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Kol Zimrah

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Kol Zimrah
Religion
AffiliationJudaism
RiteUnaffiliated
LeadershipLay-led
StatusActive
Location
LocationUpper West Side, Manhattan, New York City, New York
CountryUnited States
Architecture
Date established2002 (as a congregation)
Website
kolzimrah.info

Kol Zimrah (transliterated from Hebrew as "Voice of Song") is an unaffiliated Jewish congregation, also called an independent minyan or chavurah, that is based on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, in New York City, New York, United States.

Overview

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Founded in 2002, the congregation's motto is "meaningful prayer through music".[1]

The congregation meets regularly for Friday night services which combine Hebrew language liturgy with musical instruments and singing.[1] It does not identify itself with any of the established Jewish religious movements, and has a style of prayer that does not fit neatly into the styles associated with any of them.[2]

Like other chavurot, Kol Zimrah has no rabbi or other professional leadership, and is run completely by volunteers. It uses a "two-table" system at its potluck dinners (one table with vegetarian food, and one table with vegetarian food in which all ingredients have kashrut certification) in order to accommodate different standards of kashrut in a pluralistic community.[3]

Kol Zimrah has a "sibling" relationship with Tikkun Leil Shabbat in Washington, D.C.,[4] one of the few other congregations that has services in the same style (musical instruments and the traditional structure of the liturgy).[5]

References

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  1. ^ a b Michaelson, Jay (November 14, 2003). "A Prayer Group of Their Own". The Forward.
  2. ^ "D.I.Y. Judaism: A Roundtable on the Independent Minyan Phenomenon", Zeek, Spring/Summer 2007, p. 25.
  3. ^ Sue Fishkoff, "Dietary changes afoot, but are they kosher? That depends what it means" Archived 2010-09-05 at the Wayback Machine, Jewish Telegraphic Agency, October 29, 2006.
  4. ^ Joelle Novey, "Our Sponges Are Praying: How a Dish System Reflects Pluralism, Environmentalism, Egalitarianism, and Community at Tikkun Leil Shabbat in Washington, DC", in Rabbi Elie Kaunfer, Empowered Judaism: What Independent Minyanim Can Teach Us about Building Vibrant Jewish Communities, Jewish Lights Publishing, 2010.
  5. ^ Neela Banerjee, "Challenging Tradition, Young Jews Worship on Their Terms", The New York Times, November 28, 2007.
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