NEW YORK (Press Release) – Within just over a week of its release, over 100,000 hits have been reached on a new video put out by Aish.com. “Rosh Hashanah Rock Anthem,” a parody of LMFAO’s viral hit “Party Rock Anthem” depicts observant Jewish adults break dancing across the alleyways of Jerusalem’s old city in Israel. The combination of upbeat lyrics and complex choreography has brought Jewish pride to the thousands of viewers, many of whom have commented about this upon watching the video.
The video, which portrays a new and fresh perspective of young men learning Torah in a Yeshiva setting, directly addresses and responds to one of the biggest challenges facing the Jewish community today; that of declining affiliation. New studies show that a growing number of Jewish people are less engaged in their Judaism. A recent article in the Jerusalem Post tracks “the crisis of embarrassment” that the majority of Jewish college students feel in relation to their Judaism, stressing that “the question of how to engage…Jews with Judaism in a way that is meaningful but still relevant, cool and inviting is…challenging.” (Jpost.com-8/29/11) Parts of this disconnect stems from old traditions of forced Hebrew school and long sermons in synagogue.
This feeling is especially intensified as the High Holidays roll around. According to a recent survey by the National Jewish Outreach Program, a significant amount of Jews said that “High Holiday services were either too long, boring, repetitive or not relevant.”
The “Rosh Hashanah Rock Anthem” not only makes Judaism more relevant to young people, with hip moves, but the song redefines Rosh Hashanah. It opens by lamenting about long High Holiday services, “Synagogue, Rabbi’s talk, going on for a while, can you check the clock, huh” but soon redefines the service with lyrics like “Our prayers rock, yeah, we’re the Jews and we question/Got the pride, just can’t stop, our lives are changing.”
Synagogues across the country are also stepping up to the plate to meet the needs of the next generation of Jewish people. Many of these synagogues have been collected into a single database that specializes in publicizing these dynamic services, including in San Diego, Young Israel of San Diego and Congregation Kehillas Torah.
No Membership Required is a free and comprehensive online database of synagogues across the country that offer social, engaging and educational Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur services for non-members. It lists Synagogue details (and prices where relevant) and indicates what range of services are offered including additional programs such for youth, teen, and explanatory services.
Anyone interested in learning more about the No Membership Required service or to watch the video can visit the website www.nomembershiprequired.com.
No Membership Required is a website providing Jewish people across the country the opportunity to find the synagogue to match their needs during this year’s High Holiday season. It enables synagogues to advertise their High Holiday services and inform people of the myriad of choices available. The website lists synagogues across the country in states including Alabama, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Washington DC, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin, as well as Toronto, Ottawa, and Thornhill in Canada.
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Preceding provided by No Membership Required
http://www.nomembershiprequired.com is a great site. There are hundreds of shuls and services listed there – a truly great resource. A lot of the listed services are totally free of charge, and others charge just $18. Recommend that everyone checks it out asap!