High Holy Days and Other Holidays
High Holy Days
TEMV maintains its long-standing tradition of open and free seating during the High Holy Days. Every year, we open our doors to anyone who wants to attend, selling no tickets, with no reserved seating. We’ve done this for the entire time the temple has been in existence. It is part of who we are.
We welcome all who wish to explore Jewish practice—our membership includes both Jewish and Jewish/interfaith families, families of multiple ethnicities and geographic backgrounds, and LGBTQ+ families and individuals.
Please see our service schedule for the High Holy Days this year. We hope you will join us!
Of particular note are our afternoon “family” services on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. These brief, engaging services will include the liturgical highlights for each holy day, as well as songs, a story, shofar calls, and (on Rosh Hashanah) honey sticks! All are welcome — this is a wonderful opportunity for adults and children to worship together, as well as for those who may have other school or work obligations in the morning, are looking for a taste of TEMV, or would simply enjoy a shorter service. Invite your friends, neighbors, and relatives! We will also be offering concurrent children’s activities and babysitting (but not a children’s service) during our morning services on both days.
We use the Central Conference of American Rabbi’s new Mishkan HaNefesh (“Sanctuary of the Soul”) as our machzor (High Holiday prayer book).
Other Holidays
We celebrate other holidays in a variety of ways, including a second-night pot-luck Passover seder, a Tu B’Sh’vat seder, a Torah unrolling for Simchat Torah, and a rollicking Purim service. Check the calendar to see what’s coming up!
This Week
-
Board Meeting
October 17, 2019 @ 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm
The TEMV board normally meets on the 2nd Thursday of the month. Members are welcomed and encouraged to attend.
-
Religious School - Half Day; 11am Simchat Torah celebration & Consecration of new students
October 20, 2019 @ 10:00 am - 12:00 pm
Yom Kippur Sermon 5780: Feeding Our Hungry Neighbors
Written by Rabbi Robin Sparr and Jo Rothman. Delivered by Rabbi Robin Sparr.
Shana tova and g’mar tov.
Many of us are at the beginning of a long and hungry day, and while we strive to keep our thoughts focused on teshuva, return, and renewal, a little part of us may at times drift towards the clock, counting the hours until we can eat.
For some of us, a day without food is a once-a-year affair, and we associate it with this Day of Atonement and fasting. But for many people both within and outside of our community, hunger is a familiar thing, a part of daily life.
Kol Nidre Sermon 5780: Revealing Our Integrated, Authentic Selves
By Rabbi Robin Sparr.
When I first came to TEMV, a member mentioned she felt a sermon was only successful if it gave her something to think about, and something to do. Throughout these High Holy Days, I’ve made sure to include a specific call to action in each sermon. I thank the many of you who signed postcards addressed to the Speaker of the House last week regarding our country’s immigration policies; if you did not have an opportunity to do so, there are still additional postcards at the sign-in table, and I would be happy to post them for you.
Tomorrow I will ask you to take action again, in support of those facing food insecurity. But tonight, at Kol Nidrei, as we engage in an accounting of our souls, I invite you to take action for yourself. (more…)
Kol Nidre and Yom Kippur Services This Week, Plus Shabbat Services and More
Please join us for Kol Nidre and Yom Kippur services this Tuesday and Wednesday, and for Shabbat services on Friday!
Here’s Why
TEMV is:
-
Supportive of our members in both joyful and challenging times
-
Inclusive across all aspects of identity
-
Musical, celebratory, and reflective in our worship
-
Contemporary and open-minded in our thinking about what it means to be Jewish
-
Heartfelt in our welcome of interfaith families
-
Active in working towards social justice in our community and around the world
