A group of friends from the West Side Minyan and Minyan Rimonim (both of which are part of Congregation Ansche Chesed) founded TeleTefila shortly after Purim, 2020, when it became clear we could no longer meet in person, due to the Covid pandemic. Since then, our merry band has expanded to include friends from Massachusetts to Delaware.
Starting in 2023, both Minyan Rimonim and the West Side Minyan began holding hybrid services, where you can participate in person or on ZOOM. TeleTefila continues to meet online on the other Shabbatot and on Festivals.
The West Side Minyan, Minyan Rimonim, and TeleTefila have significant overlap in membership. They are, however, independent of one another and have some differences in practice. Hopefully, this chart will clarify the differences:
| West Side Minyan | Minyan Rimonim | TeleTefila | |
| Format | Hybrid | Hybrid | Online |
| Masking | Required except when leading davening, leining, or giving a d'var Torah. | Required except when leading davening, leining, or giving a d'var Torah. | You're in your home, do what you like! |
| Baalei T'fila and Baalei K'ria (Davening leaders and Torah readers) | Lay | Lay | Lay |
| Egalitarian | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Siddur | "Slim Shalom" | "Slim Shalom" | Whatever you like |
| Where | 6th floor of Ansche Chesed and Zoom | 6th floor of Ansche Chesed and Zoom | Zoom |
| Counting a minyan | In the room + people visible on Zoom | In the room | People visible on Zoom |
| Time | 9:40 am: Birchot haShachar & P'zukei D'zimra 10:00 am: Shacharit |
9:40 am: Birchot haShachar & P'zukei D'zimra 10:00 am: Shacharit |
9:40 am: Birchot haShachar & P'zukei D'zimra 10:00 am: Shacharit |
| Shabbat and Festivals | Meets on the second Shabbat of each month, and holds Festival services when they fall on the second Shabbat. West Side Minyan also holds High Holy Day services. | Meets on the third Shabbat of each month, and holds Festival services when they fall on the third Shabbat. | Every Shabbat and Festival that does not conflict with WSM or Rimonim. (Usually just one day of Festivals.) TeleTefila observes Havdalah together online and a Kaffeeklatsch on Wednesday evenings.
|
| Shacharit | Heicha Kedusha (only first three blessings said aloud) | Silent, followed by Reader's Repitition | Heicha Kedusha (only first three blessings said aloud) |
| Kadishes | All | All | Some |
| Torah | Triennial. Maftir aliya only on special occasions | Full K'ria with Maftir aliya | Triennial. No Torah scroll; no aliyot. Maftir aliya only on special occasions. Aliya Chatima in English. |
| D'var Torah (DT) | Yes. Sometimes includes a Torah discussion. | Yes | Yes. Sometimes includes a Torah discussion. |
| Haftara | No | Yes | Yes. If the Sephardic Haftarah is significantly shorter, we read that. |
| Musaf | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Governance | Steering Committee | Vaad | Leadership & Staff |
| Coordinators | Davening: Iris Leining: Barbara Sontz DT: Carol |
Davening: Nos Leining: Larry W (odd months); Ellen (even months) DT: Jeremy G |
Leadership & Staff Leining: Gila |
| Website | http://www.westsideminyan.org/index.htm It's outdated but there's a lot of interesting information, particularly under the Resources tab. | http://minyanrimonim.org/ Outdated. | You're already here! |
| Order of service and page numbers | |||
| Guide for davening leaders and Shamashim | WSM guide | Rimonim guide | --- |
If you have questions, drop a note to info@TeleTefila.com . We'd love to hear from you.
These times, for New York, NY, come from HebCal.com and are provided as a convenience. They are updated every sunday evening. We do not observe everything on the HebCal list. See our Calendar below for details. Havdalah: We follow the AppleBank calendar (which has the Haskamah of Rav Applebank) for the correct time to make Havdalah. The Rav's Havdalah calculations — which are reflected in our Calendar — vary from Hebcal by only a couple minutes. Instructions: If you click on the name of the parsha, you'll get the chapter and verse for this week's readings on the HebCal website. You'll also see "Pocket Torah," audio recordings of every Torah verse, according to the notation of A.W. Binder and Lawrence Avery. From HebCal, you can click and get the actual Hebrew and English texts of the readings, curtesy of the Sefaria.org website. |
You are invited to every service and activity on this Calendar!
We're now in the year 5786 and in the first year of the triennial Torah reading cycle.
| Sat, Dec 20 |
RIMONIM HYBRID SERVICE — IN THE CHAPEL
Shabbat Mikeitz 9:40 am — P'sukei D'zimra (Verses of Song): Led by Ilana Login is the same as for the Shabbat morning service. See http://www.teletefila.com/login.html#connecting. Page numbers can be found here. 10:00 am SHARP — Shacharit: Ilana Hallel malei: TBA Torah (Genesis) — Full k'ria
Second scroll:
Third scroll:
Haftarah: Art About Rimonim hybrid services, including a guide for leading davening: http://minyanrimonim.org/rimonim-davening-guide.html If attending in person:
If attending on ZOOM:
TELETEFILA
5:17 pm — Havdalah on ZOOM: led by Miriam H-K Havdalah begins promptly, 10 minutes after the posted starting time. Login information for Havdalah can be found at http://www.teletefila.com/login.html#havdalah. [Words for Miriam haN'viah: https://ritualwell.org/ritual/miriam-ha-nviah-1 ] [Deb Kayman chants Havdalah as her father, Harold Kahen, used to.]
Light Chanukah Menorah, followerd by Sing-A-Long! |
| Sun, Dec 21 | Light eighth Chanukah candle |
| Wed, Dec 24 | Jews Night Out Date: Wednesday, Dec 24 Time: 6:00 – 8:00 pm Place: Mr. Broadway R.s.v.p. no later than 10:00 am on Monday, Dec 22, to irisjkorman@gmail.com [Menu: https://www.mrbroadwaynyc.com/_files/ugd/f86c86_26a7c412e6224b07b38523dda89c4273.pdf] The FAQS say they have vegan, vegetarian, and gluten-free selections -- ask your server for help. |
| Sat, Dec 27 | TeleTefila |
| --- | --- |
| Sun, Jan 11, 2026 8:00 pm |
West Side Minyan https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81336464877?pwd=S0RuQnZPaHdyL1FRQ1BWMHpoaVpEUT09 |
From Council Member Gale Brewer, 12/4/2025: "Here’s an unwelcome holiday present: The MTA informs us that the 72nd Street Station’s elevators will be taken out of service on 12/22, and will be reopened with new equipment sometime in “3rd Q of 2026.” Good grief.
(And don’t forget, on 1/4/26 the fare goes up by 10¢ fare, to $3, for all MTA subways and buses!)
