New program bonds Israeli and American Jews in Brooklyn Heights

IAC-Shishi Israeli Program to Combine Tradition, Music

September 2, 2014 By Francesca Norsen Tate, Religion Editor Brooklyn Daily Eagle

Congregation Mount Sinai has served the communities of Downtown Brooklyn, Brooklyn Heights and DUMBO since 1882 and in its present location since the synagogue’s centennial in 1982.

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Singing and sharing a meal together is a universal joy. A new program coming to Brooklyn Heights will celebrate song cuisine and togetherness as it is experienced in Israeli culture.

IAC-Shishi Israeli, a new program of the Israeli-American Council (IAC), will bring together Israeli and American Jews in Brooklyn Heights, fusing their distinct cultures and customs to create a shared community around the Shabbat table.

This new family program, which will run every few weeks at Congregation Mount Sinai, will combine traditional Kabbalat Shabbat (welcoming the Sabbath) prayers and Israeli shira betzibur (singalong) as well as a traditional Shabbat dinner with Israeli foods, adding authentic Israeli flavor to the evening. The first event will take place on Friday, evening Sept. 12. Tickets are necessary.

IAC-Shishi Israeli seeks to use music to convene the community and enable participants to create a family-inspired Shabbat experience that is both Jewish and unique, combining time-honored traditions with modern rituals. Accomplished musicians, who will make the perfect accompaniment for this special dinner, include Arlene Gould, Daniel Ori, Hadar Noiberg, Dan Aran and Dan Nadel.

Rabbi Seth Wax of Congregation Mount Sinai said in a trailer video introducing the event, “Congregation Mt. Sinai welcomes people of lots of different backgrounds, and wants people to feel like they have a home.” He added, “Share food, music, culture; and build relationships.”

According to the trailer, Congregation Mount Sinai describes itself as a synagogue that “combines the old and the new, the veteran generation and the current renewal. The synagogue is located on the border between Brooklyn Heights and Dumbo, a short walk from the bridge that connects Brooklyn to Manhattan and, like the bridge; it connects Israel to New York. Israeli Shabbat creates and expresses the bond that connects Israel and New York.

“We are thrilled to partner with Congregation Mount Sinai in hosting IAC-Shishi Israeli and to incorporate the traditions of the growing Israeli-American community into the established local community here in Brooklyn Heights,” said Yehudit Feinstein-Mentesh, New York Regional Director of the IAC. “The IAC-Shishi Israeli Shabbat experience is an exciting way to help strengthen the bond that connects Israel and New York.”

The Israeli American Council (IAC), the preeminent Israeli-American organization in the United States, seeks to build an active and giving Israeli-American Community in order to strengthen the State of Israel, the next generation, and to provide a bridge to the Jewish-American community. Based in Los Angeles with offices nationwide, the IAC serves an estimated 750,000 Israelis in the U.S. today with a large variety of programs and events for all ages, and supports a wide range of other community non-profit organizations. For more information about the IAC, please visit www.israeliamerican.org.

Tickets are available for purchase.