The Aquarian Minyan
….To Renew the Old and Make Holy the New
This week is Parshat Va’Etchanan
Deuteronomy 3:23-7:11
Haftarah Isaiah 40:1-26
Here is a great song that’s been popular in Israel for “coming out of depression” . May we emerge from this Tisha B’Av with good news of peace and the end of the War
לצאת מדכאון | יגל אושרי | קאבר נעם בוסקילה - “L’tzeit Mi Dikayon - To come out of Depression” by Yigal Oshri, covered by Noam Buskila
click HERE
And here is Reb Shlomo singing his classic “Nachamu, Nachamu Ami” from Isaiah 40:1-3 - which we chant in this week’s Haftarah
click HERE
NEW YESHIVAH CLASSES THIS SUMMER
Cycling with the Mahzor: From Classical to Re-Imagined High Holy Days in Poetry, Music and Theological Writings
Rabbi Seidel will be leading an in depth examination of the theology and language of prayers through music and song, key term evolution and review, as well as through the introduction to classical Nusach and the modes of Cantorial Hazzanut.
Weekly on Wednesdays: August 20, August 27, September 3, September 10 2025
6:30 - 7:30 pm
Suggested donation of $60
Join Rabbi Seidel in an exploration of High Holiday liturgy and music in its development from Medieval Sources right up to the present day, including the origins of Rosh haShana prayers in Talmudic and early Mahzorim, as well as the Kol Nidre and other classical piyyutim (poems) that were edited for a special Yamim Noraim prayerbook.
We will also examine selections of Modern Jewish thinkers of all genders on the Teshuvah process and how Jewish Renewal creatively transformed many of our classical rites and songs based on kabbalistic and Hasidic sensibilities …(such as Heschel, Soloveitchik, Reb Zalman, Louis Newman, Danya Rutenberg and others).
We will review some of the key themes of previous Aquarian Minyan High Holydays and how we might continue to rely on these important motifs and ideas in our own personal growth work.
We will examine the theology and language of the prayers in depth, review key terms and their evolution, learn many classical songs and recent musical compositions that highlight purification, centering, and teshuvah both individual and communal- Students in this class will also be introduced to classical Nusach and the modes of Cantorial Hazzanut.
Texts and recordings provided to all registrants
The Parsha through the Lens of the Sephirot
with Rabbi Shlomo (Barya) Schachter
Begins Thursday August 28th at noon and continues
Sept 4,11,18,25th .
$72 Suggested contribution
REGISTRATION INFORMATION COMING SOON
My Holy father Reb Zalman taught (based on the Bais Yaakov of Izhbitz) that when the combined Parshiot are put together, we end up with 49 weekly parshas throughout the year. This makes the entire Torah the same process as sefirat HaOmer, working from Chessed SheB'Chessed at Bereishit through the 49 gates to Malchut of Malchut at Zot HaBracha. The Torah, the Sacred Year and the Human all share the same Seferotic anatomy, and by understanding them together we can know them all deeper. In this class, we'll look at each Parsha with the eyes of the Sefirah to which it corresponds. A discussion heavy class, this will be an experimental collaborative Torah jam session to help us see the Torah and the Sefirot together. Please come to the class having at least read through the Parsha, and together we'll see the mystery of the Sefirot unfold through the Torah.
The 50th Anniversary Celebration has no Expiration Date !!
To read the J Weekly article about our 50th celebration click here:
Reviving, Renewing and Celebrating the Old Aquarian Minyan Spirit, Serving up Joy to the Divine in Difficult Times - Mazal Tov to all of us and thank you to the Planning Committee that worked HARD on the Jubilee
Aquarian Minyan Groups and other offerings
Healing Circle
with Rabbi Diane Elliot
Weekly, Fridays, 8:30am – 9:30am Pacific Time
Zoom link HERE (new zoom link!)
The Aquarian Minyan Book Club
next meeting is July 22nd
at 2 PM
To Join the book club on Zoom click HERE
*New members are cordially welcomed. For more information, please contact Shoshana Dembitz (sdembitz@gmail.com)
Sunday Nights Minyan Sharing
Weekly, Sundays, 7pm Pacific Time
in Memory of Martin Potrop Sept. 23, 1951- April 1, 2024. Z”L
