1) Tell me about the Beth El
Congregation of Mansfield.
The Beth El Congregation of Mansfield is a small, unaffiliated
synagogue located on the UConn Storrs campus. We have shared a building
with the Hillel Foundation for over 50 years. Our members come from the
University and its surrounding towns. Please see our homepage for more
information.
2) What services will be offered?
We will be offering progressive / participatory services for: Erev Rosh
Hashanah (Wednesday night, September 12), Rosh Hashana (Thursday,
September 13th), Kol Nidre (Friday night, September 21) and Yom Kippur
(Saturday, September 22nd).
3) What will these services “be like”?
These services will use an alternative, abbreviated machzor (High
Holiday prayer book) that contains selections from the traditional High
Holiday prayers, supplemented with contemporary English readings, and
will include time for learning and discussion. Congregational
singing with the cantor will be a key component to the service.
Services will be held “in the round” in order to create an informal,
comfortable setting.
In lieu of a sermon, there may be a short teaching, story, or
discussion.
4) Where will these services be held?
All of the Beth El Congregation’s services will be held at the UConn
Foundation Building located at 2390 Alumni Drive, at the corner with
North Hillside Road. The Foundation’s Board Room, on the 2nd floor, is
a beautiful (and air-conditioned) oak-paneled room that opens out to a
lovely patio and gardens. The building has an elevator for those who
may need one to get upstairs.
For an interactive map of the location, please go to:
http://www.uconn.edu/map/ and enter “FND” into the search box, click on
the text that appears below the box, and then click on the flashing red
dot.
5) When will these services be held?
· Erev Rosh Hashana
services will be held from 7:00PM – 8:00PM on Wednesday September
12th. Apples and honey on the patio will follow the service.
· Rosh Hashana Day services
will be held from 9:30AM – Noon on Thursday September 13th. A pot
luck lunch at 1:30 pm and tashlich at a nearby
member’s
home follows
the service. (See below)
· Erev Yom Kippur (Kol
Nidre) services will be held from 7:00PM – 8:15PM on Friday September
21st.
· Yom Kippur Day services
are scheduled as follows:
o Morning
services will be held from 10:00AM – 12:30PM on Saturday September 22nd.
o The Yizkor
(Memorial) service will be held from 4:15PM – 4:45PM. You are
welcome to attend even if you are fortunate not to have lost a loved
one.
We will remember those who came
before us and take
this opportunity to share our memories of them
o The Neilah
(Concluding) service will be held from 5:00PM – 6:00 PM. This
family-friendly service, open to all, will allow us to end the High
Holidays
together.
6) What other High Holiday activities
are scheduled?
Immediately following Erev Rosh Hashana services, we will share the
traditional snack of Apples and Honey on the patio behind the UConn
Foundation Building.
Around 1:15PM on Rosh Hashana Day, Beth El will hold a vegetarian
potluck lunch at the Rosen-Collins Residence (223 Gurleyville Road,
Storrs, CT – only 5 minutes away. Maps will be available at the morning
service).
After lunch (about 2:15PM – 3:00PM), we will hold a Tashlich service
where we symbolically cast away the sins of the previous year into a
nearby stream.
In the afternoon of Yom Kippur, Mark Frydenberg will offer a study
session from 3:30PM – 4:00PM in the UConn Foundation building where we
can learn about and discuss customs related to Yizkor and the gift of
memory and the need to remember.
7) Who is invited?
University students, faculty, and staff, and members of surrounding
communities are all welcome. Families, older children and teens, and
individuals seeking a supportive, informal yet meaningful prayer
experience are encouraged to attend. No matter your previous experience
or background, we welcome you to join us. No tickets are required to
participate. If you want to join us for the vegetarian potluck lunch,
please bring some food, dessert, or beverages.
8) Where can I park?
The UConn Foundation Building is located at 2390 Alumni Drive, at the
corner with North Hillside Road. On Erev Rosh Hashanah, Erev Yom
Kippur, and Yom Kippur Day parking is available for free in nearby Lot
9 (across Alumni Drive from the building).
On Rosh Hashanah (a weekday), only vehicles with UConn Area 2 stickers
will be allowed to Park at Lot 9. If Lot 9 is full or you do not have a
sticker, the North Parking Garage is just across North Hillside Road
from the Foundation Building.
A very limited number of handicapped parking spaces are available in
the Foundation Building’s parking lot.
For the Rosh Hashanah Potluck Lunch and Tashlich Service, there will be
plenty of parking along the access road to the Rosen-Collins residence.
Maps with detailed directions to the Rosen-Collins Residence will be
available at the morning Rosh Hashanah service.
9) How can I help?
There are several ways you can participate:
· Volunteer for an English
or Hebrew reading
· Bring a shofar to blow
· Chant or read from the
Torah or Haftarah
· Have an aliyah
· Greet people at the door
· Help set up or clean up
· Suggest a reading for our
supplementary readings booklet (due September 1)
· Lift, wrap, or carry the
Torah
· Bring a memory of a loved
one to share during Yizkor on Yom Kippur afternoon
· Bring friends!
Feel free to contact Mark Naigles, the President of the Beth El
Congregation of Mansfield, at mnaigles@yahoo.com
to volunteer.
10) Where can I get more information?
Feel free to contact Mark Naigles, the President of the Beth El
Congregation of Mansfield, at
mnaigles@yahoo.com with any questions you
may have.