Rosh Hashanah FAQs

  • We believe that at any level of Jewish literacy or experience, the High Holidays season requires spiritual preparation. We encourage you to get in the mindset of the New Year and cheshbon hanefesh (literally: accounting of the soul) through listening to the melodies we will use for the service, familiarizing yourself with some of the themes of the day, or looking over JVP’s ritual guide for the High Holidays. 


  • All are welcome and invited!

    Jews of Color, Indigenous Jews, SWANA Jews, Mizrahi and Sefardi Jews.

    Those who are not Jewish, who have chosen Judaism or who are exploring Judaism. Jewish people who have taken a long break from Judaism.

    Folks of multiple or other faith backgrounds.

    Queer and trans people. Neurodivergent people. Disabled and chronically ill people, and truly everyone who wants to join.

  • YES! We love the sound of kids playing in our community. We will provide some coloring pages, books, and simple activities, and an area for kids and their adults to hang out. Children do need to be supervised at all times. We encourage you to bring whatever will help your child to feel comfortable and engaged. You are welcome to get up out of your seats and move around the backyard or take breaks as needed.

  • Our service will be traditional egalitarian. A traditional egalitarian service is one where all people can participate equally, regardless of gender identity, and we pray using the traditional liturgy in Hebrew with minimal changes or abbreviations. This means that there will be “stage directions” (i.e. we continue on page X, please sit/ stand/ continue on your own quietly) but the leader will only occasionally give interpretations. We encourage active, songful participation, and curiosity even if this type of prayer space is new to you.

  • Wear whatever feels comfortable! Traditionally, people will dress up for Rosh Hashana and may wear new clothing to celebrate the new year. Some people wear white to symbolize purification and new beginnings.

    We will be gathering outside, so bring layers or sunscreen as you see fit.

  • You are welcome to bring a mask, tallit, kippah, and kittel if you have and would like to wear them. We will have some masks and kippot for people to use if they need. If you bring your phone, please turn it off and keep it tucked away during the service. If books, fidgets, or snacks help your focus through the service, we encourage you to bring them!

    We will be outside with some shade, so you may want to bring sunscreen or a hat.

  • Welcome! Not knowing anyone is a great place to start and you'll definitely meet some cool people here.

  • The services will be held in a residential neighborhood.  Parking will be limited to street parking and will likely be limited.  Please plan to carpool and/or take public transit if you can.

  • You are welcome to arrive and leave whenever you like! If you have a role in our service (i.e. reading from the Torah), please arrive on time. We have a schedule of our service outlined here with estimated timing: 

    Monday 9/22

    6pm- Opening kavana (intention) and Maariv (includes evening blessings, singing and silent prayer)

    7pm- D’var Torah (a community member will share some words related to Rosh Hashana traditions and Palestine)

    7:30pm- Rosh Hashana Seder & dinner (includes blessings over wine, apples & honey, and other symbolic foods; buffet dinner with dessert will include GF, DF, and vegetarian options)

    Tuesday 9/23

    8:40am - Morning Blessings + Meditation

    9am- Shacharit (includes morning blessings, singing, and silent prayer)

    10am- Torah Service (includes taking the Torah out of the Ark, reading the Torah portion, reading the Haftorah portion, blowing shofar, and putting the Torah away)

    11am- D’var Torah (a community member will share some words related to the Torah portion and Palestine, an opportunity for Torah study and learning)

    11:30am- Musaf (silent prayer, long repetition of the Amidah with additional piyyutim (songs/poems), and shofar blowing)

  • A Rosh Hashana Seder is a tradition from the Talmud that goes back thousands of years, and is still observed by many Sephardi and Mizrahi Jews. This ritual meal includes symbolic foods called simanim, which translates to “signs” or “omens.” Each of these simanim correspond to a hope that we have for the year to come, either related to a quality of the food itself or a pun on its name. Some of these foods include apples & honey, pomegranates, gourd, fenugreek, leeks, beets, dates, carrots, beans, and fish. Unlike a Passover Seder, our dinner will simply include some of these simanim and we will recite blessings together. Some of the language of these blessings have been updated to reflect our leftist politics and hopes for a Free Palestine.

  • Making this happen requires labor, food, and materials. Jewish life is typically funded by big donors and their priorities. We want this to be a grassroots effort and reflect our priorities, which means we need to build it with our own money.

    We are committed to making this community available to everyone, regardless of financial means. We respect each person’s decision on what is comfortable for them to contribute. 

    We are donating 18% of the money we gather to mutual aid in Palestine.

  • For many people, especially queer and trans people, religion may be a source of pain and trauma. Powerful people and institutions have warped religion to use it as a tool of shame, control, and oppression. Distrust toward religion is absolutely warranted and understandable. We honor and welcome the distrust you may carry.

    We believe that reclaiming religion is both an act of resistance and a return to the essential core of religion. We believe that at it’s center, spirituality is about compassion, connection, and liberation.

  • We often get to know God through langauge that is hierarchical, toxicly masculine, and distant. We may also be presented with only two options when it comes to God: believing in God or not.

    We think there's more to it than that. God can be a way of communicating about that which is is un-understandable, that which unites everything in our universe, that which protects and heals, and so much more.

    If athiesm speaks to you, we welcome you as well! You deserve to access the peices of spirituality that resonate for you.

  • We believe that all people deserve safety, dignity, and home. Whereas Zionism has envisioned safety and home for Jewish people, it has destroyed and desecrated safety and home for Palestinians.

    More than this, Zionism maintains that Jewish safety relies on the destruction of Palestinian life and freedom. 

    We reject the idea that Jewish safety should come at the cost of Palestinian life. Supporting Palestinian life and liberation is the most Jewish thing we can do. 

  • We welcome people who want to be part of an anti-zionist space. We understand that within this tent there may be a diversity of experiences and perspectives.

    For many Jews, Zionism offered a solution to the refugee problem created by the Holocaust and antisemitism. These problems are real and important. At the same time, we can see how Zionism did not truly solve them. In fact, Zionism recreated many of the same destructive traits of ethnonational states including racial supremacy and apartheid.

    See above for more on why we identify as anti-zionist.