Holy Days
5785
Rosh Hashanah
Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish new year, is a fall holiday, taking place at the beginning of the month of Tishrei, which is actually the seventh month of the Jewish year (counting from Nisan in the spring).
It is both a time of rejoicing and of serious introspection, a time to celebrate the completion of another year while also taking stock of one's life.
High Holy Day Guest Tickets can be purchased by contacting the temple office at 561-694-2350.
Services and Celebrations
Yom Kippur
The culmination of the Yamim Noraim (Days of Awe) is the fast day of Yom Kippur (The Day of Atonement).
This is the day after which, according to tradition, God seals the Books of Life and Death for the coming year. The day is devoted to communal repentance for sins committed over the previous year. Because of the nature of Yom Kippur and its associated rituals, it is the most solemn day in the Jewish calendar.
YIZKOR MEMORIAL BOOK
To keep alive the precious memory of our beloved departed is a Jewish tradition. You cannot choose a finer method of perpetuating the memories of your dear ones than by memorializing their names in the Temple Beth David Book of Remembrance. We will be printing our Book of Remembrance for the four 5780 Yizkor services (Yom Kippur, Shmini Atzeret, Pesach, and Shavuot.) It will contain prayers and reflections, as well as the listing of memorial names. It is customary to list the names of parents, grandparents, other relatives, and friends. Complete your list here.
* Deadline is Sept 6, 2023
Sukkot
Beginning five days after Yom Kippur, Sukkot 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 forty 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.
ORDER YOUR LULAV AND ETROG HERE BY SEPTEMBER 11, 2023
Services and Celebrations
Shemini Atzeret & Simchat Torah
Simchat Torah is a celebratory Jewish holiday that marks the completion of the annual Torah reading cycle. Simchat Torah means "Rejoicing in the Law" in Hebrew.
Throughout the year, a set portion of the Torah is read each week. On Simchat Torah that cycle is finished when the last verses of Deuteronomy are read. The first few verses of Genesis are read immediately afterward, thereby starting the cycle again. For this reason, Simchat Torah is a joyous holiday celebrating having completed the study of God's word and looking forward to hearing those words again during the coming year.
Services and Celebrations
Hanukkah
Hanukkah, or the Festival of Rededication, celebrates the rededication of the Temple in Jerusalem after its defilement by the Syrian Greeks in 164 BCE.
Although it is a late addition to the Jewish liturgical calendar, the eight-day festival of Hanukkah has become a beloved and joyous holiday. It is also known as the Festival of Lights and takes place in December, at the time of year when the days are shortest in the northern hemisphere.
Tu B'Shevat
Falling in the middle of the Jewish month of Shvat, the 15th day of the month is the New Year of Trees. Today, this holiday is often celebrated by planting saplings and also by participating in a seder meal that echoes the Passover seder, in which the produce of trees, including fruits and nuts, are eaten.
Planting a tree in Israel is the perfect way to show you care. You can plant trees for many different reasons and help green the land of Israel while sending a special gift to a friend or loved one. For each order, a beautiful certificate of your choice is mailed to the recipient with your message. Plant trees for all of these occasions: birth, Bar or Bat Mitzvah, graduation, wedding, birthday, get-well wish, or in memory of someone special. Over the last 100 years, JNF has planted over 250 million trees in the land of Israel.
Purim
The festival of Purim is celebrated every year on the 14th of the Hebrew month of Adar (late winter/early spring). It commemorates the salvation of the Jewish people in ancient Persia from Haman’s plot “to destroy, kill and annihilate all the Jews, young and old, infants and women, in a single day.”
Services and Celebrations
Saturday, March 23, 2024
Purim Shpiel and Megillah reading at 7:00 pm - In-person and virtually. Click Here for Livestream
Sunday, March 24, 2024
Purim services and Megillah reading at 9:00 am - In-person and virtually. Click Here for Livestream
Passover
Passover, or Pesach in Hebrew, is one of the three major pilgrimage festivals of ancient Israel. Originally a combination of a couple of different spring festivals, it is a commemoration of the Exodus from Egypt--especially the night when God "passed over" the houses of the Israelites during the tenth plague--and of the following day, when the Israelites had to leave Egypt hurriedly. Centered on the family or communal celebration of the seder (ritual meal), Passover is one of the most beloved of all Jewish holidays.
Services and Celebrations
Services are offered in-person and virtually.
Monday, April 22, 2024 Service for the First Born ~ 9:15am
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Tuesday, April 23, 2024 Passover Services at 9:15am
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Wednesday, April 24, 2024 Yom Tov Minyan via Zoom at 9:15am
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Saturday, April 27, 2024 Passover & Shabbat Services at 9:15am
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Monday, April 29, 2024 Passover Services at 9:15am
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Monday, April 29, 2024 Yom Tov Minyan at 6:30pm
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Tuesday, April 30, 2024 Passover & Yizkor Services at 9:15am
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Shavuot
Shavuot, the "Feast of Weeks,” is celebrated seven weeks after Pesach (Passover). Since the counting of this period (sefirat ha-omer) begins on the second evening of Pesach, Shavuot takes place exactly 50 days after the (first) seder. Hence, following the Greek word for “fifty,” Shavuot is also referred to sometimes as Pentecost. Although its origins are to be found in an ancient grain harvest festival, Shavuot has been identified since biblical times with the giving of the Torah on Mount Sinai.
Services and Celebrations