Preparations: High Holy Days 5784 | 2023

Share Your Beth Am Stories - Deadline: Friday, September 1 
Preparing for the Days of Awe: An Exploration of Teshuvah - Register by Friday, August 18
One Book, One Congregation: A Discussion of My Jewish Year
Annual Honey Cake Bake
Livestreamed High Holy Day Services
Service/Program Registration Form for Beth Am Members
Non-Member Ticket Ordering
Reciprocal Tickets
Purchasing a Yahrzeit Plaque - Order Deadline Passed: Tuesday August 1
Purchasing Prayerbooks
Book of Memory - Deadline: Sunday, September 10
Parking Information Guide (pdf)
Preparing Your Space
The Orchard Rosh Hashanah Cooking Class
The Orchard Pre-Rosh Hashanah Mikvah Event
S'lichot Program & Service

Share Your Beth Am Stories
One of the themes of the High Holy Days is connecting and re-connecting; with loved ones, with ourselves and with our community. In that spirit, over the course of the upcoming holidays, we'd like to highlight stories of connection that have happened at, or in the context of, Beth Am over the years. Learn more and share your story by Friday, September 1.

Preparing for the Days of Awe: An Exploration of Teshuvah
Sundays, August 20 & 27; Tuesday, September 5, 7:00 PM, Conference Room
Join the Beth Am clergy for three sessions on the process of teshuvah, repentance and repair, using Repentance: The Meaning and Practice of Teshuvah by Dr. Louis Newman as our guidebook. Our exploration will culminate Saturday, September 9 on S'lichot, when Dr. Newman will speak on the topics of teshuvah and forgiveness. Register by Friday, August 18.

One Book, One Congregation: A Discussion of My Jewish Year, With Author Abby Pogrebin
Wednesday, August 30, 7:00 PM, Zoom
We will spend a year together as a community, traveling through My Jewish Year: 18 Holidays, One Wondering Jew by Abigail Pogrebin. We will explore what Abby and her book have to teach us personally, as families, as small groups with shared interests and ultimately as a full congregational. Sign up to join via Zoom.

4th Annual Honey Cake Bake: Make It a Sweet New Year for Our Elders
Once again, we're baking and delivering honey cakes to our members aged 80 and older before Rosh Hashanah. To sign up to bake and/or deliver cakes, please complete the sign up form. Questions? Email Rabbi Sarah Weissman.

Livestreamed High Holy Day Services
Most services will be livestreaming for those who are unable or uncomfortable with attending services in person. Look for this symbol  to identify services to be streamed. Please check your email for access information (sent 9/15 @11:00 AM). Livestreamed services will NOT be available on social media platforms. Learn more about livestreaming on our High Holy Day Streaming page. For help, visit our High Holy Day livestream FAQ page.

Service/Program Registration Form for Beth Am Members
Members should use this form to register by Friday, September 1 for all services and for babysitting during the late morning services.

Non-Member Ticket Orders
Orders can be placed for non-member tickets, then picked up during the week prior to services in the Beth Am administrative office during business hours (Monday-Thursday, 9:00 AM-5:00 PM, Friday 9:00 AM-4:00 PM), or at the Will Call Box before each service. (Purchased tickets will not be mailed.) This is to ensure our members can be accommodated in our limited seating.

Reciprocal Tickets
Reciprocal tickets are available at no charge for members of other Reform synagogues. To order yours, please complete the online URJ request form.

Purchasing a Yahrzeit Plaque
Please note that the deadline to have a plaque ordered and installed in time for Shabbat Shuvah has already passed (it was Tuesday, August 1). Though the order deadline has passed, you may still order the plaque and have it installed later this fall. To place a request for a yahrzeit plaque to arrive after the High Holy Day season (should you wish to memorialize loved ones for whom plaques have not already been ordered), please download, complete and return the Yahrzeit Plaque Request Form. Learn more about Yahrzeit plaques.

Purchasing Prayerbooks
Order the High Holy Day Prayerbooks (Digital or Hardcopy)A: We use Mishkan HaNefesh: A Machzor for the Days of Awe, a 2-volume set published by CCAR Press. Volume 1 (gold cover) is used for Rosh Hashanah and volume 2 (silver cover) is used on Yom Kippur. Beth Am will have a small supply available only for those who attend in-person services. If you have a Machzor set that you borrowed from Beth Am last year during the 2022 High Holy Day season, please bring it with you. We recommend you order your own Machzor from Amazon.com or CCAR Press (large print edition is also available from CCAR Press here).

Book of Memory
Beth Am's Book of Memory is once again digital this year. This book is a Beth Am tradition and a way of honoring relatives and friends who have died either in recent months or in past years. See the digital Book of Memory. The deadline to submit a name/names is Sunday, September 10.

Preparing Yourself and Your Space for the High Holy Days
Check out this workshop on how to create sacred space at home, which will also answer all your tech questions. Watch the 2020 video recording. Or, reference this helpful URJ article, How to Turn Your Home into a Sanctuary for the High Holidays.

The Orchard Rosh Hashanah Cooking Class
Wednesday, September 6, 6:00 PM, Beth Am Kitchen
Adults in their 20s and 30s are invited to us as we prep for the High Holy Days with a cooking class. Learn more and register.

The Orchard Pre-Rosh Hashanah Mikvah Event
Sunday, September 10, 5:00 PM, Pacifica Ocean — Exact Location TBA
It is a longtime Jewish tradition for Jews to immerse in the mikvah (ritual bath) before the High Holy Days of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. As we begin the process of introspection, adults in their 20s and 30s are invited to join us for this sacred immersion. This year we’ll be having both a women’s and a men’s gathering at different beaches in the same area. Learn more and register.

Forgiveness and Repair As We Approach the Days of Awe: S’lichot Program With Dr. Louis Newman & Service
Saturday, September 9, 7:30 PM, Sanctuary, Social Hall and Livestream
Each year, the Beth Am community enters the High Holy Day season on the night of S'lichot (meaning "prayers for forgiveness"). Join Dr. Louis Newman, author of Repentance: The Meaning and Practice of Teshuvah, for a discussion of teshuvah and forgiveness, followed by a short service featuring the beautiful music and liturgy of these Days of Awe.

Learn more about High Holy Days 2023 with Beth Am.