Rosh HaShanah (Head of the Year) refers to the celebration of the Jewish New Year. The holiday is observed on the first day of the Hebrew month of Tishrei, and marks the beginning of a ten-day period of prayer, self-examination and repentance, which culminate on the fast day of Yom Kippur. These ten days are referred to as Yamim Noraim, the Days of Awe or the High Holy Days.
Special customs observed on Rosh HaShanah include the sounding of the shofar, serving round challah, eating apples and honey (and other sweet foods) for a sweet new year.
There is also a customary service observed before Rosh HaShanah. S'lichot, meaning forgiveness, refers to the prayers recited by Jews prior to the onset of the High Holy Day season.

Rosh HaShanah begins on Wednesday, September 28, 2011.
Visit our High Holy Day page for a complete schedule of services and programs.

Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, is a day set aside to "afflict the soul," to atone for the sins of the past year. This day, the 10th day of Tishrei , is considered to be the holiest day in the Jewish calendar. In three separate passages in the Torah, the Jewish people are told, "the tenth day of the seventh month is the Day of Atonement. It shall be a sacred occasion for you: You shall practice self-denial." (Leviticus 23:27). To fulfill this biblical commandment, many Jews refrain from work, fast and/or attend synagogue services on Yom Kippur . Fasting also enables one to put aside his/her physical desires and to concentrate on spiritual needs through prayer, repentance and self-improvement. It is customary in the days before Yom Kippur for Jews to seek out friends and family whom they have wronged and personally ask for their forgiveness.

Yom Kippur begins on Friday, October 7, 2011.
Visit our High Holy Day page for a complete schedule of services and programs.

Sukkot (booths/huts), celebrated on the 15th of Tishrei , is the last of the Shalosh R'galim (three pilgrimage festivals). Like Pesach and Shavuot, Sukkot has both historical and agricultural significance. Historically, it commemorates the forty-year period during which the children of Israel were wandering in the desert, living in temporary shelters. Agriculturally, Sukkot is a harvest festival and is sometimes referred to as Chag Ha-Asif , the Festival of Ingathering. A sukkah is often built by Jews during this festival, and it is common practice for some to eat and even live in these temporary dwellings during the week long holiday. Sukkot is such a joyful time that it is commonly referred to in Jewish prayer and literature as Z'man Simchateinu, the Season of Our Rejoicing.

Sukkot begins on Wednesday, October 12, 2011.
Our schedule of events will be:
Wednesday, Otcober 12^th:
5:30 PM - Sukkot Family Program and Pizza in the Hut
6:15 PM - Sukkot Service
Thursday, October 20^th:
10:00 AM - Sukkot Yizkor Service

Simchat Torah means rejoicing in the Torah (law). This holiday marks the completion of the annual cycle of weekly Torah readings. Each week in synagogue a few chapters from the Torah are read, starting with Genesis Ch. 1 and working through to Deuteronomy 34. On Simchat Torah , the last Torah portion is read, then we proceeded immediately to the first chapter of Genesis, as a reminder that the Torah is a circle, and never ends. This is a time of great celebration. There are processions around the synagogue carrying Torah scrolls and plenty of high-spirited singing and dancing. Consecration, a ceremony marking the beginning of a child's Jewish education, is held at this time at EET.

Simchat Torah begins on Wednesday, October 19, 2011.
Our schedule of events will be:
5:30 PM - Consecration Ceremony
5:45 PM - Rolling the Torah
6:15 PM- Simchat Torah service with dancing on 17th Street.
(For video of our joyful 2009 dancing on 17^th Street, visit our media page.)

Did you know there is no mention of Chanukah in the bible?
There are a few different sources of the Chanukah story, the most famous of which are in Maccabees I and II. The story is set in Judea, a region of ancient Israel, under the Greek ruler Antiochus Epiphanes. Antiochus greatly restricted the Jewish people, preventing their religious practice, defiling the Temple in Jerusalem, and forcing them to worship other gods. Some Jews felt they must adhere to these new regulations, out of fear, while others chose to fight for their rights and rebel.
In Modin, Matathias, father of 5 sons, the most famous of whom was Judah (the Maccabee), stood up. He refused to compromise his dietary restrictions or bow to foreign gods. He organized a small army, the Hasmoneans, to revolt against Antiochus' great army, and miraculously they succeeded! What an important lesson for us all, showing the power the few and determined can have against the many, even in times of despair.
After the victory, the holy Temple had to be cleaned and rededicated to Adonai. Legend has it that only one small cruse of pure oil remained to light the Temple lamps, which should have only lasted a day, but miraculously the oil burned for eight! Perhaps the real miracle is, after thousands of years, that those candles are still burning brightly today.

Chanukah begins on Tuesday, December 20, 2011.

Tu BiSh'vat or the "New Year of the Trees" is Jewish Arbor Day. The holiday is observed on the fifteenth ( tu ) of Sh'vat . Scholars believe that Tu BiSh'vat was originally an agricultural festival, marking the emergence of spring. After the destruction of the Temple in 70 C.E. this holiday was a way for Jews to symbolically bind themselves to their former homeland by eating foods that could be found in Israel. In the sixteenth and seventeenth century Kabbalists created a ritual for Tu BiSh'vat similar to the Passover Seder . Today, Tu BiSh'vat has also become a tree planting festival in Israel, in which both Israelis and Jews around the world plant trees in honor or in memory of a loved one or friend.

Tu BiSh'vat is on February 8, 2012.

The Book of Esther, from the Ketuvim (Writings) section of the Bible, recounts the story of Purim , telling of how the Jews of Persia were saved from destruction. During the time of King Ahasuerus, one of his ministers, Haman, sought to destroy the Jews to exact revenge on Mordecai, a Jew who refused to bow down to him. With the king's authority, Haman drew lots ( purim ) to determine the fateful day, which fell on the 13th of the month of Adar . Learning of this decree, Mordecai approached the new queen, his cousin Esther, to intercede with the king. At a banquet for the king and Haman, Esther denounced the evil Haman and saved the Jews.
The days following Ether’s triumph over the enemies who sought to destroy her and her people (the 14th and 15th of Adar ) are declared days of feasting and merrymaking, today celebrated as Purim .

Purim begins on Wednesday, March 7, 2012.  

Pesach (Passover) is a major Jewish spring festival, commemorating the Exodus from Egypt over 3,000 years ago. The ritual observance of this holiday centers around a special home service called the Seder (order) and a festive meal; the prohibition of chametz (leaven); and the eating of matzah (unleavened bread). On the eve of the fifteenth day of Nisan in the Hebrew calendar, we read from a book called the hagaddah, meaning "telling," which contains the order of prayers, rituals, readings and songs for the Pesach Seder. The Pesach Seder is the only ritual meal in the Jewish calendar year for which such an order is prescribed, hence its name.
(Click here to download an East End Temple Hagadah.)

Pesach begins Friday, April 6, 2012.
Our schedule of events will be:
Thursday, April 12^th:
6:00 PM - Sisterhood Lilith Seder
Friday, April 13^th:
10:00 AM - Pesach Yizkor Service

Shavuot (weeks) refers to the Jewish festival marking the giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai. It is also known as Zeman Matan Toratenu , (the Season of the Giving of Our Law), which commemorates the receiving of the Ten Commandments. The Torah tells us it took precisely forty-nine days for our ancestors to travel from Egypt to the foot of Mount Sinai where they were to receive the Torah. Thus, Leviticus 23:21 commands: "And you shall proclaim that day (the fiftieth day) to be a holy convocation!" The name Shavuot then symbolizes the completion of a seven-week journey.
Shavuot , like so many other Jewish holidays began as an ancient agricultural festival, marking the end of the spring barley harvest and the beginning of the summer wheat harvest. Shavuot was distinguished in ancient times by bringing crop offerings to the Temple in Jerusalem.
One special custom on Shavuot is the reading of the Book of Ruth, which reminds us that we too can find a continual source of blessing in our tradition. Another practice called Tikkun Leil Shavuot , is to stay up all night to study Torah and Mishnah . This symbolizes our commitment to the Torah, and that we are always ready and awake to receive it. Also, dairy dishes are commonly served on this holiday to symbolize the sweetness of the Torah, as well as the "land of milk and honey."

Shavuot begins on Saturday, May 26, 2012.
Our schedule of events will be: 
Saturday, May 26^th: 
6:15 PM - Erev Shavuot Service
Sunday, May 27^th:
10:00 AM - Sukkot Yizkor Service

Prayers and Rituals Handbook