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Join Us for the High Holidays 2021/5782

Join us for the High Holidays!

This page contains all you need to know about our High Holidays 5782 observance.  Here are the topics covered with links to the sections.  Where available or required, registration and sign up are noted.

Questions?  Email Leslie Knight, programming@bethelohim.org or our synagogue administrator, Shoshana, szuckerman@bethelohim.org.
 

Max Bruch’s Kol Nidrei featuring Edwin Barker, Principal Bass of the Boston Symphony

Edwin Barker is Principal Bass of the BSO. He and his wife Pam Paikin were long-time members of CBE until moving closer to the city. In past years, Ed performed Bruch's Kol Nidrei during our Erev Yom Kippur service. Just before the holidays this year he surprised us with the gift of this lovely video, along with the following message: 

Greetings Congregation Beth Elohim,

This performance of Max Bruch’s Kol Nidrei was recorded live in the home studio of Deborah DeWolf Emery, who is  my accompanist in this performance. This recording was done in September of 2020 during the height of the COVID Pandemic shutdown when no live audience performance opportunities were possible. It is a “living room” video performance captured on a couple of iPhones that was, of necessity, so typical of those difficult times. 

Bruch’s KOL NIDREI is the well known complete realization and variation of the ancient melody. Bruch originally wrote it for cello, but I perform it on double bass, which I think has a very noble and “cantorial” voice. It is my honor to dedicate our interpretation of this most meaningful prayer to Sarra and the entire congregation of Beth Elohim. 

Pam and I wish you all a Happy and Healthy New Year!  

Adult services - in person and on ZOOM

We are excited to welcome members and non-members to observe the High Holidays with the CBE community. L’shanah tovah u’metukah, our best wishes for a good and sweet and healthy year

Given the constantly-changing situation with the pandemic, we have developed a series of ways to participate in High Holiday services and other programs this year. We feel it is critical that we continue to provide high-quality virtual access to services, so that anyone who is not able or wishing to join us in person can still feel the deep connection during these Days of Awe.

In person

For those attending services in-person, we wish to share with you the protocols we have put in place to avoid transmission of COVID. The COVID Task Force utilized a modeling program to better understand our space and risk of transmission under various situations. As a result of that work, we have made several determinations.

  • We are requiring that all participants 12 years and older be vaccinated in order to enter the synagogue.
  • We are requiring universal masking for all individuals 2 years and older.  
  • Our clergy and any choir and prayer leaders who will not be masked 100% of the time will take rapid COVID tests on the day of services to ensure that they are not contagious.  
  • If the weather is potentially rainy, please bring an umbrella/ rain jacket. The Shofar Service will be outdoors rain or shine, with only the shofar blower covered.  
  • Households will be separated by at least 2 seats and rows of chairs will be at least 3 feet apart.  Please follow the seating instructions by your friendly ushers. They will help you find a seat with adequate spacing for your household.  Seating will be 20 feet from the choir, a recommended distance.
  • As much as we would love to see as many people as possible in-person, please DO NOT join in-person services if your medical provider recommends that you not attend services or if you have illness symptoms/COVID exposure/pending COVID test.  Again, safety should always be the first consideration.

We will email High Holiday tickets on or around August 27 to all members in good standing and to non-members that purchase tickets for in person services.

At the door, each person may choose to either show the greeters the electronic ticket on their device or print it in advance and present a paper ticket when they arrive.

ZOOM

Members will receive notification of the ZOOM links and passwords for all services.  Non-members are welcome to join us and must register for ZOOM services below. See the TICKETS section below.

 

Children's programming - in person and on ZOOM

 

Changes have been made to the available children's programming on Rosh Hashanah based on enrollment.  

We are happy to offer in person children's services, for grades K through 6 on Rosh Hashanah Day 1.  There will be no children's programming on Rosh Hashanah Day 2.

For Yom Kippur, you may register for K through 6 children's programming and childcare for ages 3 months through pre-K. 

On Rosh Hashanah Morning Day 1 (grades 4 to 6 only) and Yom Kippur morning, in person children's programming ends at 11:30.  

In addition, we are offering a 1 hour afternoon Children's programming via ZOOM (no registration required). 

In Person programming

Children must be registered by Tuesday, August 31st to attend this in person programming for Rosh Hashanah and by Monday, September 13th to attend this in person programming for Yom Kippur.  Parents must register their children (through grade 6) for the grade appropriate childcare and children's program using the High Holidays Children's Registration Form.   

Ages 12 and over, if medically eligible, must be fully vaccinated to participate in the in person children's programming.  We are requiring universal masking for all individuals 2 years and older.  Services are limited to one hour to minimize indoor time and snacks will only be consumed outdoors.

The fee, regardless of the number of services attended, is $18 per child with a cap of $36 per family. 

Please let CBE know if your child has any food allergies or needs any accommodations.  Email Leslie Knight at programming@bethelohim.org.

Volunteer to help with children for in person programming

Our High Holiday service leaders and program coordinators are looking for a number of parent volunteers to assist with greeting and signing in children and assist during the children's services for one hour shifts.  If you are willing to help, please select from the drop down menu at the bottom of the High Holidays Children's Registration Form when you register your children.  

Z'man Kehilah: children's afternoon programing on ZOOM

On the first day of Rosh Hashanah and on Yom Kippur our Director of Education, Beth Goldstein, will lead a one-hour afternoon program for grades K-7. Z’man Kehilah will be an opportunity for children and families to gather in community to sing and celebrate the new year.

This will be offered on ZOOM only, and the log-in will be provided to anyone receiving tickets or purchasing Zoom access.  If you believe that your child or another close contact would be at increased risk for COVID morbidity, it may be preferable to have your child participate in the virtual programming only. All children are welcome to join for Z’man Kehilah on Zoom, whether or not they participate in the morning youth programming. Contact Beth at bethg@bethelohim.org if you haven't received the Zoom link by August 30.

 

Tickets

Member tickets for in person services with ZOOM information

Family, Single, and Young Adult Members in good standing (and others with prior arrangement) will receive an email on or around August 27 that will serve as your High Holiday tickets. This ticket email will be sent to the adult family members that we have email addresses for and will cover their children up through college age. For in person services, you should be prepared to show this ticket email at the door. You can choose to show tickets on your cell phone or you may print the email and bring that with you. The ticket email will also include the ZOOM link and password for ZOOM services for those that want to attend some, but not all, services in person.

If you have any questions regarding your account, you may contact our financial secretary, Kathie Becker at financialsecretary@bethelohim.org. If you do not receive your ticket, please contact Shoshana Zuckerman at szuckerman@bethelohim.org by August 31.

Non-member tickets, congregant additional family tickets, and associate member tickets for in person services

Congregants may purchase tickets for additional family members that will join in person services with them at $75 per ticket.  Associate members may purchase tickets at the same price.  We welcome non-members to join us in person by purchasing tickets at $350 per adult and $75 per college age or younger. 

Use this ticket order form to purchase these tickets.  You will receive a confirmation email upon registration and you will receive a separate email with your ticket. If you register by August 26 you will receive your ticket on or around August 27. If you register after August 27 you will receive your ticket before the holidays begin.

The ticket email will also include the ZOOM link and password for ZOOM services.

Non-Member, congregant additional family, and associate member registration for ZOOM services

We welcome non-members, congregant additional family members and associate members to join our ZOOM services if they prefer that over our in person services.  We are asking for a payment of $75 for non-members and $36 for congregant additional family members and associate members. Use this online form to register. You must register in order to receive the ZOOM links and passwords for all services.

Reciprocal tickets

No cost reciprocal tickets are available to congregant family members or to associate members who belong to a synagogue outside of our area upon receipt of written confirmation of their membership in good standing from their synagogue. You may provide the written confirmation to our synagogue administrator, Shoshana at szuckerman@bethelohim.org and we will email you tickets and provide ZOOM links and passwords prior to Rosh Hashanah.

Prospective members

The High Holidays are the perfect time to welcome prospective new members to our CBE community. If you are considering joining CBE and would like to attend High Holiday services as our guest for the first time, please call 978-263-3061 or email  membership@bethelohim.org .  We will be glad to email tickets to you for in person services and provide you the ZOOM links and passwords if you prefer to participate via ZOOM.  We can also tell you more about CBE membership and reduced rates for new members.  

 

Our Personal Journeys Toward Rebirth and Renewal

Yom Kippur presents an opportunity to take stock of where we’ve been as a community and as individuals, and to commit to returning to values that we hold dear.  This year, we’d like to honor congregants’ personal journeys throughout that process.

We invite you to write down any mistakes, negative behaviors, or destructive patterns you’d like to acknowledge.  They can be private or public, chronic challenges or things that happened this past year.  You don’t have to know how to solve them.  The process of teshuvah, return, begins with honesty.

In addition, we invite you to write down internal strengths that you can call upon to help move you through the journey toward repair and wholeness: character traits; personal practices; spiritual or ethical forces that live inside of you.

We hope to include these contributions in our Yom Kippur services.  Of course, this will be completely anonymous.  Do not log into your website account when you complete this form and it will not connect back to your name or email address.

Thank you for being part of our communal journey towards rebirth and renewal.  In addition, if this exercise brings up emotions that you’d like to process with our clergy, please don’t hesitate to reach out.

Submit your input below.  To remain anonymous, do not log into your website account. You are entering here, but your input will not be stored or visible on this page. 

 

Prayer Book Available Online and Hard Copy

We will be using a customized version of the prayer book, B'Seifer Chayim: A Machzor for the Days of Awe and for Yom Kippur Afternoon Services, we will be using the Machzor Hadash.   We are using the same prayer book as last year with some minor changes.  So, there is no need to order this year if you received a hard copy last year.

If you are joining services in person, books will be provided on site.

If you are joining us via ZOOM, you can download the B'Seifer Chayim HERE.   For Yom Kippur Yizkor Service, you can download the Machzor Hadash HERE.

If you would like a hard copy of these books and can pick up at CBE, you may also order a copy of B'Seifer Chayim: A Machzor for the Days of Awe HERE.  Cost is $10.  Deadline for ordering is September 1.  We will let you know when the hard copies are available to be picked up.  When you come to CBE to pick up the copy of this Machzor, you can borrow a Machzor Hadash book also.

 

High Holiday Appeal 5782 - Celebrating our CBE Heroes

Each week this fall, throughout this year’s High Holiday Appeal, we will recognize and celebrate the contributions of the many “CBE Heroes” in our community whose lives reflect Jewish values like Tikkun Olam (Repairing the World)  and Gemilut Hasidim (Acts of Loving Kindness), and who provide a beacon to us all.

Please click here to nominate one or more CBE members or staff as CBE Heroes and tell us about the difference they have made in the world. Whether their actions are “large” or “small”, take a moment to recognize anyone who makes our community a better place.

As we celebrate and honor our heroes, we ask each of you to make a financial contribution in whatever amount you can so that CBE is able to grow and live up to our greatest values.

To learn more about this year's High Holiday appeal, and to donate, CLICK HERE.  You will also find the list of our CBE heroes updated weekly on that page!

Yizkor Memorial Booklet and Video

Yizkor is our service to remember the sweet souls that we have lost, individually and as a Beth Elohim Community. We have Yizkor four times a year. Yom Kippur, Shemini Atzeret, at the end of Sukkot, and the last day of Pesach; and Shavuot. Many of the Torah readings on these days mention the importance of tzedakah, assistance to those in need. In gratitude for the gift of the lives of our close family members and friends, it is customary to donate tzedakah in their memory - carrying on their names in this world. 

Each year we print a booklet remembering loved ones, for distribution at the Yizkor service on Yom Kippur. Please contact Lori at llafayette@bethelohim.org if you wish to add the name of any loved ones to this year's booklet . Names must be received by August 20 in order to be included.

This Yom Kippur, we will also memorialize our departed loved ones in a video. If there are people you are remembering this year, please send a photo of your loved ones, along with their names and anything you would like to share about them, to szuckerman@bethelohim.org, or upload to this Google Docs folder  by August 20. 

High Holidays Annual Food Drive for the Acton Food Pantry

Acton Food Pantry serves a critical need in our community by feeding hungry families in our community. Please give generously!

Instructions: Pack your items in bags or boxes and bring to the synagogue parking lot on Kol Nidre, Wednesday evening, September 15th or on Yom Kippur morning, Thursday, September 16th.

Check the Star-Lite for the list of critical needs, baby items, personal care, and other recommended items for donation.

 

 

Fri, March 24 2023 2 Nisan 5783