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Rockaway Jewish Community Prepare For High Holy Days 



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The all-important High Holy Day season starts this week in the Jewish religion, and Rockaway’s synagogues are working to get ready. 

This Sunday kicks off the holiday season with the holiday of Rosh Hashanah. 

Rosh Hashanah, which marks the New Year in the Jewish Calendar, begins on Sunday, Sept. 25, till the nightfall of Sept. 27. 

Services will take place at the West End Temple starting at 6:30 with a “Birthday of the World: Rosh Hashanah Children’s Service,” Followed by the adult evening services beginning at 7:30 pm. As well as at Temple Beth-El at 6:30 pm on Sunday the 25th, 9:15 am and 7:15 pm on Monday the 26th, along with a 9:15 am service on Tuesday the 27th.

This holiday is followed by Yom Kippur, considered the holiest day of the year in Judaism. This holiday, which takes place from sunset on Oct. 4 to nightfall on Oct. 5th, is said to be the day you are closest to God, as well as the day Jews afflict their souls. Throughout the holiday, Jews don’t consume food or water as well as abstain from any material relations. Throughout this day, they dedicate their time to prayer. 

West End Temple will offer services throughout this day, starting at 10:30 am with their Yom Kippur morning service, followed by a family service at 2:30 pm. A yizkor (memorial) service starts at 4:30 pm, and  Neilah (concluding) service begins at 7:30 pm. Temple Beth-El will also be hosting Yom Kippur services on Tuesday the 4th at 6 pm and the following morning, Wednesday the 5th, for Yizkor services at 9:15 am. 

Next on the Calendar five days after Yom Kippur is Sukkot, which begins on Oct. 9 and lasts till the 16th. Sukkot is a holiday celebrated in a Sukkah where Jews celebrate the gathering of the harvest and commemorate the miraculous protection God provided for the children of Israel when they left Egypt. This holiday will be celebrated at West End Temple beginning on the 9th with the decorating of the Sukkah and family service starting at 4 pm, and the following day, October 10th at 10:30 am for Family Services. Temple Beth-El will offer services Monday (10th) and Tuesday morning (11th) at 9:15 am. 

The October High Holy Day season comes to a conclusion with the holiday of the Simchat Torah. Simchat Torah is Celebrated from Oct. 16 till the 18th. This holiday celebrates the conclusion of the Torah. The congregation celebrates by parading the streets with the Torah. West End temple will be Offering services a Simchat Torah Yizkor service at 10:30 am on Monday, October 17th. Temple Beth-el will also be offering a Yizkor service at 9:15 am the morning of Monday, October 17th followed by another morning Service Tuesday, October 18th.

“Judaism is characterized in large part by communal gatherings and rituals. Loud noises wake us from our sleep at home.” Rabbi Matt Carl of Temple Beth-El told The Wave, “But it is the shofar, blasted before the entire congregation, that wakes us spiritually, that rouses us from our lethargy to serve a higher purpose.” 

Rabbi Rebecca Epstein from West End Temple added, “We are excited to celebrate the Jewish New Year with beautiful music, meaningful prayers, and a warm and welcoming community. We look forward to seeing old friends as well as new faces during this season of renewal and return.”

 

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