Summer Message #1

Dear Friends,

The summer is almost upon us and it is time to relax and enjoy the good weather and the company of family and friends. Panim Hadashot will scale down its activities to a minimum from June to August. If you are interested in hosting a Shabbat around Seattle, we still have openings during most of this period.

At Panim Hadashot we are busy planning for the fall and the coming year. We are planning a wonderful and unique High Holiday program which will complement the Shabbat around Seattle events that will continue in the Fall.

The Panim Hadashot High Holidays will feature the following

· A Unifying Theme: "Why be Jewish?" withs study sessions and forums on Rosh Hashannah afternoon, Kol Nidre, and Yom Kippur afternoon.

· Two beautiful High Holiday Seders, including a Rosh Hashannah Seder on Friday, Sept 22nd and a Feast Before the Fast prior to Kol Nidre on Sunday later afternoon, October 1st with the ritual foods prepared by Emily Moore, renowned Seattle Jewish chef

· Expanded "Services for the Ambivalent" on Rosh Hashannah morning, Kol Nidre, and Yom Kippur morning.

· Our entire program will take place at the gorgeous grounds of Bastyr University and St. Edwards Park in the Juanita-Kenmore area above Lake Washington with outdoor programs planned.

· Family programming will also be offered as well as concurrent childcare to make our program family friendly.

We chose the theme "Why Be Jewish" to explore the contemporary meaning and relevance of Judaism for Jews with complex identities. How do we integrate our Jewish sensibilities and identity with our other frames of reference? What in Judaism speaks to our current reality? What in Judaism does not? How do we fashion a passionate and thoughtful commitment to Judaism which is a force for good in the world and within Jewish life? We want to utilize the period of the High Holidays to reflect on these questions and start the new year.

We also want to celebrate the beauty of Judaism by sharing with the community the beautiful seder traditions of this season. We will offer the first public Seudah Hamafseke-the feast before the Yom Kippur Fast. Rich with symbolic foods and uplifiting rituals and activities, this meal will enable participants to ready themselves for the great day of atonement and offer time to pause to reflect on the past year and hopes for the coming one. Along with the Rosh Hashannah seder these public seders enable participants to share this season with family, friends, and new faces a festival meal in a relaxed and spiritual manner.

More information will be forthcoming as the summer progresses. If you are interested in reserving a spot (since space will be limited), please write to Cynthia, my assistant, cynthia@panimhadashot.com.

On a personal note, I am overjoyed to announce that I am soon to marry. My fiancee is Robbie. She is a lovely person, full of life and kindness. Our plans are to marry in the late fall. Thanks for the many well wishes.

Shalom,
Rabbi Dov Gartenberg