Frequently Asked Questions about the High Holy Days at USH
Q: What time should I arrive?
A: As is the case in most traditional synagogues, not everyone is expected to be present when the preliminary services begin at 9 am. People make their own decisions about how much of each service to attend. (Note that at some points during the High Holy Days, the synagogue is full and there is standing room only; your chances of getting a seat increase when you arrive earlier.)
Here are some suggestions to bear in mind when you’re planning your own personal High Holy Days schedule:
· The Rosh Hashanah evening services last no more than one hour.
· Rosh HaShanah morning services begin at 9 am with the preliminary service. The Torah service begins around 10:15 am. The rabbi’s sermon is likely to be around 11:15 am.
· The primary symbol of Rosh HaShanah is the Shofar. The blowing of the Shofar is likely to take place around 11 am on both days of Rosh HaShanah.
· Please see our web site for the full schedule for child care and youth services and activities during the High Holy Days.
· When we say that Kol Nidrei services for the evening of Yom Kippur begin at 5:45pm sharp, we’re not kidding! The Kol Nidrei prayer actually must be recited before Yom Kippur actually begins, so it is recited before sunset. The Yom Kippur evening service should conclude at about 8:30 pm and tends to be one of the points of peak attendance.
· On Yom Kippur day, peak attendance tends to be at about noon, for the rabbi’s sermon and Yizkor memorial prayers.
· During Musaf on Yom Kippur (between about 12:30 and 1:30 pm), two dramatic exercises in memory take place: The Avodah Service of the Kohen Gadol, in which we re-enact aspects of the Yom Kippur service as it took place in the Temple in Jerusalem thousands of years ago; and the Eleh Ezkerah – Martyrology, which is our annual opportunity to remember the martyrs of our people in ancient and modern times, through song, poetry and eyewitness testimony. Please join us this year for these extremely moving parts of the service.
· Yom Kippur concludes with Ne’ilah, certainly one of the emotional high points of Yom Kippur. Ne’ilah concludes with the final Shofar blast at nightfall, followed soon after by Havdalah, complete with some special treats for kids below age 13 and an opportunity for them to participate in the service in some special ways. (Weather permitting, Neilah will be outdoors in front of the synagogue, as it has been for the last couple of years.)
Q: What should I wear to services this year?
A: If you were looking forward to the Annual High Holy Day Fashion Show, sorry – you’ll have to look elsewhere. At our congregation, we recommend that you wear something respectful but comfortable to our services. Focus on the spiritual, not the material.
Just one other fashion note: it’s traditional not to wear leather shoes on Yom Kippur. There are a number of reasons for this tradition: (1) Leather is seen as a luxury, and on Yom Kippur we try to pare our lives down to bear essentials and eliminate luxuries; (2) Since wearing a leather garment necessitates the killing of a living animal, it is not traditional to wear such a symbol of bloodshed on the day when we are requesting mercy for ourselves and the entire world.... But whatever you choose to wear to our services – on your feet or otherwise – is okay with us. (Just remember to wear a face covering over your nose and mouth during indoor services, out of respect for the higher-risk people who may be attending.)
Q: What’s the point of fasting anyway?
A: Here are a few answers: (1) Through the discomfort of fasting, we vividly express that we are conscious of the points of failure in our lives and that we regret our shortcomings. (2) Fasting is a turning from material to spiritual concerns. Fasting for one day helps us to concentrate on the concerns of the spirit, so that we might better understand the proper role of material things in our lives during the rest of the year. (3) Fasting makes us more sensitive to the plight of people around the world who are hungry and prompts us to assist them. (One way to do this: when you come to synagogue on Yom Kippur eve, bring a bag of non-perishable groceries and leave them in our synagogue lobby. The food will be donated to food pantries for the needy in our area. It is traditional to calculate how much money one would usually spend on food during one day and donate that sum to charity.)
Q: Should I wear a Tallit? Should I bring my own?
A: It’s traditional for Jewish adults to wear Tallitot (prayer shawls; also called Talleisim) during the morning services; it’s also traditional to wear a Tallit for the entire day of Yom Kippur, beginning the previous night with the Kol Nidrei service. In our egalitarian congregation, we encourage both men and women to wear Tallitot, though ultimately the choice whether or not to wear one is yours alone. As we own some Tallitot but not many, and we expect capacity crowds on the High Holy Days, you may want to bring your own tallit if you own one. Just make sure it (or your Tallit bag) has your name on it, because every year there are a few that are left behind.
Q: Do I really need a ticket?
A: High Holy Day tickets are a benefit of membership; members receive tickets at no extra charge. They are available to non-members in exchange for a donation to the synagogue. Some of our services are free and open to the public (but registration is required); for other services, however, we need and expect each person who attends our services to purchase a ticket – for two reasons. (1) The security situation in our country demands that those attending services make arrangements for tickets in advance. (2) High Holy Day ticket sales make up a significant proportion of our annual budget, and they are one of the ways we ensure that our synagogue continues to function year after year, offering outstanding programs, employing a rabbi, and providing for the religious needs of our community. If the recommended ticket donation would cause a hardship for you, please contact our office so that alternate arrangements can be made, as we want to make sure that finances are no barrier to any Jew’s ability to pray with a congregation on the High Holy Days. Please note that we have special discounted membership categories for young adults up to age 30. In addition, college undergraduates who attend school in or near Hoboken are eligible for tickets at no charge, and full-time graduate students are eligible for membership at discounted student rates.
Q: What can help me to make the High Holy Days a spiritually moving experience?
A: A good first step would be reading the pamphlet “Getting the Most out of the High Holy Days,” which you will find inserted into your High Holy Day prayerbook when you arrive for services, or on our web site, www.hobokensynagogue.org.
Best wishes to the entire community for a happy, healthy and sweet New Year!
