Subscribe to Print Edition | Wed., October 15, 2008 Tishrei 16, 5769 | | Israel Time: 01:20 (EST+7) web haaretz.com   Back to Homepage Haaretz Toolbar Diplomacy Defense Jewish World Opinion National Print Edition Car Rental Books Haaretz Magazine Business Real Estate Easy Start Travel Week's End Anglo File

Manhattan Jews take Yom Kippur to heart By Shlomo Shamir NEW YORK - "I did not need to ask for quiet during the long Musaf service on Yom Kippur," the rabbi of a large Reform synagogue in Manhattan said yesterday. "The worshipers sat withdrawn inside themselves and they looked contemplative and worried." The rabbis of other large New York synagogues offered similar impressions of the Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur services. Most of these are well-known, long-established synagogues - mainly Reform, some Conservative and a few Orthodox. They are located in an area between 60th and 90th Streets that is known for its wealthy synagogues. Advertisement "People said the U'Netane Tokef prayer seriously this year," said Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch of the Reform Movement's Stephen Wise Free Synagogue on West 68th Street in Manhattan. "The words 'who will be impoverished and who will be enriched,' and 'who will be laid low and who will be raised up' resounded throughout the synagogue this year." And during the rabbis' Yom Kippur sermons, the phrases Days of Awe, repentance, accounting for one's acts all seemed to take on added significance in Manhattan synagogues. The financial crisis and the stock market collapse clearly set the tone for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur this year. Many of the worshipers at these synagogues are leading brokers and bankers at Wall Street's most respected financial institutions. Others are known for the millions they made from their local businesses. "In those synagogues, everyone was invested in the stock market," one rabbi said. Just a short while ago, these peoples' names routinely starred in the business pages of New York newspapers, and everything they said was quoted as gospel. Manhattan synagogues were proud to show off the lists of their congregants. But now, these same people star in the news for the size of their losses and their critical financial situations, which merely highlight the severity of the crisis. About 2,000 people attended Yom Kippur services at the Stephen Wise Synagogue. Hirsch said the 100-year-old synagogue was at the center of the financial storm, and almost everyone was harmed by the stock market crash, including Hirsch himself. The synagogue is now in the process of establishing a program that will offer psychological support to members who lost their fortunes, or their jobs. A synagogue is a communal framework for helping each other not only in times of joy, but in difficult times as well, Hirsch explained. Ultra-Orthodox rabbis in Brooklyn, in contrast, were reluctant to talk about the effects of the financial crisis on their congregants. "At least half of the neighborhood's residents were invested in stocks," said one community leader, "but you will not hear a word of complaint or fear to the outside world." Nevertheless, ultra-Orthodox rabbis in New York fear that the losses will lead to a drop in the contributions that finance their communities' religious education systems, including their flagship yeshivas. Bookmark to del.icio.us   Seeds of the future An Israeli biofuel project using Africa's jatropha plant may end Mideast oil power. PFLP threat A Palestinian militant group vows to kill MK Lieberman to avenge Acre riots.

Read & React Bradley Burston: This year, this Jew is embracing Jihad Responses: 49 Jesse Jackson: Obama will rid United States of 'Zionist' control Responses: 16 Police arrest driver who sparked Acre riots for 'harming religious sensitivities' Responses: 294 Sources: Hamas has raised price of Shalit deal in wake of Kuntar release Responses: 101 More Headlines 22:13 IDF troops kill Palestinian fire-bomber near West Bank settlement 00:52 Hezbollah hails 'heroic' Arab fight in Acre against 'barbaric' assaults 19:30 Rice pledges to pursue Israel-PA peace until she leaves office 22:12 Labor MK Pines-Paz: New role for Barak in gov't is 'pathetic' 07:37 This year, this Jew is embracing jihad 00:09 Jesse Jackson: Obama will rid United States of 'Zionist' control 21:09 Israeli biofuel project could spell end of Mideast oil power 16:34 Palestinian group vows to kill MK Lieberman to avenge Acre riots 13:54 Syria formally establishes diplomatic ties with Lebanon 01:01 Woman dies in crash while driving pregnant daughter to hospital 16:50 Israel Bank Chief Fischer: This is not the end of capitalism 00:45 U.S. plan to pump $250b into banking system lifts Wall Street stocks 01:15 Acre group to partially reopen festival shut by clashes 20:06 Israel trip helps Brad Pitt shoot Angelina Jolie breastfeeding pics Previous Editions Select Day 14 oct 13 oct 12 oct 10 oct 09 oct 08 oct 07 oct 06 oct 05 oct 03 oct 02 oct 01 oct

Special Offers Advertisement Fattal Hotel Chain Perfectly located hotels on best resorts of Israel. Living in Israel Studying in English Click & Meet our students from all around the world Dial 013 for your long-distance calls and get all your money back US CITIZENS Vote for real change. Request your ballot today! Eldan Rent a Car Israel's leading car rental company offers you a 20% discount on all online reservations Jewish Singles Personal Ads Find the love of your life on JDate.com Israel's Premier Real Estate Website www. israel-property.com Hebrew Summer courses From $39.95 Junkyard Junk a car - get free towing nationwide and a tax-deductible receipt

Home | TV | Print Edition | Diplomacy | Opinion | Arts & Leisure | Sports | Jewish World | Underground | Site rules |

Real Estate in Israel | Travel to Israel with Haaretz | Hotels Israel | Restaurants Israel | Tourist attractions Israel | Shops Israel

birthright Israel | Search engine marketing

Haaretz.com, the online edition of Haaretz Newspaper in Israel, offers real-time breaking news, opinions and analysis from Israel and the Middle East. Haaretz.com provides extensive and in-depth coverage of Israel, the Jewish World and the Middle East, including defense, diplomacy, the Arab-Israeli conflict, the peace process, Israeli politics, Jerusalem affairs, international relations, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, the Palestinian Authority, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, the Israeli business world and Jewish life in Israel and the Diaspora.

© Copyright  Haaretz. All rights reserved