Pre-High Holy Day Programming

During the Hebrew month of Elul, we begin a process of introspection in order to prepare for the upcoming High Holy Days. Given the extraordinary circumstances of this season this year, we developed a special calendar of activities to help us meet this particular moment together.

Special Calendar of Activities

There is truly something for everyone in this rich collection of learning and experience.

To supplement what has become our regular weekly schedule of activities - including Torah study, meditation and yoga, daily prayer, and cultural discussions - we have a number of series to help you focus on the High Holy Day themes of tefillah (prayer), tzedakah (acts of righteous caring), and teshuvah (return, repentance and repair):

High Holy Day Liturgy Series: Rabbis Brusso and Sacks offer four classes on various aspects of High Holy Day prayer (Wednesdays @ 8 pm)
Israel Speaker Series on Sundays: Guest speakers focusing on life in Israel including those who have served in the military, technology sector and philanthropy. This Sunday @ 1 pm with Amir Konigsberg, Entrepreneur and CEO of Israel Brain Technologies.
Social Action Activities: A blood drive at Bet Torah, helping community partners, creating cards to bring meaning and care to others, and many, many other opportunities.
Film Club Focus on Elul: Watch the films on your own and then come together to discuss. Two sessions will feature guest speakers (Wednesdays @ 5 pm)
Sisterhood Back to School Panels: Addressing a variety of issues particular to this year (Thursdays @ 7:45 pm)

High Holy Day Card submission deadline: TODAY, August 24!

Add your name to our card TODAY!

Adding your family to the annual Bet Torah Youth fundraiser High Holy Day Card is a wonderful tradition, and a great way to share your new year wishes to the entire congregation. The card is mailed to all our 500+ families.

In addition, there are a number of special events such as:

The High Holy Day Melody Workshops with Cantor Ezring (Mondays 8/31 and 9/14 @ 8 pm)
Bet Torah Bakes with Sisterhood and Renana Shvil (Sunday 9/13 & Monday 9/14)
A talk by Holocaust survivor Angi Richt (Thursday 9/10 @ 5 pm)
Our Great Jewish Books Club discussing Kings of Shanghai (Thursday 8/27 @ 8 pm) and Witness (Thursday 9/24 @ 8 pm)
The Men's Club Kickoff with Rabbi Brusso and Cantor Ezring (Tuesday 9/8 @ 8 pm)
A study session on the experience of virtual prayer with Michael Gordon and Kevin Kalikow (Thursday 9/3 @ 8 pm)

Access the full calendar and zoom links here and check back frequently as we will be adding programming for the days in between Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur.

And please save the date for our Selichot service, Saturday, 9/12 at 8:00 pm, when we will be honored to welcome AJC CEO David Harris as our featured speaker.

Hear the shofar each morning at our daily morning minyan (Mon-Thu @ 8 am, Fri/Sun @ 9 am)

May this season be one of growth and hope for us all.

Rabbi Lisa Sacks, Director of Community Engagement & Lifelong Learning

Jen Sokol, Vice-President for Lifelong Learning