Jacob Oslick

Mikveh Israel’s archives are being digitized, thanks in part to our longtime friendship with Christ Church and other colonial congregations:

A "Megillat Washington" for Thanksgiving, blending the style of the Megillat Esther with President Washington's famous letter to the Spanish-Portuguese congregation of Newport, Rhode Island.

For those interested, Congregation Mikveh Israel will be holding its traditional Thanksgiving Day service, complete with partial Hallel, over Zoom tomorrow, beginning at 9:00 a.m. EST. This has been a Mikveh Israel tradition ever since President Washington proclaimed the first Thanksgiving back in 1789.Please PM me for the link if interested.

Mikveh Israel will be hosting a ZOOM service for Kal Nidre only, this evening at 6:00 p.m. Philadelphia time (EDT). The service will conclude by 6:30 p.m., prior to sundown.Contact me if you're interested, I don't want to publicly post the link.

My daughter thought it would be funny to tell her first grade yeshiva class that the Sephardi greeting for Rosh HaShana is “Morir Habemos.”Should I be angry, impressed, or both? I guess it is Yom HaDin.

Mikveh Israel got a brief mention as one congregation which will be holding in-person High Holiday services this year: "Congregation Mikveh Israel will host 50 congregants in its parking lot, a far cry from their typical 200. Two outdoor tents will be set aside, one for adults and another for children. Congregants will be masked, and clear social distancing markers will be in place."Sadly, I will ...

For anyone in Central NJ, a few of us will be trying to organize an **outdoor** abbreviated Rosh Hashanah service. It will be far from perfect, as none of us pretends to be a decent hazzan, but we’ll try our best. Respond below or PM me if interested.

All things considered, thankfully it was just a sign.

So the Spanish-Portuguese kehilla of Highland Park, NJ (all three of us) finally got together and did an abbreviated Shaharit this morning on a front porch. It might become a semi-regular thing, so long as the weather stays warm and the zombie Covid-19 apocalypse continues.Maybe we’ll try to recruit a minyan. We can hang outside an Ashkenazi synagogue Chabad-style and ask people if they’ve put o...

For those of you who have never attended Tisha B'Ab services at our sister congregation in New York, last night's services have been preserved on YouTube. They can be watched here. It's quite an eerily spectacle, with the sanctuary essentially empty.

Mikveh Israel will be streaming it's evening service for Tisha B'Ab tomorrow night. It will start at 8:30 p.m. Philadelphia time. I've attached a Zoom link below, for those who are interested. [https://us02web.zoom.us/j/2159225446?pwd=K2VpWmJqSmxYNERZVmNVL3dxT3dXQT09](http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=0016pUlu5DEBbC2au1r7orP-7RqCS3Xzf_2XP5-COWWYPRn5BqhflYkeL_Rgs56JJczUehbJMbe3KU-W1GGNmig4Ug8dwbDc-m0vY...

Obituary for R. Ezekiel Musleah, ZT'L, former Minister of Mikveh Israel.

So with Shabuoth soon to be over, I need something to do with daughter at night. For about a month before Purim, we worked on "Haman Mamzer El Malo" (which she thought was hilarious).Then until Pesach we worked on Ma Nishtana and the first few paragraphs of Hallel.Since Pesach, we've been doing a portion of the Book of Ruth (which she read for Shearith Israel), the Omer, and Ps. 67. Any ideas? I...

We've posted this before, but it's particularly appropriate to do so now, given how everyone is ordering online these days. . . Mikveh Israel participates in the "AmazonSmile" program, through which Amazon donates 0.5% of purchases to us. It's completely free to you. If you'd like to support one of the few remaining S&P congregations in a small way, please consider making us your Amazon Smile ch...

My daughter singing the first two paragraphs of Hallel using the Mikveh Israel melody brought to Philadelphia from Italy by Rev. Sabato Morais.She learned it for the Haggadah (ie the two paragraphs before the meal). Excuse the mistakes, she’s only 5 and is still learning to read.

For the first time since 1740, Mikveh Israel will not be holding Shabbat services this week. COVID-19 has forced its closure.

Shearith Israel just cancelled services... It’s going to be a rough couple of weeks.Anyone know if there was a similar response to past plagues - yellow fever, Spanish Flu, etc.?

Have we ever done a complete collection of synagogues that currently use the S&P minhag?S&P Central has a list, but Joshua D. Mendes has freely acknowledged that some of the inclusions are aspirational.Here's what I have, which I'm sure is simultaneously incomplete, over-inclusive, and otherwise incorrect.Can you tell me where I'm wrong, what's out of date, and what's just missing? For instance, a...

A portion of the guidance that Mikveh Israel sent out, regarding the coronavirus:"As has been our custom in the Spanish and Portuguese tradition, we continue to show respect to each other with a curt bowing as if in the Spanish Royal Court. Not only does it fulfill the practice of our Minhag, but it also makes us the healthiest synagogue." Certainly safer than handshakes, cheek kisses, etc. . .

Ever want to own a Spanish Portuguese Synagogue? Now’s your chance.My brother drove by the old Mikveh Israel today, saw the for sale sign, and was given a tour by the real estate agent. Here are some photos. The sanctuary is still in very good condition.

An article about our upcoming Italian Shabbaton with Rav. Spagnoletto!!

The former Mikveh Israel is barren again. The speculation is that it may become a coffee shop or something as part of a residential development of the old Dropsie College buildings.It’s a shame the clothing store failed. The owners did a wonderful job of preserving and restoring the interior. It still looked like a synagogue. Just with racks of clothes.

[Not entirely on topic, but not off topic either]Any tips for helping kids learn how to pronounce Hebrew somewhat competently? My daughter goes to an MO Ashkenazi school (there are no Sephardi schools of any kind in the area). They claim to use Israeli Hebrew, by which they mean they don't teach the "sof." But everything else sounds awful. I can forgive not distinguishing the ayin (most Israel...

Mikveh Israel in Philadelphia has begun the process of searching for a successor to Rabbi Gabbai. I am honored to serve as the Chairman of our Search Committee (be clear, I am not the decision-maker, I am simply helping to organize the process). If anyone here is interested in the position, or knows someone who is, attached is the posting that the Search Committee prepared. Feel free to PM me ...

With all the discussion of ribbons and the like, here’s my lulab from Mikveh Israel. I’m not making any comment on the historical practice (which I’m ignorant about), just documenting our current practice. We do not use rosettes or any decoration other than ribbons. We do use a basket.Also, just because it’s pretty, here’s our congregation’s Sukkah.