by Pat Arnow

Synagogue for the Arts is newcomer-friendly on the High Holidays Bialystoker Synagogue Stanton Street Shul Chasam Sopher Synagogue Sixth Street Synagogue High holiday schedule Contact individual synagogues for times, registration and babysitting: Rosh Hashanah Wednesday evening, Sept. 12 All day Thursday, Sept. 13 All day Friday, Sept. 14 Yom Kippur Friday at dusk, Sept. 21 All day Saturday, Sept. 22

ou’re Jewish but haven’t gone to a synagogue in you don’t want to think about how long. Or you moved to the Lower East Side and wish you didn’t have to go back to the ‘burbs of your childhood for the High Holidays. Or you grew up Reform or Conservative and would like to attend services in your new neighborhood, but you see that the only synagogues on the Lower East Side are Orthodox. Or all you know about your Jewish heritage has to do with corned beef on rye and lox and bagels.

It doesn’t matter. The area’s congregations and their rabbis will make you most welcome, especially during the upcoming High Holidays. Some congregations have special newcomer or beginners services. Others include explanations in English along with the traditional Hebrew. If you’re considering getting back into Judaism or learning more about your Jewish religion, then this season is a good time for you.

Though Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur make up important observances in the Jewish calendar, the synagogues emphasize that people don’t have to come in dress-up clothing. A couple say that “business casual” is fine for men (slacks and open shirts) and that women should dress “modestly.” Synagogue for the Arts says on their website that they welcome “people in jeans, people in suits.”

Because all of the synagogues in the area are Orthodox, men and women sit separately—sometimes across the aisle from each other, sometimes with men in front and women in back. Children are generally welcome, and childcare is often available.

Important note: It’s true that local synagogues want to bring in all Jews no matter how poorly versed in the religion, but Judaism is not a religion that proselytizes to people born into other faiths. The explanatory services are designed with Jews in mind and do not, by and large, seek to include non- Jews. However, non-Jewish spouses of Jews will be received with respect and hospitality.

ialystoker Synagogue came into being in 1865, founded by immigrants from Bialystok, Poland. It calls itself “unabashedly Orthodox” and the beautiful main sanctuary holds a traditional service in Hebrew that goes on for many hours. In another sanctuary downstairs, a shorter “explanatory” service introduces religious practice to people who may be less knowledgeable. The service is mostly in English, with transliterations of the Hebrew prayers. Childcare is available.

Last year, the beginners services brought in some 75 people, mostly young. That’s up from about 25 the year before. Some became members. “I’ve lived in the neighborhood for 15 years. I see it changing,” says one Bialystoker volunteer. “The Jewish people moving in aren’t necessarily Orthodox, but there’s something here for everyone.”

Bialystoker Synagogue, 7-11 Willett St./Bialystoker Place (bet. Grand and Delancey), 212.475.0165, bialystoker.org

tanton Street Shul welcomes newcomers, too, but incorporates them into the regular services. “While they’re traditional services, and all in Hebrew,” says Rabbi Yossi Pollack, “we explain over the course of the services. We try to make the services meaningful and inspiring.”

The synagogue is “modern Orthodox,” says the rabbi, who is 32 and received his ordination in 2005. He grew up in New Jersey, but his grandfather’s first apartment was on Rivington Street.

Rabbi Pollack explains the significance of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. The blowing of the shofar, a ram’s horn, marks the beginning of the new year. It’s the “beginning of the 10 days in which Jews are trying to repent for….” Pollack pauses. “I don’t particularly like the word repent,” he says. He searches for another way to explain, demonstrating his Modern Orthodox sensibility that includes nuanced interpretations which may vary a bit from the traditional. People are “trying to work on their relationships with other people, their relationship with God.” says Pollack. “The services encourage them to focus more than they ordinarily do.”

Stanton Street’s services are free and require no reservations. It’s not a large space and it does fill up during peak times, but they’ve never turned anyone away, says Rabbi Pollack. “If a hundred extra people show up, we’ll be happy to deal with the problems.”

Like the Bialystoker, Polish immigrants built the Stanton Street shul. When the local Jewish population shrank, Stanton was one of the few shuls to survive.

Stanton Street Shul, 180 Stanton St. (bet. Clinton and Attorney), 212.533.4122, Stantonstreetshul.com

hasam Sopher, another long-time Lower East Side institution, recently completed renovating the red brick building tucked into Clinton Street just below Houston. It houses the oldest synagogue in continual operation in New York City, founded in the 1850s, according to Executive Director Chava Gottlieb.

While they hold traditional Orthodox services, they do try to make them “a little more user friendly,” says Gottlieb. “We’re pretty welcoming. There are a lot of people living in the neighborhood who are not necessarily Orthodox, and we’d like them to feel comfortable here.”

They’ve been successful. There are “modern American Jews from every walk of life who come here,” says Gottlieb. “We’re trying to be of service in this neighborhood, which is a new neighborhood—People wouldn’t have been living here a few years ago.”

Rabbi Azriel Siff has been with the congregation about a dozen years and grew up on the Lower East Side.

The High Holiday services are free and require no reservation. However, there is no separate childcare available.

Chasam Sopher, 10 Clinton Street (bet. Stanton and Houston), 212.777.5140, 212.533.4122, chasamsopher.org

ynagogue for the Arts on White Street, on the West Side, also lost members in the last century and has come back after artists took over the near-deserted lofts of SoHo and Tribeca. Today, of course, most of the artists have relocated.

The shul calls itself a “traditional synagogue with a creative approach to the challenges of Jewish life in a postmodern era,” says Rabbi Jonathan Glass. “We like to call ourselves ‘outreach Orthodox’ or ‘eclectic Orthodox.’” He has been with the congregation for 18 years.

On the High Holidays they hold “learner’s services.” History and explanations of customs and laws accompany the prayers. “Our goal is access,” he says. It’s important that there are “no barriers—financial, religious, or ethnic.”

Synagogue for the Arts, 49 White Street (bet. Church and Broadway), 212.966.4968, 212.533.4122, synagogueforthearts.org

ixth Street Synagogue (formally known as “Community Synagogue,”) doesn’t have a separate beginners’ service for the High Holidays, but they welcome newcomers, and “throughout the regular service,” says Rabbi Charlie Buckholtz, “I will be adding a lot of educational words for people who might not be familiar with traditional services. We’re looking to cultivate an atmosphere where anybody and everybody will feel comfortable.”

“The membership is quite diverse,” the rabbi says, with people “across the spectrum, with a wide range of backgrounds and affiliations.”

Rabbi Buckholtz, who is 35 and arrived last September, describes the congregation as Modern Orthodox. A native of Charleston, SC, he has lived in Potomac, Md., and has been out of rabbinical school for just two years.

There is a charge of $100 to $150 to attend High Holiday services at the East Village Sixth Street Synagogue, but no one is turned away. The rabbi recommends making reservations, and though it gets “pretty full” on the holidays, there’s plenty of room, with 600 seats.

Community Synagogue/Max D. Raiskin Center, (the 6th Street Synagogue), 325 E. Sixth Street (bet. 1st and 2nd Aves.), 212.473.3665, eastvillageshul.com

he Sway Machinery. While to our knowledge there are no permanent non- Orthodox temples on the Lower East Side, you may want to check out this unique program, at the Angel Orensanz Foundation Center. They offer “Hidden Melodies Revealed: a celebration of Rosh Hashanah.” On Erev Rosh Hashanah, join Jeremiah Lockwood and The Sway Machinery, a veritable super-group of New York musicians featuring members of Antibalas, The Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Balkan Beat Box and Arcade Fire, for what is touted as the group’s most exciting project to date. The program is free.

Angel Orensanz Foundation Center is the site of the once venerable, then abandoned, Slonimer Synagogue, where Jeremiah’s grandfather, Cantor Jacob Konigsberg, gave his New York debut concert in 1949.

Angel Orensanz Foundation, 172 Norfolk Street (bet. Houston and Rivington), Sept. 12, at 10 PM sixpointsfellowship.org

anhattan Jewish Experience, which will have services in the Puck Building (at Lafayette and Houston) is specifically for “young Jewish professionals in their 20s and 30s with little or no background in Judaism who are interested in connecting more with their heritage and the Manhattan Jewish Community,” according to their website.

Rabbinical student Daniel Kraus, who works with Manhattan Jewish Experience, says that those who attend will have an “involving and spiritually uplifting experience.” The services are conducted in Hebrew and English, accompanied by chants and songs. Through the day there will be breakout small group sessions for explanations of what is going on. That’s why Kraus describes the services as especially “participant friendly.” The cost is $100.

Manhattan Jewish Experience, Puck Building, 295 Lafayette St # 705 (at Houston), 212.787.9533, jewishexperience.org