Welcome to the 2017/5778 High Holidays with SAJ!
Non-Members, please click here to order tickets
IMPORTANT HIGH HOLY DAY INFORMATION
PLEASE READ CAREFULLY
July 28, 2017
Dear Friends,
We are delighted to offer you the opportunity to celebrate the High Holy Day
ys with the SAJ! Whether you come for our main sanctuary service, our family services or teen program, or for our non-traditional High Holy Day experience, we welcome you and hope you have a meaningful experience. Since space is limited, we ask you to make arrangements for tickets as soon as possible. Below is information on the variety of services and ordering tickets. Please do not hesitate to reach out to me by phone or by e-mail if you have any questions about our holiday services or about SAJ in general.
DATES
Rosh Hashanah - Wednesday evening, September 20 through Friday, September 22.
Kol Nidre/Yom Kippur - Friday evening, September 29 through Saturday evening, September 30.
TICKET INFORMATION
All adults need tickets to attend services. Children must have their own tickets to attend the Sanctuary Services. While there is no cost for them, children do need tickets for the Family Services. Teens will also need tickets for the Teen Programming. We request payment in full when ordering your tickets. This can be paid by credit card or check.
- ordered by Wednesday, August 23 will be mailed on/around Friday, September 8.
A CHOICE OF SERVICES
We are thrilled to have four unique and wonderful choices for your High Holy Day services. Please consider which would work best for you and your family. In addition, please note that there are times when parents are invited into the main sanctuary service. Those who attend our non-traditional High Holy Day spiritual experience are invited to attend the main sanctuary service on the second day of Rosh Hashanah, and the afternoon and Ne’ilah services on Yom Kippur.
- Sanctuary Services with Sanctuary/Balcony Seating
Rabbi Lauren Grabelle Herrmann and Cantor Lisa Arbisser will lead the Sanctuary services and will be joined by The SAJ Choir, led by Ben Gruder, and The SAJ House Band led by Naomi Less. High Holy Day services at SAJ have many special traditions, including the celebration of communal milestones on the first day of Rosh Hashanah, and the joyful, song-filled second day service, as well as thematic reflections on the holidays from three SAJ members. Following services on the second day, we are offering a light Kiddush lunch, for an additional charge. On Yom Kippur, we recite Kol Nidre, have special programming during the afternoon break between services, and conclude with a special ceremony involving all our children at Ne’ilah. There is also an annual BYO Community Break Fast.
Youth groups (childcare) will be available for children of all ticket holding adults during all morning Sanctuary services, from 10:00 AM until 1:30 PM.
- Family Services in the Social Hall
Two age-appropriate Family Services will be co-led by our Director of Education and Family Engagement, Tehilah Eisenstadt, and Matthew Check, who has co-led the Family High Holy Day Services for the past two years.
The services are interactive and age-appropriate, incorporating traditional elements of the High Holy Days services with meaningful contemporary elements including storytelling, readings, discussions and music.
These service times are:
First Day of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur mornings:
9:30 AM - 10:15 AM - For families with children ages newborn - 7.
10:45 AM - 12:00 PM - For families with children ages 8 - 12.
12:00 PM – 1:30 PM - Parents are invited to the main sanctuary to join the larger community for
a reflective part of our services, including a celebration of community milestones. This is an opportunity to be in a High Holy Day service led by our clergy. Children will remain in the Social Hall for a children’s program.
On Kol Nidre, Friday evening, September 29, there will be one Family Service for all ages from
6:00 PM - 7:15 PM. New this year -- Rabbi Lauren and Cantor Lisa will co-lead the beginning of this family service.
All children must be accompanied by an adult (not an older sibling); unaccompanied children cannot be accommodated at the Family Service.
- Teens
There will be special teen programming from 10:30 AM – 12:00 PM on the first day of Rosh Hashanah and on Yom Kippur. Then, from 12:00 - 1:30 PM, teens will have a choice of volunteering with youth groups (childcare) or in the Social Hall, or attending the Main Service in the Sanctuary. Teens are invited to the Sanctuary services the second day of Rosh Hashanah, Kol Nidre, and Neilah.
- Celebrating the High Holy Days: A Non-Traditional Spiritual Experience
The SAJ is once again offering a special High Holy Days experience, led by Rabbi Emeritus Michael Strassfeld. The program will be a non-traditional, spiritual experience in a space at West End Collegiate Church, at
Rabbi Strassfeld has shared the following description of the program. Please send it on to anyone who you think might like to attend:
The Jewish High Holy Days offers each of us the opportunity for personal change. What can I bring with me into the New Year and what can I leave behind? How can I become more like the person I want to be? This experience will focus on the themes of change rather than on the traditional liturgy. We will gather for three sessions—each only an hour and a half long. Through readings, spiritual teachings, singing wordless melodies, and quiet reflection, we will use the gift of the time of these High Holy Days to explore our inner life. Note that one must have a ticket to attend this offsite service. There is no charge for the ticket, but we are asking that people who attend these services make a donation to help cover costs for this service. Children’s youth groups (childcare) and programming will be available at this location during daytime services.
TICKET PRICES
|
Ticket Type |
Price Per Ticket (Payment by Check) |
If paying via Credit Card, Suggested Approximate Donation Per Ticket* |
|
Sanctuary |
$475 |
$13.76 |
|
Balcony |
$475 |
$13.76 |
|
Family Service |
$200 |
$5.80 |
|
First Time Attendees:
Family Service or Sanctuary Service |
$100 |
$2.90 |
|
Teens |
$50 |
$1.45 |
|
Offsite Non-TraditionalSpiritual Experience |
Donations gratefully accepted to help cover the costs of this service. Suggested Donation $36. |
2.9% of Donation per Ticket |
*The SAJ incurs a 2.9% processing fee for all credit card charges, amounting to approximately $5,000 this year.
If you do use your credit card, we would appreciate an additional donation to help defray these costs.
SEATING
The SAJ has an open seating policy by section, meaning if you have a sanctuary ticket, you can sit in any available seat in the sanctuary, a balcony ticket in the balcony, etc. On the eve of the first day of Rosh Hashanah, on the second day of Rosh Hashanah, and at the last service on Yom Kippur (Ne'ilah), adult Family Services ticket holders and balcony ticket holders are invited to the Sanctuary or anywhere in the balcony. Parents are especially encouraged to bring their children to the Sanctuary for the moving Ne’ilah/End of Yom Kippur service.
HONEY FROM THE HEART FUNDRAISER
Once again, the SAJ is participating in ORT
ORDERING TICKETS
We encourage you to purchase your High Holy Day service tickets directly through our website at www.thesaj.org, beginning August 9. Mail-in paper forms are also enclosed with this letter.
Please do not hesitate to contact Rachel Bitterfield at rbitterfield@thesaj.org or 212-724-7000 ext. 18 with questions about buying tickets. If attending High Holy Day services is an economic hardship at this time, please call. You can also contact me about any other concerns. I am looking forward to celebrating the High Holy Days with you.
Non-Members, please click here to order tickets
B'shalom,
Allison Spitz
Chair, Board of Trustees