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OSEH SHALOM 2021/5782 HIGH HOLY DAYS SURVEY

Shalom!
Once again, we reinvented our High Holy Days (HHD) services and programs to provide on-line Zoom access and this year  many were able to attend services and programs in our synagogue and on our grounds.  This "hybrid" option was made possible  through the extraordinary efforts of an expanded number of creative and dedicated volunteers and with the efforts of our dedicated and tireless rabbis, cantor emeritus, rabbinic intern Faryn Borella, and staff.  In spite of a 5781 under continued Covid restrictions,  we were able to celebrate this new season of 5782 as a congressional community with an expanded opportunity for physical and "virtual" togetherness, and  with warmth, creativity and kavanah.  

Through the  wonders of our upgraded technology, we saw each other face to face virtually and in person; we davened together, studied together and heard the shofar blasts  during the months of Elul and Tishri. Almost all our on-site services and programs were also accessible on Zoom to anyone who registered.

For the first time, we had electronic interactive registration forms--- what so many of you have been asking for. We want to hear how this worked for you, and if you didn't, what can we do to make it more user friendly next year.

We need to hear from as many of you as possible to  hear how YOU experienced this sacred season under the "new normal-for-now" circumstances, and what we can do to make it even better next year.

Please use the COMMENT feature throughout this survey to provide more specific information. There is no word limit. FYI: No need to comment on everything. We provided a list of events in chronological order simply to stimulate your recall.

Please complete your survey on-line here if at all possible.  This survey form is also available for download and printing out on the website, www.oseh-shalom.org. If you have any trouble with this  version, hard copy may be available upon request at the synagogue (speak with Mark Cook, Synagogue Administrator, ext. 101).

Todah rabbah!

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* 1. If you choose to do so, please enter your names(s), phone, or e-mail address.  This information is optional and confidential.

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* 2. ATTENDANCE:

  Yes No
Was this your first time experiencing Oseh Shalom's High Holy Days services, programs and activities?
Would you recommend Oseh Shalom to anyone you know who is looking for a place to go for the holidays?
Do YOU plan to come back next year?  And if not, please let us know why in the Comment box below.

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* 3. PARTICIPATION STATUS:

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* 4. How easy was it to use the new on-line interactive registration materials and did you get  helpful assistance  if you had any difficulty with the process?

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* 5. ZOOM World:  How was your experience using Zoom with respect to quality of the technology and ease of access to HHD services, programs, activities, booklets and supplemental reading materials

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* 6. What could we have done to make the Zoom experience easier or more meaningful? Did you get the help you needed?  Use Comment box below.

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* 7. HIGH HOLY DAYS SEASON OF SERVICES, PROGRAMS, AND ACTIVITIES. Events are listed chronologically. In rating each, consider such things (where relevant) as topic, content and presentation, timing, length, balance of Hebrew and English, readings, cantorial, instrumental and previously recorded music, honors, written resources available, etc. Did the experience of participation expand your understanding and/or heighten your sense of meaningful connection with the holidays and our community?

  Poor Fair Average Good Excellent N/A
A.  Shofar Soundings:  Tuesdays & Sundays through 8/31/21
B.   Discussions with Rabbinic Intern Faryn Borella: Saturday 8/21 - Return to the Land of Creation+picnic; Sunday, 8/22-Return to the Land of Your Soul
C.   Elul Reflections:  Daily during Elul (Brad Sachs)
D.  Rabbis:  Deeper Dive into HHD prayers: Kol Nidre and the 13 Attributes of Compassion.  Monday, August 23, 7:30pm
E.  Rosh Hashanah Model Seder:  Tuesday, 9/1, 5:00pm (Ray & Diane Wacks)
F. Selichot: Film--The Abraham Joshua Heschel Story; and Service 
G.  Erev Rosh Hashanah Evening Service:  Monday, 9/6, 7:30pm
-1.  Rabbi Daria's sermon:  "Lo Alecha ha'Miacha Ligmore/ It is Not For You to Complete the Work". To access the untapped human powers we need in these challenging times, in traditional and contemporary ways,   creatively exploring new possibilities for individual and collective actions using  the 4 letters in God's name (yud/hay/vav/hay) in the Kabbalistic framework of head/hands, balance of masculine and feminine power/legs and feet, we can bring some of the change needed for a better world.
H.  Rosh Hashanah Morning Service:  Tuesday, 9/7, 9:30am
-1.  Rabbi Josh's sermon:  "Shmita and Healing, Shmita and Balance". A story of ecological healing-how the reintroduction of wolves brought it to Yellowstone. Exploring the idea of shmita (the sabbatical year in the Torah) as inspiration for bringing greater balance to our lives and the world.
I.  Family Service and Program:  Tuesday, 9/7, 10:15-noon (Rabbi Rebecca)
J. Rosh Hashanah Teen Service (new):  Tuesday, 9/7, 10am, Rabbinic Intern Faryn Borella
K.  Tashlich in the Park:  Tuesday, 9/7, 1:30pm, Dan Glaser
L.  Rosh Hashanah 2nd Evening Service: zoom only 9/7, 7:30pm (John Riehl)
M.  Rosh Hashanah 2nd Day Morning Service, with Rabbinic Intern-led Torah discussion: Different ways to look at the Story/stories of Creation.  Wednesday,9/8, 9:30am
N.  Erev Yom Kippur - Kol Nidre: Wednesday, 9/15, 7:30pm
-1.  Rabbi Daria and Rabbinic Intern Faryn Borella,  Rabbi Daria's sermon: "For the Sake of our Soul."  Throughout the High Holy Days we chant "teshuvah, tefillah and  tzedakah" to reduce the harshness of the decrees written for us individually and collectively. Practices of the spirit determine how our experiences actually affect us and the meaning we derive from them.  For the sake of our souls, may we begin doing that  teshuvah / turning -  towards one another and ourselves to lessen the seemingly harsh decrees we are facing.
O.  Yom Kippur Morning Service:  Thursday, 9/16, 9:30am
-1.  Rabbi Josh's sermon:  "Bein Adam L'Makom: Yom Kippur and Restoring the Interface  between Us and God".  Reflecting on the spiritual work we seek to do on Yom Kippur by looking at the rabbinic idea of teshuvah bein adam l'makom (repair between us and God) and how it might be reconstructed in our time.
P.  Family Service and Program:  Thursday, 9/16, 10:15-noon (Rabbi Rebecca)
Q.  Yom Kippur Teen Service (new): Thursday, 9/16, 10am, Rabbinic Intern, Faryn Borella
R. YK Torah Study:  "Dealing with Difficulty-Troubling Passages in the Bible":   3:00pm (Curtis Menyuk)
S. YK Meditation and Chanting:  4:30pm (Rabbi Daria and Maryrita Wieners)
T.  YK Martyrology Service:  5:30pm (Maryrita Wieners & John Riehl, and musicians Lili Barouch & Brad Sachs)
U.  YK Minchah  Service:  6:00pm
V.  Ne'ilah and Havdalah:  7:15pm
W.  Erev Sukkot Service:  Monday, 9/20, 7:30pm
X.  Sukkot Morning Service:  Tuesday, 9/21, 10:00am
Y.  Simchat Torah/Hoshana Rabba Service:  Monday, 9/27, 7:30pm
Z.  Simchat Torah/Shemini Atzeret Service with Yiskor:  Tuesday, 9/28, 10:00am

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