Seattle leader, Kol Shalom offer High Holidays workshop

By Jewish Review

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Madrikha Susan Levine will lead a workshop titled “Preparing Ourselves for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur” on Sept. 7 at the first fall Sunday Forum of Kol Shalom, Community for Humanistic Judaism.

The forums are from 9:45 a.m. to noon, concurrent with Kol Shalom’s children’s education classes, and are held at the Mittleman Jewish Community Center. Visitors are welcome to attend.

Levine received certification as a madrikha (lay leader) after completing a period of extensive study at the International Institute for Secular Humanistic Judaism in Detroit, and serves the Secular Jewish Circle of Puget Sound, Seattle’s affiliate of the Society for Humanistic Judaism. The IISHJ also ordains rabbis, but madrikhim and madrikhot lead many congregations that are not large enough to support a rabbi.

In the Sept. 7 workshop, Levine will review the traditions of the High Holidays and how they are observed in different Jewish denominations, but the main focus will be some of the primary themes of the holidays as well as “how we can soak up and use more of the teachings and rituals to enhance our lives.”

“The ceremonies have so much meaning that they can’t be taken in and well processed simply over the course of the ceremony itself,” said Levine. “Jewish tradition understands this and makes room for it by teaching us to begin our preparations during the month prior to the holiday. This workshop provides structure to begin the reflective work of the holiday, actually practicing Humanistic Judaism and providing opportunities for both the intellectual and the more spiritual/emotional connection.”

For more information about this event or about Kol Shalom, call 503-459-4210 or visit the Web site at www.kolshalom.org.