Yom Kippur Day

Join Kol Ami at 10 a.m. for our Yom Kippur morning service.  The mix of traditional and modern prayers and melodies will bring us toward teshuvah/introspection and return, with subdued, powerful intention.  The morning prayers will be led by Rabbi Gilah Langner and Hazzan Jim North.  In our Torah service, this year Torah readers from the community will read a new passage from the Torah — the story of Cain and Abel.  Rabbi Richard Ruth and his “Pizza and Talmud” students will introduce and lead the Torah discussion, as has become our tradition.  The service concludes with recital of Yizkor prayers starting at 12:30, as we recall the memories of loved ones, and share in the loss and remembrances together.  If you would like to have your loved ones memorialized in the Yizkor slideshow, please click here;  submissions are due by Sept. 15.

Following a break, at 2:30 p.m. Rabbi Richard will lead an afternoon reading and discussion of the Book of Jonah.  Traditionally read on Yom Kippur, the theme of universal forgiveness yields new meanings each year.

We reconvene at 6:20 for the Neilah service, the final service of Yom Kippur. Literally, neilah means the “locking” or closing of the gates of heaven at the end of this extraordinary day of spiritual closeness. Accordingly, our theme during this evening service will be “locking and unlocking,” and the many ways in which these terms have meaning in our personal experience. Neilah ends with one last blowing of the shofar — it is our custom to invite everyone in the congregation to bring a shofar if you have one, and to join in the final rousing blast.

A break-fast will follow, to which everyone is invited.  We are delighted to offer an in-person break-fast this Yom Kippur, our first time back in the building since 2019.  Kol Ami will provide bagels and schmear; please bring along a potluck dish, dessert, or beverage if you’re able. Airline rules apply — please keep a mask on except when you are actually eating or drinking. Thank you to Joan Goldfarb, Gordon Achtermann, and Tess Achtermann for coordinating the break-fast, and to the numerous other volunteers helping out.

For the full schedule of High Holiday services, please click HERE.   Please register as early as possible – HERE.