Each Friday in the month of Elul we focus on prayers of reflection (t’shuvah) that mark this holy time in our calendar. We use the special Elul prayerbook, Mishkan HaLev, at these services. The clergy will give sermons or a teaching appropriate for this season of renewal and reflection.
Services on August 22, 29, and September 5 will be preceded by an oneg at 6:00 pm.
The Family Shabbat service on September 12 will be preceded by a dinner at 5:30 pm. RSVP here.
Rabbi Dr. Dalia Marx will be the featured guest speaker for our month of Elul preparations for the new year. She will speak at:
The New Year is almost here! Selichot (a service of forgiveness) is your chance to get yourself in the right head and heart space for the High Holidays. The traditional Selichot liturgy is a series of penitential prayers. At Temple Sinai, we bring the themes of Selichot into our final Shabbat before Rosh HaShanah. At this in-the-round service featuring Sonya Hayes on violin , we will begin to hear the familiar musical themes of the holidays and change the Torah covers to white as we mark our final Shabbat of preparation before the Days of Awe.
This service will be followed by a festive oneg.
(approximately 1 hour and 15 minutes)
Start your High Holiday season with an unforgettable musical experience. Welcome in Rosh HaShanah with a service meant to open your heart to connection, expand your mind to new Torah, and fill your ears with song. Rabbi Goldstein will deliver the sermon and the service is meant for congregants of all ages. Copies of the Mishkan HaNefesh prayer book will be provided.
(approximately 2 hours)
Our sanctuary service will be led by Rabbi Roos and Cantor Rhodes along with the adult choir. Copies of the Mishkan HaNefesh prayer book will be provided.
(approximately 75 minutes)
Rabbi Goldstein and Cantor Robins will lead this service with piano, bass, and percussion. The service will be interactive and casual in style. Families praying with their children will be comfortable here as will individuals who seek an alternative service appropriate for adults. Please be aware that these services will not include the full liturgy and ritual components found in the Sanctuary. Custom prayer books will be provided.
NEW THIS YEAR: Service location is available in the Member Portal and will be sent to ticket holders via confirmation email.
(approximately 1 hour)
Join Cantor Robins and Rabbi Goldstein for a special service designed and led for our youngest children (ages 0-5) and their loved ones in the Temple Sinai Sanctuary. This service will also feature a special welcome for all the new babies born in the previous year. After the service, we’ll have indoor crafts, stories, and snacks to eat or take home.
This service is open to the community. Request tickets.
Join Rabbi Roos and Cantor Rhodes for Tashlich on the afternoon of Rosh HaShanah. Bring your shofar and join the communal shofar blasts. This is an event for everyone – families with young children and adults of all ages are welcome.
NEW THIS YEAR: Members must register to attend. The service location is available in the Member Portal and will be sent to ticket holders via confirmation email.
(approximately 1 hour and 30 minutes)
Enter the drama and majesty of Yom Kippur with our Kol Nidrei service. Rabbis Roos, Goldstein, and Cantor Rhodes will lead the service together, along with our adult choir and cello. Rabbi Roos will deliver the sermon. Copies of the Mishkan HaNefesh prayer book will be provided.
(approximately 45 minutes)
Join Rabbi Goldstein in the sanctuary for a service designed for our community’s youngest members (0-5 years old), featuring a special Yom Kippur story.
This service is open to the community. Request tickets.
(approximately 2 hours and 15 minutes)
Rabbi Goldstein and Cantor Rhodes will lead our reflective and meaningful morning service. Copies of the Mishkan HaNefesh prayer book will be provided.
(approximately 1 hour and 30 minutes)
Rabbi Roos and Cantor Robins will lead this service accompanied by piano, bass and percussion. The service will be interactive and casual in style. Families praying with their children will be comfortable here as will individuals who seek an alternative service appropriate for adults. Please be aware that these services will not include the full liturgy and ritual components found in the Sanctuary. Custom prayer books will be provided.
NEW THIS YEAR: Service location is available in the Member Portal and will be sent to ticket holders via confirmation email.
Author and American University historian Pamela Nadell will discuss her widely-anticipated book, Antisemitism, an American Tradition. Nadell will be in conversation with Temple Sinai member and historian, Lisa Leff. Nadell’s book details the extensive history of antisemitism in America. Together they will reflect on the presence of antisemitism in American history and help us understand what our community faces in America today.
Our Yom Kippur afternoon discussion is underwritten by Ann Gilbert in memory of Frank Gilbert.
Yom Kippur is a time of prayer and introspection, and it is also a day when we are asked to stand before God as our most vulnerable selves. Our afternoon healing service is open to all who seek a comforting and peaceful place to pray for healing of body, mind, and soul. The service will combine the traditional mincha liturgy and Torah service with a walking healing ritual.
The Yizkor (memorial) service will begin at approximately 4:45 pm. View this year’s Yizkor book. At approximately 5:45 pm, we begin the Neilah (concluding) service. At the end of this musical and spirited Neilah service, we conclude with the final “Great Sounding (Tekiah Gedolah)” of shofars and Havdalah, the ritual marking the conclusion of the holiday. We expect to end Neilah and break fast as a congregation at approximately 7:00 pm.
The congregational break-fast is sponsored by the Temple Sinai Men and Women of Reform Judaism.