Everything You Need to Know! |
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We are less than four weeks away from welcoming 5784!
For those who have not yet renewed your VBS Membership for 2023-24, there's still time! Do join us again this year ( vbs.org/renew), as we cannot confirm your High Holy Day tickets without your completed membership.
Contact us at 818.788.6000 or info@vbs.org with any questions or concerns.
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Scroll down for answers to our most frequently asked questions, and of course, visit our website anytime to learn more. Shanah Tovah!
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Frequently Asked Questions |
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Where Can I Pick Up My High Holy Day Tickets? |
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Come by VBS to retrieve your High Holy Day ticket package before Rosh Hashanah! We strongly recommend picking up your tickets ahead of time to avoid any delays during services.
This handy image lists dates and times that you can grab your tickets when you're at VBS before the High Holy Days!
Ticket packages will be available to pick up at Will Call during all High Holy Day services, however be prepared for long wait times.
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When and Where are Services Being Held? |
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We are currently in the midst of floor-to-ceiling improvements to the Niznick Sanctuary, Glaser Hall, and the primary hallway of the synagogue building. Therefore services will not be held in Niznick Sanctuary for the 5784 High Holy Days, but please be assured that there will be plenty of seating for all of our members and guests in our other venues!
You may refer to the Schedule of Services below or visit vbs.org/hhd for further service descriptions and information.
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What Service(s) Can I Attend With My Ticket? |
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While in past years you had to choose a service, this year your High Holy Day ticket allows you access to ALL of our service options! Feel free to visit as many of our services as you like over the course of the High Holy Days. Seating in all venues is open and unassigned, except where clearly marked "reserved" in the Main Services for VBS Premier members. |
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Where Can My Kids Go During Services? |
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Childcare & Teen Programming is available on the first day of Rosh Hashanah and on Yom Kippur while parents are attending services at the following times:
Rosh Hashanah Day 1 - Saturday, September 16
- 9:00am-12:45pm (During Early Service) for Ages 2-5, Grades K-6 and Grades 7-12 ("Holy ViBeS")
- 2:00-4:30pm (During Late Service) for Ages 2-5 and Grades K-6 only
Yom Kippur - Monday, September 25
- 9:00am-12:45pm (During Early Service) for Ages 2-5, Grades K-6
- 10:30-11:30am for Grades 7-12 ("Holy ViBeS")
- 2:00-4:30pm (During Late Service) for Ages 2-5 and Grades K-6 only
Registration is REQUIRED for all options above - click the button below to learn more!
Parents may also drop their children off at childcare after Tot Shofar and/or B'Yachad Family Services on either of the dates listed above. Registration is still required.
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How Can I Watch Services Online? |
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This year for the High Holy Days, VBS members can enjoy our Early Main Services from the comfort of their own home via the VBS YouTube channel! These services will be accessed via “YouTube memberships,” and is premium content not available to the general public.
Access to VBS’ YouTube memberships, including High Holy Day service streaming, is included with VBS membership. Members will use the same email associated with their VBS account to access these services. There is no need to manually purchase a YouTube membership if you are a VBS member. Non-VBS members may purchase a “YouTube membership” to access our High Holy Day services. The cost for virtual High Holy Day services is $249.99.
The following services will be streamed live during the High Holy Days on YouTube:
- Friday, September 15: Erev Rosh Hashanah, 7:30pm
- Saturday, September 16: Rosh Hashanah Day 1, 9:15am
- Sunday, September 17: Rosh Hashanah Day 2, 9:15am
- Sunday, September 24: Kol Nidre, 6:00pm
- Monday, September 25: Yom Kippur Morning, 9:15am
- Monday, September 25: Yom Kippur Mincha & Neilah, 4:15pm
A detailed guide of how to login and access our virtual VBS High Holy Day services will be shared at a later date!
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How Can I Hear All of the Rabbis' Sermons? |
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If you plan to attend High Holy Day services in person in Malkin Burdorf or Sher Lopaty, or watch services online on our YouTube channel, you will have the opportunity to hear most of the Rabbis' sermons live. All sermons will be uploaded to our YouTube channel as soon as possible once a service ends, so you will be able to enjoy any of the sermons you may have missed at your convenience. |
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Why is Cantor Fox not on the schedule? |
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This year, with the blessing of our other clergy, our beloved Cantor Herschel Fox will be leading High Holy Day services at a congregation in the Midwest. He shared a letter detailing a bit more about what this experience and our VBS community means to him! |
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How Can I Better Prepare Myself Spiritually? |
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Join us for Selichot Services
Saturday, September 9
7:30-10:00pm
Join us for a spiritual evening to prepare your spirit for the New Year.
- The Changing of the Torah Mantles honoring VBS's Past Presidents
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Musical Havdalah and Selichot Services officiated by Rabbis Nolan Lebovitz and Ed Feinstein and Cantors Jacqueline Rafii and Phil Baron with Dr. Noreen Green, the VBS Community Choir and musical guests
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Learn with Reb Mimi Feigelson: "What Did You Say Your Name Is? Face to Face with God in Chassidic Teachings"
- Dessert Reception
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Learn from our Rabbis at "Yom Tov University"
Wednesday, September 20
5:00-8:00pm
The days between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur are traditionally spent reconciling with those we've wronged or those who have wronged us.
Please join us with our Rabbis to discuss what our tradition teaches us about the joy and wholeness that we experience through reconciliation.
"Finding the Joy in Teshuva"
- 5:00pm: Rabbi Nolan Lebovitz
- 6:00pm: Evening Minyan
- 7:00pm: Rabbi Ed Feinstein
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Participate in the Phyllis and Sanford Beim Yom Kippur Book Club
Monday, September 25
1:00-4:00pm
This forum brings us together to discuss a book that has inspired Rabbi Lebovitz in his preparation for the High Holy Day season. All are welcome. Registration is not required.
1:00pm: Bernstein Balcony Seminar Room
2:00pm: Bernstein Balcony Seminar Room
3:00pm: Zoom (link HERE, passcode: VBS)
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ABOUT THE BOOK
What would it really mean to live forever?
Rachel is a woman with a problem: she can’t die. Her recent troubles – widowhood, a failing business, an unemployed middle-aged son – are only the latest in a litany spanning dozens of countries, scores of marriages, and hundreds of children. In the 2,000 years since she made a spiritual bargain to save the life of her first son back in Roman-occupied Jerusalem, she’s tried everything to free herself, and only one other person in the world understands: a man she once loved passionately, who has been stalking her through the centuries, convinced they belong together forever.
But as the twenty-first century begins and her children and grandchildren – consumed with immortality in their own ways, from the frontiers of digital currency to genetic engineering – develop new technologies that could change her fate and theirs, Rachel knows she must find a way out.
Gripping, hilarious, and profoundly moving, Eternal Life celebrates the bonds between generations, the power of faith, the purpose of death, and the reasons for being alive.
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VBS Clergy
Pictured left to right: Rabbi Ed Feinstein, Rabbi Nina Bieber Feinstein, Cantor Phil Baron, Cantor Jacqueline Rafii, Rabbi Nolan Lebovitz, Cantor Herschel Fox
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