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Original Article Published On The JP

For those who observe Shabbat and Jewish holidays, and for those who simply want a relaxed destination getaway not far from New York City, there may be no better place than on Fire Island.

In most American Orthodox synagogues, it’s the one guy sitting in the back wearing shorts, a T-shirt and sandals who gets stares from the more appropriately and well-dressed congregants. 

At the Fire Island Minyan (FIM), located in a small house in the Seaview section of the three-block wide barrier island 51 km. long off the southern shore of Long Island, New York, between the Atlantic Ocean and the Great South Bay, it was a different scene – the one guy wearing a black sports coat and slacks got the quizzical looks. 

“We attract everything from shtreimels to shorts,” shul president Dov Schwartzben notes playfully, though somewhat seriously. Most attendees at the relaxed, relatively late starting (9:45 a.m.) island minyan were dressed only a drop more fancy than the man leading Shaharit – himself clad in shorts, a red T-shirt with white lettering, a tallit and flip-flops. Some even came with coffee cups in hand. 

The room filled as the Shabbat morning went on, though some timed their arrival to coincide with the lavish hot kiddush served outside. Women had a very good view from behind the mechitza (partition) made of fishing net and seashells decorated with Jewish stars. They had a clear view of the holy ark with the small lighthouse on top used as the ner tamid (eternal light). When the gabbai asked if there were any kohanim present to receive the first aliyah, one wise guy blurted out, “I am not, but I identify as a kohen!” 

What is Fire Island like?

Fire Island is a unique place generally and Jewishly – even among relaxed seasonal vacation communities. No cars are permitted on the island, which sports its fair share of deer, butterflies and bamboo. Arrival times to the island must be timed to coincide with the ferry or water shuttles. As soon as passengers exit the ferry, they unlock their wagons and pull their coolers of food and other household supplies to their homes. 

SUNSET OVER Fire Island. (credit: HOWARD BLAS)

In the summer, those who observe Shabbat must be on a ferry no later than the 5:30 p.m. one – the 7 p.m. ferry arrives after Shabbat has begun (though not a problem for some given the pre-paid nature of the ferry and the fact that most think the island is a natural eruv and thus the prohibition of carrying items is not an issue).

On the island, summer visitors far outnumber seasonal residents by 800,000 to 873. There are only 360 permanent homes on the island, as well as a few rooming houses, some restaurants and bars, and a few essential stores including a general store, a liquor store, a plant nursery, some churches and two synagogues.

When did Jews come to Fire Island?

While there is currently a strong Jewish presence on the small island, the Seaview section was restricted to white Protestant homeowners until 1928 when the ban against Jews was lifted. Ralph Levy was reportedly the first Jew to break into Seaview in the 1940s, closely followed by Walter Weisman. More Jews began arriving in the 1940s through the ’60s including such famous actors and entertainers as Irving Berlin, Fanny Brice, Mel Brooks, Carl Reiner, Woody Allen, Lee Strasberg, Marilyn Monroe and Tony Randall. The Jewish community’s informal historian, Michael Lustig, notes that Carl Reiner, creator of the famous sitcom The Dick Van Dyke Show, reportedly wrote the script for several shows from Fire Island. 

Other famous Jewish residents have included Richard Meier (architect), David Duchovny (actor), Peter Greenberg (TV travel reporter), Nat Hentoff (columnist), Harvey Keitel (actor), Paul Krassner (writer), Tim Blake Nelson (actor/director) and Ally Sheedy (actor).

Most early Jewish residents to the island were secular, though there were some observant Jews including Rabbi David de Sola Pool of Congregation Shearith Israel, the Spanish-Portuguese Synagogue in NYC. When he bought his first house in the Ocean Beach section of the island in 1938, a local Nazi-sympathizer reportedly burned a cross on his lawn. 

The first organized prayer services were held in 1952, and a Torah was brought to the island in 1954. Services were held in the living room of Herman Wouk, the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Caine Mutiny, another early, observant Jewish resident of the island. At various times, services were held in Wouk’s living room, Jack Miner’s house at 430 Dehnhoff in Ocean Beach (for High Holy Days services) and later on the deck of Rabbi de Sola Pool’s house in Ocean Beach.

After at least a decade or more of this arrangement, the group was large enough to become independent and was able to bring out a rabbi in a rented home that would double as a synagogue. The house was large enough to host rabbi, professor and medical ethicist Moshe Tendler and his family. Tendler, accomplished on his own, was the son-in-law of the prominent Rabbi Moshe Feinstein.

RABBI DR. Shaul Magid, who has been serving as rabbi of the once Conservative, then more Reconstructionist, now more Renewal Fire Island Synagogue since 1997, provided his account of Jewish life on the island. Magid, who wears earrings and looks one part hassidic master and one part Jerry Garcia of the Grateful Dead, explains that his shul started in the 1970s as an Orthodox synagogue “on the deck of Herman Wouk’s house.” Over time, the synagogue evolved. Magid said there was a “contentious vote” in the 1980s and the synagogue decided to become egalitarian. “Some left over it,” says Magid, who explained that there were many issues and transitions taking place at once including younger families coming to the island with children, and people no longer identifying or wishing to practice in an Orthodox fashion.

The banjo-playing rabbi is an accomplished bluegrass musician who has truly brought a musical flavor to the shul. He and cantor Basya Schechter, lead singer of the singing group Pharaoh’s Daughter, have developed what they call “a Kabbalat Shabbat nusach [style] based on Appalachian music.” 

The bluegrassy service takes place on the shul’s deck each Friday night, and musical friends regularly spend Shabbat and contribute musically. Magid also happens to be a distinguished fellow in Jewish Studies at Dartmouth and is a former professor of religious studies and the Jay and Jeannie Schottenstein chair of Jewish studies in modern Judaism at Indiana University. He recently published a book on Rabbi Meir Kahane and is currently working on a book on antisemitism and critical race theory. 

With Magid’s shul in transition in the ’80s and early ’90s, some members left to join what was to become FIM – the second shul on the island, a 10-minute walk from the Fire Island Synagogue. The creation of a second shul begs reference to the classic joke about a small community needing two (or even three) shuls – one to pray in and one to never set foot in! [Actually, one other town on Fire Island, Saltaire, offers High Holy Day services in a space at St. Andrew’s Church].

The FIM was founded in 1990 by Jim (“Yitz”) Pastreich with services taking place on his deck. Pastreich recalls “plastering the entire island” with signs announcing the new minyan. Historian Lustig says: “[Prominent Reform] Rabbi [Herbert] Weiner, [author of the well-known book Nine and a Half Mystics], rented a house to us (in 1993) for a number of years, and it was initially operated as a ‘share house.’” He explained that in a share house, four people lived in two bunk-beds and the middle was cleared for services. The modest house, which was purchased in 1999, originally went by the name “Rodfei Shemesh, Anshe Chof” (Seekers of the Sun, People of the Beach). It proudly strives to be an “inclusive place for interested parties to participate in prayer services in a traditional (yet casual) environment.”

ON A recent Shabbat at FIM, the community was hosting 20 former IDF combat soldiers spending a week on the island as they participated in Peace of Mind, an intensive therapy program of the Israel Center for the Treatment of Psychotrauma. The community was also gearing up for the Sunday Rosh Hodesh bar mitzvah of the son of longtime residents.

Services moved quickly – until the announcements, when the gregarious and good-natured shul president just couldn’t stop himself as he announced birthdays, famous events on that date in Jewish history – and tide times. No one seemed to care. Everyone stayed for a long time to enjoy the hot meaty outdoor kiddush – with more than a fair share of alcoholic beverages.

The community returned Sunday morning for the bar mitzvah, and many residents will spend Shabbatot on the island through Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. Some visitors who don’t own homes find their way to the island for a summer Shabbat or for the Jewish holidays. “Two families of Satmar Hassidim came recently,” a member shared. “They said they needed a break from their community.”

The shul website sums it up nicely. “In keeping with the easygoing nature of Fire Island, the FIM has no ‘dress code’ (congregants may be found wearing anything from suits to shorts/T-shirt to bathing suits and everything in-between) and services are self-organized, with no official rabbinical position (therefore no accompanying weekly sermon!). The FIM is very cognizant of the location/culture in which we operate, with a (relatively) late start time and efficient operation, so as to allow people to maximize their rest and leisure hours. In fine Jewish form the FIM also has a strong emphasis on food, and we strive to have good ‘kiddush lunches’ after Saturday morning services.”

For those who observe Shabbat and Jewish holidays, and for those who simply want a relaxed destination getaway not far from New York City, there may be no better place than on Fire Island.

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Original Article Published On The JP

The friendly, hard-working staff of PKS were deluged with customers on Monday, the first day of the tournament at Flushing Meadows in Queens, NY.

Tennis players can survive a five set match on bananas and Gatorade. Tennis fans, on the other hand, have a hard time spending the entire day at the US Open without proper food. Thanks to PKS (Prime Kosher Sports), tennis fans who observe Jewish dietary laws, and those of any religion who simply enjoy a hot knish, baked pretzel, hot dog, Italian sausage with peppers, a turkey wrap, a BBQ brisket or hot pastrami sandwich can walk over to the kosher cart in the food court.

The friendly, hard-working staff of PKS were deluged with customers on Monday, the first day of the tournament at Flushing Meadows in Queens, NY.

“The line was to the berry place!” reports Shlomo, referring to another specialty food stand 20 feet away, Oak Berry Acai Bowls.  “We ran out of many items including water hours ago – and we haven’t been restocked.”  Workers reached to the sign above the booth and covered up items temporarily out of stock, including most sandwich items.

“We just got more frozen peppers and onions and are back grilling sausages!”

What is a knish?

A City Harvest truck delivers pallets of kosher food to Masbia of Boro Park as part of their annual Passover Food Drive, April 11, 2022. (credit: Masbia/City Harvest/JTA)

A tall blond man looked up at the menu and asked, “What is a knish?”

Shlomo immediately replied, “It is like a giant fat French fry.”

PKS is owned and managed by Michael Arje and David Rishity.  The pop-up kosher stand is under kosher supervision of the Kof-K  PKS also operates kosher stands at Citi Field, home of the New York Mets baseball team, and the Prudential Center, home of the New Jersey Devils hockey team.  They also operate kosher restaurants in the Five Towns of Long Island and in New Jersey.

The owners stress that  “it’s all about quality and service” and want everyone “to enjoy tennis and kosher food.”

They add, “Everything is amazing!”

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Original Article Published On The Jerusalem Post

New York’s ‘Bowl Hashanah’ melds the concert and synagogue experience into a new community

NEW YORK – For far too many Jews, Rosh Hashanah elicits less than fond memories of endless prayer services led by a cantor, a sermon by an often uninspiring rabbi and a cavernous synagogue. Thanks to some innovative rabbis and musicians, a decidedly unorthodox way of marking the Jewish New Year has taken hold in the New York area. Welcome to Bowl Hashanah.

The spiritual celebration, which is taking place on the first day of Rosh Hashanah at New York’s famed Brooklyn Bowl music venue and bowling alley, is entering its seventh year of providing a musical experience that features some of the better-known traditional prayers alongside accessible explanations and meditations. The holiday experience will also include Torah reading, shofar blowing, tashlich and a communal vegetarian meal.

The true magic is in the music, with carefully selected and coordinated musical sets throughout the morning and during lunch. The mainstays of the event are the organization Because Jewish and Relix Magazine, long associated with the Grateful Dead and the jam band scene.

The event is being led by Rabbi Daniel Brenner and musical director and trumpeter Jordan McLean of the musical group Antibalas.

“I’ve always loved my suburban synagogue, and still attend services there,” said Mike Greenhaus, editor of Relix Magazine, as he recounted Bowl Hashanah’s evolution. In 2012, he and his then-girlfriend (now wife) were looking for something a little closer to home in New York City. As they were exploring options, they came across Rabbi Dan Ain, who was leading services for the first time at 92YTribeca, a now-closed Manhattan performance space and community center.

“He was leading with Jeremiah Lockwood, who I was already a fan of through his band the Sway Machinery, and his work with the members of Antibalas,” Greenhaus recounted. “We went to his Erev Rosh Hashanah service and were immediately stuck by both their mix of authentic, traditional holiday prayer and modern, equally authentic music, and how the entire service felt tied to our daily lives as 20/30-something New Yorkers working in media and music. It felt, for, the first time, that we had found our spiritual congregation.”

After a few years at 92Y, the Rosh Hashanah experience moved in 2015 to what Greenhaus described as “the perfect venue” – Brooklyn Bowl.

“I know that I wasn’t the only one could really feel that they were having a proudly religious experience alongside the close-knit music community that has been part of my New York family for decades,” Greenhaus said. “Interestingly, everyone also seemed to assume the nooks and crannies they felt comfortable with at a concert. People who like to ride the rail were seated up front. People who like to hover in the back by the bar were huddled in the same place. People who usually watch in the bowling lanes congregated in that space.

“Brooklyn Bowl always felt more like a club house – a gathering place, much like a church or synagogue – than a traditional venue,” he added.

Greenhaus stressed that the expansion of the event couldn’t have succeeded without the involvement of the Brooklyn Bowl’s owner Peter Shapiro, a legend- like figure in the Grateful Dead world who has been instrumental in the career of the post-Dead configuration Dead & Company.

Shapiro, who grew up at Manhattan’s Central Synagogue, was raised with deep connections to the Jewish community. His father, Daniel, was president of New York’s Federation of Jewish Philanthropies and a founder of the Jewish Community Relations Council. His grandfather, Ezra, was a leader in Zionist organizations for more than 50 years: he served as world chairman of the United Jewish Appeal and was one of 19 American Jews summoned by David Ben-Gurion in 1945 to organize American support for the Hagana. He eventually made aliyah.

Shapiro has long noticed that “these venues, and in particular the Brooklyn Bowl, are places of worship… very spiritual places.” He recalls his experience at Wetlands, the Manhattan nightclub he purchased in 1996. “In 48 hours at Wetlands, you would see different- looking people, all looking for the same thing, but going about it in a different way.”

Shapiro felt the Brooklyn Bowl would be the perfect venue for Bowl Hashanah.

“It had the space and layout – the stage is like a bimah,” Shapiro said. “The specs of the Brooklyn Bowl are of at the highest level of audio – the wood has been acoustically treated – and it has been good for people like Robert Plant and Adele.”

The venue is also used for such Jewish-themed events as the Friday Night Jam speaking series, which discusses the connection between music and spirituality across styles and religious backgrounds.

Ain, who relocated to San Francisco in 2018, and now serves as rabbi of a Congregation Beth Sholom, a Conservative synagogue in the Richmond District, recounts the history of the Bowl Hashanah prayer experience. He praises his longtime collaborator at Bowl Hashanah, Jeremiah Lockwood, the front man for The Sway Machinery.

“I was looking for a different type of prayer leader for my downtown services, one who could speak to a new generation while at the same time, recall an older experience that many of us who grew up in the latter part of the 20th century never truly got to experience or appreciate,” Ain said. “I prayed for such a person – who could combine the new and the old – and who had the chops to do both. That’s when Jeremiah and I met. And we’ve worked together every year since.”

Rabbi Daniel Brenner, who will lead this year’s High Holiday services with Antibalas cofounder Jordan McLean, reports that he will “frame the experience, tell stories about the history of the music, and let the music be a vehicle for us spiritually—to let the music evoke emotions.”

Brenner views Bowl HaShanah “not as much a service as a celebration of the holiday,” though, he adds, “that is not to say I won’t open up the door to connection with the Divine and the cosmic.”

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