Rabbi's Message
2009/5769
Welcome to Mishkan Ha'am (the website, anyhow)!
Having had the opportunity to serve this community for a little while now, after various experiences elsewhere in the Jewish world, I can tell you that it is truly a warm, unique, and necessary place.
It's a Jewish community small enough to feel like an extended family, and yet sufficiently complex to sustain many passionate perspectives and creative approaches to Jewish life and tradition. It doesn't rely on lots and lots of money, or an elaborate building, but instead thrives on its own social capital: on the vision of its members and their commitment to vibrant Jewish living.
Our
name itself comes from the Torah. The mishkan was the "tabernacle",
the portable sanctuary that the Israelites carried through the
wilderness, on the way to the Promised Land. It was beautiful and
holy. It was made of gifts that the people had given--gifts of skill
and talent as well as material possessions. And, most important, it could move.
Having had the opportunity to serve this community for a little while now, after various experiences elsewhere in the Jewish world, I can tell you that it is truly a warm, unique, and necessary place.
It's a Jewish community small enough to feel like an extended family, and yet sufficiently complex to sustain many passionate perspectives and creative approaches to Jewish life and tradition. It doesn't rely on lots and lots of money, or an elaborate building, but instead thrives on its own social capital: on the vision of its members and their commitment to vibrant Jewish living.
We also strive to construct a Mishkan Ha'am--a tabernacle of the people--that is sacred and beautiful, built out of all of the things we have to offer (even our concerns and disagreements with each other and the Jewish tradition), and that, while stable, is never fixed and static, moving with us wherever we might journey.
Our programming rests on what the ancient sages called the three pillars of the world--Torah (the study of Jewish text and narrative, whether Leviticus or Leonard Cohen), Avodah (spiritual practice), and Gimilut Hasadim (compassionate care for our world, aka Tikkun Olam, and social justice.)
Our innovative approach to Hebrew school, She'arim/Gateways, helps young learne rs find their own gateways into Judaism, inspiring us to recognize this as the goal of Jewish participation at any age.
You are always welcome to join us, in whatever way you'd like--studying in our Beit Midrash, celebrating the holidays, joining us for traditional prayer, or chanting and meditation, baking and serving meals for the homeless...
Please also feel free to contact me personally, if I can be of any assistance: ravbenweiner@
b'shalom,
Rabbi Benjamin Weiner
• • •
Please Note:
All services / programs, including Hebrew School, are held at the Reformed Church of Hastings, 18 Farragut Avenue, Hastings-on-Hudson, NY, unless otherwise specified. Click for directions.