Getting closer…

Dear Congregation Beth iIsrael members and friends,

The moon of Elul is waxing. In a short two and a half weeks we’ll celebrate Rosh Hashanah. The Days of Awe are coming soon!

Roadmap of the season — our spiritual runway to transformation.

Coming up

Join us for Selichot at 8pm on August 28 — the service that launches the high holiday season with music, contemplation, and an opportunity to write down the places where we missed the mark in the old year so that we can begin to let them go and prepare to change. (Onsite and online.)

Join us for our annual cemetery service at 2pm on August 29 at the CBI cemetery. (Onsite only.)

And join us for an erev Rosh Hashanah seder at 7pm on September 6 as we enter the new year together. (Online only.) Our full schedule of high holiday offerings is here.

Preparing for Rosh Hashanah

Our Erev Rosh Hashanah celebration this year will once again be a Rosh Hashanah seder interwoven with the evening service, featuring symbolic foods and drinks to cue up the inner journey of entering the new year. Many of you told me that last year’s Rosh Hashanah seder was a meaningful way to launch the new year together from our dining tables. I’m looking forward to being with you on Zoom for that experience this year.

If you are joining us on Zoom on Rosh Hashanah eve (7pm on Monday, September 6), these are the ideal items to have on hand:

  • candles,
  • wine or grape juice,
  • a round challah or cracker,
  • some apple slices and honey,
  • something bitter or spicy (wasabi paste, an onion slice, a spoonful of vinegar),
  • and dates or anything sweet (any dried fruit would work well, or in a pinch, even just a little bit of sugar.)

And if there are items on this list that you can’t find or don’t have, don’t worry about it: we will make it work with whatever we’ve got!

And one final note

If you are waiting to hear back from us about which service/s you may attend onsite, please bear with us.

The CBI Board is meeting tonight to look at local COVID data and information from other congregations, and will make a final determination about our plans. Once we have that information, we’ll work on figuring out how each service will unfold, and we’ll be in touch as soon as we can. Thanks for your patience as we navigate shifting pandemic realities and public health guidance.

Blessings to all for a meaningful journey through Elul —

Rabbi Rachel

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