This Jewish New Year will be marked by the unusual circumstances, challenges and opportunities wrought by the global COVID-19 pandemic.
Here at OrH, while our doors remain closed, our hearts – and our community – are open. We welcome members, guests and visitors to join us via Zoom for a full schedule of highly interactive services and programs, delivered with our usual mix of spirit, good humour, thoughtful intention, and joyous music.
Each virtual gathering will incorporate opportunities for authentic connection and conversation, and a range of ways for you to engage head and heart.
As we do every year, we welcome you as you are, whoever you are, and wherever you are.
Or Haneshamah is preparing for our virtual High Holy Days 5782. You can see the schedule below!
High Holy Day Resources
Self-study text on This is Real and You are Completely Unprepared
Click below to open a world of crafts/activities, videos, songs, discussion topics and even baking to help navigate Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur in our current global health crisis. Inside these "digital backpacks," you'll be invited to take on challenges that will make your Zoom services more meaningful, your home more beautiful and your family ready for the New Year:
Rosh Hashanah Digital Backpack
Download a copy of Kol Haneshamah: Prayerbook for the Days of Awe High Holy Day Machzor by clicking on the book below!
High Holy Days Schedule
Zoom login information will be sent automatically to all current full and student members of Or Haneshamah and all registered Tishrey visitors and guests several days prior to Rosh Hashanah. If you do not receive a message, please contact us!
Please note that some events are subject to change.
Monday, September 6 - Erev Rosh Hashanah
6:30 - 7:30 pm Ritual - Blessings, Song, Greetings. We great each other and the new year, our tables ready for Shabbat and Rosh Hashanah, with song and brahot/blessings.
Tuesday, September 7 - Rosh Hashanah Day 1 Service
9:30 am - 11:15 am Service - Prayer, Song, Reflections. This exceptional new year we draw from our machzor's traditional prayers, sing some of our favourite melodies, recite core passages that call up the renewal of our heart, minds and souls, and hear creative reflections on the themes of the day.
11:15 am -11:45 am Mingle and Greet
11:45 am - 12:30 pm Torah - Chanting, Blessing, Conversation. We scroll to the traditional biblical texts read over the two days of Rosh Hashanah, hear selected passages chanted with the ancient tropes, bless and receive blessing, and gather in clusters to explore present-moment understandings.
12:30 pm - 1:00 pm Mingle and Greet
1:00 pm - 2:00 pm Family Program with Morah Jenny
Tuesday, September 7 - Shofar & Tashlikh Experience
Afternoon - Outdoor Tashlikh and Shofar experience! Come hear the sound of the Shofar ring out over the river.
Wednesday, September 8 - Rosh Hashanah Day 2 Text Study
10:30-12 pm Torah Study - Study, Exploration, Conversation. Through a teaching from the Hasidic master known as Meor Eynayim (“light to the eyes”) on the connection between Abraham and God, we will explore the space between fulfilling the commandment to welcome the stranger, and being in conversation with the Divine.
Saturday, September 11 - Shabbat Shuva
10:30-12 pm Morning Torah Service - Join us for a Shabbat morning Torah service that reflects on this particular time in the Jewish year. Songs, blessings, and good conversation guarenteed!
Wednesday, September 17 - Erev Yom Kippur/Kol Nidre
6:15 pm - 6:45 pm Kol Nidre
6:45 pm - 8:00 pm Evening Service
We draw close to one another, transcending our separate spaces through the powerful recitations of Kol Nidre, followed by the maariv/evening service and prayers of confession, enabling the regrets of the past to transform into intentions for the future.
Thursday, September 18 - Yom Kippur Morning
9:45 am - 11:15 am Morning Service - Prayer, Song, Reflections. This day of fasting (for those who are able) will feature the haunting melodies we love to hear and sing, the powerful ritual gestures of humility and vidui/confessions, and opportunities for reflection, introspection, and connection.
11:15 am - 11:45 am Mingle and Greet
11:45 am - 12:30 pm Torah - Chanting, Blessing, Conversation. The traditional biblical Torah reading for Yom Kippur, along with the Haftarah, align spiritual practice with social awareness. We will hear selected passages chanted with the ancient tropes, bless and receive blessing, and gather in clusters to explore present-moment understanding
12:30 pm - 1:00 pm Mingle and Greet
Thursday, September 18 - Yom Kippur Afternoon & Evening
4:30 pm - 5:15 pm Jonah - Chanting, Exploration, Conversations.The entire population of a city appears doomed, and God asks Jonah about his priorities. Our family of Haftarah readers will chant and then consider the ways Jonah’s dilemma might inform our experience of a global pandemic.
5:30 pm - 6:15 pm Yizkor - Prayers, Reflection, Remembrance. We recall the loved ones to whom we give honour.
6:15 pm - 7:00 pm Nelilah - Song, Prayer, Shofar. The fading sun leads us towards the closing hour, hearts open and ready to hear the closing Shofar calls of our Days of Awe.
The Tishrey festival events continue with:
Shabbat Sukkot - Saturday morning, September 25
Simchat Torah celebration (and Torah mantle inauguration!) – Tuesday, September 28
Invite Your Family to Celebrate with Us!
Or Haneshamah members 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 $72/guest. Payment is made through the member's account by accessing the current year registration form (available soon).
If you have any problems with the process please contact our webmaster.
Please note that our Tishrey Guest policy only applies to registered members and to their immediate family. Non-immediate relatives and friends of OrH members who wish to attend services are asked to register as Tishrey Visitors.
