Welcome to Mishkan Ha'am! We're a growing community dedicated to serving as a bridge between the search for religious identity and the demands of the secular world. As a Reconstructionist congregation, we integrate a deep respect for traditional Judaism with the insights, ideas, and innovations growing from contemporary life. If you are interested in Jewish religion, spirituality, culture, history
and philosophy, there is a place for you here, whether you are a senior citizen or a child, single or married, gay or straight, part of an interfaith household, one with longstanding Jewish practice, or no previous Jewish affiliation. About half of our members live in southern Westchester County and half live in the Riverdale/Kingsbridge area of the Bronx. At present, many of our ongoing programs take place at the the Reform Church of Hastings, 18 Farragut Avenue in Hastings-on-Hudson, while we look for a more permanent home in the Riverdale-Yonkers-Hastings area. Led by Rabbinic Leader Solomon Hoffman, a rabbinic student at the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College, we gather for Shabbat services two weekends each month - typically providing a service and discussion for adults on Friday night, and a service geared for children and adults on alternate Saturday mornings, as well as Havdalah services combined with other programming on Saturday evenings. We also gather as a community to celebrate holidays and life cycle events together and organize regular programs related to the Jewish experience. She'arim/Gateways, our innovative approach to Hebrew School, meets weekly and offers classes for children ranging in age from kindergarten to seventh grade. We also offer a free Pre-K program on Shabbat mornings once a month. During the year in which families approach Bar/Bat Mitzvah, parents and young people together share in a unique group exploration in preparation for the milestone event. Learn more at http://www.mishkanhaam.org/beresheit/shearim-gateways/. Our Adult education program includes Sunday brunch seminars, a study group that meets monthly to discuss selected readings, and monthly Saturday evening Havdalah discussions. Our Tikkun Olam/Social Action committee organizes and invites adult and family participation in local community needs and beyond. All of this activity occurs only with the active participation of our members, each of whom brings something unique to our community. Mishkan Ha’am’s community, the “tent of the people,” is constructed of the gifts that each one brings: the faith and doubts shared, the questions voiced, the wisdom offered, the melodies sung, the compassion shown, as well as the many forms of hands-on assistance needed to bring activities to life.
