Rosh Hashanah
Rosh Hashanah, translated as Head of the Year, begins on the first of Tishrei. This holiday celebrates the good things we have experienced in the previous year, and also launches a time of personal reflection. Rosh Hashanah begins the High Holidays or Days of Awe, leading up to Yom Kippur. In the Torah the holiday is called Yom Teruah - The Day of Sounding the Shofar. Most of the ritual for the holiday is in the synagogue, including listening to the many blasts of the shofar.

The service in the synagogue has special extended prayers to mark the solemnity of the day. There is often a different prayer book used from the weekly Shabbat service.

The festival meal for Rosh Hashanah contains many symbols to celebrate our good fortune and our hopes for sweetness for a new year. The traditions for our table may change depending on what region our ancestors are from. Families of Sephardic and Mizrahi origin have a Rosh Hashanah Seder at their holiday tables. Every dish comes with a special blessing for the coming year.

Yom Kippur
Yom Kippur, translated Day (Yom) Atonement (Kippur/Kaparah), begins on the tenth of Tishrei.

Considered the holiest day in the Jewish calendar, it is a day we are to make amends with our friends and family and commit to change our behavior. Most of the ritual for the holiday is based in the synagogue, including special prayers, special tunes, and hearing the shofar blasts. Personal observance of the holiday is to leave behind the mundane and regular practice of daily life. Adults refrain eating or drinking for 25 hours. It is traditional to dress in white on this day, symbolizing personal purity.

For those observing Yom Kippur fast, it's traditional to eat a Seudat HaMafseket (Meal of Separation). The meal is generally a simple one, and it's smart to include fiber-rich, low-sodium foods that will offer those fasting sustained energy. Even though the Yom Kippur holiday begins at sunset, we make the meal before the holiday even starts, a festive one. Yom Kippur is a solemn holiday, but we want to express that we are going into the holiday with joy. After enjoying the meal, Yom Kippur begins with a special service in the synagogue called Kol Nidre.

Sukkot
Sukkot begins on the 15th of Tishrei. It follows five days after Yom Kippur. It is quite a drastic transition, from one of the most solemn holidays in our year to one of the most joyous.
The holiday has many names.

• Sukkot means booth or tabernacle. Part of our celebration of the holiday is to build a booth, a Sukkah. This is why the holiday is called the festival of booths.
• Sukkot is so joyful that it is commonly referred to as Z'man Simchateinu, the “Season of our Rejoicing”
• Much of the imagery and ritual of the holiday revolves around rejoicing and gratitude for the completed harvest. The festival is also called hag ha-asif, “The Harvest Festival.”

In addition to eating and enjoying time in a Sukkah, observance during Sukkot involves what are known as the Four Species (arba minim in Hebrew) or the lulav and etrog. We are commanded to take these four plants and use them to "rejoice before the L-rd." The four species are an etrog (a citrus fruit similar to a lemon native to Israel; in English it is called a citron), a palm branch (in Hebrew, lulav), two willow branches (aravot), and three myrtle branches (hadassim). The six branches are bound together with dried palm leaves, the willow positioned on the left, the palm in the middle and the myrtle on the right. They are referred to collectively as the lulav, because the palm branch is by far the largest part. The etrog is held separately. When you purchase a lulav and etrog (usually through your synagogue or a local Jewish Community Center), With these four species in hand, one recites a blessing and waves the species in all six directions (east, south, west, north, up and down).

Simchat Torah and Shemini Atzeret
Shemini Atzeret means the “Eighth Day of Assembly,” while Simchat Torah means “Rejoicing in Torah”

The observance of Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah are centered in the synagogue and community. The seventh day of Sukkot is called Hoshanah Rabah. On that day in the synagogue, Jews circle the room seven times while the arbat ha’minim are held and special prayers are recited.

Join us for these 2023 High Holiday Programs

High Holiday Food Drive
Monday, August 28 - Wednesday, September 27 | 7:30 am - 5 pm | FREE

Join us in support of the High Holiday Food Drive benefiting Community Food Share’s ongoing fight against hunger in Boulder and Broomfield Counties. The Boulder JCC will start collecting non-perishable food items at the Fall Festival on Monday, August 28. The drive will run until Wednesday, September 27 with the bins being located in the Boulder JCC lobby from 7:30 am - 5:00 pm for collection. If you can't make it to the Boulder JCC, please consider donating online at: https://give.communityfoodshare.org/fundraiser/4871545
Reminder to check “best by” dates, to avoid glass jars, and to consider the list of foods when donating. These items should be packaged and non-perishable. Consider donating the healthier options of food products. 

Reverse Tashlich
Sunday, September 10 | 9:30am - 12 pm | FREE

Tashlich is a Rosh Hashanah ritual in which Jews begin the new year by symbolically casting off last year's sins by tossing pebbles or bread crumbs into a body of water. In 2016, the college division of Repair the Sea (Scubi Jew®?) at Eckerd College conceived the idea of hosting a Reverse Tashlich, a beach cleanup to remove human "sins" from the water. Every year since the program has expanded as new communities have joined and removed thousands of pounds of debris from waterfront locations around the world as part of their High Holiday observance. This year the Boulder JCC is partnering with Inland Ocean Coalition, Colorado Jewish Climate Action (CJCA), Bonai Shalom, and Har Hashem to host a family-friendly creek cleanup in Boulder. Exact location details will be provided before the event to those that register.

Sukkot on the Farm
Sunday, October 1 | 10 - 11:30 am | $10

Bring all generations of your family to Milk and Honey Farm to celebrate the Jewish harvest festival of Sukkot. Celebrate the agricultural festival of thanksgiving and commemorate the 40-year period during which the children of Israel wandered the desert after leaving slavery in Egypt. Spend time in the Sukkah, shake the Lulav, feed the animals, taste our farm's bounty, and participate in other seasonal farm activities at the Milk and Honey Farm. This program is designed for children 2-8 years old and their families. Advance registration is required.

Sushi in the Sukkah
Thursday, October 5 | 4:30 - 6:30 pm | $15

Roll into Fall by celebrating Sukkot with a sushi feast in the Sukkah! Bring a friend or make new ones, taste delicious sushi, and create lasting memories at the annual Sushi in the Sukkah party. Open to grades 8 - 12, this event is partnered with USY chapter from Bonai Shalom.

New(ish) to Boulder: Pizza Tasting in the Sukkah
Thursday, October 5 | 12 - 1:30 pm | $20 per person

What is your favorite pizza in Boulder County? That is one of the most popular New(ish) to Boulder questions! Join us in the Boulder JCC Sukkah as we put a few local pizza options to the test, schmooze, and celebrate Sukkot together.