CLICK HERE to Register for High Holy Days and Childcare
Erev Rosh Hashanah
Friday, September 11
7-9 pm – Community Service
In-person and online with live captioning available for those attending via Zoom
Led by Rabbi Darby and Molly Bajgot, these services will be conducted in a mixture of Hebrew and English. Rabbi Darby will deliver his main Rosh Hashanah sermon at this service. All children are welcome at the service and childcare will be offered for younger children (those who are potty-trained up to those in 2nd grade).
You must register for childcare in advance (via the main registration form).
We are unable to accommodate walk-in registrations for childcare.
Rosh Hashanah Day 1
Saturday, September 12
8:30-9:15 am – Early Childhood Family Service
In-person and online
Led by Nancy Kaplan, who served for many years as our Director of Family Education, this service is recommended for children under the age of seven, their families, and any other adults who would like to attend. Services, which last less than an hour, are highly participatory and include lots of music and storytelling and 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. The service will conclude with a light holiday snack.
10 am-12:30 pm Community Service
In-person and online, with live captioning for those attending via Zoom
Led by Rabbi Darby and Molly Bajgot, Interim Cantorial Soloist, these spiritually fulfilling services will engage the multi-generational span of our community. The morning service on Rosh Hashanah will also include a special blessing for children from Rabbi Darby around noon. (Children in childcare will be brought into the room before the blessing.)
Childcare for young children will be available during these services
- Childcare, which is open to children who are potty trained up to those who are in 2nd grade, will start with a session led by LilyFish Gomberg, Kerem Shalom’s new Director of Congregational Learning, celebrating the world’s birthday, and then holiday-focused activities for the rest of the morning.
Preregistration (via the High Holy Days registration form is required by Friday, September 4, and walk-in registrations will not be available.
Breakout Session for 3rd-7th Graders During Torah Service (11 am-12 pm)
- At around 11 am, when the Torah Service begins, children in grades 3-7 are invited to leave for a breakout session, led by LilyFish Gomberg, KS’s new Director of Congregational Learning. During the session, they’ll have the opportunity to get up, move, laugh, and learn the story of Hannah — yes, the one from Rosh HaShanah’s Haftarah — with their whole bodies, not just their ears. Hannah prayed so hard, so quietly, that the priest at Shiloh was totally convinced something was wrong with her. (It wasn’t. She was just praying like nobody was watching.) Kids will act it out, laugh a little, think about what prayer means, and walk away with a surprise (something small and sealed of their own).
You must register for the breakout session in advance (via the main registration form).
Rosh Hashanah Day 2
Sunday, September 13, 2026
10 am-12 pm – Community Service
In-person and online, with Zoom AI-captioning
Led by David Orlinoff, for the 39th consecutive year, this service is an excellent way for adults and families to more fully experience the start of our new year.
Following the service, there will be a Kiddush lunch, hosted by David Orlinoff and Cherry Muse. Everyone is welcome; please RSVP on the main registration form.
No childcare will be available during the service or the lunch.
2 pm – Tashlich at the Old North Bridge
In-person only at the Monument Street entrance (not the Liberty Street entrance)
Led by Rabbi Darby, this family-friendly gathering will feature singing and traditional activities. Please don’t bring breadcrumbs into the river as they disrupt the ecosystem. Instead, please only throw leaves, twigs and pebbles, which you can find on the ground at the park.
Erev Yom Kippur (Kol Nidre)
Sunday, September 20, 2026
6:30-9 pm – Community Service
In-person and online, with live captioning
Led by Rabbi Darby and Molly Bajgot, these services will be conducted in a mixture of Hebrew and English. Rabbi Darby will deliver his main Yom Kippur sermon at this service. All children are welcome at the service.
You must register for childcare in advance (via the main registration form).
We are unable to accommodate walk-in registrations.
Yom Kippur
Monday, September 21, 2026
8:30-9:15 am – Early Childhood Family Service
In-person and online
Led by Nancy Kaplan, who served for many years as our Director of Family Education, this service is recommended for children under the age of seven, their families, and any other adults who would like to attend. Services, which last less than an hour, are highly participatory and include lots of music and storytelling and 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.
10 am-12:30 pm Community Service
In-person and online, with live captioning for those attending via Zoom
Led by Rabbi Darby and Molly Bajgot, these spiritually fulfilling services will engage the multi-generational span of our community.
Childcare for younger children
- Childcare, which is open to children who are potty trained up to those who are in second grade, will start with a session led by LilyFish Gomberg, Kerem Shalom’s new Director of Congregational Learning, that will include soft breathing together, a read-aloud about teshuvah, and then holiday-focused activities for the rest of the morning.
- Preregistration (via the High Holy Days registration form) is required by Monday, September 14, and walk-in registrations will not be available.
Breakout Session for 3rd-7th Graders During Torah Service (11 am-12 pm)
- At around 11 am, when the Torah Service begins, children in grades 3-7 are invited to leave for a breakout session, led by LilyFish Gomberg, KS’s new Director of Congregational Learning.
- During the session, children will have the opportunity to build a mural with their bare hands to tell the story of Jonah — running, storm, fish, the whole wild thing — right up through the part where he’s furious that everyone got forgiven and sulks under a plant about it. Later in the afternoon, we’ll bring the mural back and share what the children made with the whole congregation.
- You must register for the breakout session in advance (via the main High Holy Days registration form).
12:30-1 pm – Yizkor (Memorial Service)
In person and online, with live captioning for those attending via Zoom
Held immediately after the morning service on Yom Kippur, Yizkor provides an opportunity to witness the ongoing presence of our now-deceased loved ones in our lives.
Childcare and breakout sessions
- Childcare for children who are potty-trained to 2nd Grade will be available during this service. You must register in advance for childcare (via the main High Holy Days registration form). We are unable to accommodate walk-in registrations.
- During Yizkor, we will offer a quiet space with some activities for children in grades 3-7. You must register for this in advance (via the main High Holy Days registration form).
Yizkor slideshow
For those attending online, the service will end with a slide show of those we are remembering. The slideshow will also be available on the KS Member Portal following Yom Kippur.
If you previously submitted a photo, it will automatically be included in this year’s slide show. You can submit a new photo by emailing it as an attachment or by sharing a link to it from a cloud-based application such as Google Photos or DropBox. Please send the photo or the link, along with the name of the person you are remembering, to by Tuesday, September 1. Send an email to if you have a question or are having problems uploading or sharing a photo.
2-3 pm – Torah Study
In-person only
LilyFish Gomberg, Kerem Shalom’s new Director of Congregational Learning, will lead a discussion of Leviticus 18:22 and 20:13, which contains the verses most commonly used to condemn same-sex relationships. This Yom Kippur, we’re going to look closely at the Hebrew words instead of talking around them. Together we’ll trace how the word שכב (to lie down) is used everywhere else it appears for physical intimacy in the Torah, and see what pattern emerges — one that complicates the reading these verses have carried for centuries. This discussion will be built on scholarship developed with a colleague, Rabbi Alex Friedman.
No childcare will be available during this session.
3-4 pm Contemplative Chanting Circle
In-person only
Step into a gentle, soulful space of song and silence this Yom Kippur afternoon, led by Interim Cantorial Soloist Molly Bajgot. Together, share an hour of simple melodies and niggunim (wordless chants) to help us return to ourselves and open our hearts during this day of reflection. No singing experience necessary –just your presence and an openness to listen and join in.
No childcare will be available during this session.
4-5 pm – Musical Musaf Service
In-person only
Kerem Shalom’s Tiferet String Ensemble will provide a musical and spiritual Musaf service that will help lead us towards Mincha, Neilah, and Havdalah.
No childcare will be available during this service. And children are welcome!
5-6 pm – Mincha (Afternoon Service)
In-person and online, with live captioning for those attending via Zoom
All families and children are welcome at the service, which features a family friendly telling of the Jonah story.
Childcare will be offered for younger children during this service. You must register in advance for childcare (via the main High Holy Days registration form). We are unable to accommodate walk-in registrations.
We will also provide a quiet area where older children (grades 3 and above) can read, draw, and talk (but not use their phones or other electronic devices).
6-7:20 pm – Neilah and Havdalah
In-person and online, with live captioning for those attending via Zoom
Neilah, “The Closing of the Gates,” and Havdalah are the last services of Yom Kippur, completing the arc of the High Holy Days. They are meaningful and fulfilling services for all ages. Everyone is warmly encouraged to return (in-person or via Zoom) for these moving services. We will give a small gift to all children who return in person to these services and light snacks will be available after Havdalah.
Childcare will be offered for younger children during Neilah. You must register in advance for childcare (via the main High Holy Days registration form). We are unable to accommodate walk-in registrations.
We will also provide a quiet area where older children (grades 3 and older) can read, draw, and talk (but not use their phones or other electronic devices) until 7pm.
7:30 pm – Community Pot Luck Break Fast
In addition to light snacks that will be available for everyone after Havdalah, all members of Kerem Shalom are also invited to a Community Pot Luck Break Fast after services. If you would like to attend, please register by Thursday, September 17.
CLICK HERE to register for the Break Fast