BJ Selihot Experience

Dedicated in loving memory of Bob Owens by his family

Enter Selihot by exploring strange and beautiful images for God and spiritual life, deeply rooted in the texts of the early Hasidic masters, as our community gathers for the launch of Rabbi Alex Braver’s new book, The Snail and the Shell: 70 Faces of God, World & Self. Together we’ll study and discuss traditional sources that challenge us to think about teshuvah and the journey of the High Holy Days in new ways. After a short break, we come together for an immersive Selihot experience of music, prayer, poetry, meditation, and reflection, rooted in the words of the liturgy, as we open our hearts to the journey of return.

• 8:45 PM Havdalah
• 9:15 PM Learning with Rabbi Alex Braver
• 10:15 PM Short break
• 10:30 PM Selihot service

Bob Owens was a lifelong member of B’nai Jeshurun. From the bimah during his Bar Mitzvah to the thoughtful community he later found in morning minyan, he took immense pride in BJ. He was always deeply moved by the melodies of the High Holy Days, especially when hearing them for the first time each year, and often spoke of BJ’s legacy as a place of discourse, self-reflection, and rigorous engagement with the world around us, values he embodied deeply.