For some, the High Holy Days are partly about making a fashion statement, so perhaps it should come as no surprise that in Manhattan, the epicenter of high fashion, the two are coming together. Chabad of the West 60s recently announced it would host special High Holiday Services for New York Spring Fashion Week 2010, located half a block from Lincoln Center, where Fashion Week will be held this year from Sept. 9-16, coinciding with Rosh Hashanah Sept. 9 and 10. Attendance for these services will be free.

“New York’s renowned fashion week begins on the eve of Rosh Hashanah, and many Jews may be conflicted between synagogue and New York Fashion Week,” said Rabbi Yehuda Lipsker of Chabad of the West 60s. “We are offering free Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur tickets to anyone attending services at our synagogue this year, and asking only that they use what they would have spent to buy fashion to support New York’s economy.”

Special classes will be offered throughout the Jewish holidays discussing the roles of famous Jews in fashion. And a special prayer will be said for the Jewish Fashion Week designers, including Zac Posen and Diane Von Furstenberg, to wow audiences at their shows during the week.

ADVERTISEMENT

Upon hearing this news, Rabbi Hershey Novack of Chabad on Campus invited local fashionistas attending Saint Louis Fashion Week Sept. 7-11, to free Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur services at the Rohr Center for Jewish Life, 7018 Forsyth Boulevard. (For times and details, go to www.chabadoncampus.org. For local fashion week information, including tickets, go to www.alivemag.com/fashionweek/).

As for saying a prayer for local designers, Novack isn’t convinced St. Louis is in the same league as New York. But he wishes those trying to make it in the fashion biz here a hearty mazel, and urges them to dress in their favorite designs when they attend services at Chabad.

The Big Top at the Big Film Fest

Film buffs and circus fans alike can look forward to the local debut of “Circus Kids,” a documentary about the collaboration between St. Louis’ own Circus Harmony and Israel’s Gailee Circus, a youth circus made up of Jews and Arabs. Cinema St. Louis executive director Cliff Froehlich confirmed the documentary will be shown at this year’s St. Louis International Film Festival, which takes place Nov. 11-21.

ADVERTISEMENT

“This documentary is a natural for the festival given its strong St. Louis connection,” said Froehlich, noting that it features Circus Harmony executive director Jessica Hentoff as well as St. Louis youngsters who perform with the troupe. “I was pleasantly surprised with how good the film turned out. It would be something we would have strongly considered on its own merit, even without the St. Louis ties.”

Hentoff said that “Circus Kids” will be shown, too, at the Chicago International Film Festival in October. It was directed by Alexandra Lipsitz, whose 2006 documentary “Air Guitar Nation” chronicles the birth of the U.S. Air Guitar Championships and the personal stories of the contestants vying to become the country’s first champion.

By the way, Froehlich said that the St. Louis festival will open with the Kevin Spacey thriller, “Casino Jack,” based on the life of Jack Abramoff. Abramoff is a former lobbyist and Jewish businessman who was sentenced to federal prison after pleading guilty in 2006 to three criminal felony counts related to the defrauding of American Indian tribes and corruption of public officials. “Casino Jack” was directed by George Hickenlooper, who plans to be in St. Louis when the film is screened. No final word on whether Spacey will be attending.

Froehlich also mentioned that a number of Jewish-themed documentaries will be shown at the festival, including “Prisoner of her Past,” which follows Chicago Tribune jazz critic Howard Reich as he tries to understand why his mother, a Holocaust survivor, is reliving her horrific childhood in Eastern Europe during World War II, and “Budrus,” about a Palestinian leader who unites Fatah, Hamas and Israelis in an unarmed movement to save his village from destruction.

N&S will keep you posted about all of these films, including the dates and times they will be screened, as the festival draws closer.

Slam, dunk Judaism

One of the stranger emails I received this week had to do with NBA megastar Lebron James doing business with a renowned rabbi. Somehow, this turn-of-events has led to a rumor that he is converting to Judaism. That’s like saying just because he’s moving to Miami means he’ll be eating dinner at 4 p.m. But that still hasn’t stopped sports bookmaker Mickey Richardson (www.bookmaker.com) from laying odds on what other NBA stars will turn to Judaism this year.

In the email, it was speculated that Kobe Bryant and Kevin Durant would be the ones to place a wager on for this bet. Here are the full odds:

NBA PLAYER TO CONVERT TO JUDAISM IN 2010

Dwayne Wade +600 14%    

Chris Paul +550 15%    

Chris Bosh +450 18%    

Kobe Bryant +375 21%    

Rajon Rondo +425 19%    

Dirk Nowitzki +550 15%    

Carmelo Anthony +600 14%    

Kevin Durant +350 22%    

Deron Williams +475 17%    

Steve Nash +500 16%    

[The +/- Indicates the Return on the Wager. The percentage is the likelihood that response will occur. For Example: Betting on the candidate least likely to win would earn the most amount of money, should that happen.]

Think I’ll stick to video poker.