High Holidays 5786

Rosh Hashana - The Jewish New Year: From sunset on Monday, September 22nd to nightfall on Wednesday, September 24th, 2025 / 1--2 Tishrei 5786

Yom Kippur - The Day of Atonement: From sunset on Wednesday, October 1st to nightfall on Thursday, October 2nd, 2025 / 10 Tishrei 5786 

Click here for a full list of Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur Service times

We are excited to welcome many people to the OJC during the upcoming holidays.

We are blessed with many individuals who devote much of their time to the synagogue and to service to the community. Greeters are present at the entrances to the synagogue and our prayer spaces to offer a warm welcome, to assist in helping you find a comfortable and appropriate space, to direct traffic and to maintain decorum. Greeters will have schedules of services handy, and will help you navigate to reserved or available unreserved seats.

If you would like to offer an hour (or two, or more!) to serve as a greeter, please reach out to Josh Turnof or sign up here.

Tickets:

For purposes of security, each person attending High Holiday services will be required to show a ticket issued in their name at the entrance, regardless of which service they attend. Tickets are non-transferable. 

Ticket requests can be submitted online using a simple form. We know that the shift from a hard copy mailing and paper ticketing process can be challenging for some, and we’re here to help you through it. If you’d prefer help navigating the online process, you may stop by the synagogue for in-person assistance, and you are also welcome to call us with questions or to request to receive this information via a printed mailing. Ticket requests and payment must be received by the OJC office by FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2025. Due to the number of requests we receive, we regret that we cannot accept telephone orders for tickets or bill ticket payments. 

Sanctuary and Chavurah Services:

We welcome you to begin the morning of each holy day at 9:00 AM in the Sanctuary with an abbreviated Pesukei D’Zimrah and a full Shacharit service. The Chavurah service begins in the Daily Chapel with the Torah service at 9:45 AM on both days of Rosh Hashana, and will be led by Rabbi Hersh on the first day of Rosh Hashana and by Rabbi Scheff on the second. The rabbis will deliver their Rosh Hashana sermons in the Sanctuary service and the Chavurah service at approximately 10:45 AM.

On Yom Kippur, Rabbi Shoyer will deliver the Kol Nidre sermon in the Sanctuary, and Rabbi Scheff will deliver the Yom Kippur morning sermon in the Sanctuary at approximately 11:00 AM. He will then deliver the sermon in the Daily Chapel (at approximately 11:30 AM). On Yom Kippur morning, the Chavurah service will start with the Torah service at 10:00 AM. Rabbi Hersh will lead this service, but Rabbi Scheff will visit to deliver the sermon that morning.

Both the Sanctuary service and the Chavurah service will conclude at approximately 1:00 PM on Rosh Hashana and 1:30 PM on Yom Kippur.
 

Virtual Option:

All services that take place in the Sanctuary will also be offered online in a webinar format via our sanctuary Zoom link. For those of you attending High Holiday services virtually, mahzors (High Holiday prayer books) will be available for pick-up at OJC. We will send a separate announcement when they are available. If you need to have one delivered to you, please contact Krista at Office@theojc.org or 845-359-5920 x 2.
 

Family Service:

Family Services will take place in the Ohel (large tent) in the OJC parking lot, from 10:30 AM to 12:00 PM on both mornings of Rosh Hashanah and the morning of Yom Kippur. Led by Rabbi Shoyer, these services are geared toward children up to fifth grade and their grown-ups. We will gather together to welcome a sweet new year with joy and reflection, renewing our connection to community, family, and tradition. There is no charge to attend Family Services. Please sign up using this form so we know how many people to expect. 

Babysitting Services:

If you are interested in babysitting services, please contact Deb Klock at office.assistant@theojc.org or 845-359-5920 x 4 (Please leave a message) no later than Friday, September 5. If there is not enough advanced expressed interest, this service will not be made available.

An Open Invitation: Israeli Families Currently in the United States 

We are aware that there are many Israeli families still displaced from their homes, and many still in the greater NY/NJ area. We would like to invite any of them to join us for the chagim - as our guests. Please feel free to share this widely. If anyone is interested in joining us, they should email: rabbi.hersh@theojc.org.