High Holidays

While the decision for "another year of life" is handed down on Rosh Hashana, the verdict is not "sealed" until Yom Kippur. Therefore, the 10 days from Rosh Hashana to Yom Kippur are a crucial period when our final judgment "hangs in the balance."

September 5-6

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Rosh Hashanah

Rosh Hashanah is the Jewish new year, the beginning of the month of Tishrei. On this holiday God reviews the behavior of all His subjects and decrees their fate for the coming year. We blow the Shofar on Rosh Hashanah, declaring that God is our King and we are His devoted subjects.

Rosh Hashanah is a time of judgment, tempered with the great love God has for His people.

A key component of Rosh Hashanah preparation is to ask for forgiveness from anyone we may have wronged during the previous year. To the greatest extent possible, we want to begin the year with a clean slate – and without anyone harboring a grudge against us. Similarly, we should be quick to forgive those who have wronged us.

Many people have the custom of going to the mikveh before Rosh Hashanah after midday. A mikveh, which has the power to purify from certain types of spiritual impurities, can be an important part of the teshuva process.

Some have the custom of visiting a cemetery on the day before Rosh Hashanah and praying at the graves of the righteous. Of course, we do not pray “to” the righteous, but only to God who hears our prayers in the merit of the righteous.

The morning before Rosh Hashanah, we perform “Hatarat Nedarim” – annulling of vows. In Torah terms, saying something as simple as “I refuse to eat candy” can be considered a legal vow. Therefore, before Rosh Hashanah, we annul any vows, whether made intentionally or not. This is done by standing in front of three adult males and asking to be released from one’s vows. The full text can be found in a Siddur or Rosh Hashanah Machzor.

On Rosh Hashanah, we eat foods that symbolize good things we hope for in the coming year. We contemplate what these foods symbolize, and connect with the Source of all good things. Here is a list from the Talmud of symbolic foods customarily eaten on Rosh Hashanah.

Symbolic Foods for Rosh Hashanah

Printable Simanim Cards

Printable Simanim Cards

Yom Kippur

Yom Kippur, the day of atonement, is the culmination of the High Holidays. It is the day in which God’s love for His people is strongest. We fast, pray, and repent our past mistakes, and God lovingly reaccepts us as His special nation. Yom Kippur marks the end of the period of judgment begun on Rosh Hashanah, our final chance to return wholeheartedly to God and receive His forgiveness. On this day God’s hands are opened wide, eagerly awaiting our repentance and reconciliation.

Following the sin of the Golden Calf, Moses pleaded with God to forgive the people. Finally on Yom Kippur, atonement was achieved and Moses brought the second set of Tablets down from Mount Sinai.

From that day forward, every Yom Kippur carries with it a special power to cleanse our mistakes (both individually and collectively) and to wipe the slate clean.

We do a process called teshuva – literally “return.” Teshuva involves four steps:

Regret – acknowledging that a mistake was made, and feeling regret at having squandered some of our potential.
Cessation – Talk is cheap, but stopping the harmful action shows a true commitment to change.
Confession – To make it more “real,” we admit our mistake verbally, and ask forgiveness from anyone we may have harmed.
Resolution – We make a firm commitment not to repeat the harmful action in the future.

Though the combination of teshuva and Yom Kippur atones for transgressions against God, it does not automatically erase wrongs committed against other people. It is therefore the universal Jewish custom – some time before Yom Kippur – to apologize and seek forgiveness from any friend, relative, or acquaintance whom we may have harmed or insulted over the past year.

Yizkor: elevating the soul of a departed loved one

The Yizkor prayer is recited during the synagogue prayer service on Yom Kippur and the holidays of Passover, Shavuot and Sukkot. It is customary to light a candle in ones home before sunset at the beginning of a holiday on which yizkor is said. If Yizkor will be recited on Saturday, the candle must be lit on Friday afternoon before sunset.

Yizkor is a short prayer that has a deep spiritual impact on the soul of departed relatives and leaves a powerful emotional impression on those who say it.

Yizkor is founded on two fundamental Jewish beliefs; one, that the prayers and actions of people in this world can have an elevating spiritual effect on the souls of the departed, and two, that a primary, God-given mission in every person’s life is to make the world a kinder, better, more beautiful place. In Jewish life, this pursuit of kindness is known as olam chesed yibaneh, “to build a world of kindness.”

Yizkor is a beautiful expression of these ideas. The central element of yizkor is the commitment to make a charitable donation in honor of ones departed relative. By making such a commitment, you are affirming the belief that God wants us to do what we can to be helpful and alleviate the suffering of others. When you make an effort to help someone else, and do so in honor of a relative, then the relative becomes the motivating cause behind your act of kindness.

In essence, you and your departed relative become partners in this act of kindness. The result is that you become a better, more giving person, the departed soul of your relative is elevated and the recipient benefits from your kindness and generosity.

The Yizkor Prayer:

means “to remember” and refers to a special prayer said on behalf of family members who have passed away.
is initially said on the first holiday after the person passed away.
is an opportunity for living relatives to have an elevating spiritual impact on the soul of a departed loved one. For the person saying yizkor, it can be a very uplifting experience.
is recited during the synagogue
prayer service on Yom Kippur and
the holidays of Passover, Shavuot, and Sukkot.
can be recited on behalf of
any relatives, though people are most meticulous to say it on behalf of those for whom kaddish is said: parents, children, siblings
and spouse.
can be said privately at home if there is no synagogue where one
lives, or if it is exceptionally
difficult to attend synagogue.

The Yizkor Prayer means "to remember" and
refers to a special prayer said
on behalf of family members
who have passed away. is initially said
on the first holiday
after the person
passed away. is an opportunity for living relatives
to have an elevating spiritual
impact on the soul of a departed
loved one. For the person saying
yizkor, it can be a very
uplifting experience. is recited during the synagogue
prayer service on Yom Kippur and
the holidays of Passover,
Shavuot, and Sukkot. can be recited on behalf of
any relatives, though people are most
meticulous to say it on behalf of
those for whom kaddish is said:
parents, children, siblings
and spouse. can be said privately at home
if there is no synagogue where one
lives, or if it is exceptionally
difficult to attend synagogue.

Printable Yizkor Prayer

Printable Yizkor Prayer