[Fredslist] 2013 High Holidays in Greenwich Village: No charge

[Phyllis Dubrow]

To my Gotham family,

 

My friend Daniel Neiden is once again conducting beautiful High Holiday services for friends and extended family – and we’re all invited.  No charge, no tickets – but he requests that we RSVP:  He likes to know how many to expect.

 

The first night is Wednesday, September 4; check out details and the schedule on his website:  www.villageyontif.com <http://www.villageyontif.com> .  

 

Daniel’s an actor who writes and composes music for off-Broadway shows and also is a cantor.  Check out the “Favorite Quotes”  on his website and the invitation that follows.  You’ll get a flavor.

 

I hope to see you there.

 

Phyllis E. Dubrow | Attorney at Law

60 East 42nd Street, Suite 4600 | New York NY  10165

T: (212) 661-2885 | F: (212) 409-8682 | E: pdubrow at pipeline.com

 

 

>From Daniel:

 


Dear All,

It is my pleasure to welcome you to our ninth year of High Holy Day services at St. John’s.

2013 has been turbulent for all of us:  NRA, NSA, Boston, climate change (Sandy, fires, and other disasters), Monsanto, Supreme Court indecisions, and partisan deadlocks.  Our senses assailed by "the other" and our faith shaken, we cling in the chaos to family, friends, and our own good sense of right and wrong to help steer the ship, wishing for leaders who set the example of compassion and generosity.  

But how do we find a place of peace in such an atmosphere seemingly dominated by "the other?"  

I believe we should start by connecting with "the other" in ourselves.  We need to look to the compassion and generosity within us, and make room for it, as Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach noted:


...the creation of water is never even mentioned in the Torah.  Water is a bit like before the creation of the world.  This world is about duality, as it is created with the second letter of the alphabet, "beit," which has the numerical value of two.  Everything in this world comes in pairs: Heaven and Earth, summer and winter, me and you, us and God.  In contrast, God’s unity is reflected in the water. Water in Hebrew is always in the language of plural – mayim.  There is no word for just one drop of water.  If we place one drop of water next to a second drop of water, the first drop of water will "make room" to absorb the second drop of water, until they completely merge.  All our mistakes derive from the fact that we live in a world of duality.  They derive from the divisions of walls that separate us from ourselves, from each other, and from God. 



In the coming year, let us find a way to more readily treat ourselves with kindness, to have compassion for ourselves when we are stressed, when we are scared, and when we know deep down that we need it.  Some may consider this to be a selfish endeavor, but the reality is that when those needs are already met, it is much easier to be generous and compassionate with someone else -- when are able to accept and forgive our own human foibles, it is easier to embrace the humanity of "the other.”   

G'mar Hatimah Tovah- May You Be Sealed for a Good Year in the book of life.

See you in Shul.

Daniel Neiden, Cantor





Would you like to participate in services?  If you'd like to volunteer to read the Torah, blow the Shofar, or offer your service in any other way, please email us and let us know.  Many thanks.



    

 

* * * * * *

 Have questions? Visit our FAQ page at www.villageyontif.com <http://www.villageyontif.com/> .



 


 


 

 

 

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://www.gothamnetworking.com/pipermail/fredslist/attachments/20130812/c2680a54/attachment-0001.html