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What People Are Saying About PCS
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A “Relevant” Shul…
Having been thoroughly inspired at BJ in Manhattan, finding a “relevant” shul in Westchester was not something that I thought would be easy. Where in Westchester would we find a synagogue that involved the members and created a real community? PCS is exactly that. The whole place operates on a shoe-string but seems to have an ever increasing array of educational and cultural offerings. Once word gets out, I know that there are a lot of Jews in the ‘burbs that will find PCS to be a place that offers a committed spiritual life. In brief, this is the heart of Jewish Continuity. Unaffiliated for two decades… Soon after I joined PCS, after having been unaffiliated for two decades, I was approached by a kindly stranger during Shabbat services and asked if I would dress the Torah. As a female raised in the fifties, I’d never been on the bima before. I approached with trepidation, but was gently walked through the process by people who radiated good will. The experience of seeing the Torah up close and “undressed” for the first time in my life was as joyful as seeing my nephew for the first time in my brother’s arms. Melding old and new traditions of spirituality… When during the week my pre-schooler spontaneously starts singing “I’ve got that Shabbat feeling all over me…”I know that she’s been touched in a special way by our Friday evening Tot Shabbat services... We sense that our children are experiencing what makes our temple special melding old and new traditions of spirituality. The spirit of peoplehood… Synagogue is often a place where prayers are recited. For my family, PCS is the place where a prayer of ours had been answered. My wife and I come from very different Jewish backgrounds. This complicated our search for a place where our kids could learn about their Jewish identity. Our daughter, who is seven, attended Hebrew school at PCS this past year and loved every minute! She uses her class lessons as a springboard for further Jewish exploration at home. A home run. Our son, our five year old, will start classes this coming year. Until then, he loves the way the entire congregation dances around the sanctuary on Friday nights, before he goes in back for story time. ... This kind of outreach encapsulates the spirit of people-hood that we have found at PCS. At PCS, Judaism a positive life experience. Intimacy and Participation… My son had his Bar Mitzvah in February…My family and friends reported to me a remarkable experience that was new to most of them. They described an intimacy and level of participation they had never experienced at a Shabbat service before. |
I grew up Modern Orthodox…
For the first time in my life I feel the spirit of Shabbat. I grew up in a modern Orthodox synagogue and went to services almost every Saturday until I was Bat Mitzvah. As an adult I brought up my children in a Conservative Temple, often going to Shabbat services with them. Until recently, however, I always felt that Shabbat services were about the “business” of praying and felt no real connection to what Shabbat was really about. I felt little emotion and often spoke of missing a spiritual feeling I was sure there should be. I did not expect that the synagogue I helped found would be the very place where I would find the meaning of Shabbat and experience its spirit Pleasantville Community Synagogue is unique. It imparts a spirituality and warmth. Even though we are a diverse and growing group of people, we come together as a cohesive community. It is in this secure and accepting atmosphere that Shabbat touches me. Through our special blend of music, meditation, dance, reflection, explanation and study I have learned td pause and celebrate time and appreciate what G’d created and we continue. We rest so that we bring our selves closer to G’d and take joy in what we have. Warmth, Support, and Inclusiveness… One Friday night last September, I decided to attend services at the Pleasantville Community Synagogue. Despite my minimally observant Reform Jewish upbringing, I was immediately drawn in by the sound of the Rabbi and congregation singing ‘Hinei Ma Tov.’ Although I barely understood a word of the mostly Hebrew service, I sat mesmerized. By the end of September, my family decided to join PCS. November, I decided to take an introductory Hebrew course at PCS. Soon after, I began to attend Saturday services. I soon became a “regular” on Saturdays. Several months later, I expressed an interest in chanting Torah. I received much encouragement from the Rabbi and others in the congregation. In March, I did my first Torah reading. In May, I proudly changed Torah at my daughter’s Bat Mitzvah. The experience of wearing a tallit, being on the bimah, and chanting Torah was made possible largely because of the warmth, support, and inclusiveness that are the foundation of PCS. This is an extraordinary synagogue. I am grateful to be a part of it. Both my wife and I grew up secular… Both my wife and I grew up in very secular households, without very much understanding of or commitment to the deeper meaning of the Jewish faith… I was surprised to discover the confluence between Jewish mystical and contemplative writings and those of other religions to which I had been drawn over the years, a discovery which had been impeded previously by a relative paucity of relevance in my earlier experience with Judaism… In essence, our experience at PCS has been that there is room for the inclusion of people with different perspectives, latitude in the interpretation of the meaning of texts and symbols, and deep commitment to social issues…What a relief… |