Jews Prepare to Observe High Holy Days

Judaism’s High Holy Days will begin at sunset Wednesday with services across the Southland--rites of reflection and repentance that are always well-attended but which may take on added significance this year with what some rabbis say are signs of rising interest in Jewish spirituality.

The 10 days start with Rosh Hashana, which marks the Jewish New Year. Punctuated by blasts on shofars, or hollowed ram’s horns, Reform temples observe Rosh Hashana for one day, while Orthodox and Conservative synagogues hold two days of Rosh Hashana services.

The solemn culmination will arrive on Yom Kippur, or the Day of Atonement, Oct. 10. The 24-hour period of fasting extends through the evening and prayers the next day in the synagogues.

Rabbi Lawrence Goldmark of La Mirada, president of the Southern California Board of Rabbis, said he expects that many sermons this year will address aspects of Jewish spirituality.

“In my 30 years in the rabbinate, I’ve never seen people more concerned with their relationships with God,” said Goldmark, who is rabbi of Temple Beth Ohr.

“They want their rabbi to talk about that--maybe not to the exclusion of Israel and social problems,” he said. “But on the minds of many people is the question of ‘How do I get closer to God?’ ”

Because Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur draw the biggest crowds of the year, synagogues large and small often leave their regular place of worship for larger facilities.

For example, Temple Isaiah in West Los Angeles will conduct services at the Century Plaza Hotel & Tower, and the Stephen S. Wise Temple will use Bel Air Presbyterian Church and Skirball Cultural Center as well as its sanctuary atop the Sepulveda Pass.

Also, Makom Ohr Shalom, a synagogue that celebrates Jewish meditation and spiritual traditions, will hold services at UCLA’s Ackerman Hall. The gay-oriented Congregation Kol Ami of West Hollywood will meet at Temple Akiba in Culver City.

Some synagogues will observe a Tashlich ceremony during High Holy Days, a ceremony that symbolizes the theme of the holidays. Participants empty the pockets of their clothing above a stream or ocean water to represent their casting out of sins. For instance, Kehillat Ma’arav, a Conservative synagogue in Santa Monica, will observe the ceremony at 5:30 p.m. Thursday at the Santa Monica Pier with nonmembers welcome.

PEOPLE

Msgr. Kevin Kostelnik, the principal aide and priest-secretary to Cardinal Roger M. Mahony for the last eight years, has been named the first pastor of the new Los Angeles cathedral, effective in 1999. Kostelnik, who holds a master’s degree in liturgical studies from Notre Dame University, will plan the formal dedication of the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels, targeted for Sept. 4, 2000.

* U.S. Senate Chaplain Lloyd Ogilvie will preach Sunday at his former church, Hollywood Presbyterian, 1760 N. Gower St., in the 9:15 a.m. service and will be among church leaders who will formally install the Rev. John Meenan as the new senior pastor during the 11 a.m. service. (213) 463-7161.

DATES

Women leaders in the American Baptist Churches will kick off a four-day conference in San Diego beginning Wednesday night. Event speakers include attorney Elaine Smith of Washington, president of the denomination, and Christian writer-radio broadcaster Elizabeth Elliott. The 10th annual Continental Assembly of the North American Baptist Women’s Union will be held at the Town and Country Resort and Convention Center. Registration is $150. (619) 687-5877.

* The Anderson String Quartet and jazz keyboardist Harold Land Jr. will be featured Friday in a 7:30 p.m. concert at the Inglewood Church of Religious Science, 525 N. Market St. $25 donation. (310) 674-9160.

* Historian David Hollinger of UC Berkeley, who specializes in U.S. history, will talk on “The Will to Descend: Color, Culture and Genealogy” at 10:30 a.m. Friday at the University of La Verne’s Founders Hall Auditorium. Hollinger graduated from the Church of the Brethren-related university in 1963. Free. (909) 593-3511.

* Immaculate Heart College Center’s fourth annual Dance of Change next Saturday will express through prayer, ritual and workshops the feminist search for the holy by various faith groups. Speakers include USC Professor Gloria F. Orenstein and Torrance First United Methodist Pastor Natalie Houghtby-Haddon. The daylong event will be held at the Ramona Convent Secondary School in Alhambra. Preregistration is $50. (213) 386-3116.

* The Rev. Leo Booth, an Episcopal priest in Long Beach and a lecturer, will speak about spiritual insights at 7 p.m. Monday at the Whittier Church of Religious Science, 12907 E. Bailey St.. Tickets $20. (562) 698-0341.

* The spirituality of St. Francis of Assisi, the early 13th century founder of the Franciscan order in the Catholic Church, will be celebrated next Saturday at the Center for Spiritual Development, 434 S. Batavia St., Orange. After 90 minutes of music, dance and song, starting at 7 p.m., Beth Burns, founder and artistic director of St. Joseph Ballet, a dance program for inner-city youths, will receive the center’s 1997 Spirituality in Action Award. Admission is $20. (714) 744-3175.

FINALLY

Several Southland churches will conduct blessings of the animals in honor of the Oct. 4 feast day in Catholic tradition of St. Francis of Assisi, who is linked to the love of furred, finned and feathered creatures.

St. Augustine-by-the-Sea Episcopal Church, 1227 4th St., Santa Monica, will hold its rites early--10:30 a.m. Sunday. “All animals must be reasonably restrained by a leash or cage,” a spokesman said. “Owners are responsible for cleanup.” (310) 395-0977.

Some other parishes wait until next Saturday:

* Certificates of blessing will be issued and deceased pets will be remembered at 10:30 a.m. at the 15th annual rites at St. Gregory Episcopal Church, 6201 E. Willow Ave., Long Beach. (562) 420-1311.

* St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church, 10925 Valley Home Ave., on the Whittier-La Habra border, will hold a 10:30 a.m. ceremony, with blessings in English and Spanish (for the owners’ sake, not the pets’). (562) 947-0394.

* Metropolitan Community Church in the Valley, a predominantly gay and lesbian congregation in North Hollywood (5730 Cahuenga Blvd.), will have a series of events, starting with a blessing at 11 a.m. (repeated at 3 p.m.) and a memorial service at 1 p.m. Presentations on giving first aid and CPR to pets are included. (818) 762-1133.

A spokesman for the church offered some advice to owners of aggressive or easily intimidated pets who are considering taking them to church for blessings: Bring a photo “or another personal item” of the pet to be blessed instead.

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CELEBRATION

At the Hollywood Palladium at 6 p.m. Sunday, thousands of Orthodox Jews will celebrate their completion of 7 1/2 years of studying one page of the Talmud daily.

The celebration will conclude Sunday for tens of thousands around the world, including as many as 40,000 at Madison Square Garden in New York.

The 2,711-page Talmud is the compilation of Jewish law and tradition plus religious and ethical wisdom from the mystical to the mundane.

The Daf Yomi (“daily page”) self-study program for Jews of various professions is sponsored by Agudath Israel of America.