The High Holy Days
Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur invite us to gather as a community, open our hearts to one another, better understand ourselves and seek and grant forgiveness.
The High Holy Days at Temple Emanu-El
The High Holy Days are the most sacred season of the Jewish year. Rooted in the Torah and shaped by millennia of tradition, these days invite us to reflect on our actions, renew our commitments, and reconnect with ourselves, our community, and the Divine.
The season begins in the Hebrew month of Elul with Selichot, continues with Rosh Hashanah, and culminates in Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement.
Selichot
Selichot, meaning “forgiveness,” refers to the penitential prayers that help prepare us spiritually for the High Holy Days. At Temple Emanu‑El, our Selichot service is held on the Saturday night before Rosh Hashanah. The service includes moving liturgy, poetry, and music, often beginning with havdalah and the sounding of the shofar. It is a powerful opportunity to begin the Days of Awe with intention, reflection, and a sense of sacred gathering.
Rosh Hashanah
Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, is first mentioned in Leviticus 23 as a “day of sounding the shofar.” It marks the beginning of the Ten Days of Repentance and invites us to take stock of our lives. The sound of the shofar calls us to wake up to our values, our responsibilities, and the work of personal transformation. At Temple Emanu‑El, our services include prayer, Torah reading, and the blowing of the shofar. Many also take part in Tashlich, a meaningful tradition in which we symbolically cast away our sins into a natural body of flowing water.
Yom Kippur
Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, is described in Leviticus 16 and 23 as a day of fasting, prayer, and purification. We begin with the haunting melody of Kol Nidre, asking that any vows we cannot fulfill be released. The day includes multiple services, with moments for silent reflection and communal confession. We read from Torah and Haftarah, seek forgiveness from one another and from God, and dedicate ourselves to change. Yom Kippur concludes with Ne’ilah, the final service as the symbolic gates of repentance begin to close, and ends with the final, stirring blast of the shofar.
