No religion
After 29 years of Orthodoxy, a Jewish day-school teacher tastes a different way of life-and wants more.
Thu Jan 3 2008
Photograph: Dan Eckstein
How to detox yourself
Agree? Appalled? Drop us a line—letters@timeoutny.com—and tell us what you think about “detoxing” from religion. ln the meantime, we’ll clue you in on Hadar, a group that’s trying “to create a community for Jews on the Upper West Side”—no matter what their stripe. “Our focus is on traditional, egalitarian prayer, learning and social action, so there are different ways to engage,” says organizer Lisa Exler.
Services are in Hebrew, but you’ll find translated text. Approximately 60 percent of attendees come from a Conservative background, 20 percent Orthodox, 12 percent Reform and the rest “other”—the group often meets in the basement of the Second Presbyterian Church (4 W 96th St at Central Park West). “The idea is for people to feel at home, even if they’re coming from a background that’s different,” says Exler. For info, go to kehilathadar.org.
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