Shabbat Shalom, New York. We’re listening to Michael Franti & Spearhead sing “Today would be a very good day for a good day,” and we couldn’t agree more.
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NEW YORK, NEW YORK
AFTER THE DELUGE: A “Unity” Torah scroll written to honor members of the Hatzalah ambulance service was damaged beyond repair when Hurricane Ida flooded a basement synagogue in Williamsburg. (collive)
LIFE STUDY: The new Netflix film “Worth” stars Michael Keaton as Kenneth Feinberg, the Jewish attorney who devised the Sept. 11 victims compensation fund. JTA has a review.
YAHRTZEIT: Israel’s acting consul general in New York, Israel Nitzan, local Jewish leaders and the Port Authority Police Department gathered at the National September 11 Memorial & Museum to mark the tragedy’s 20th anniversary on the Hebrew calendar. (J-Wire)
MAZEL TOV: Writer Amy Klein welcomes 54-year-old Knesset member Merav Michaeli’s announcement that she and her husband had a son born via surrogacy — and recalls her own efforts to help pass the Child-Parent Security Act in New York, making surrogacy legal. (Kveller)
RAIN DELAY: Jewish tennis star Diego Schwartzman prevailed over his opponent Kevin Anderson in a U.S. Open match delayed by Wednesday night’s torrential rain — and then got to meet his hero Ben Stiller. (JTA)
SHUL AND STATE: An editor for Chabad.org says the Orthodox community is facing “persecution” by activists who say yeshivas are “concentrating too much on Jewish teachings and neglecting secular education.” (Wall Street Journal)
KVELLING: Natalie Rose Dicker and Max Elliot Fruchter courted over Shabbat dinners with friends and Saturday lunches. Spoiler: They’re married! (New York Times)
AROUND THE WORLD, VIA JTA
- Jewish Family Services of Seattle was instrumental in extracting an Afghan family from Kabul as the the city fell to the Taliban.
- In a Rosh Hashanah call Thursday with 1,000 rabbis, President Biden rededicated his presidency to combating hate and extremism.
- A Los Angeles rabbi has designed a Shabbat garment for Hasidic men like him that makes it easier to draw a gun in synagogue.
SHABBAT SHALOM
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Especially after a challenging year, Rosh Hashanah is a time to make new choices, and repair old relationships, writes Rabbi Rachel Ain of Sutton Place Synagogue.
- More wisdom: The sounding of the shofar reminds us that as much as we need to say things, we need to hear things even more, writes Rabbi David Wolpe in his Jewish Week column.
Still making plans for the High Holidays? The Jewish Week’s guide to online and in-person services is here to help.
WHAT’S ON
Jewish Historical Society of Long Island and North Shore Jewish Center celebrate the 125th anniversary of Agudas Achim, the first synagogue built on Long Island, 152 Main St., Setauket. Sunday, noon.
The Museum of Jewish Heritage presents an in-person screening of “Abe,” a 2019 film about a 12-year-old half-Israeli, half-Palestinian aspiring chef who wants his cooking to bring people together. $5 members; $10 non-members. Sunday, 2:00 p.m.
Photo, top: Israel Nitzan, Israel’s acting consul general in New York, places an Israeli flag in memory of the victims of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, in a ceremony marking the tragedy’s 20th anniversary on the Hebrew calendar, Aug. 31, 2021. (@IsraelinNewYork)
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