Guide To The High Holidays For Interfaith Families: Introduction and Table of Contents

The High Holy Days--What Are They?

Jews refer to Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, and Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, as the High Holy Days, or the Days of Awe. These holidays usually fall in September or October and are characterized by long synagogue services and a focus on repentance.

If you are going to Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur services this year, or preparing to celebrate these holidays with your family, we hope that a basic overview of the season and its symbols will help you to have a good experience of connection to the community, and even some taste of the ideal spiritual experiences that often elude worshippers on these days.

You can download the Guide to the High Holidays for Interfaith Families as a .pdf file. (Also available in Word format)

Contents

• The High Holy Days--What Are They?
• Logistical Considerations
• Rosh Hashanah, The Jewish New Year
  • Jewish Time: The Jewish Calendar and the Jewish Year
• What to Expect at Home On Rosh Hashanah
  • Jewish Holiday Blessings
  • Ritual Foods for the New Year
• What to Expect in the Synagogue on Rosh Hashanah
  • Brand New to the Synagogue?
  • Images of God as King and Parent
  • Blowing the Shofar, or Ram's Horn
• Children on Rosh Hashanah

• Yom Kippur--The Day of Atonement
• What to Expect at Home on Yom Kippur--Fasting
• What To Expect in the Synagogue on Yom Kippur
  • Ideas of Sin and Repentance in Judaism--Collective Responsibility and Fallibility
• Children on Yom Kippur

• Getting The Most Out of Challenging Holidays
• Training for a Marathon of Repentance
  • Elul--Gaining Strength for Repentance
  • Selichot--Prayers of Repentance
• Other Rituals During the Days of Awe
  • Tashlich
  • Visiting Graves
  • Kapparot and Giving to Charity
  • The Most Important Custom: Repairing Relationships With People