The High Holidays are around the corner. As usual, Or Haneshamah will offer a full suite of services, from our cozy Selichot evening, refreshing Rosh Hashanah melodies – accompanied of course by apples-and-honey snacking – through to the final shofar blast of Yom Kippur.
Please note that we are again offering a sliding donation scale this year. The amount above is the suggested minimum. We encourage visitors to consider donating $414 per 1 adult household and $972 for 2 adult households. No one will be turned away for financial reasons. If you are unable to afford our suggested minimum donation please donate what you are able.
If you are a returning Visitor, or an Associate Member of Or Haneshamah, please register and arrange payment online. You have not received your Membership Portal Invitation, or if you have any other questions with the process, please contact our webmaster at administrator@orh.ca.
If you are joining us for the first time, register for the High Holiday Services by clicking the button below. Our administrator will create an account for you to process your donation and ensure our charitable tax receipt is issued. Should you have any problems, questions or concerns, contact our administrator at administrator@orh.ca or 613-239-4988.
Pay $48 dollars to join us for High Holy Days and stay for the whole year!
Or Haneshamah offers a steep member discount to students who are currently living in the Ottawa area. Are you looking to spend High Holy Days somewhere? Try us out for $48 and get a whole year’s membership to go with it!
Check out our membership page, email our membership coordinator, or give us a call today at 613-239-4988.
Regular members of Or Haneshamah can pay for immediate family members who are not included in a household membership (adult children, parents, grandparents, siblings, and their partners), regardless of where they live, to join them for the High Holy Days at OrH at the rate of $95/guest. Payment is made through the member’s account by accessing the Guest Registration Form here. **Please note that you must be signed in to your account to access this form.**
If you have any problems with the process, please contact our webmaster.
Please note that our Guest policy only applies to regular members and to their immediate family. Non-immediate relatives and friends of OrH members who wish to attend services are asked to register as Visitors.
Members of congregations affiliated with Reconstructing Judaism may attend without donation throughout the High Holy Days but must register and provide proof of membership in advance. To do so, please contact our administrator at administrator@orh.ca or 613-239-4988.
Charitable tax receipts will be issued for all donations.
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 5 SELICHOT PROGRAM AND SERVICE
7:30 pm – 9:30 pm / Fellowship Hall
Selichot offers an inflection point as we prepare to enter the New Year and experience the Days of Awe. It’s a time to begin, or continue, contemplating the season’s Big Questions. Join for a screening of two episodes of the very Jewish and quirkily insightful animated sitcom Long Story Short, followed by discussion. Through recognizable rituals, the show invites us to consider not only what is unfolding in this family, but how their experiences of joy, sorrow, transition and growth might be mirrored in our lives. The evening concludes with the ritual changing of our Torah and Ark garments, song selections from the Selichot service, and the sounding of shofar.
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 11 EREV ROSH HASHANAH SERVICE
6:00 pm – 7:00 pm / Fellowship Hall [ZOOM option TBD]
With song, prayer, and the sweet taste of apples and honey, we welcome in the Jewish year 5787 – as well as erev Shabbat!
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 12 ROSH HASHANAH DAY 1 SERVICE
9:30 am – 12:30 pm / Worship Hall + via ZOOM
The new year begins with a service of tuneful song, meaningful prayer and embodied ritual led by Rabbi Liz along with members of the community. We re-turn again to be a part of our creative approach to the season of awe, which this year will feature a Torah reading that integrates passages from both Genesis 21, assigned for Day 1, and Genesis 22, also known as the Akedah or Binding of Isaac, traditionally chanted on the second day. There will be Machaneh/camp-inspired activities for school-age children, babysitting for toddlers, and our collective dairy/parve pot-luck luncheon.
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 13 ROSH HASHANAH DAY 2 TEXT STUDY
10:30 am – 11:30 am / ZOOM
Among the piyyutim or liturgical poems featured in the High Holiday prayerbook is Ki Anu Amecha. Why is this poem so appealing? We’ll probe the text, seeing what it reveals or suggests about the Jewish concept of the Divine. Join on time in order to hear and watch a moving a cappella recording to inspire our study, which will include the opportunity to dive into conversation and exploration in small breakout groups.
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 13 TASHLIKH AND SHOFAR
4:00 pm – 5:00 pm / BRANTWOOD PARK
We gather for Tashlikh, the casting off into moving water, on the banks of the Rideau River, or Pasapkedjinawong (pass-app-KEH-djuh-won). Bring bird seeds or gather little rocks, leaves and twigs for an ecofriendly alternative to breadcrumbs. Our casual program will include song, reflection, the sounding of the shofar, and engaging activities for our school-agers.
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 20 EREV YOM KIPPUR
6:30 pm – 9:00 pm / Worship Hall + via ZOOM
The evening of Yom Kippur begins with the lighting of memorial candles – come early if you wish to light one – followed by the haunting melody of Kol Nidre. Some of us wear white garments and tallitot/prayer shawls, while (only) those who are able begin their fast from life-sustaining food and drink. Our rabbi offers her keynote message, and joins her voice with many of our members who lead and harmonize the plaintive songs and prayers of the season. Please note that we begin promptly with the instrumental rendition of Kol Nidre.
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 21 YOM KIPPUR MORNING SERVICE
9:30 am-1:00 pm / Worship Hall + via ZOOM
The morning of Yom Kippur continues our Days of Awe, with its collective repentance and personal introspection through prayer, readings, song, a member’s reflection on wrestling with the ancient priestly rituals described in the day’s Torah reading, and the sense of expansiveness that comes from giving over into this full day of reflection. As is our custom, the Torah service features collective aliyot, opportunities to come up to the Torah to offer and receive blessing. Babysitting for toddlers throughout the morning and a program for school-age children will be available.
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 21 YOM KIPPUR AFTERNOON SERVICES
4:30 pm-7:30 pm / Worship Hall + via ZOOM
We reconvene for a guided, participatory reading of the book of Jonah, a whale of a biblical tale on the theme of repentance, led by our educator Jenny Burns. We sing and stand, or sit in reflection, with the afternoon Minchah Amidah, and then grapple with a core challenge in Judaism – how to wrestle with problematic texts – in our alternative Avodah service. We remember the losses of our people in our brief Martyrology service, followed by the always meaningful Yizkor service, featuring a member’s personal reflection as we honour the memories of our dear departed. Finally, Neilah beckons us, through song and silence, before the open ark or from our seats, towards the final great blast of the shofar and the conclusion of our full day with havdalah. We share a communal break-fast meal immediately following.
