To help prepare for and celebrate the upcoming new year, The Temple, Congregation B’nai Jehudah is offering two community-wide events: A scholar-in-residence weekend Sept. 16-17, featuring Dr. Alan Morinis of The Mussar Institute; and Shofar in the Park, a Rosh Hashanah afternoon event on Sept. 26.
Scholar-in-Residence Weekend
Alan Morinis, who founded The Mussar Institute, is a leading figure in the contemporary revival of the Mussar movement, a 1,100-year-old authentic Jewish personal and communal spiritual tradition that was nearly lost following the Holocaust. A filmmaker, Rhodes Scholar, and anthropologist whose focus had been Hindu religious pilgrimages, Morinis reached a personal turning point in his life in 1997 that led to his exploration of Mussar.
All are welcome to join Morinis for a weekend of exploration and learning at B’nai Jehudah during Shabbat worship as follows:
- Sept. 16, 6 p.m.: Erev Shabbat Service – A Spiritual Orphan Finds His Family
- Sept. 17, 10:30 a.m.: Shabbat Morning Service – Torah Through a Mussar Lens: Collaborative Study on the Parsha
Both services will also be livestreamed at vimeo.com/bnaijehudah.
To cap off the weekend, Morinis will be the featured speaker at the Sept. 17 Community-wide Selichot Service. He will present Jewish Guidance for Living in Turbulent Times.
More information about the scholar-in-residence weekend can be found at bnaijehudah.org/elul/. The Scholar-in-Residence weekend was made possible by a generous donation from Irv Robinson.
Shofar in the Park
Shofar in the Park, a Rosh Hashanah celebration for all ages, will be on Sept. 26 from 4-6 p.m. at the Lodge at Ironwoods, 14701 Mission Road, Leawood, KS.
All are welcome to usher in a great new year at this indoor/outdoor Rosh Hashanah experience. This two-hour event will feature Rosh Hashanah-themed activities for all ages to reflect, play and create. There will also be dessert trucks, a Tashlich service, and a Rosh Hashanah Shofar experience with characters created by the Mesner Puppet Theater.
From 4-6 p.m., activities for all ages including a bounce house, sweet and sour tashlich, drumming station, puppet meet and greet, “High Holi-dopoly,” apple and pomegranate origami, inflatable ax throwing, and high-holiday themed mocktails and cocktails will be offered. Dessert trucks from Paige’s Shaved Ice, Torched Goodness and Rolling in the Dough will serve free desserts. At Tashlich, attendees can cast their “sins” into the water while singing and praying that we do better in the coming year.
From 5:30-6 p.m., the family Rosh Hashanah shofar puppet experience will take place inside the lodge and will feature B’nai Jehudah rabbis — along with the Mesner Puppet Theater puppets — for singing, praying and the sounds of the shofar.
Registration for Shofar in the Park can be done at bnaijehudah.org/rosh-hashanah/ or by calling 913-663-4050. The Mesner Puppets are made possible through the generosity of Michael Klein.