On behalf of the ritual committee, I wanted to post an update on some of what we have been doing. First, I'll introduce the other members of this committee. They are Aryeh F., Craig H., Dovie H., R. Yaakov C. and Craig S. Let me start off by saying that any Halachic issues will be referred to our Posek - Rabbi Rosenfeld. We do NOT make Halachic rulings. If an issue is determined by Rabbi Rosenfeld to not be Halachic but rather be an issue of Minhag Hamakom( local shul tradition), than we will try to establish this in a way that is sensitive to the concerns of the daveners. Also, we would like to stress that any assignments or recommendations are temporary untill we establish a permanent Rabbinic presence. Here are a few new wrinkles:
(1) We strongly believe in maximizing the adult education Torah Learning at this minyan. In this vein we have established a weekly D'var Halacha just before Bameh Madlikin on Friday night. This D'var Halacha will focus on laws of Shabbat in order to enhance your Shabbat experience. Rabbi Cohen will be organizing and usually giving this D'var Halacha.
(2) For Shallos Seudot, the D'var Torah/Mussar will be organized and usually given by Rabbi Leban
(3) We are blessed with a number of Rabbis at the shul (7 in all). In order to maintain a consistent level of excellence in Shabbat morning Divrei Torah, we have decided to rotate the D'var Torah among the 7 Rabbis. Of course, visiting Rabbis will also speak on occasion. If you really want to give a D'var Torah or you would like to recommend someone who is not a Rabbi, you can either:
(a)Speak to me and/or (b) Try to get Smicha from your local orthodox Rabbi VERY fast.
(4) The special Shabbos Shuva (October 8th) D'rasha will be given by Rabbi Rosenfeld.
Recommendations for davening and laining assignments for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur have been made by the ritual committee. We have tried our best to spread these out as much as possible while maintaining the Halachik priorities for davening on these solemn days. Feel free to get in touch with me if you have any questions or concerns.
Nathan
