Welcome to a year of holiday celebrations! From apples and honey to bright Hanukkah candles, from the seder table to the Ten Commandments, holidays are rich with education, community, and traditions. They provide a rhythm to the Jewish year and connect generation to generation.
HOLIDAYS
Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur
We hold services in the Sanctuary and Lower Level at 87th Street and at Fifth Avenue and 90th Street. Seats are available by ticket only. There are also High Holiday services for families and children of all ages.
Blessings for Rosh Hashanah Evening
Blessings for Yom Kippur Evening
Sukkot
We mark the beginning of fall through song and prayer, shaking the lulav and etrog, and gathering in the sukkah. Join us for services throughout the eight days of Sukkot.
Blessings for Sukkot
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Shemini Atzeret
We gather for the final days of the fall festival season and recite the Yizkor service. Hear Cantor Schwartz chant Geshem, the prayer for rain, at the beginning of the musaf service.
Simchat Torah
In the evening we celebrate the Torah with lively music.
The next morning, we end the annual cycle of Torah reading and begin it again, honoring two congregants as Hatan Torah and Kallat B’reishit.
Hanukkah
In honor of Hanukkah there are parties, art projects, concerts, and activities for all ages.
Tu BiShvat
Tu BiShvat finds us eating fruit, learning about the produce of the Land of Israel, and focusing on sustainability and responsibility to the environment. The Shabbat closest to Tu BiShvat is always Shabbat Shirah, “the Sabbath of Song.” The cantors prepare special musical services for that Shabbat morning.
Purim
In addition to a full megillah reading for older children, teens and adults, Purim includes a phenomenal Purim spiel, a Purim service for young children, and a Purim carnival for families. There are costumes, noisemakers, hamantashen, and silliness for all.
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Pesach
Shavuot
In the evening on erev Shavuot, there is a Tikkun Leil Shavuot learning event, and in the morning, festival services for adults and for families.
Tisha B’Av
Tisha B'Av, the 9th of Av, is a solemn fast day that commemorates the anniversary of a number of disasters in Jewish history, primarily the destruction of both the First and Second Temples in Jerusalem. The fast, like Yom Kippur, starts at sundown and lasts until dark the following day.
Between ma’ariv and the chanting of Eikhah, the Book of Lamentations, we have a study session on the themes or the liturgy of the day.