We invite you to join with us in community for the High Holy Days, which will begin at sundown on Sunday, September 25, 2022, and conclude at sundown on Wednesday, October 5, 2022. All of this year’s services will be held both in-person at Kerem Shalom and via Zoom, except for some Yom Kippur afternoon programs and Tashlich, which we will share together at the Old North Bridge on Rosh Hashanah.
As we approach these solemn and joyful holy days, we are aware that these continue to be challenging times. COVID is still with us; wars continue in Ukraine and elsewhere; climate extremes are increasingly common, and the United States continues to be politically polarized over a host of critical issues. Our hope is that these High Holy Days will give members and friends meaningful and safe ways to come together both in person and online. In doing so, we recognize and draw from the long history of how for generations, Jews have found messages of hope and renewal in the High Holy Days, even when they came during challenging and sometimes horrific times. Indeed, we believe that at such times, it is especially important to come together and say “hineni”: I am here; we are here; and we are ready.
REGISTRATION FOR SERVICES (IN-PERSON & ONLINE)
Members and non-members must register to attend services—whether attending in-person or online. After you complete the detailed registration form linked below, you—and anyone joining you who is not part of your household—will be asked to also register for a Zoom link (even if you are planning to attend only in-person services).
After completing the Zoom registration form, you will receive an email with the Zoom link, which will serve as your “reservation card” for in-person services. If you are attending an in-person service, please print this email out, bring it with you, and show it to the greeters in the atrium. A copy of the email will also be sent to you just before the start of services on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.
Masks are required for all indoor gatherings. Please read our most up-to-date KS COVID-19 Policy prior to attending services.
We hope you also will consider donating to the High Holy Days Campaign when you register for services. Your donation will help maintain Kerem Shalom as a dynamic, program-rich, spiritually nourishing community in both physical and virtual settings.
SCHEDULE OF SERVICES & ACTIVITIES
(Scroll down for full descriptions of services & programs)
CLICK HERE for a printable schedule.
Erev Rosh Hashanah
Sunday, Sep 25, 2022
7:00 pm – Community Service, in-person and online, with live captioning
Please note: Rabbi Darby will deliver his main sermon at this service.
Rosh Hashanah
Monday, Sep 26, 2022
8:30 am – Early Childhood Family Service, in-person, with ASL, and online
10:00 am – Community Service, in-person and online, with live captioning
All children are welcome during the community service. We also will offer childcare primarily geared to young children (ages three to eight). Students in grades 3-6 are invited to come to the first part of the service and then to join in age-appropriate holiday activities with Rabbi Sam during the Torah Service. Students will return for a special blessing during the Shofar Service.
12:30 pm – Extended outdoor Kiddush following the Rosh Hashanah service.
4:30 pm – Tashlich at the Old North Bridge – At the Monument Street entrance (NOT Liberty Street). Please note this service will not be available via Zoom.
- Please refrain from going near the bulkhead and shoreline, for safety reasons.
- Please don’t throw breadcrumbs into the river as they disrupt the ecosystem.
- Instead, we ask that you please only throw leaves.
Rosh Hashanah Day 2
Tuesday, Sep 27, 2022
10:00 am – Community Service led by David Orlinoff, in-person and online, with Zoom captioning
Erev Yom Kippur (Kol Nidre)
Tuesday, Oct 4, 2022
7:00 pm – Community Service, in-person and online, with live captioning
Please note Rabbi Darby will deliver his main Yom Kippur sermon at this service.
Yom Kippur
Wednesday, Oct 5, 2022
8:30 am – Early Childhood Family Service, in-person, with ASL, and online
10:00 am – Community Service, in-person and online, with live captioning
All children are welcome during the community service. We also will offer childcare primarily geared to young children (ages three to eight). Students in grades 3-6 are invited to come to the first part of the service and then to join in age-appropriate holiday activities with Rabbi Sam during the Torah Service and, optionally, continuing through Yizkor.
12:00 pm – Yizkor (Memorial Service), in-person and online, with live captioning
See below for information on the Yizkor slide show and how to submit photos.
1:30 pm – Torah Study, with Rabbi Sam, in-person only
2:30 pm – Mindfulness Meditation, with Cheryl Steinberg and Scott Sancetta, in-person only
3:30 pm – Musical Musaf Service, with Tiferet Ensemble, in-person only
For those at home, CLICK HERE to view last year’s Musical Musaf video.
4:30 pm – Mincha (Afternoon Service), in-person and online, with live captioning
5:30 pm – Neilah (Closing Service), in-person and online, with live captioning
6:30 pm – Havdalah, in-person and online, with live captioning
You are welcome to break your fast with light snacks that will be available outside after Havdalah.
PRAYER BOOKS
Hard copies of the Mazhor Hadash can be picked up in the KS atrium on:
• Monday, September 19, between 10 am and 5 pm
• Wednesday, September 21, between 10 am and 4 pm
• Thursday, September 22, between 10 am and 4 pm and between 7 and 9 pm
High Holy Days Mahzor:
Erev Rosh Hashanah
Rosh Hashanah Morning
Tashlich
Yom Kippur Maariv-Kol Nidre
Yom Kippur Morning
Yom Kippur Afternoon
High Holy Days Supplement
DESCRIPTIONS OF SERVICES & PROGRAMS
Community Evening Services will begin online at 7:00 pm on Erev Rosh Hashanah and 7:00 pm on Erev Yom Kippur. As has been his recent practice, Rabbi Darby will deliver his Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur sermons at the evening services.
Early Childhood Family Services, led by Family Engagement Specialist Nancy Kaplan and Director of Congregational Learning Rabbi Sam Pollak, will begin at 8:30 am and last about an hour. These services are highly participatory and include lots of music and storytelling as well as some out-of-your-seat movement. Early Childhood Family Services are appropriate for families with children in preschool through 2nd grade, though all ages are welcome to join the festivities. On Rosh Hashanah, the Young Family Service will conclude with the blowing of the Shofar.
– Child Care is available from 9:30 am-12:30 pm on both Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur (during daytime community services).
Community Morning Services, led by Rabbi Darby and KS Cantor Rosalie Gerut, will begin at 10:00 am. Conducted in a mixture of English and Hebrew (all transliterated), these spiritually fulfilling services will engage the multi-generational span of our community. On Yom Kippur, the Community Service will continue without pause into Yizkor, the Memorial Service.
– Children’s participation on Rosh Hashanah: On Rosh Hashanah, school-age children (and any child who wants to join parents) are warmly invited to join the first hour of community service. Rabbi Sam will lead a breakout activity geared to children 3rd grade and up. Children of all ages are warmly welcomed to the Shofar service, during which Rabbi Darby gives a special blessing to children, along with a sweet (gluten-free, nut-free, kosher) treat.
– Children’s participation on Yom Kippur: On Yom Kippur, school-age children are encouraged to join the community service for the first hour. Rabbi Sam will again offer an age-appropriate activity geared to students in 3rd grade and up during the Torah Service. He will also provide an activity during Yizkor so that parents can pick up children following the Yizkor service. Yom Kippur afternoon services (Mincha through Havdalah) are very family-friendly. (Mincha includes a creative rendition of Jonah.)
Tashlich which is also a family and child-friendly service, will be held on the first day of Rosh Hashanah, rain or shine, at the Old North Bridge in Concord. We cast small stones, sticks, or leaves into the moving water to symbolically release last year’s regrets and contemplate what we wish to draw from the water to nourish us as we enter the New Year. (Please note that this service will not be available online.)
Second Day Rosh Hashanah morning services will be led by long-time Kerem Shalom member David Orlinoff. David has led this illuminating, uplifting service for more than 30 years. It’s a great way for adults and families to more fully experience the start of our new year. Come see why this year’s service will be especially sweet!
Yizkor, the Memorial Service immediately after the morning service on Yom Kippur, provides an opportunity to witness the ongoing presence of our now-deceased loved ones in our lives. The online service will end with a slide show of those we are remembering. The slide show will also be available on the KS Member Portal following Yom Kippur. See below for details on how to submit photos.
Torah Study and Mindfulness Meditation You are invited to sustain the contemplative mood of Yom Kippur with in-person Torah Study led by Rabbi Sam Pollak, our Director of Congregational Learning, and Mindfulness Meditation, led by Scott Sancetta and Cheryl Steinberg, which will be also be offered in-person only.
The Musical Musaf Service, with the Tiferet String Ensemble, will provide a musical and spiritual prelude to Mincha, Neilah, and Havdalah. This will also be in-person only. Those viewing remotely can CLICK HERE to view last year’s Musical Musaf video.
Mincha, the afternoon service, will include a creative reading of the Book of Jonah that will appeal to people of all ages.
Neilah, “the Closing of the Gates,” is the last service of Yom Kippur, completing the arc of the High Holy Days. It is a meaningful, moving, and fulfilling service for all ages. Everyone is warmly encouraged to return (in-person or via Zoom) for this moving service. We will then conclude with a very short Havdalah service. After the service, a light snack will be available in the tent behind the sanctuary.
YIZKOR SLIDE SHOW PHOTOS
This year’s Yizkor service will be followed, for those who are online, by a visual memorial slide show. After Yom Kippur, those who attend the Yizkor service in person can view the slide show, which will be on the KS Member Portal.
If you submitted a photo last year, we will be using it again, and there’s no need to resubmit it.
If you would like to add an additional photo to the slide show, please send it in as soon as possible—by September 16, at 10 am, at the latest.
Submission of new photos:
• Email to as an attachment OR
• Upload it to the cloud app of your choice (Google Photos, DropBox, etc.), and send an email to including a link to the photo. (Please remember to include login permissions or credentials if required.)
• Please include the name of the person in the photograph.
If the photo is not in a digital form, you can:
• Scan it OR take a picture of it with your phone
• Email to
Need help? Email:
HIGH HOLY DAYS APPEAL
The beginning of a New Year offers an opportunity to further sustain Kerem Shalom, as a dynamic, program-rich, spiritually nourishing community in both physical and virtual settings. While gifts of any amount are appreciated, we ask that you consider giving in two ways. First, please consider making a voluntary donation to support the 5783 High Holy Days Appeal; we suggest a donation of $486 per family, but any amount is welcome. In addition, if you will be joined by an adult family member (post Bar/Bat Mitzvah) who is not living at home or a non-family guest for our High Holy Day services, we ask that you make a donation of $180 for each non-resident member of your extended family and $360 for each adult non-family guest.
Thank you for supporting KS!
MEMBERS PLEASE VOLUNTEER TO HELP
Helping before, during, and after the High Holy Days is an enjoyable and rewarding way to get ready for the holidays, to meet and connect with other members, and to help the community. Opportunities include helping set up the social hall for services, welcoming people to services, handing out prayer books, and helping set up and clean up the extended outdoor Kiddush that will follow services on the first day of Rosh Hashanah and the modest break-fast that will follow the closing services on Yom Kippur.
Members, CLICK HERE to see and sign up for one of the many volunteer opportunities.
JOIN US ON SUKKOT
Please join us at Kerem Shalom as we celebrate Sukkot, which begins on Sunday, Oct 9, 2022. Join us for our Sukkah Raising Party on Sunday, October 9 at 10:30 am and a Community Dinner in the Sukkah on Friday, October 14 at 6:30 pm. Look for more details in upcoming KS Weekly News emails.
Celebrate SIMCHAT TORAH WITH KS
Simchat Torah (“Joy of Torah”) celebrates the completion of the annual cycle of reading the Torah and begins, on Monday, October 17, 2022. We’ll be sharing a special dinner at KS at 5:30 pm follwed by a Simchat Torah Celebration & Dancing at 6:30 pm, led by Rabbi Darby & Rosalie with Kerem Shalom’s Klezmer Band.
KS COVID-19 Policy
Before attending any in-person services, please read our current COVID-19 Policy, which is reviewed regularly and updated as needed.
QUESTIONS?
If you have any additional questions about the High Holy Days, please contact Kerem Shalom Administrator Robyn Barabe, at (preferred method) or by phone at 978-369-1223 ext 0. We always look forward to seeing you, other members, and special guests at the High Holidays. This year, of course, it will be especially sweet to see everyone, both in-person and online.
With our best wishes to you and your loved ones for the coming New Year,
High Holy Days Committee:
Elisabeth Sackton (Co-Chair)
David Luberoff (Co-Chair)
Deborah Alevy
Robyn Barabe
Sharon Gillett
Jan Huber O’Callaghan
John Langell
Marty Plotkin
Marla Richmond
Debbie Simon
Lloyd Simon
Jon Sutton
Deena Whitfield