OU PRESENTS “HOW CAN PRAYER BE MADE MORE MEANINGFUL?” MAY 22 IN LOS ANGELES
The Orthodox Union’s West Coast Department of Synagogue Services, in coordination with the National OU Department of Community Services, is bringing to Los Angeles its highly successful program to develop a more meaningful experience in personal and communal prayer, “Making Our Tefillot More Meaningful and Personal.” The program will be held at the Young Israel of Century City on Shabbat afternoon, May 22, at 6:00 p.m. This program is open to both men and women.
Well-known and highly regarded speakers of the community, Rabbi Elazar Muskin of the Young Israel of Century City, Rabbi Yosef Kanefsky of B’nai David-Judea, and Rabbi Kalman Topp of Beth Jacob-Beverly Hills will lead the symposium. Each will present a unique approach to prayer as an opportunity to communicate with God and will offer practical tips on improving the quality and substance of our tefillah, as moderated by Jeff Rohatiner of the Happy Minyan.
Rabbi Alan Kalinsky, Director of West Coast OU, declared “Tefilla, prayer, is an essential component of the life of a Jew. From our early days as children we are brought to shul and introduced to tefillah b’tizbur, praying with a community. As we mature into adulthood we take many of these fond memories of our earliest experiences which reinforce our davening experience.
The synagogue model from previous generations has failed to attract and inspire the current generation of synagogue attendees. Synagogue leaders are grappling with this challenge and they are turning to the Orthodox Union, the umbrella organization of hundreds of synagogues across North America to assist them in identifying new modalities of tefillah b’tzibbur that will attract and inspire Orthodox Jews from birth and baalei teshuva. The program taking place in Los Angeles will respond to these challenges in making our tefillah experience more meaningful.”
Rachael Goldberg, a Stern College student who attended an earlier seminar in the New York area wrote, “It was clear to me that as long as we view prayer as a burdensome, boring, meaningless and rote ritual, we cannot improve our relationship with God. Listening to three insightful presentations on prayer and witnessing the passion and commitment demonstrated by such a strong turnout, I felt renewed, relieved and eager to embrace tefillah as an opportunity.”
Now the Los Angeles community will have the opportunity to experience the same reaction. The session is part of the OU Tefillah Enrichment Program, which offers a wide range of resources designed to teach the public about our most common tefillot that are often unexplained, and to inspire increased spirituality in our prayers. It may be found at www.oucommunity.org.
For more information or to find out how to bring these sessions to your community, contact Rabbi Alan Kalinsky at 310-229-9204 or community@ou.org.
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