our connection to each other and celebrate the first day of this New Year we join together for lunch following services. We ask each household to contribute something to this healthy, celebratory meal.

Ilene Winn-Lederer

Tashlich at Valley GreenMonday, October 3, Gathering at 3:30 p.m.During the Tashlich ritual, we continue the process of teshuvah as we go to a place of flowing water with the thoughts, feelings and behaviors we wish to let go of in the year ahead. We will join together at Valley Green (across from the Valley Green Inn) on the first day of Rosh Hashanah. Bring bread crumbs or greens for the ducks; a shofar to sound; children and friends. Join us as we seek to further free ourselves from whatever limits our spiritual development and keeps us from being the person we wish to become.

Second Day Rosh Hashanah at Mishkan Shalom/A Way In Mindfulness ServiceTuesday, October 4, 9:00 a.m. – 1 p.m.Led by Rabbis Yael Levy, Margot Stein, Myriam Klotz and Shawn Zevit.

We celebrate the second day of the Jewish New Year with Mindfulness, Music and Movement.

TRADITIONAL PRAYERS surrounded with silence and reflection

YOGA for the body and soul

MUSIC to reach the heart

TEACHINGS and MEDITATION

TORAH READING and opportunities to receive blessings

100 blasts of the SHOFAR

Shabbat Shuvah at Mishkan Shalom Saturday, October 8

9:00 a.m. – Teshuvah study with Rabbi Shawn Zevit

10:00 a.m. – Shabbat service, FORGIVENESS, ATONEMENT and SOCIAL JUSTICE with Rabbi Shawn and guest speakers. Opportunity to share interests and responses after Kiddush with various social justice teams.

YOM KIPPUR OCTOBER 11-12

Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, also known as the Sabbath of Sabbaths, is one of the most powerful individual and communal days in the Jewish calendar that begins before sunset at 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday, October 22nd. We invite and encourage everyone to participate in the entire day’s offerings of services, workshops and programs.

Yom Kippur crescendos with the poignant Neilah (closing) service, the final service and gathering of prayers and affirmations of our whole community. The energy is powerful and profound and a perfect way to conclude the Days of Awe together and deepen our connections as we step into Sukkot. Feel free to bring family and friends, a shofar and a

Havdallah candle for the final shofar blasts at the conclusion of Neilah and for the Havdallah service that ends the day.

Special Clothing and Customs for Yom KippurMany people choose to wear white clothing on Yom Kippur as a sign of longing for purity of soul and teshuvah (repentance). Some wear a kittel, a white robe worn at moments of transition and is what Jews are traditionally clothed in when we die. If you own a kittel please bring it with you; if not, consider wearing white for Yom Kippur. Along with fasting from food and drink, and refraining from intimate relations, there is also a custom not to wear leather and leather products on Yom Kippur since leather comes from a living being whose life was taken and made into leather products, historically considered a luxury.

Altar of Memory You are invited to bring a remembrance of someone in your life who has died and place it on the altar that will also hold yarzheit candles for memorial lighting. Through these photographs and objects we open our hearts to those we have lost and bring their presence with us as we enter this holiest of days.

Kol Nidre at The Haverford SchoolTuesday, October 115:30 p.m. gathering, 6:00 p.m. service

We open our hearts to forgiveness and compassion as we enter Yom Kippur together. Each of us will have the opportunity to write a teshuvah (return and atonement) card which will include ways we feel we have missed the mark and erred this past year as well as ways in which we have lived out our values and ideals.

Yom Kippur Day at The Haverford SchoolWednesday, October 12

We begin the day with two soulful offerings for Shacharit (morning) and come together at the Torah service.

9:00 a.m. - 11:15 a.m. – Chant, liturgical prayer and reflection using Kol Haneshamah Machzor with Rabbi Shawn Zevit, Kohenet Shoshana Bricklin and other Mishkan leaders.

9:00 a.m. - 11:15 a.m. – A Way In Mindfulness Service: Meditation, Music and Yoga with Rabbis Yael Levy, Margot Stein and Myriam Klotz.

11:15 a.m.-1:45 p.m. – Torah service including sermon, discussion and haftarah.Followed by Musaf (additional prayers).

1:45 p.m.-2:45 p.m. – Avodah: Service of Offerings –Wendy Galson & Susan WindleThe Avodah service is traditionally devoted to exploring the offerings of the High Priest brought to the Temple to cleanse himself and the community from sins. For our service, we will make personal offerings. You are invited to bring a poem, a story, a song, and experience, thought or 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 and who we may yet be.

3:00 p.m.-4:00 p.m. – Afternoon sessions

Economic Dignity, Race and Faith: Towards Strength and Commitment, with Reverend Greg Holsten (POWER Economic Dignity Co-Chair) and Rabbi Shawn Zevit (POWER Clergy Caucus Co-Chair)-- Together we will explore the reality of our own community and city’s economic and racial life, and look at how our spiritual traditions and interfaith work compel us to address this reality and can support us to work together to transform our city and strengthen our relationships and commitment to each other at Mishkan Shalom and across faith, race and socio-economic lines. We will do this through presentation, discussion, prayer and reflection.

Deepening Forgiveness: A Guided Chant and Meditation with Wendy Galson -- In the mid-afternoon we can feel the end of the day looming near and 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. 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 meditation, we will move through regret and brokenness, to opening and allowing, toward deepening forgiveness and healing. Please bring a mat or blanket to rest on, and extras for others.

Discerning our Spiritual Work this Day of Atonement with Meredith Barber Spiritual Direction is a process for exploring our connection with what we experience as God, Spirit, Truth, however we express and understand the sacred in our lives. Using the structure of our monthly spiritual direction circles, we will allow time for sharing and reflection from participants. Through these explorations we will try to discern where we are being guided or need to put our attention this Yom Kippur Day, and in our lives in the year ahead.

Inside Isaiah’s Outcry with Rabbi Arthur WaskowThe traditional Haftarah for Yom Kippur morning contains Isaiah’s famous outcry, “What is the fast that I require of you? ” But there is a great deal more of deep importance. What is the rhythm and pattern of the Haftarah? What does he say is a true spiritual "high” and what is not? What is the relationship between "

liturgy” & “prophecy”? What does that mean today? Reb Arthur will act as “weaver” as we explore these questions together.

Expanding the Forgiving Heart with Adina LaverWe can only heal, forgive, and love more when our hearts feel spacious and open. One of the challenges of the Yamim Noraim (Days of Awe and Repentance) is that at the very moment when we seek to heal wounds of the past, forgive ourselves and others, and increase the love we have to share, we can find ourselves constricting from shame and self judgment that often accompanies the process of self examination. In this workshop, we will explore the ways in which our minds frame the story of what it means to forgive and ‘do better’ and see how we can create even more space to fulfill our intentions.

4:15 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. - Yizkor Service5:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. - Minchah Service6:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. - Neilah and Break Fast

Yizkor BookWe will be offering our annual opportunity to remember family members and other significant people in our lives who have died. We will publish a Yizkor Book (Book of Remembrance) that will be distributed at each of the Yizkor services throughout the year (Yom Kippur, Shemini Atzeret, the first day of Passover and Shavuot). Please note that the names will not be read aloud at these times. This 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/Days of Awe mailing and send it with your donation ($18 per line is suggested) to Mishkan Shalom, Attn: Maria. If you have questions contact Sharon Parker, Sparky18@me.com

Tallitot and MachzorimIf you have your own tallit (prayer shawl) and/or Kol Haneshamah Machzor for High Holy Days, please bring them with you. We have a limited number of both 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.

Family Room There will be a Drop-In Family Room in the Dining Hall on the first day of Rosh Hashanah until 12:30 and Yom Kippur until 2:00. Please consider this as a drop-IN kind of place for you and your children rather than a drop-OFF place to leave your kids. As always, your children are your responsibility as there is no childcare available.

CHILDREN'S SERVICES Please join us for special services designed for children and their families, led by Mishkan educator Gabby Kaplan-Mayer.

Rosh Hashanah, Day 19:30—10:15 a.m.Children ages birth~5 years Young children and their families will sing and celebrate with special puppet friends who will teach us about the New Year. Older sibs welcome!

10:30—11:30 a.m.—Children ages 5—8 years: We will sing, pray and open the Torah together. Parents are encouraged to experience this service with their children. Special discussion questions will help children and their families reflect on gratitude and blessings.

11:30 a.m.—12:30 p.m.Children ages 9-12 Children will help lead prayers and discussion as we focus on our role in being a peace maker in the New Year. Older children will help to lead a Torah service. Parents are encouraged to join us and share this opportunity for reflection with their children.

Rosh Hashanah, Day 210:00-11:30 a.m.—Children of all ages and their families: We will share a creative, musical family service, followed by Rosh Hashanah crafts and coloring.

Yom Kippur9:30-10:15 a.m.—Children ages birth~5 years. Young children and their families will sing and celebrate with special puppet friends who will help to teach us about the importance of saying sorry and forgiving our friends. Older sibs welcome!

10:30—11:30 a.m.—Children ages 5—8 years. We will sing, pray and open the Torah together. Parents are encouraged to experience this service with their children. Special discussion questions will help children and their families reflect on positive choices that we can make at school, home and in taking care of the earth.

11:30a.m.-12:30 p.m.—Children ages 9-12. Children will help lead prayers and discussion as we focus on our role in making the world a loving, positive place and on the importance of taking responsibility when we get off track. Older children will help to lead a Torah service. Parents are encouraged to join us and share this opportunity for reflection with their children.

COMMUNAL MEALSA significant piece of our community’s experience during the High Holy Days, are the two communal meals we create together. We have two potluck communal meals: lunch following the first day service of Rosh Hashanah and the break-the-fast following the end of Yom Kippur. The entire community – and guests -- are welcome and each family is asked to bring food and drink to share.

Here are some guidelines: 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.

Please bring one liter of beverage for every two people in your party. Please bring a plate and utensils for your own use. (If you forget we will have some on hand)

All food must be DAIRY or VEGETARIAN – no meat

Haverford is a nut-free environment: No nuts.

Please PROVIDE AN INGREDIENT LIST for all food contributions, to assist those with allergies.

If your last name begins with:

On Rosh HaShanah please bring: And on Yom Kippur please bring:

A - D Salads Breads and SpreadsE - J Desserts Salads

K - M Entrees SaladsN - S Entrees DessertsT - V Salads Breads and SpreadsW - Z Breads and Spreads Entrees

More info! Please mark all dishes and utensils with your name, and remember to pick them up

and take them home the same day.

Think of alternatives to breads and starchy, heavy foods. This is particularly true for Yom Kippur when people are breaking their fast

SUKKOT TO SHEMINI ATZERET

Raise the Sukkah! Thursday, October 13 – daytimeTo help, contact Steve Jones –stjones18@gmail.com

Decorate the Sukkah! Sunday, October 16 –9:30 a.m. Decorate the Sukkah with our congregational school

Erev Sukkot Potluck for New and Prospective Members! Sunday, October 16, 5:00 p.m. at the home of Rabbis Shawn and Simcha Zevit

Sukkot Morning Monday, October 17, 10a.m.- noon Sukkot Morning service led by Rabbi Yael and Rabbi Shawn.

Friday, October 21, 5:30 pm Celebrations! Sensory sensitive Sukkah party

Shabbat and Sukkot - Saturday, October 22 9:00 a.m. - Sukkot Torah study10:00 a.m. - Shabbat Sukkot Service & Bat Mitzvah of Sofia Erdakos Roizman with Rabbi Shawn

Sukkot Open House– Saturday, October 22, 5:00 p.m.at the home of Chris Jacobs and Nancy Post

Simchat Torah – Sunday, October 23, 7:00 p.m.Come celebrate as we dance, sing and unroll the entireTorah with the Dorshei Derekh community and musicians. We will honor all we have learned through the preceding holidays and on our life-long journey. We will read the last section of the Torah and begin again as we each connect with the message the Torah has for reach of us. Bring a line from your own Bar or Bat Mitzvah to share in the celebration!

Shemini Atzeret/Simchat Torah –Monday, October 24, 10:00 a.m. Shacharit/morning service in partnership with Dorshei Derekh Reconstructionist Minyan at Germantown Jewish Centre, 400 West Ellet St, Philadelphia. Led by Rabbi Shawn and Dorshei Derekh leaders

LOCATION

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 to return to a beautiful space to hold many of our Yamim Noraim services. The Haverford School at 450 Lancaster Ave, Haverford, PA 19041 accommodates our needs excellently. There is ample, comfortable space for our services, our children’s programming, our study sessions, and our holiday meals.

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.

FEE SCHEDULE FOR GUESTS

Mishkan Shalom has a wonderful, inclusive tradition of welcoming any and all guests to our High Holiday Services. We encourage guests to pre-register for the High Holidays visiting our registration page by visiting https://mishkan.org/donations The suggested fee for guests in $360 /adult for all services.

Guest fees for prospective members may be applied to membership when joining by November 1, 2016. All contributions are tax deductible. Please send contributions or registrations to Mishkan Shalom, 4101 Freeland Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19128