Going Digital for Repentance
Robin Chotzinoff reflects in the August/September 2010 issue of Hadassah Magazine about how she observed the Aseret Yemei Teshuvah (the ten days of repentance) last year by answering a series of e-mail questions from 10Q. Ben Greeman, who launched the project in 2008 explains that “we tried to let people tap back into tradition, but without feeling like they have to pass an entrance exam.”
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Big screens, big questions
A religious holiday brings reflection to the Strip
The kind of self-reflection usually happening at Fashion Show Mall involves gazing into plate glass windows, fixing hair and adjusting clothes. It’s a commercial space, not a place for contemplation — with wraparound storefronts, mobile kiosks and an endless loop of commercials on the giant screens overhead.
But for 10 days in September, an experiment is bringing spiritual questions to the four video screens above the outdoor concourse.
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One way Jews mark the 10 days between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement is with soul-searching. Jews traditionally ask themselves how they have lived in the year gone by and how they might do better in the one to come.
For the second year, Reboot, a Jewish group out to rev up culture, rituals and traditions for contemporary believers, has its 10Q project underway. 10Q takes Rosh Hashanah imperative of questioning oneself to the world with electronic billboards in Times Square and other places and a web site where people are invited to ask and offer answers that reflect on “values, hopes and visions.”
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10Q Questions Appear on the Times Square Jumbotron in NYC
“Harry Potter’s” Draco Malfoy is doing it. So is “Glee’s” Sue Sylvester.
The creators of the 10Q project are hoping tens of thousands of other followers will join actors Tom Felton and Jane Lynch in “digitally rebooting” the Jewish High Holy Days.
Tonight at sundown, the 10 Days of Awe begin with Rosh Hashana, also known as the Jewish new year, and wrap up Sept. 18 with Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement.
Although it’s one of the most important Jewish religious observances, not all of the faithful participate in the spiritual custom of attending synagogue or gathering with friends.
That’s where the 10Q project comes in. A nonprofit, New York-based group created a website, www.doyou10Q.com, asking participants questions designed to make them think about things they celebrate, regret and hope to change.
More here – Tampa Bay Tribune
The flashing lights and crowded streets of Times Square aren’t particularly conducive to introspection. Come Friday that may change.
During the 10-day period from Rosh HaShanah through Yom Kippur, an oversized electronic billboard on the Reuters Building in Times Square will prompt passersby with questions like: “Is there something you wish you had done differently this past year?”; “Describe one thing you’d like to achieve by this time next year?” ; and “What global event most affected you last year, and why?”
Anyone, Jewish or not, can sign up to receive a question a day for 10 days, which can be privately reflected upon and answered anonymously online. Those who submit all 10 responses at www.doyou10q.com will receive an e-mail before the High Holy Days next year reminding them of their hopes, dreams and fears.
The campaign, dubbed 10Q, is the brainchild of British screenwriter and playwright Nicola Behrman and New Yorker editor and novelist Ben Greenman. The two came up with the idea at a conference hosted by REBOOT, a network of young, Jewish creative types. REBOOT provided the seed grant to fund the project.
More here – The Jewish Week: “Times Square Teshuvah”
We got a note from Ben Greenman last week about his latest project, a multmedia celebration keyed to the Jewish high holidays called 10Q: Renew, Reflect, React. Starting with Rosh Hoshanah last Friday, participants will post their answers to a series of ten questions: What’s a significant experience that has affected you over the past year? What’s something you would have done differently? and so on, through to September 28 and Yom Kippur. You can keep your answers to yourself, or share them with the rest of the participants—and in September 2010, they’ll be emailed back to you as a sort of electronic time capsule.
MediaBistro: 10Q: A Mass Online Participatory Soul-Searching Project
On a more introspective note, the PR Newswire electronic billboard in Times Square will be displaying 10 soul-searching questions during the days between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. The 10Q project is the brainchild of British playwright Nicola Behrman and New Yorker writer Ben Greenman, and is an offshoot of REBOOT, an organization that promotes Jewish culture and spirituality. In addition to pondering the questions during their lunch breaks, New Yorkers are invited to submit their answers online, and receive them back via e-mail one year later. Talk about a timely reminder.
The Jewish Daily Forward: Rosh Hashanah, Times Square Style
Q4 in Times Square on the jumbotron
More great NYT covereage:
The organizers think people should feel free to get as heavy or keep it as light as they like. One of their favorite responses from last year to a question about an importantspiritual experience: “I lost God, and I’ve never been happier.”
More in the New York Times: Ten Significant Questions for the Days of Awe