High Holy Days

Where are we now? Where are we going?

In the Garden of Eden, God called out to the first human beings, “Ayeka?” — Where are you? Surely, God must have known their physical location. The question resounds on a much deeper level:

Where do you find yourself at this moment in time? Where are you on your life’s path? What has led you to this place? What direction are you facing? Where do you want to go from here?

These High Holy Days call out to us with the same burning question — Ayeka? We use this question to get our bearings, to feel our feet on solid ground, and notice where we are. What is the path you’re laying out before you? How can we get there together?

Important Dates

S’lichot: September 13

Rosh Hashanah: September 22 – 24

Kol Nidre: October 1

Yom Kippur: October 2

Sukkot: October 6 – 13

Simchat Torah: October 13 – 14

Quick Links

Ticket Information
High Holy Day Services
Livestream Services
Spiritual Preparation
Self Guided Exploration
High Holy Day Brochure

High Holy Day Services

We invite you to join us for any of the service options listed below. Please allow extra arrival time on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur for security.

This High Holy Day season, we gather as one sacred community, joyfully welcoming the new year through music, prayer, connection, and celebration. Find the service that is right for you and your family.

TI congregants holding candles during the S'lichot service

S’lichot

Saturday, September 13

3:00 – 6:00 p.m. S’lichot Mini-Retreat with Noah Aronson. Onsite. Registration required.

4:45 p.m. Family S’lichot Dinner, Service, and Activity (Village and Elementary age). Onsite.

7:00 p.m. Community Dinner. Onsite.

7:30 p.m. Spiritual Practice Lab with Noah Aronson or Text Study with Rabbis. Onsite and online.

9:00 p.m. Candlelit S’llichot Service. Onsite.

TI clergy singing

Rosh Hashanah

Erev Rosh Hashanah: Monday, September 22

5:30 p.m. Young Family Erev Rosh Hashanah Service. Onsite. (Age 0 – Grade 1)

5:45 p.m. Family Erev Rosh Hashanah Schmooze with Dinner. Onsite. (Grade 2 – 7)

6:15 p.m. Riverway Project Erev Rosh Hashanah Service. Onsite and Online. (20s & 30s)

7:30 p.m. Community-Wide Erev Rosh Hashanah Service. Onsite and Online. Followed by the Grand Homecoming Schmooze. Onsite.

Rosh Hashanah Day 1: Tuesday, September 23

9:00 a.m. Family Rosh Hashanah Service. Onsite. (Grade 2 – 7)

9:00 a.m. Community-Wide Rosh Hashanah Service (Early). Onsite and Online. Followed by Tashlich.

9:15 a.m. Young Family Rosh Hashanah Service. Onsite (Age 0 – Grade 1). Followed by Tashlich.

11:30 a.m. Community-Wide Rosh Hashanah Service (Late). Onsite and Online. Followed by Tashlich

Rosh Hashanah Day 2: Wednesday, September 24

10:00 a.m. Lay-Led Rosh Hashanah Day 2 Service and Lunch. Onsite and Online.

2:00 p.m. Reverse Tashlich. Offsite.

Congregation on the bima during Torah reading

Yom Kippur

Kol Nidre: Wednesday, October 1

4:30 p.m. Young Family Service. Onsite. (Age 0 – Grade 1)

5:45 p.m. Community-Wide Kol Nidre Service (Early). Onsite and Online.

6:00 p.m. Family Kol Nidre Service. Onsite. (Grade 2 – 7)

7:00 p.m. Riverway Project Kol Nidre Service (20s & 30s). Onsite and Online.

8:15 p.m. Community-Wide Kol Nidre Service (Late). Onsite and Online.

Yom Kippur: Thursday, October 2

9:00 a.m. Family Yom Kippur Service. Onsite. (Grade 2 – 7)

9:00 a.m. Community-Wide Yom Kippur Service (Early). Onsite and Online.

9:15 a.m. Young Family Yom Kippur Service. Onsite. (Age 0 – Grade 1)

11:30 a.m. Community-Wide Yom Kippur Service (Late). Onsite and Online.

2:00 – 3:00 p.m. Between Services: Stay in the Day. Deepen Your Yom Kippur Experience:

Ask the Clergy. Onsite and Online
Poetry as Prayer; Prayer as Poetry. Onsite and Online.
An Hour of Action. Onsite.
Riverway Gathering Space for 20s & 30s (Unfacilitated). Onsite.
Outdoor Mindfulness Walk. Offsite.

3:45 p.m. Torah Service, Afternoon Service, Yizkor, Neilah, Havdalah. Onsite and Online.

Rabbi Slipakoff showing a congregant how to shake the lulav in the Sukkah

Sukkot October 6 – 13

Erev Sukkot: Monday, October 6

5:15 p.m. Schmooze and Festive meal for All Ages. Onsite.

6:00 p.m. October 7 Commemoration. Onsite and Online.

6:00 p.m. Family Program

6:30 p.m. Festival Service in the Sukkah of Justice and Compassion. Onsite and Online. Followed by a Festive Oneg.

Tuesday, October 7

9:00 a.m. Sukkot Festival Service and Torah Study. Onsite and Online. Followed by Qiddush.

9:30 a.m. Village Sukkot Celebration (ages 0 – 5). Onsite. Followed by Qiddush.

Friday, October 10

6:45 p.m. Riverway Shabbat: Sukkot Edition (20s & 30s). Onsite and Online.

Clergy with a large group of young children holding miniature Torahs

Simchat Torah

Erev Simchat Torah: Monday, October 13

4:30 p.m. Yizkor Memorial Service. Onsite and Online.

5:00 p.m. Consecration for Kindergarten and all new students. Onsite.

5:00 p.m. Festival Meal for all ages. Onsite.

6:00 p.m. Erev Simchat Torah: Creative Sevice Experience. Onsite and online. Followed by dancing and tasty treats.

Simchat Torah, Tuesday, October 14

9:00 a.m. Simchat Torah Festival Service and Yizkor Memorial Service. Onsite and online. Followed by Simchat Torah Qiddush.

9:30 a.m. Village Simchat Torah Celebration (ages 0 – 5). Onsite. Followed by Simchat Torah Qiddush.

Schedules for Each Service Option

Community-Wide Services

Riverway Project High Holy Day Services (20s & 30s)

Family High Holy Day Services (Grade 2 - 7)

Young Family High Holy Day Services (Age 0 - Grade 1)

How to Access Livestream Services

All community-wide High Holy Day services and Riverway Project High Holy Day services will be available on livestream.

If you are unable to join us in person, we invite you to connect with our community online. We’ve thoughtfully invested in making the life of our congregation accessible and meaningful from wherever you are.

There are three easy ways to access our livestream services:

1. Stream on our website

Visit www.tisrael.org and click “Livestream” in the top menu.

2. Subscribe to our Youtube channel

You will be notified when we go live.
Find us at: youtube.com/@TempleIsraelofBoston

3. Join us on Facebook Live

Follow us to view services and connect with our community in real time.
Go to facebook.com/TempleIsraelBoston

Tickets

Tickets are required for all onsite Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur services.

Digital Tickets

This High Holy Day season, we are excited to introduce digital tickets as a new way to welcome you into our sacred spaces.

How will I receive my digital tickets?

Whether you are joining us for Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, or both, you will receive a personalized digital ticket by email approximately 24 hours before the holiday.

How do I present my ticket when I arrive for services?

Your ticket will include your name, your service time, and a unique QR code that will be scanned when you arrive. You can show your ticket on your phone or bring a printed copy — whatever makes you most comfortable. Tickets are non-transferable and are meant just for you.

Who will receive a ticket?

Tickets will be emailed to all members in good standing (meaning those who have made a payment toward this year’s membership or have been in touch with the office to make a plan), as well as to those who have purchased tickets, and guests attending through reciprocal arrangements.

If you’re not yet a member, need to renew, or wish to purchase tickets, contact us at tickets@tisrael.org soon to ensure you receive your digital tickets in time for the holidays.

If you need help with accessing your ticket…

We will be offering office hour help sessions in the weeks leading up to the holidays. You can also reach us anytime at tickets@tisrael.org.

Purchasing Tickets

Tickets can be purchased by completing this form. Please contact tickets@tisrael.org for more information.

Reciprocal Tickets

If you are unable to attend services at Temple Israel and would like to secure reciprocal tickets to a fellow URJ congregation, or if you are a member of a URJ congregation and would like to attend services at Temple Israel, please do one of the following:

Fill out this form to request reciprocal tickets
Send your request to tickets@tisrael.org
Call Emma Savitz, Development Associate, at 617-566-3960

Complimentary Tickets

We are pleased to offer complimentary tickets to military personnel and full-time undergraduate students. Please contact tickets@tisrael.org.

Tickets for Riverway Services (20s & 30s)

We are grateful to be able to offer our Riverway Rosh Hashanah and Kol Nidre services at no cost to those in their 20s and 30s in the Boston area. Registration is required for each service:

Erev Rosh Hashanah tickets
Kol Nidre tickets

Tickets for Young Family Services (Age 0 – Grade 1)

Families with children in Grade 1 and under may register for tickets to our onsite High Holy Day services at no cost.

Questions?

Please reach out to tickets@tisrael.org

Accessibility at Temple Israel

Temple Israel of Boston strives to ensure that our services are accessible and inclusive.

Learn more

Getting Here

Getting here by public transportation

Temple Israel is a 5-minute walk from the Longwood station of the D branch of the Green Line.

Parking

Parking will be available along the Riverway for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, at the Winsor lot, and in the 375 Longwood Avenue Garage. If you are attending the early service, we request that you leave promptly after each service so that parking will be available for congregants attending the late service.

Directions to Temple Israel

Directions via car and public transportation

Immerse Yourselves in the High Holy Days

S’lichot Candlelit Service & Mini-Retreat

As we enter the High Holy Day season, S’lichot offers a gentle transition, a time to slow down, reflect, and return to ourselves and our purpose. Through music, mindfulness, movement, and prayer, our mini retreat offers us an immersive experience of spiritual preparation and renewal.

The evening includes a community dinner, a Spiritual Practice Lab and text study, and a moving candlelit S’lichot service as we ready our Torah scrolls — and our hearts — for the Days of Awe.

Prayerbook Pickup: A Lending Library

For optimal viewing of the liturgy during our online prayer experiences, we suggest you have our prayerbook physically in front of you in book form or electronically. During the month of September, we will lend out copies of Mishkan HaNefesh, the Reform Movement machzor for the High Holy Days, to TI members in good standing.

Tashlich

We invite you to participate in Tashlich (“to cast away”), a beautiful ritual that allows us to symbolically cast our wrongdoings into the water. This tradition can be done on your own or with our TI community. Immediately following Rosh Hashanah morning services you can join
us for this experience; details to be shared at the conclusion of services.

Download the Tashlich handout (pdf).

Machzor Bookplate

Our High Holy Days machzor, “Mishkan HaNefesh,” is the result of collaboration between rabbis, cantors, lay leaders, and members of Reform congregations. Consider dedicating a bookplate, in the amount of $72, to be placed in the front of our beautiful machzorim to remember or honor a loved one, teacher, or friend. Please fill out this form or email Emma Savitz or call her at 617-566-3960.

Congregational Read: The Sabbath

by Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel

Beloved by generations of seekers, Abraham Joshua Heschel’s The Sabbath is a timeless invitation to behold the majesty of creation — even as we are wearied by the noise and urgency of modern life. In this lyrical and profound work, Shabbat is not a day of restriction, but a cathedral in time — a sacred pause that lifts the soul, offering rest, reflection, and connection with the Divine beyond the material.

As we prepare our hearts for the Days of Awe, Heschel’s words offer a path to reflection, connection, and meaning. We invite you to engage with this accessible and powerful text as we journey through Elul and into the High Holy Days, studying together and drawing near to holiness.

Tzedakah Row

Each year we select several organizations.to support through our communal tzedakah effort. Please consider a donation into one of the tzedakah boxes in the Atrium. This year’s partners are:

La Colaborativa
Dror Israel
Keshet

Learn more>

Food Drive Donation

For the 27th year, Temple Israel is proud to partner with the Greater Boston Food Bank for our annual Yom Kippur Food Drive — delivering their largest single-day donation. Paper bags will be available on Rosh Hashanah for you to fill with non-perishable food and return on Yom Kippur when the Food Bank truck will be on Nessel Way.

You can also contribute year-round by bringing food whenever you visit TI, or by making a financial donation through our website. Learn more >

Yizkor

This year, Yizkor, our memorial service, will be included in the Afternoon Service on Yom Kippur and again on Erev Simchat Torah and Simchat Torah.

Sukkot & Simchat Torah

Sukkot reminds us of our communal obligation to face outwards with open hearts to ease suffering and heal our fractured world. Join us in our Sukkah of Justice & Compassion for a night of heartfelt prayer, festive food, and music.

We celebrate the conclusion of one cycle of Torah reading, and immediately begin again, reading various familiar passages, and learning some of our clergy’s favorite texts. Stay afterwards for music and dancing with the Torah!