Members of the historic Sixth & I Synagogue in Washington, D.C., will be able to sit next to Jewish celebrities, including U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, during High Holidays services next month.
Kind of.
The synagogue’s virtual High Holidays services will feature its members next to cardboard cutouts of Jewish celebrities—something members can get for contributing $36 to the synagogue’s “You in a Pew” fundraiser, which was launched on Wednesday.
Other celebrities include, but are not limited to, CNN news anchor Wolf Blitzer, TV and radio host Andy Cohen and comedian Amy Schumer.
Sixth & I communications manager Michelle Eider told the local outlet DCist that the cardboard-cutout idea originated in a recent fundraising meeting and the staff was “immediately excited.”
Funds raised will go towards the synagogue’s production of virtual Yom Kippur and Rosh Hashanah services, according to Eider.
“This is a time of year when people really crave that feeling of being in community with each other, and we’ve just really been missing those face-to-face interactions with our community,” said Eider. “We knew that although we can’t gather physically for the High Holidays, we wanted to create something special to help people find meaning and connection, and I think also a little bit of levity, too.”
