The Torah we carry:
Selah Pre High Holiday Dinner
אֵיזֶהוּ חָכָם? הַלּוֹמֵד מִכָּל אָדָם
"Who is wise? One who learns from every person."
Pirkei Avot 4:1
As the Jewish year draws to a close, we enter the sacred month of Elul, a season of preparation, reflection, and return. Our tradition describes Elul as הַמֶּלֶךְ בַּשָּׂדֶה ("The King is in the field"), a time when the Divine feels especially close, inviting us to pause, take an honest look at our lives, and prepare our hearts for the High Holidays.
In Sephardic communities, Elul is accompanied by the daily recitation of Selichot. Ashkenazi communities begin reciting Selichot in the days leading up to Rosh Hashanah. Though our customs differ, they point us toward the same invitation: to pause, reflect, seek forgiveness, and begin again.
Our sages ask, אֵיזֶהוּ חָכָם? "Who is wise?" and answer, הַלּוֹמֵד מִכָּל אָדָם "One who learns from every person." At 14Y Selah, we believe that the Torah we carry is not only the Torah we study, but also the Torah we live. Every journey of recovery, every season of healing, every act of resilience, and every moment of connection has the power to teach. Each of us carries wisdom that can become a source of strength for someone else.
Join us on Wednesday, September 9 at 7:00 PM ET for a special hybrid 14Y Selah and Jewish Board JACS dinner as we celebrate the Torah that has emerged from our own lives. Whether you're joining us in person in New York City or live on Zoom from anywhere in the world, we'd love for you to be part of the evening.
Community members are invited to share a 5–7 minute reflection, either in person or virtually. Your "Torah" doesn't need to be a formal teaching. It might be a story, a journey of recovery, a moment of connection, a lesson learned, or an experience that changed the way you see yourself or the world.
Whether you choose to share or simply come to listen, we hope you'll join us for an evening of nourishing food, meaningful conversation, and sacred community. Together, we'll honor one another's journeys, learn from one another's stories, and prepare our hearts for the Days of Awe.
May we each enter the new year carrying the wisdom we've gathered, the courage to begin again, and the blessing of learning from one another.
Wednesday, September 9, 2026 | 7:00 PM | Hybrid: NYC + Zoom
Ecstatic Sukkah:
Dancing Under Open Skies
Tuesday, September 29, 2026 | 7:00 PM | 14th Street Y
Sukkot invites us into a different kind of strength.
For one week each year, we step out from behind solid walls and gather beneath a roof that lets the sky peek through. The sukkah reminds us that life is not made secure by what we build around ourselves. It is sustained by connection, trust, and the courage to remain open even when things feel uncertain.
Ecstatic Sukkah is an invitation to embody that practice.
This addiction recovery-informed ecstatic dance offers a space to move with the season's wisdom. To soften our grip on what no longer serves us. To reconnect with ourselves, our community, and the sacred possibility that emerges when we stop trying to hold everything together on our own.
In addiction recovery, vulnerability can feel unfamiliar. We may spend years building walls that once helped us survive. Sukkot gently asks another question: What happens when we allow a little more openness into our lives? What becomes possible when we trust ourselves enough to be seen?
Through music and movement, we create space to explore those questions without needing answers. To release what feels heavy. To celebrate what is growing. To remember that healing does not happen in isolation. It happens in relationship, in community, and in the moments when we allow ourselves to be fully present.
The evening will unfold as a journey. We’ll begin together in an opening circle, grounding into intention and connection. From there, a live DJ set will guide us through waves of movement, from release to expansion to stillness. We’ll close in a shared circle, gathering what we have discovered and carrying it forward.
No choreography. No judgment. Just breath, rhythm, and the invitation to move beneath an open sky.
Sukkot teaches that impermanence is not something to fear. It is part of what makes life precious. Recovery teaches something similar. We do not need certainty to keep showing up. We only need the willingness to take the next step.
Come as you are. Bring your whole self, whatever that means today.
Substance-free. Spirit-filled. All are welcome.