Old Fashioned Prayer &
New Fangled Technology Join Forces in Night of Prayer
Thousands Participate in
Prayer Service in Synagogues and Via the Internet
The holiday of Hoshana
Rabbah, which is traditionally a time for Jews to gather in study
and prayer, fell in the midst of the current crisis in Israel. At a time
when prayer is so vitally needed, the Jewish community - men, women and
children - in synagogues throughout North America, united and raised
their voices to recite selections from the Book of Psalms.
In addition to the synagogue
participation, many individuals logged on to the Orthodox Union’s
website for a special
web broadcast showing the recitation of Tehilim, led by Rabbi
Hershel Schachter, a rosh yeshiva at Yeshivat Rabbeinu Yitzchak Elchanan.
Those who visited the site were able to watch a clip of Rabbi Schachter
leading the psalms while simultaneously reading along with him using a
downloaded script of the prayers. Mandell I. Ganchrow, M.D., president
of the Orthodox Union explained, “At a time when the prayer of every
single Jew is needed to help ensure the well being of the state of
Israel, our ability to provide a Tehilim service for those who could not
attend synagogue services was truly a testament to the rewards of modern
technology.”
Rabbi Howard Wolk of Congregation Shaarei
Tefilla in Dallas noted, “We have been reciting Tehilim every night
since the situation in Israel began, however, the Hoshana Rabbah
recitation was all the more powerful because the entire American Jewish
community joined forces in a unique effort to pray for our brothers and
sisters in Israel.” Rabbi Dale Polakoff of the Great Neck Synagogue in
New York added, “We had more than two hundred people at our service
including a group of developmentally disabled young adults who came as
our guests. It was inspiring to see the power of the Tehilim being
recited by these special adults. Our usually reserved community couldn’t
help but take a cue from them and fervently deliver the words of the
psalms.”
The Orthodox Union’s Department of
Synagogue Services sponsored the Call for Prayer.
The Orthodox
Union, now in its second century of service to the Jewish community
of America and beyond, is the world leader in youth
work, advocacy for the
disabled, synagogue services,
adult education and political
action. Its kosher supervision
label, the OU, is the world's most recognized kosher symbol and can
be found on nearly 250,000 products in 68 countries around the globe.
# # #
www.ou.org
Comments?
Requests? Questions?
 Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations
of America
Department of Public Relations
Sharyn Perlman, Director
Main Office:
11 Broadway, New York, NY 10004
Phone: 212-613-8321 Fax: 212-564-9058
E-mail: media@ou.org |
OUPR
Archives
Recent
statements to the press
Articles and statements from 1999
Articles and statements from 1998
|
|