cst: your place for more in 5784
Welcome to the
High Holy Days 5784
we hope you’ll join us for these very special Days of Awe.
A portion of all Lulav & Etrog sales with the link above go directly to CST to help support our education programs.
Order early to be sure you get yours on time!
*This schedule and its details are subject to change.*
Services that take place in our sanctuary will be livestreamed to our streaming page.
Elul Learning & Selichot
Saturday, September 9 | Selichot | Havdalah 8:19 pm
Sunday, September 10, 1:00 – 2:15 pm on zoom
Meant To Be: A True Story of Might, Miracles, and Triumph of the Human Spirit with Roslyn Franken | Sign up
Rosh Hashanah
Rosh Hashanah is the Jewish New Year. To make sure you have a sweet new year, it’s traditional to eat honey and apples. Rosh Hashanah is a time to begin introspection, looking back at the mistakes of the past year and planning the changes to make in the new year, continuing through the Days of Awe and Yom Kippur. Read more about the holiday here. Shana Tovah!
EREV ROSH HASHANAH | Friday, September 15 | Candles: 7:04 pm
Erev Rosh Hashanah Dinner: 6 pm | $36 per person | Register HERE
Erev Rosh Hashanah Services: 7:30 pm | In our sanctuary and streaming here
ROSH HASHANAH | Saturday, September 16 | Candles: 8:04 pm
Rosh Hashanah Services Day 1 Services: 9:00 am | In our sanctuary and streaming here
Family Experience with Education Director Cara Abrams and prayer leader Brianah Caplan: 10-11:30 am | Lower Social Hall*
ROSH HASHANAH DAY 2 | Sunday, September 17 | Havdalah: 8:00 pm
Rosh Hashanah Services Day 2 Services: 9:00 am | In our sanctuary and streaming here
*Families are welcome to join the main services after Family Experience is concluded.
Shabbat Shuva
Special Shabbat in between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur!
The Shabbat that falls between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur is called Shabbat Shuvah, or the Sabbath of return. If that word reminds you of the word teshuvah, that’s not a coincidence — they share a common root.
Teshuvah, or repentance, is a core concept of the High Holidays. The word literally means “return.” Services on Shabbat Shuvah are typically solemn and focused. And the Haftarah portion deals with themes of repentance and forgiveness.
SHABBAT SHUVA | Friday, September 23 | Candles: 7:49 pm (no services)
Saturday, September 24 | Shabbat Service: 9:15 am | followed by Kiddush, Singing, Benching
Services in our sanctuary and streaming here
Cemetery Visit: Kever Avot v’Imahot
Kever Avot v’Imahot – honoring our beloved departed. During the Days of Awe it is traditional to visit the resting places of our loved ones and reflect on their lives. Your presence at this brief but moving ceremony at the Shaarie Torah cemetery will support those who mourn, honor those whose work we continue to enjoy and remember those who have been left behind. You need not be a mourner or have anyone buried there to participate. You need not be an adult. Children may also find this tradition revealing, interesting and comforting.
This ritual prepares us for the High Holy Days in two ways. We remember the importance of doing the mitzvah of remembering and honoring those who have come before us and who have shaped us. And we prepare for a fuller experience of the Day of Atonement, as we are reminded of the fleeting nature of life, and are moved to live more honestly and intentionally.
In addition, we will attend to the accumulated sacred texts of the past year, burying them with love and respect. In this manner, we learn cemetery etiquette and come to see the lives of those who have gone before us as beautiful and as holy as the text of Torah.
With musical memorial service led by prayer leader Brianah Caplan at 10am and personal blessing graveside 11am – 12pm
Tashlich
Join us at the edge of the Willamette River for the symbolic ritual of casting out our sins.
During the Rosh Hashanah holiday, many individuals and synagogues observe a fun outdoor tradition whose origins go back to the Middle Ages. It’s called tashlich (pronounced tash-leekh), which is the Hebrew word for “casting off / throwing off.”
People gather together at a body of flowing water—often a nearby river, but it can be a lake or even the ocean—and they bring something to throw in the water to represent misdeeds over the course of the past year, symbolically “casting our sins upon the waters.”. Please use the saltines provided or bring your own items (doesn’t have to be bread – pebbles, leaves and sticks work too!).
Sunday, September 24 | 1:00 pm
Willamette Park: 6500 S Macadam Ave, Portland, OR 97219
Members will have received a packet of saltines in the mail (*wink wink*). Bring those or other items along to cast off into the river.
Yom Kippur
Yom Kippur, also referred to as The Day of Atonement, is a holiday observed with fasting and prayer on the 10th day of Tishri. Read more about the holiday here.
EREV YOM KIPPUR | KOL NIDRE | Sunday, September 24 | Kol Nidre Services: 6:30 pm | Candles: 6:46 pm
Services in our sanctuary and streaming here
YOM KIPPUR | Monday, September 25 | Havdalah: 7:27 pm
Yom Kippur Day Services: 9:00 am | In our sanctuary and streaming here
Family Experience: 10-11:30 am | With Education Director Cara and Prayer Leader Brianah | Lower Social Hall*
Yizkor following Torah Service around 11:30 am
Minchah: 5:15 pm
Neilah: 6:45 pm
Havdalah: 7:47 pm and Break Fast
*Families are welcome to join the main services after Family Experience is concluded.
Fasting
- Research the concept of pikuach nefesh and what it means to you to hold the importance of saving your life over the ritual practice of fasting.
- Learn about rituals that have been developed for those who cannot fast.
- Take a look at this meditation before Yom Kippur for those that can not fast.
Sukkot
Beginning five days after Yom Kippur, is named after the booths or huts (sukkot in Hebrew) in which Jews are supposed to dwell during this week-long celebration. According to rabbinic tradition, these flimsy sukkot represent the huts in which the Israelites dwelt during their 40 years of wandering in the desert after escaping from slavery in Egypt. The festival of Sukkot is one of the three great pilgrimage festivals (chaggim or regalim) of the Jewish year. Learn more here
SUKKAH RAISING (Upper Courtyard) | Thursday, September 28 | Morning Minyan: 8:00 am
Bagel Nosh: 9:00 am | Build: 9:30 am
Family Sukkah Decorating: 4:30-6 pm | All Families Welcome
EREV SUKKOT | Friday, September 29 | Candles: 6:37 pm (no services)
SUKKOT | Saturday, September 30 | Services Day 1: 9:15 am
Sukkot Services Day 2 | Sunday, October 1: 9:15 am (LIVE in the Sukkah & on Zoom) | Havdalah: 7:35 pm
JOIN ZOOM HERE
SUKKAH EVENTS
Sukkot Café with Jack Falk & Band (potluck & concert) | Wednesday, October 4: 5:00 pm
Sisterhood Wine, Cheese & Dessert in the Sukkah | Thursday, October 5, 6 pm | RSVP here
Lunch & Learn Potluck | Friday, October 6: 11:30am
Shabbat Fusion & Soup Night | Friday, October 6: 6:30pm
Hoshanah Raba through Simchat Torah
The Sukkot holiday is about to end, but this festival comes with some quirks unique within Judaism.
The last day of the week-long festival is marked by a day known as Hoshana Raba, that has more in common with the High Holy Days of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.
The next day is a separate holiday altogether: Shmini Atzeret. Also known as Simhat Torah, this holiday does not require most of the unique Sukkot customs like a lulav, etrog or sitting in the sukkah, but instead focuses on the Torah, as a new cycle of reading the Five Books of the Torah begins. (from the Jerusalem Post)
HOSHANAH RABA | Friday, October 6 | Hoshanah Raba Services: 9:15 am on zoom only | Candles: 6:23 pm
Join Zoom here
SHABBAT/SH’MINI ATZERET | Saturday, October 7 | Candles: 7:24 pm
Sh’mini Atzeret Services & Yizkor: 9:15 am | In our sanctuary and streaming here
Erev Simchat Torah Party with dancing & drinks: 6:30 pm
SIMCHAT TORAH | Sunday, October 8 | Simchat Torah Services: 9:15 am | Havdalah: 7:22 pm
On zoom, join zoom here and streaming here
Please call our office with any questions, (503) 226-6131 or email us at cst@shaarietorah.org.
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High Holy Day F.A.Q.
While no tickets are required to enter the building, we request that you register to attend main services and family services for both Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.
Our offices are open M, W, Th from 10 am to 2 pm and by appointment. Please call our office at (503)226-6131 before visiting.
Each year we publish a Book of Remembrance, or Yizkor Book, which is used during Yom Kippur and all Yizkor services throughout the year, remembering our departed loved ones. To include names, please return the Response Form (scroll up to find the blue button) no later than September 4. Questions? Email Linda: cst@shaarietorah.org.
Parking in our lot is free during all services, but spaces will fill up fast. Consider ride sharing with friends or neighbors. Street parking passes are no longer available from the city but you can park and pay on the street or find other parking in a neighborhood nearby.
Yes, all our services held in the sanctuary will be live streamed to our website at shaarietorah.org/stream and to our facebook page. Please check out our facebook page here.
Thank you so much for your support!
This year we are once again conducting a Silent Yom Kippur Appeal outside of our worship together. This essential fundraising campaign helps us fill the gap between membership dues and the full cost of running our shul and all that it offers to each member. Appeal contributions support every aspect of the community we build and maintain together. Please join us in the mitzvah of supporting our Jewish community – a true act of tzedakah. Our goal is to exceed our success last year and to have 100% participation.
People will often chose to wear white on Yom Kippur as it is a symbol of teshuvah. There is a midrash that asks, “how did God create the world? He wrapped Himself in a robe of light and it began to shine.” This evocative image associates light with God’s renewing, creative power. We each have our own appearance, beliefs, background. But together we can create a “great light” out of this community that we are building together. We hope you will choose to honor this beautiful tradition.
Leading up to Kol Nidre (Erev Yom Kippur), you can donate to Empty your pockets or pushkes on our website here.
Yes, all our services in our sanctuary will be livestreamed to website and our facebook page. Please check out our facebook page here.
If the High Holy Days are coming then Sukkot can’t be far behind! That means it’s time to order your lulav and etrog. What are those? A citron and palm/willow combination that we use on Sukkot to celebrate the harvest. Why do I need them? They are integral parts of the synagogue service, they smell good, look funky, sound neat when shaken, and signify much that edifies us. They make for a tangible and memorable holiday practice. You can order your set(s) directly from The Esrog Headquarters, here, for home delivery in time for Sukkot.
Masks are not required, but we ask that you respect the choices of others regardless of whether they wear a mask or not.
Please stay home if you are feeling unwell on any day you plan to attend events or services.
Office hours: 10am – 2pm on Mon, Wed, & Thurs by appointment only at this time. You can always call us and leave a message or send general questions to cst@shaarietorah.org
- 503-226-6131
- cst@shaarietorah.org
- 920 NW 25th Ave. Portland, OR
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