The High Holidays

NOTE:  For the health and safety of our members in this time of COVID-19, all High Holiday services in 2020 were held virtually, with some in-person activities practiced safely and at a distance outdoors. What follows is a description of how things look in a normal year.

Rosh Hashanah

• On Erev Rosh Hashanah we have a service welcoming everybody with the traditional tunes and a sermon.
• On the first day of Rosh Hashanah at 9:00 a.m., we host a traditional morning service using the Reconstructionist High Holiday Prayerbook (Machzor) with a sermon from the rabbi. The service is interspersed with modern and contemporary poems and readings.
• After the morning service, we had to the Delaware River for Taslich.. 
• We offer a family-oriented service at 2:30 p.m. in the sanctuary, complete with shofar blowing (except on Shabbat), highlighting the main prayers.  The service is punctuated by teachings and questions families can talk through with each other.
• On the second day of Rosh Hashanah, the rabbi offers yoga and meditation before services begin, with themes from the Days of Awe. This service features traditional prayers and text study in place of a sermon. 

Yom Kippur

• On Kol Nidre we have services and a sermon. 
• We host a morning service at 9:00 a.m. in our sanctuary, ending with Yizkor, prayers of remembrance.
• At 2:00, our family-oriented service is held in the sanctuary. 
• We return in the afternoon for a program, followed by concluding services of Yom Kippur, including the chanting of the Book of Jonah, and Ne’ilah services. 
• Every year, after the shofar sounds to end Yom Kippur, we break the fast together as a community. 
• Details are in the High Holiday mailings sent out a month before Rosh Hashanah.