Prepare for The High Holy Days
The month of Elul allows us to prepare our entire selves for the New Year. Please read below for all the ways you can take part in this transformation.
Prepare in TIME
Selichot - A Time for Turning
Saturday, September 9
7:00 - 9:00 pm — Main Sanctuary
As we come to the end of Elul, please join us for a beautiful meditative preparation for the High Holy Days. We will gather with candles and music in the Main Sanctuary, to offer prayers, poems and songs of selicha. We'll open our hearts for teshuvah so we can come back to our best selves as we enter the High Holy Day season. There will be moments for everyone to take personal time at the open Ark, and we will end with a l'chayim - blessings of hope as we come together to open the gates to welcome in the new year.
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*This service is open to members and the entire community. Registration is required for in-person attendance only. This event will also be livestreamed on our website.
High Holy Day Mikvah Events:
The High Holy Days are a time where we open ourselves up and look deep inside our souls to examine who we have been and who we want to be. We confront who we are and what we can change, as well as what we cannot control.
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​Women's Mikvah with Rabbi Sydney Mintz– Sunday, September 10, 8:00 am meet at Baker Beach -Please join us for our beautiful annual ritual of mikvah including meditation, chanting and immersion in the incredible Pacific Ocean at Baker Beach. Please bring warm clothes, a towel and an open heart. Our 8:00 am mikvah is for female community members.​REGISTER HERE
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The Tribe for Men Mikvah, with Rabbi Bauer – Sunday, September 17, 6:00 am meet at Aquatic Park - For male members. Join Rabbi Bauer and your fellow Tribesmen for this morning of spiritual exploration and preparation. We will meet at Aquatic Park for a short meditation followed by our mikvah in the ocean at dawn! Bring warm clothes, a towel. We will then travel back to Emanu-El for 2nd Day Rosh HaShanah Services.
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Shabbat: Rituals and Recipes with cookbook author Adeena Sussman – Live cooking demonstration and interview with Rabbi Sydney Mintz at the Contemporary Jewish Museum
Saturday, September 23rd, 1:00-2:30 pm
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Shabbat meals are all about gathering and unwinding with friends and family over nosh that feeds the soul. Dive into some of the traditions and recipes of the Shabbat table during this discussion and cooking demonstration with author and Bay Area native Adeena Susman and Rabbi Sydney Mintz. This program is presented on the occasion of Sussman’s new cookbook Shabbat: Recipes and Rituals from My Table to Yours, which offers a personal take on the food of Shabbat. Throughout the book, Sussman shares how the “Shabbat table is a centering force, a nourishing place where one and all are welcome. It’s an opportunity every week to feed the soul.” Get ready for a fun talk, demonstration, and small bites of some of Sussman’s recipes.
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Prepare in SPACE
Joining us via livestream? Be sure to follow along with the High Holy Day Machzorim (prayerbooks). Here are two ways to get them:
Click here to order hard copy prayerbooks from CCAR to add to your Jewish library.
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Click here for the Kindle version to use while watching the services on a different device
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Prepare in HOME
Set up your home as Jewish space for participating in the High Holy Day Services. Put out fresh cut flowers, apples and honey, candles, a shofar or other meaningful Jewish objects.
Set your table with a beautiful cloth, pictures of loved ones and other items that will help your home become a sacred space.
Dress for the occasion: wear clothes that help you feel special and in the moment. Try out wearing a kittel or other traditional white garments.
Prepare to REPAIR THE WORLD
Participate in a variety of opportunities to repair your community and the world around you.
