Wall Street Protesters Pause to Pray, Hear Shofar

Thousands of protesters continued to flood the streets of Manhattan’s Financial District in what has become the 20th day – which reached the largest numbers to date — of the Occupy Wall Street movement.

Organized as a grass-roots movement on social-networks such as Twitter and Facebook, many are speaking out against what they perceive as injustices in the financial, social and political spheres.

Daniel Sieradski, a new media activist and participant in the protests, says he is reaching out to Jewish participants at the protest.

Sieradski has also found a small, fringe element that has “chosen to co-opt the protests as an opportunity” to spread hatred and anti-Semitic rhetoric, among participants, and hopes to dispel negative Jewish stereotypes and to “fight those using Jew-hatred,” by his presence there.

While Sieradski and two dozen other protesters came together for an ad-hoc communal Shabbat meal, most of the Jews there had made little or no provisions for the Rosh Hashanah holiday.

“We’re able to watch the protests from the windows” says Rachel Katz, who along with her husband Rabbi Shmaya Katz, co-directs of Chabad of Wall Street, located only few dozen feet away from Zuccotti Park, the epicenter of the protests.

On Rosh Hashanah Rabbi Katz took to the streets on a mission of his own, to blow shofar for those gathered.

Curious onlookers and participants stopped into the Chabad House to participate in Rosh Hashanah services, light holiday candles or to partake in the festive meal.

“We’ve found people who had never participated in a Rosh Hashanah service before joining us,” Rachel says. Though taking no role in the protests, Rachel is glad to “be here and offer Jewish people the opportunity to celebrate the High Holidays.”