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We are a Warm and Welcoming Conservative Congregation In Pepper Pike, Ohio

Home > Pray > Holidays at B'nai Jeshurun > High Holidays

High Holidays

High Holidays 5786

Shanah tovah! The High Holidays, also called the Days of Awe, is a time for us to look inward, outward and upward: inward to our conscience – what needs to change this year; outward to the world – how does our inner change impact the repair of God’s world; and upward to God who inspires, demands, cajoles, and waits patiently for our return. There is no better place to spend the High Holidays than with us!

Memorial Plaques and/or a listing in the Golden Book of Remembrance is a beautiful way to remember a loved one. Orders may be placed anytime during the year, but are dedicated twice yearly, at Yizkor Pesach and Yom Kippur. The deadline for orders for Yom Kippur 5786 is Friday, September 5, 2025. Contact Diane Dronzek to place an order or to learn more.

The Memorial (Yizkor) Booklet, a project of Sisterhood, is updated annually. The deadline for  submissions for 5786 is Tuesday, September 2, 2025. The booklet is distributed at all four Yizkor services during the year (Yom Kippur, Shemini Atzeret, Pesach and Shavuot).  

If you would like to stream, click here to be directed to our streaming page.
Click here for the Rosh Hashanah programs. 
Extra Readings & Prayers for Rosh Hashanah.
Click here for the Yom Kippur programs.
Extra Readings & Prayers for Yom Kippur.
 

Schedule of Services:
Erev Rosh Hashanah – Monday, September 22
Service (David J. & Ruth A. Moskowitz Sanctuary) - 6:00 pm

1st Day Rosh Hashanah - Tuesday, September 23
Services - 8:30 am (BJC & Gross Schechter)
Young Childrens’ Holiday Experience (Halpern Hall) - 9:45 am
Family Service (Halpern Hall) - 11:00 am
Teen Program (Gottlieb Auditorium) - 11:00 am
Tashlikh (Pepper Pike Park) - 4:00 pm
Mincha (Nickman Chapel) - 6:00 pm

2nd Day Rosh Hashanah - Wednesday, September 24
Services (David J. & Ruth A. Moskowitz Sanctuary) - 8:30 am
Family Service & Program (Halpern Hall) - 10:30 am
Teen Program (Youth Lounge) - 10:30 am
Kavvanah Minyan (Gottlieb Auditorium) - 10:30 am
Congregational Kiddush*
Mincha (Nickman Chapel) - 6:00 pm

Kol Nidre - Wednesday, October 1
Please arrive by 6:30 pm – we will be starting on time
Kol Nidre (David J. & Ruth A. Moskowitz Sanctuary) - 6:35 pm
Candle Lighting & Fast begins - 6:50 pm

Yom Kippur - Thursday, October 2
Services - 9:00 am (BJC & Gross Schechter)
Young Childrens’ Holiday Experience (Halpern Hall) - 9:45 am
Family Service (Halpern Hall) - 11:00 am
Teen Program (Gottlieb Auditorium) - 11:00 am
Yizkor - 12:00 pm
Congregational Speaker (Halpern Hall) - after Yizkor (approx. 12:30 pm)
Teaching with Rabbi Shalom Plotkin (Halpern Hall) - 4:15 pm
Mincha - 5:00 pm
Q&A with the Clergy - 6:15 pm
Neila – Ma’ariv - 6:45 pm
Havdalah and Shofar (Yom Kippur ends) - 7:50 pm
The Men’s Club is providing a Break the Fast snack immediately following the end of Yom Kippur services.

*The Congregational Kiddush is sponsored by Laura & David Vexler in memory of their fathers, Bruce Brown and Robert Vexler.

High Holiday Family Programming

   Click here  for the upcoming High Holiday Family programming!
 

Yom Kippur Speaker

Teens: 11 am • Gottlieb Auditorium
Adults: 12:30 pm (following Yizkor) • Halpern Hall

Clarence Bozeman will help us understand forgiveness and inspire us to get the new year started off on the right foot as he shares his experience of the Civil Rights Movement in Alabama and the values he learned from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. During Bozeman’s college days at the University, he was privileged to serve as the driver for Dexter Avenue Baptist Church and the King family from 1958-1960. He had the opportunity to share in their private thoughts and conversations, which ranged from aspirations and barriers in the Black community, the Montgomery bus boycott, student sit-ins at Alabama State University and other civil rights challenges. Bozeman retired in 2004 after a long career as a high school educator, teaching students in both Alabama and Ohio and most recently serving as principal at Shaw High
School in East Cleveland.

Congregational Tashlikh

Tuesday, September 23 • 1st day Rosh Hashanah • 4 pm
Pepper Pike Park

Experience Tashlikh as we gather to cast our sins away and earn God’s forgiveness. The park is located next to the Fire Department off Shaker/Gates Mills circle. We will meet there. Click here to view the Tashlikh service booklet.

The Bridge Reverse Tashlikh: Beach Clean-Up

Sunday, September 28 • 10 am – noon • Edgewater Beach

Instead of casting things away, we’ll be cleaning up Edgewater Beach to protect our waters and our world. Register here.  The Bridge is our group for 20s/30s.

Selichot 

Saturday, September 13 • 8:30 pm

Join us for an evening of film study, Torah learning and self-reflection. We will watch an episode of the show, Reformed, a charming French series following the life and work of a young female rabbi charting a new course in the world of French Jewry. This episode explores themes of teshuvah, specifically the concept of the Ba’al Teshuvah - someone who has embraced a traditional observant Jewish lifestyle - and the subsequent rupture in the fabric of his family life. This will be followed by guided learning and reflective exercises, leading into our Selichot service.

8:30 pm Musical Havdalah - in person and on Zoom
8:45 pm Program
9:45 pm Refreshments
10:00 pm Selichot Services led by Cantor Alyssa Rosenbaum and the B’nai Jeshurun Choir - in person and on stream.

Click here for the Selichot Reflection Sheet.
Click here for the Selichot Prayer Booklet

Kavvanah Minyan

2nd day Rosh Hashanah • 10:30 am • Gottlieb Auditorium

The High Holidays are a great spiritual journey filled with drama, oscillating between somber severity and ecstatic joy. Experience the high highs and grapple with the harder, lower moments while engaging in deep self-reflection, meaningful prayer and uplifting song! Join Rabbi Alex with special guest Saralee Shrell-Fox, expert prayer leader, who is joining us for this High Holiday season. Saralee leads participatory, ruach-filled services, and we are thrilled to have her join us for a part of Kavvanah Minyan.

Yizkor Garden

Who are you remembering this Yizkor? As part of JWell, and in
partnership with Sisterhood, we are creating a memory garden
for Yom Kippur – a place for stories and spirits to take root and blossom, allowing our loved ones to live on in our lives and in our community in new ways. We ask that you send in a picture and
a memory or story of your loved one to populate our garden
(two submissions per person maximum). The garden will be open in our building all day long on Yom Kippur – visit when you need a break from the service, or come in the afternoon during the downtime. May all these memories be a blessing. Submit your photos and stories here by September 15.

Cemetery Memorial Services

Sunday, September 28
9:30 am Glenville Cemetery and Bet Olam Cemetery
11:00 am Chesterland Memorial Park

It is customary that we visit the graves of our loved ones before Rosh Hashanah or between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. We come to their gravesides to let them know that we still feel their presence in our hearts. It is our opportunity to honor them for all that they accomplished in life and for the impact they had on our lives. We also come to draw strength and comfort from the memory of our loved ones as we approach the new year.  Download our unveiling booklet here.

Chesed High Holiday Drive

Help fill JFSA’s pantry! Please bring in kosher, unexpired food. They are requesting holiday items (gefilte fish, grape juice, noodles), protein/granola/cereal bars, peanut butter, jam/jelly, tuna, canned vegetables, pasta sauce, pasta, fruit cups and applesauce, cereal, toiletries such as soap, shampoo, deodorant, toothbrushes, toothpaste, etc. The drive runs through Simchat Torah. Please place your donated items in the marked bins around the synagogue.

Mahzorim:  We've Got You Covered!

Thanks to the generosity of Gayl Berger and Alan Berger and family, our High Holiday prayer book, Mahzor Lev Shalem, is provided for you.  If you plan to pray virtually, you can borrow a book (contact the synagogue office to arrange).  If you prefer to purchase your own copy, contact the synagogue office; the cost is $36. 

High Holiday Prayer Leader for Gross Schechter Services

We are excited to introduce Saralee Shrell-Fox, who will be serving as our Sh’lichat Tzibur for our Gross Schechter Day School services this year. Originally from Minneapolis, Saralee is a master prayer leader with nearly two decades of experience leading High Holiday services. She was the coordinator of tefillah education for rabbinical students during their studies abroad in Israel, which is where Rabbi Alex & Rabbi Jacobs had the pleasure of learning from her personally. Saralee’s expertise in leading participatory, ruach-filled services, her intimate connection to Israel and her passion for both tradition and innovation are just a few of the reasons we cannot wait to share her with our BJC community. Residing in Jerusalem, Saralee is married to Rabbi\Dr. Paul Shrell-Fox and they have nachas from their five children, two daughters-inlaw, one son-in-law and three grandchildren.

Sat, October 4 2025 12 Tishrei 5786