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Shir Tikvah High Holy Days 5783 Quick Facts
- Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur services will be held in person at St. Joan of Arc, via YouTube livestream, and on Zoom (hosted by the Makom Minyan)
- Services are free, non-ticked, and open to everyone without registration or membership requirements
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Shir Tikvah prioritizes accessibility at our High Holy Day services. This year, we are offering ASL interpretation, sensory space, touch tours prior to services, large print materials, and more. Learn more here!
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Rosh Hashanah 5783
“Let the year and its curses end”
These words form the refrain of “Ahot Ketana,” a prayer sung by many Sephardi communities at the beginning of Rosh Hashanah. Rosh Hashanah is many things. It’s a day of introspection in preparation for Yom Kippur. It’s a moment of celebration, marking the sweetness of life. It’s a coronation day, where we crown God as God. Amidst and beyond all these layers of symbolic meaning, Rosh Hashanah is the Jewish New Year, a chance to turn the page and begin again. For many of us, it might feel like this new year couldn’t come soon enough as we seek to distance ourselves from all the various curses of 5782 (climate change, structural racism, a continued pandemic, personal losses and hurt…). To that need for escape and renewal, Ahot Ketana offers its haunting refrain: “Let the year and its curses end.” However, the prayer does not finish with this image of casting off curses. Rather, the last verse offers us the possibility:
“Let this year and its blessing begin.”
September 25 | Erev Rosh Hashanah
5:30pm: Family (Elementary Age) Service
6:30pm: Erev Rosh Hashanah Service
September 26 | Rosh Hashanah
9:30am: Young Families (Tots) Service
10:30am: Rosh Hashanah Morning Service
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Aseret Yamei T'shuva:
Days Between Rosh Hashanah + Yom Kippur
September 30
6:30pm: Shabbat Shuva
October 1
TBA: Torah Encounters at Shir Tikvah
October 2
12:00pm + 1:00pm: Yizkor Cemetery Visits
TBA: Tashlich
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Yom Kippur 5783
Near the end of Yoma, the Talmud concerning Yom Kippur, the rabbis make a wild detour away from atonement and fasting. Instead, this passage features a discussion about childcare. Quoting his mother, Abaye, a late Talmudic rabbi, discusses what young children need in order to grow at various stages of development. Abaye’s mom suggests that the oldest of these kids (imagine kindergartners) need access to clay cups and plates that they can break. There is something powerful about the spiritual development suggested by this parenting wisdom. We should strive to raise children who are capable of making, being in, and cleaning up messes. In turn, adults might have something to learn from these kids. As we live through the atonement work of Yom Kippur, we might strive to break down the parts of our stories that no longer serve us, shattering shame and cracking self-doubt. We are left broken and growing, rebuilding ourselves as mosaics made of what we have learned and lost and all that we love.
October 4 | Erev Yom Kippur
6:30pm: Kol Nidrei Service
October 5 | Yom Kippur
9:30am: Young Families (Tots) Service
10:30am: Yom Kippur Morning Service
TBA: Learning Opportunities
4:00pm: Mincha Offering
5:00pm: Yizkor Service
6:15pm: Neilah Service
7:00pm: Community Break Fast
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Sukkot + Simchat Torah
October 9 - October 16 | Sukkot
TBA: Sukkot Gatherings
October 16 | Simchat Torah
5:00pm: Simchat Torah Dinner + Celebration
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Daily Selichot Practice
For the third year, we are offering a daily Selichot practice during the month of Elul. A daily Selichot practice is a Sephardi practice of reciting penitential prayers and poetry daily from the second day of Elul (August 29th) to the morning of Yom Kippur (October 4th). As in the past two years, this practice will take place on Zoom, at 7:15 am. Daily Selichot in the month leading up to the High Holy Days provides us the opportunity to journey, individually and in community, into the work of the High Holy Days.
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Selichot
9/17/22 at 7:30pm (In Person and on Zoom)
Join rabbis and prayer leaders from the Shir Tikvah community for a heartfelt night of learning, song, connection, in preparation for the Days of Awe. Begin the night with community learning on breaking, creation, and atonement and then raise your voice as we offer our Selichot prayers. Our Selichot service is crafted to open up our hearts and connect us as a community as we enter this sacred time. Join us in person and on Zoom!
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Turning and Re-turning in a Time of Change
9/11 (In Person) at 2:00pm or 9/12 (On Zoom) at 6:30pm
Elul, the month preceding the High Holidays, allows us the opportunity to reflect on the year we’ve been through and set intentions for the year ahead. Many of us currently find ourselves grappling with change, grief, and fear as well as reaching for resiliency and hope--in our personal lives, in the life of the congregation, and in the world at large. In this workshop we will use Psalm 27, the traditional psalm for the season, to explore the state of our souls. Through a Jewish lens, we'll explore themes including embracing change, learning from fear, building resiliency, and reaching for new possibilities in the new year. Facilitated by Rabbi Sharon Stiefel and Gayle Zoffer. Registration is required and attendance is free with a $18 suggested donation.
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Teshuva Lab: Racial Justice and Atonement
9/13 and 9/20 at 6:30pm (In Person)
There is no one “right way” to practice teshuva and it can be a deeply personal process—we are all shifting, moving, feeling, and expanding as we experience the world. What are we hoping to achieve and how do we approach healing? This season during Elul, we will be exploring ideas around teshuva, how we return to each other again, and being creative as we move towards healing ourselves and our relationships. Registration is required and attendance is free with a $36 suggested donation.
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Soulful Jewish Living 5783
10/25 - 1/17 at 7:30pm (On Zoom)
Soulful Jewish Living (SJL) is Shir Tikvah’s Adult Education basic Judaism course, which explores the foundation of Jewish life through the exploration of Jewish time and practice focusing on the holiday cycle of the liturgical year and life cycle events. Participants will meet weekly on Monday evenings on Zoom from late October to mid-January. There will be required readings between sessions, so that participants can enter the conversations together, deepening their Jewish learning. Additionally, this group, through learning together and sharing one another’s stories, will develop its own community. Contact our Rabbinic Intern Moshe Webber with questions. Scholarship requests can be submitted using this form.
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COVID-19 Policy and Gathering Updates
As we gather in-person, our values of “pikuach nefesh”—protecting life, “kavod habriyut”—protecting our health, and “tzorchei tzibur”—attending the needs of the community frame our work as a synagogue community and spiritual home.
Summary of Our Gathering Updates (Shared on 8/31/22)
- Masking: Required indoors for groups above 30
- Food: Allowed indoors
- Pre-registration and Max Attendance: No longer required
- Vaccination: Required
These updates apply to all Shir Tikvah events, including High Holy Days, adult education classes, JAMI, etc.
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Makom Minyan Community Conversation
The Makom Minyan and staff, in partnership with community members, have spent the past year exploring and developing what it means to engage meaningfully and inclusively in a multimodal Shir Tikvah prayer life. Throughout this time, we have creatively wrestled with many routines and techniques, and have been community led in choosing which best meet our Shir Tikvah needs. We shared earlier this year: “We invite you to join us in this project with tenderness and openness and generosity”. You have leaned in and shown grace through cacophonous unmuting, frozen videos, and seasons of transition. For all of this, we are deeply grateful and proud.
Today, we are excited to invite you to join us for a community conversation on September 7th at 6:00pm on Zoom focused on our Makom Minyan’s work moving us into and through 5783. We will take time to enjoy torah from Rabbi Joey, reflect, look towards a multimodal High Holy Day season, and invite you to engage with our community support opportunities this year! Please RSVP here to let us know you’ll be joining us on Zoom!
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Resources
Prayerbooks
Order our High Holy Day Machzorim (prayerbooks) here. 15% discount with promo code "MHN15" at checkout!
Accessibility
We are committed to making High Holy Days accessible and inclusive. Learn more here.
STiFTY High Holy Day Food Drive
Gather your non-perishable food items for drop off during Sukkot as our youth group challenges us to break our record of 3,000 lbs!
Music + Poetry from the Shir Tikvah Choir
We invite you to enjoy these recordings of music and poetry by members of the Shir Tikvah choir to deepen and grow your High Holy Days practice.
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Yizkor Memorial List
We remember loved ones of blessed memory at our Yizkor service on Yom Kippur afternoon. Again this year we are also requesting a photo to be included in a visual In Memoriam; if you submitted a photo last year you do not need to provide the photo again. To include your loved ones’ names and photos, you will need to share their names through the form below and share any digital (emailed here) or physical copies of photos to Shir Tikvah no later than Friday, September 9th.
Giving Yizkor Memorial Honoraria in the memory of loved ones is a meaningful mitzvah. The suggested gift is $54 per name. Gifts can be maid by check or online here.
Please submit one form per loved one. Thank you.
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A Year of Giving Generously
In the spirit of the Jewish tradition of giving at High Holy Days, we invite donations to support Shir Tikvah’s vision, educational programs, accessible services, and social justice work. We are sustained by our community’s commitment to giving at a level that is personally meaningful and generous as we enter the New Year. Please consider sponsoring one of the below Shir Tikvah needs or making a gift at a level that is right for you – thank you!
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$4,140 supports a building restoration and care project (broiler, bathrooms, classrooms, etc.)
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$2,160 covers one sustaining household membership for those in need of financial assistance
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$1,080 supports our ability to offer multimodal prayer, music, and programming these High Holy Days
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$540 provides scholarship for one student at the Shir Tikvah Academy for Jewish Moral Imagination
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$360 supports our Caring Community’s assistance of shivas, meals, rides, and healing
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