Join Us For The High Holidays
Please SCROLL DOWN for information on our High Holiday Policy, Schedule of Services and information on individual services and events. Please note times and locations.
Zoom links and the link to our YouTube page are below.
For Zoom – click on the link to register in advance.
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting/service.
High Holiday Policy
- Our services are open to all. If you are not a member of our congregation, we encourage you to consider joining. Just contact the Temple office. If you are not ready to join us yet, please consider making a donation by clicking here. For non-members a donation of $75 per person is suggested. Your support is a mitzvah. We exist only with your support. Military Personnel & College students are complimentary guests.
- Please consider your health and the health of those around you. If you are not feeling well please join us online rather than coming to the Temple. Community transmission of Covid-19 is currently classified as ‘low’ by the CDC. However, Covid-19 is still a serious risk. Please get vaccinated and keep your boosters up to date. Mask wearing is not mandated at this time. However, we do strongly encourage wearing a mask. (N95 masks are available.) Many studies have shown that mask wearing effectively decreases the spread of Covid-19. As we all struggle with adjusting to life with Covid-19, let’s be aware and respectful of personal choices.
- Families with younger children are encouraged to attend Family Programs on Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur. Our family program and closing service (Ne’ilah) will be followed by a Break-the-Fast at Temple Emanuel-El.
- Families with students in the religious school 6th grade and older are especially encouraged to attend all services and family programs. Younger students are welcome at all services considering their ability to respect the worship of the community.
High Holiday Schedule
Sunday, September 25
Erev Rosh Hashanah Service 8:00 PM. Oneg to follow.
https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZcqc-6tqDgiHt39_W7rFIY5hgwJlS_6kYSc
Monday, September 26
Rosh Hashanah Morning Service 10:00 AM
https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZwvduCqqDMjGd0M6I2oHwG9vRwdZpgjsiKG
Family Program including Tashlich where we symbolically cast our sins upon the water – 4:00 P.M. Bring your own bread crumbs, and shofar if you have one. Meet at the Hole in the Wall, 4 Baptist Lane in Niantic.
In person ONLY.
Tuesday, October 4
Erev Yom Kippur/Kol Nidre Service 8:00 PM
https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZIofuyqrzorG9FoBH9fNCzG7ESVS2yI6xLW
Wednesday, October 5
Yom Kippur Morning Service 10:00 AM
Yom Kippur Yizkor Service 12:00 PM
Afternoon Yom Kippur Discussion 1:00 PM
Zoom link for Yom Kippur Morning, Yizkor, and Afternoon Discussion Group
https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZElfuuhpzsrE9VlXv-Xua_OhUAkHnljhOqX
Yom Kippur Afternoon Service and Family Program, including Nielah, Havdalah and Break-the-fast, beginning at 4:00 P.M. at Temple Emanuel-El. Please note location change!
(At this time, we are unsure if we will have zoom or YouTube viewing for this program.)
Scroll down for information on Sukkot and Simchat Torah
Most services are Hybrid.
Join us in person, online or tune into our YouTube Channel (link below).
Zoom links are above and are posted in the calendar on the Temple Homepage. For Zoom – click on the link to register in advance. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting/service.
Here is the link for Temple Emanu-El YouTube page. Click on the link or copy and paste it into your browser.
A few minutes after the service starts it should show up on the YouTube Page. If the live stream is not showing up, refresh or reload the page. Or… click this link again!.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVgfsDB88VJza70CbK6UF9w
Selichot
Temple Emanu-El’s Selichot Service is on Saturday, September 17, 7:00 P.M.
Congregations Ahavath Achim, Beth El, and Beth Jacob, will join us at Temple Emanu-El for this moving service during which we will change our regular, colorful Torah mantles to white, High Holiday mantles.
Cemetery Visit
Rabbi Marc Ekstrand and Cantorial Soloist Sherry Barnes will be at the Hebrew Benevolent Society Cemetery #3 & #4 on Middle Rd. in Preston on Sunday, September 18, from 1:00 PM to 1:30 PM.
Tashlich
For the Rosh Hashanah Family Program and Tashlich, we will be on the beach at the Hole in the Wall. This is at the east end of the Niantic Boardwalk, at 4 Baptist Lane. Wear appropriate clothing for the weather and be prepared to get your feet wet and sandy!
Yom Kippur Discussion
Join Andy Feinstein and Rabbi Marc at 1 P.M.
Sixty years ago, Jews were heavily involved in the civil rights movement. Rabbis, including Abraham Joshua Heschel, marched with Dr. Martin Luther King. Synagogues, and particularly Reform temples, were centers of political activism. The words of the prophet Micah – “Adonai has told you, O man, what is good, and what the Adonai requires of you: Only to do justice And to love goodness, and to walk modestly with your God.” Reform Jews took this command to heart and actively sought to do justice in the world.
Today, however, there is often great resistance and disdain for discussing politics and other controversial topics within our spiritual communities. Congregations stand inert while major corporations and major league sports teams take highly publicized positions by boycotting states with anti-abortion or anti-LGBTQ laws. Clergy who take strong positions from the pulpit risk losing congregants. Reform congregations are so afraid of losing members that many rabbis are afraid to say what the prophets would require us to say.
Our silence is securing our irrelevance in the public square. Is this a problem? Should we sit idly by as our democratic institutions crumble? Do our spiritual leaders have an obligation to express how our Jewish values should inform our action in the public square? Should our rabbis and Reform movement provide guidance and leadership in areas like abortion, voting rights, LGBTQ rights, immigration, and anti-racism?
Let’s have a discussion. Let’s use the focus and devotion that we have on the Day of Atonement to consider these questions. Join Andy Feinstein and Rabbi Marc Ekstrand as they provide their viewpoints and facilitate the debate.
Family Programs, Yom Kippur Afternoon Service, Neilah and Break-the-fast BBQ
Family Programs on Rosh Hashanah (in Niantic) and Yom Kippur afternoon programs (at Temple Emanuel-El) are for all ages – our youngest to our most senior congregants and friends. The program activities will help us engage with the themes of the High Holy Days through meaningful, experiential activities and prayers. Family Programs for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur will both begin at 4PM. Each will last about an hour.
For the Rosh Hashanah Family Program and Tashlich, we will be on the beach at the Hole in the Wall. This is at the east end of the Niantic Boardwalk, at 4 Baptist Lane. Wear appropriate clothing for the weather and be prepared to get your feet wet and sandy!
On Yom Kippur, the Family Program will include a creative Yom Kippur Afternoon Service with the Haftarah reading from the Book of Jonah. The program will conclude with Neilah (closing Yom Kippur prayers) and Havdalah. Our Break-the-Fast will begin at approximately 5:30PM at Temple Emanuel-El. Please note location change. You don’t need to bring anything for Break-the-fast – just yourself. We will provide all of the food and refreshments.
Feeding the Hungry During Tishri
On Yom Kippur we read prophetic words of Isaiah that remind us of the Divine imperative that food and water be available for all in our community. The harvest festival of Sukkot reminds us that many of us have abundant resources to share. Let us thank God for our abundance by sharing with those in need. The Jewish Federation Food Pantry and Gemma E. Moran United Way Food Center are in need of our help. Upon arriving at all services, please place your food donations in the bins in the foyer. The mitzvah will leave you with a good taste.
Putting Up the Sukkah
For Sukkot the Brotherhood will need volunteers to put up and take down the Sukkah. Help build the Sukkah on Sunday, October 9, at 9:30 A.M. Our Sukkah is very large, so we need a lot of material for the roof (Schach, in Hebrew). Please bring materials for the Sukkah any time after Yom Kippur. Materials can be piled next to the permanent Sukkah framing that is on the east side of our parking lot. Things like ornamental grasses or cornstalks are ideal for the roof (schach). Please contact Nathaniel Rowe, nathanielbrowe@gmail.com or Richard McCaffrey, smongo51@gmail.com for further details.
Sukkot Service and Picnic Lunch
Please join us in the Sukkah for Pizza on October 9 at 5:00 P.M. A Sukkot Evening Service will follow at 6:00 P.M. inside in the sanctuary.
There will be a Sukkot Morning Service on Monday, October 10, at 10:00 A.M., followed by a potluck lunch in the Sukkah, weather permitting.
Simchat Torah
After the solemn High Holidays, participate in a truly joyful celebration. Join the entire Jewish community in celebration of the Torah at Temple B’nai Israel, 383 Jackson Street, Willimantic, CT 06226 on Sunday evening, October 16, 7:00 P.M. We will complete the yearly cycle of Torah reading and begin again. There will be music, dancing with the Torah and food. Families are especially encouraged to join in this rollicking celebration.
Shmini Atzeret/Yizkor Service will be at Temple Emanu-El on Monday, October 17, at 10:00 A.M.
High Holiday CEMETARY Services in our region
Sunday, September 18
1:00 P.M. – Rabbi Marc Ekstrand and Cantorial Soloist Sherry Barnes
Norwich Hebrew Benevolent Association Cemetery 3/4
62 Middle Road, Preston
Rabbi Ken Alter
1:00 P.M. – Ahavath Achim Cemetery Taintor Hill Road
2:00 P.M. – Jewish Aid and Lebanon Sections of Ahavath Achim Cemetery, Gillette’s Lane
Sunday, October 2
Rabbi Julius Rabinowitz
9:30 A.M. – Norwich Hebrew Benevolent Association Cemeteries 1/2
38 Rt 12, Preston
Followed directly at NHBA Cemeteries 3/4
62 Middle Road, Preston
Rabbi Earl Kideckel
10:00 A.M. – Ohave Shalom Cemetery, Boston Post Road in Waterford
11:00 A.M. – Beth El Cemetery, Lestertown Road, Groton
Rabbi Jeremy Schwartz
1:00 P.M. – Temple Bnai Israel cemetery on Rte 32 in Mansfield
Use 227 Stafford Road, Mansfield, CT 06250 in your GPS to get there
Further Information
Contact the Temple Office at 860-443-3005 with any questions.