Join Us for the High Holidays 2024/5785

High Holidays Message from Rabbi David

Read the full message here.

This year, our theme will be Joyfully Jewish at CBE. Joy is a critical aspect of Jewish life, so much so that there are at least a dozen words in Hebrew for joy. Most of us know simcha, which also means a joyous occasion like a wedding or B’nai mitzvah. Oneg also means joy, as in celebrating the joy of Shabbat with some fruit and cookies after services. The Jewish wedding service includes many more words for joy.

How can we focus on Joy during such turbulent times, when the future of America, Israel, and the Jewish people seem so fraught and uncertain? Perhaps it would be more fitting to take off the “J” and just have it be the year of “Oy!” 

Read more ...

►E-Ticketing for Congregants:

• Family, Single, and Young Adult congregants, with accounts in good standing, will receive a "ticket email" on or about September 19th that will serve as your family's High Holiday services ticket for the adult services in the sanctuary. This ticket email will be sent to the adult family members to the email address that we have in our member directory. The ticket email will be issued from the Congregation Beth Elohim email address:  cbe_main@bethelohim.org.
• The ticket email will also include the ZOOM link and password for ZOOM services in the event that you will attend all or some services via ZOOM.
• For ease of email search, we will re-issue this ticket email on or about October 2nd and October 11th, just prior to each holiday.
• For security purposes, please be prepared to show your ticket at the door, either printed or on your phone. Please do not forward your ticket email to others.

If you have any questions regarding your account, you may contact our financial secretaries, Kathie Becker and Alan Berko, at financialsecretary@bethelohim.org. If you do not receive your ticket by  September 24th and you have checked your spam/ junk folder and have confirmed no issue with your CBE account balance, please contact Gary Budiansky at websupport@bethelohim.org.

Childcare and children's programming

Programming for children 3 months to grade 6

Sign-up using the High Holidays Children's Registration Form by Monday, September 30th or by Wednesday, October 9th if only registering for Yom Kippur morning.

Please be sure to let us know, on the sign up form, if your child has any food allergies or needs any accommodations.  You may email Leslie Knight at programming@bethelohim.org if you have questions or want to provide further information.

• Childcare on the two days of Rosh Hashanah and on Yom Kippur morning from 9:30 AM until the end of adult services for children ages 3 months to Pre-K. 
• Children's services and programming for students in grades K through 6 on the first day of Rosh Hashanah and on Yom Kippur morning

For students in grades 8 to 12, there are a limited number of volunteer opportunities to assist with children's programming. Find more information below and Sign up HERE to volunteer or parents may sign up their teen(s) at the bottom of the Children's programming registration form.

High Holiday Appeal

CBE's High Holiday Appeal is under way!  Everyone's generous contributions to our annual appeal enable us to express our joy and pride in being a diverse community of Jews in so many ways. Across CBE, the common thread is our being members of an active Jewish community that welcomes all and continues to provide a wide variety of engaging programs to meet the needs and interests of our unique membership.

Congregants have received postal mail noting several ways that CBE served our community's diversity this past year.  Please see our letter HERE.

Your High Holiday contribution, large or small, will help ensure that CBE will always be here to celebrate and support you and your family.

We hope you'll support this year's High Holiday appeal through a donation. You can donate online, selecting "High Holiday Appeal" in the dropdown list. or you can mail or drop off your donation in the envelope enclosed in the High Holiday Appeal mailing that congregants received.

Yom Kippur Afternoon Discussions

3:15 PM to 4:15 PM

Lay-led meditation & chanting the Book of Jonah

4:15 PM to 5:00 PM

Rabbi's Discussion: Being Jewish On Campus Today

Rabbi David is gathering a panel of college students to talk about their experiences on campus after October 7th, the campus protest and growing antisemitism.

While each student will have their own experience, it is important for those of us not on campus to hear the voices of those who are, as well as what support would be helpful.

Please contact Rabbi David ASAP at rabbidavid@bethelohim.org if you have a college student or recent college graduate who will be home for Yom Kippur and would like to participate. 

Yizkor Memorial Booklet

During the Yizkor service, we remember our family members, congregants, and friends who have passed. Yizkor services take place four times each year: Yom Kippur, Shemini Atzeret (at the end of Sukkot), the last day of Passover, and Shavuot. 

Each year we create a Yizkor Memorial Booklet naming those we are remembering. During September, we will be creating our new booklet for 5785. As in the past, we wil automatically add the names of loved ones lost by congregants during 5784.

Here is this year's Yizkor Book.

In honor of the gift of our loved ones’ lives and contributions, there is also a custom to donate tzedakah (assistance to those in need) or to the synagogue community.