High Holy Days ‘Schlep’ Raises Objections

Paul Feldman, like so many other Jews, tends to concentrate on the High Holy Days as the focal point of Judaism. He therefore seeks the perfect place to spend a few hours once a year in pursuit of a “meaningful experience.” Unfortunately this is not possible.

Please do not think that I wish to demean his attendance at High Holy Day services. Rather, I congratulate his participation. However, I believe that the satisfaction a person derives from a religious service comes principally from within him or herself, not from the trappings of the place it is conducted or the individuals conducting the service.

Perhaps more important, my frustration with Feldman is my belief that a temple is more than just a place to conduct a High Holy Day service. It is a place dedicated to the education of adults and children, to addressing social action programs, to helping people in time of need, to celebrating births, to mourning deaths and to serving the needs of the community at large.

To maximize the spiritual benefit one derives from the temple, one must affiliate with, actively participate in, and help form the spiritual and social mind-set of that temple. Affiliation is the key word. Not attendance.

FRED ROTHENBERG,

President

Temple Ahavat Shalom

Northridge