These are the hands of Mishkan Ha'am.

This 4' x 6' banner is made up of over 150 felt tracings from the many children and adults who have joined in Mishkan Ha'am's services and celebrations since the shul's founding.

Ten years ago, Yonkers, New York, residents Joey Parnes and Ellen Tattelman ran a notice in local newspapers inviting area residents who were “looking for a synagogue and haven’t found the right fit” to meet. “We were looking to create a Reconstructionist group that would be egalitarian, participatory, and open to varying viewpoints,” says Parnes. “Joyously, we found others who were looking for the same thing!”

Today, Mishkan Ha’am, with members from Riverdale through Westchester’s Rivertowns, has grown to include regular Shabbat services for all ages, holiday and life cycle celebrations, a Hebrew School, adult education program, social action activities, and innovative programming such as meditation and chanting-centered Shabbat observances and Shabbat morning yoga sessions. In all these contexts, participants engage in connecting Jewish tradition with their contemporary lives.

On Sunday, March 9th, at the Riverview in Hastings, the congregation’s teen klezmer ensemble, Yiddish Groove Machine, provided music for dancing as the Mishkan Ha’am community—including its past and present rabbinic leaders—celebrated its ten-year anniversary.

For more information, see www.mishkanhaam.org or call 914-478-4996.