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Are You Ready?

01/09/2020 09:03:03 AM

Sep1

Dear Congregational Family,

Beginning Today (Tuesday) and continuing on Tuesdays and Thursdays, I will be teaching an online class entitled, "Navigating The Machzor During The Pandemic." The class will meet on Zoom and Facebook from 12-1pm. In preparation for the class and for the actual High Holy Days, we continue to make available to you the Birnbaum edition of the Machzor, High Holy Day Prayerbook. Copies are available for members to pick up for their immediate families at the Wilmington entrance.

Because of the pandemic,  many synagogues, like our own, will be abbreviating the services considerably so that health standards are maintained. At Beth Emeth, the morning services on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur will begin at 9:30am, later than usual. We will omit the familiar introductory Psukei D'Zimra and begin with Ha'Melech, which starts the Shacharit service. I encourage you to daven Psukei D'Zimra on your own privately before the 9:30am start, whether you are participating in shul or via livestream. By the way, in many Israeli synagogues, Psukei D'Zimra is recited privately.

In addition, for this year in particular, we will omit many of the Piyutim, poetic insertions which embellish High Holy Day themes and ideas. In the Middle Ages, the addition of Piyutim to the core prayers was hotly debated. Do the additional poems enrich or intrude upon the statutory liturgy? The debate resulted in diverse practices over the ages.

In our class, we will analyze some of the core passages, including: the Penitential Psalm, Avinu Malkenu, the Shofar service, U'N'Taneh Tokef, Kol Nidrei, the Vidui, and more.

I encourage you to pick up a Machzor for the class and for services. I invite you to use the weeks of Elul to spiritually prepare for the High Holy Days.

Are you ready?

Rabbi Howard Morrison

Thu, 28 March 2024 18 Adar II 5784