• Pikuach Nefesh (Saving lives): The health and safety of our members, clergy and staff is the primary factor in making decisions.
• Keva and Kavanah (Fixed liturgy and Prayer experience): All services will provide participants the opportunity to fulfill their halachic requirements for prayer. We will also pay careful attention to ensure that services meet the emotional/spiritual needs of the community.
• Tafasta merube lo Tafasta (Sometimes Less is More): The experience of virtual services is not the same as an in-person service, and adjustments must be made to the liturgy to shorten the service in general and to avoid prolonged periods of silence and passive listening to readings.
• Al Tifrosh min haTzibbur (Don’t separate from the community): Usually taught in relation to the individual, here we understand this injunction to mean that our services should be as accessible as possible and include the active participation of members whenever feasible.
• Kedushat HaYom (The Sanctity of the Day): We must make every effort to set-up our holiday experiences in a way that allows people to participate without violating Shabbat or Yom Tov restrictions on the use of electronic equipment.

• Online: All Tikvat Israel services will be broadcast using our StreamSpot system. The only people who will be in the building during the service will be the rabbi, cantor, and others who are leading portions of the service. We have hired RCI Systems to produce and oversee the technical aspects of the service to provide you with the best viewing experience possible.
• Live Shofar Blowing: In the parking lot at Rockville High School and additional outdoor locations throughout the area, you can hear the shofar in-person, with social distancing.
• Machzor and Gift Bag Pick-up: At designated times, you will be able to come to the synagogue to pick up a gift bag from the congregation and copies of Machzor Lev Hadash as you need. Home delivery will be arranged for those who are unable to come in person. 
• Children/Family Programming: We will have children and family services on both Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. 
• Abbreviated Services: We have planned for each service to be 2.5 hours or (often) shorter. To achieve this, certain parts of the service will take place at different times, including Yizkor.
• Congregant Paticipation: In addition to our Torah readers and service leaders, each member will have an opportunity to share a video expressing New Year’s greetings and reflections what we love – and will miss – about being together at Tikvat Israel. 
• Selichot: On Saturday evening, September 12, at 8:30 pm we will mark Selichot with B’nai Shalom of Olney, Kehilat Shalom, and Shaare Tefila. The program and the service will be online, and we will share the link for it as we get closer.
• Tashlikh: We will provide each family with a booklet to guide you through Tashlikh. We will not have a communal Tashlikh, but we encourage you to meet up at a set location with a friend or two (while maintaining social distancing).
• Elul Programming and Side Trips: We will have a month of programming leading up to the holidays and our popular “Side Trips’ during the holiday, either by Zoom or outdoors.
• Annual Memorial at Judean Memorial Gardens: Rabbi Israel will be at Judean Memorial Gardens on Sunday, September 13, from 11:30 am – 12:30 pm. There is no communal service this year.

1. Everyone must register to attend a particular shofar blowing. Watch for a follow-up email with registration links.
2. Everyone will be assigned a parking spot upon entering (even if you walk). You may get out of your car, but you must remain in your parking spot.
3. Please leave a blank spot between you and the next car.
4. If you don’t get out of your car, please roll down your windows so you can hear the shofar.
5. Barring a torrential downpour, the shofar blowing will be rain or shine.
6. Based on the guidance of the RA’s Committee on Jewish Law and Standards for Shofar Blowing, there will be thirty blasts of the shofar, the minimum necessary to fulfill the mitzvah.

• 1:00 pm, Lucy V Barnsley Elementary School Parking Lot
• 4:00 pm, Rockville High School Back Parking Lot
• 5:00 pm, Rockville High School Back Parking Lot

• Thursday, September 10, from 5:30 – 7:00 pm
• Sunday, September 13, from 11:00 am – 1:30 pm

• Morning Services will all begin with Nishmat Kol Chai. Those who would like to recite the morning blessings and Pesukei D’Zimra should do so individually prior to the set start time.
• On Rosh Hashanah, Shacharit will be led similar to Shabbat, reciting the Amidah together, beginning out loud and then having a mix of silence recitation and singing through the end. For Musaf, everyone will have time to recite the silent Amidah individually, thereby fulfilling one’s halachic obligation. The Cantor will then lead us through an abbreviated repetition focused on the sections that have congregational melodies. The Torah readings on both mornings and the haftarah on the 2nd day will be abbreviated. On the 1st day, we will hear from a few congregants reflecting on the themes of the haftarah. We encourage you to read the remaining sections of the traditional readings on your own. 
• On Yom Kippur, we have worked to balance time for individual reflection during silent prayers and the need to shorten the service and make it more engaging on screen. Each Amidah and recitation of the confession will reflect this balance in different ways. We have moved Yizkor to the late afternoon and will recite it in conjunction with Minchah. In place of the traditional recitation of the Avodah and Martyrology services, we will have alternative reflections and study sessions. The Selichot section of each service will focus on the most essential selections. This year at Minchah, we will read the “alternative” Torah reading that our Machzor provides and the book of Jonah will be performed as a skit that will be recorded prior to Yom Kippur.
• Every effort will be made to ensure that sermons and commentaries during the service are carefully edited to ensure brevity of length while preserving depth of content.