Holidays and Festivals

Rosh Hashanah         1 Tishri

8:00 p.m.    •   Erev Rosh Hashanah

10:00 a.m.    •   Rosh Hashanah Morning Service

2:30 p.m.    •   Family Services

3:45 p.m.    •   Tashlich (at Wampus Pond)

Rosh Hashanah, celebrating the birthday of the world, marks the beginning of the new year. On Rosh Hashanah, we gather to experience renewal. There is a sense of excitement; all is fresh.

The blowing of the Shofar (the ram's horn) awakens us from our complacency and prods us to examine our lives, acknowledge our frailty and to atone for our sins as we seek to become better human beings during the new year.

We offer two Family Services, one for families with children from ages 7-13, and simultaneously another service geared for young children, pre-readers ages 2-6. Through prayers, music, interactive discussion and sometimes a story, these services introduce the children to the themes of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.

Tashlich is a service held on the banks of one of Armonk's beautiful ponds and is very special for the entire family.

Yom Kippur         10 Tishri

8:00 p.m.    •   Kol Nidre

10:00 a.m.    •   Yom Kippur Morning Service

1:00 p.m.    •   Special Holy Day Readings

2:30 p.m.    •   Family Services

3:30 p.m.    •   Yom Kippur Afternoon Service

4:30 p.m.    •   Memorial and Closing Services

Yom Kippur is the Day of Atonement. The somber melody of Kol Nidre begins the Evening Services; this prayer releases us from the unfilled vows we made with God during the past year. Today, the literal meaning is less significant than the awe and majestry set by the haunting theme of the music. Yom Kippur is a day of introspection and fasting, when we measure our shortcomings and seek a whole sense of ourselves.

At our Memorial Service we remember the loss of those whom we loved deeply, and the great losses suffered by our people. The Closing Service provides a meaningful link with the Memorial Service and puts us in touch with the great themes of the Days of Awe as we prepare to greet the world at sunset, renewed and ready for the new year ahead.

After the Shofar has sounded, as an added touch on leaving, our congregants place the first pine boughs on the Sukkah.

Sukkot         15 Tishri

Sukkot, which begins five days after Yom Kippur, recalls the harvest in the land of Israel. We gather to decorate the Sukkah, and one evening during Sukkot we enjoy a community dinner and singing together.

Simchat Torah         22 Tishri         Consecration

A simcha is a celebration. Simchat Torah is a celebration of continuity. We conclude our yearly reading of the Torah by reading the final verses of Deuteronomy, the last book of the Five Books of Moses. We then begin again immediately by reading the story of Creation from Genesis at the beginning of the Torah.

On Simchat Torah, we welcome the youngest students of our Religious School to our community in a service of consecration. The children are blessed by the Rabbi. Then they lead our congregation in hakafot, processions around the sanctuary in which we carry Torahs and paper flags, and sing songs.

Simchat Torah is a service for all to enjoy.

Chanukah         25 Kislev         Chanukah Family Celebration

Chanukah, our Festival of Lights, is a family celebration which includes dinner and Israeli dancing.. We retell the story of the recapturing of Jerusalem from the Syrians by the Maccabees. The victorious Maccabees cleansed the Temple and re-lit the great Menorah. According to tradition, a tiny amount of oil, enough to burn in the Menorah for only one day, miraculously lasted eight days. That is why Chanukah menorahs have eight branches plus a shamas, or servant, to light the others.

Tu B'Shevat         15 Shevat

Tu B'Shevat is the new year of trees. It is commemorated by planting trees to symbolize the renewal of life and reawakening of soil. We encourage the planting of trees in Israel in honor of joyous occasions or in memory of solemn ones.

Purim         14 Adar

Purim recalls the deliverance, over 2000 years ago, of the Jews of Persia from persecution. We celebrate Purim retelling the story of the beautiful Esther, bride of King Ahasuerus, Esther's cousin Mordecai, and the wicked Haman.

Our Purim service is a time for revelry, a wild and crazy Purim play, a time to do what we would normally not do during a service: pass out noisemakers and make noise! at the mention of the name of Haman.

Passover         15 Nisan

Passover is our springtime festival of freedom. We read the Haggadah, recalling the exodus from Egypt. We retell the story of the days of slavery, the ten plagues and the dramatic crossing of the Red Sea. We remember the haste of the exodus by eating matzah during the seven days of the festival.

We celebrate Passover with seders in our homes. We regularly offer a special session with tips on how to conduct a more meaningful seder.

Yom Hashoah         27 Nisan

Yom Hashoah is the day dedicated to the memory of all who died in the Holocaust. It is observed with a creative evening service, involving some of our older students.

Yom Ha'atzma'ut         5 Iyar

Yom Ha'atzma'ut means “day of independence” and commemorates the date of Israel's independence in May 1948. We have celebrated in various ways: with an Israeli film, with an Israel Fair, etc.

Shavuot         6 Sivan

Shavuot occurs seven weeks after Passover. Our tradition teaches that Moses received the Ten Commandments on Mount Sinai on this day. On the evening of Shavuot, we hold our tenth grade Confirmation Service.