High Holidays in the Holy Presence

No ticket needed for our High Holiday services.  But if you are new to Or HaOlam, please make a reservation by emailing admin@OrHaOlam.com as seating is limited.   Please give your name and the specific service dates you are wanting to attend and how many will be with you.  You will receive an acknowledgment of your reservation.

All High Holiday events will be livestreamed, with high quality audio/video.  May you experience the Presence of HaShem in 5785!

• Sept. 22 (Monday) 7 p.m. Erev Rosh Hashanah (apples and honey served outdoors only.)
• Sept. 23 (Tuesday) 11 a.m. Rosh Hashanah service (Bring and share meal to follow)
• Sept. 27 (Shabbat) 10 a.m. Shabbat Shuva service (Bring and share meal to follow)
• Oct. 1 (Wednesday) 7 p.m. Erev Yom Kippur Kol Nidre service
• Oct. 2 (Thursday) 10 a.m. Yom Kippur service
• Oct. 2 (Thursday) 6:30 p.m. Neilah (break the fast) with an outdoor picnic and barbeque
• Oct. 7 (Tuesday) 11 a.m. Sukkot service at the Sukkah (with an outdoor bring and share picnic to follow)
• Oct. 11 (Shabbat), 10 a.m. Messiah's Birthday service at the Sukkah (Bring and share meal to follow)
• Oct. 14 (Tuesday) 11 a.m. Shemini Atseret , Hoshanna Rabba, and Simkhat Torah  indoors service (Bring and share meal to follow)

 For more information, explanation, and Bible references on the Jewish holidays, go to the Education tab (above) and choose Jewish Life Cycle.

Marina Kurban: Born in Tajikistan, Raised in a Brothel

 Marina was a wonderful blessing as a member of our congregation for several years.  She served as a worship leader, dancer, prayer leader, drama director.   Our hearts are still with her in her life, family, and ministry now in New Zealand, and 

her work to rescue sex trafficked Tajik young people.   We HIGHLY recommend supporting her work by purchasing her book.

She writes a brief life summary:

I was only seven years old when the Soviet Union collapsed, bringing severe economic hardship to my nation of Tajikistan. My mom was already working two jobs, but now even that wasn’t enough. With nowhere to turn, my mom faced an impossible choice: sell her children or give us away—or sell her own body. It was only in later years that I realized . . . My home had become a brothel.
The streets weren’t safe. Now my home wasn’t safe either. Would I end up in the same situation as my mom? Just when I thought suicide was the only answer, a friend invited me to church. Growing up in a Muslim country, I had no concept of Christianity, but that day . . . I fell deeply in love with Yeshua [Jesus.]

My heart had come alive, but the brokenness remained. When civil war broke out and my life was upended once again, God came to my rescue. For the first time, I experienced the stability and safety of a loving home. Today, I can testify that the pain I endured has given rise to my areas of greatest strength. Welcome to my story!

Currently, Marina has a ministry called Invest in a Life

https://investinalife.org/

and building a safe home, the ‘House of Shalom’, to be run by a fantastic local team with a holistic approach, in Central Asia.

This is a home of healing, restoration, development and empowerment for individuals and families affected by the devastating realities of abuse and human trafficking.

Opening the doors of our house was a dream come true—a vision planted back in 2017 finally becoming reality. But as anyone who has ever built or renovated knows, the “finishing touches” are often just as important as the foundations.

Right now, inside, the rooms are without their doors—doors that will bring privacy, warmth, and dignity to those who will live and heal here. The staircase rises to the second floor, but is yet to be completed so precious feet can walk to their rooms with ease. Skirting boards waiting to be purchased and fitted. And outside, the house is standing tall but unfinished, in need of a proper façade, and site works that will shape the land into something more than just practical. We dream of a place that is beautiful and welcoming—a garden where people can rest, breathe, and restore their hearts again.

Every book sold is helping to change that. One review shared helps us reach another reader. One book purchased might buy the hinges for a door, the wood for a step, or even a ticket for a woman coming back home. Page by page, purchase by purchase, the story that began in a book is being written into the very walls of this house.

And after the building itself, comes the part that turns walls and floors into a home: furnishing the rooms so they can embrace those who walk through the door seeking shelter, hope, and a fresh start.

Beyond bricks and mortar, the heartbeat of the house is in the people—staff wages, caring for our beneficiaries, maintenance, utilities. Every purchase is not just finishing a house, it’s sustaining the life and care that will fill it.

Here are the links if you’d like to:

1.   Purchase the book (they make beautiful, meaningful gifts too):

Invest in a Life Website: https://investinalife.org/ 
100% of the profits from the sale of the book

contribute to Invest in a Life's projects.

2.   Leave a review (a few sentences is more than enough!):

·         Amazon (worldwide): https://www.amazon.com/dp/1991299591