High Holy Days

What To Know

What To Know

Passes and Registration:
Passes are included in Temple Isaiah membership (including children ages 12-26).
There are no passes for children ages 0-11.

Additional passes for members and non-members are available for a suggested donation. All gift amounts are gratefully accepted. If you decide to join Temple Isaiah, the High Holy Day pass donation will be applied to membership:
• Non-member Pass: $350/each
• Guest of Temple member Pass: $250/each
• Family of Temple member Pass: $75/each

Reciprocal passes for members of other URJ and USCJ congregations are free of charge.

Members, please click “login” at the top right corner of the page.

Register for in person services here

Timeline
-August 21: All current members will receive an email with the registration form for High Holy Days services or you can register online here. Registration is requested for in-person services to help us prepare. Choir members do not need to register for the services at which they are singing.
-August 28: Name tag passes will be mailed to all members in good standing (including children ages 12-26) for the option to attend in person.
-September 8: Deadline to renew membership to receive passes by mail. Otherwise, passes are available at the Temple office or will call.

What to expect in person:
-Name Tag Passes are required for ages 12 and up. Have name tag passes on or in hand each time you approach the entrance to services. Holders will be available at all entrances through High Holy Days. Ushers will check passes for entry and to get you seated quickly with a separate line for those without passes.
-Seating: is first come, first seated. Please do not save seats.
-Please refrain from wearing fragrances.
-Limited free parking is available with parking pass required.
-Allow plenty of time for arrival. Accessible parking and entry located at the Social Hall. Those taking Uber/Lyft/Taxis, please have your passes in hand to show at the bottom of the driveway, as well as at the entrance to the Sanctuary. Overflow parking for Temple Isaiah will be at Lafayette Veterans Memorial Center. There is no shuttle this year.

Overflow parking for Temple Isaiah will be at Lafayette Veterans Memorial Center.

How to worship online:
All livestreamed services will be available on YouTube with unique links sent by email prior to each service.

Non-members, welcome! Please subscribe to our “Temple Isaiah announcements” email list to receive details.

Preparing for High Holy Days

Click here for the Mishkan Halev prayerbook online.

Soulful Study with Rabbi Perlman
Mondays, August 14, 21, 28, 12pm-1pm in the Adult Lounge
Join Rabbi Perlman for a weekly discussion of one of her favorite books to spiritually prepare for the holy day season. Over three sessions, we will explore the concepts of teshuvah, transformation, and the process of personal change through a close reading of Rabbi Alan Lew’s This is Real and You are Completely Unprepared: The Days of Awe as a Journey of Transformation. If you’re looking for soulful uplift and a way to more meaningfully approach the high holy days, join us for these sessions broken into three parts utilizing Lew’s book, which can be purchased readily online or borrowed from our library. Feel free to bring lunch. Click here to RSVP.

Glimpsing Divine Sweetness: Psalm 27, the Psalm for Elul and the Fall Holidays
Tuesday, August 22 at 7pm in the Beit Knesset and on Zoom
Join Rabbi Lawrence for a contemplative study session exploring Psalm 27, the psalm traditionally read during the month of Elul and the fall holidays, and how its vivid poetic imagery can nourish our spiritual preparation for the High Holy Days. The psalmist writes, “One thing do I ask of the Eternal One…” which raises the question: if you could ask God for one thing, what would it be? In the psalm’s answer – “to glimpse the sweetness of the Eternal One…” – Judaism guides us into the new year with gratitude and joy; with awe for God’s presence in our world, according to what that means for each of us; and with true respect for one another. We will sing the psalm together, bringing its words to life within us. Come feel how these ancient verses can lead us to renewal. Click here to RSVP.

The Music of the High Holy Days
Tuesday, August 29 at 7pm in the Adult Lounge
Join Cantor Korn for a special session of music and learning as we explore the rich and varied tradition of Jewish music on the High Holy Days.  From the power of Avinu Malkeinu to the haunting melodies of Kol Nidre, the music of the High Holy Days is a powerful expression of Jewish faith and culture. Cantor Korn will share melodies – traditional and contemporary, familiar and new – as a way to get in the spirit for the Days of Awe.  We will also explore the history and significance of this music and learn how it has been used to express the hopes,fears, and aspirations of the Jewish people throughout the centuries. Click here to RSVP.

Mapping Your Journey
Tuesday, September 5 at 7pm in the Adult Lounge
As we look ahead to the new year, we will consider where we have been, where we currently are, and where we are going by using Jewish texts and a map called the “World of Experience.” Don’t miss this opportunity to reflect on your life’s path. [Note: this is the same map we used last year. If you attended this program last year, it will be interesting and meaningful to see where your journeys took you in the past year, and where you want to head in the year to come!] Click here to RSVP.

S’lichot
Saturday, September 9, 2023
6pm Dinner in the Oneg Room (Amarin Thai)
$20/person. Click here to register by Wednesday, September 6
7pm S’lichot service in the Sanctuary and on YouTube
Charles Davidson’s 1966 The Hush of Midnight is a modern adaptation of the s’lichot service weaving traditional liturgy along with poetry by the 20th-century poet Ruth Brin.  “A combination of traditional cantorial chant with the musical vernacular of our day,” is how Davidson has described the work. Its overall style falls under the umbrella of “folk rock” music, although Davidson has characterized it as “a rock-cantorial prayer experience.”  Cantor Korn and our Adult Volunteer Choir will be accompanied by a jazz ensemble to present this seminal work preceding our regular S’lichot service.

Temple Tune Up Day
Sunday, September 10 from 9am to 4pm
Help us to prepare the Temple Isaiah campus for high holy days. Volunteers are needed to help spread mulch, assemble the food donation bags, pick-up litter, and more. This is a quick and easy mitzvah activity for your havurah, friends and family. All ages are welcome. Please bring your own gloves and meet at the check-in table at the Sanctuary entrance. Sponsored by the Buildings and Grounds Committee. Please sign-up below for as many shifts as you like! Click here to sign-up.

Cemetery Visits
Sunday, September 10, 2023
10am at Oakmont (Tranquility)
11:15am at Gan Shalom
Join our clergy for a tradition many find particularly meaningful during the holy day season, visiting the graves of our loved ones to bring their memories especially close during the turning of the seasons and the year. We will join together for a short service of remembrance and an opportunity to say Kaddish. May the memories of our loved ones strengthen us.

Immersion in the Mikvah
Thursday, September 14, 10:30am-2:30pm at Beth Jacob Congregation, Oakland
Consider what you’d like to leave behind from the past year and what you want to carry with you into the new year. Immersing in a mikvah is a chance to start the new year with a fresh slate, physically, emotionally, and spiritually. We have a reservation for Temple Isaiah at the mikvah at Beth Jacob in Oakland on Thursday, September 14 from 10:30am-2:30pm. Contact Rabbi Greninger to set up a specific time for you to immerse. Questions? Interested, but want more information? Contact Rabbi Greninger at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

Rosh Hashanah Schedule

Rosh Hashanah Schedule

Erev Rosh Hashanah: Friday, September 15, 2023
5pm Outdoor Erev Rosh Hashanah Multi-Generational Service
Location: Little Hills, San Ramon

Join us for our Erev Rosh Hashanah multi-generational service outdoors followed by a bring-your-own-picnic-dinner. Grab your lawn chairs and picnic blankets as we spread out on the big lawn. We’ll welcome in the new year with festive singing and joyful prayer in the midst of our multi-generational community. This experience is appropriate for all ages and generations.

7:30pm Erev Rosh Hashanah Service
Locations: Temple Isaiah Sanctuary, South Lawn and YouTube
Sermon: Rabbi Noach Lawrence

Interested in reading the digital prayer book at home? Please click the button for access to our digital Erev Rosh Hashanah Service Prayer Book.

Read the Prayer Book PDF Here

Our service is filled with inspirational readings and sacred music designed to awaken our souls to the uplifting themes of the Holy Days. Our choir will fill our hearts with song. Utilizing our machzor, Mishkan HaNefesh, this service will be led by our clergy team and will include a message from our Temple President. Service is followed by outdoor reception with honey cake.

Rosh Hashanah: Saturday, September 16, 2023
9am Rosh Hashanah Service
Locations: Temple Isaiah Sanctuary, South Lawn and YouTube
Sermon: Rabbi Jill Perlman

Continuing the warm, uplifting feeling begun the night before, this service, designed for adults, will include the beautiful music of the choir, the sounding of the shofar, chanting from our sacred texts, and the rabbi’s inspirational message for the new year. Utilizing our machzor, Mishkan HaNefesh, this service will be led by our clergy team. Service followed by community-wide lunch.

Community-wide lunch
Temple Isaiah is pleased to host a free, community-wide, Rosh Hashanah lunch following the 9:00am service on campus. Click here to RSVP.

9:30am Outdoor Rosh Hashanah Family/Tot Service
Location: Little Hills, San Ramon

Grab your lawn chairs and picnic blankets as we spread out on the big lawn. Join us for an informal, participatory, multi-generational service for families with children in grades 0-7th. This service will include stories, songs, chanting from the Torah, sounding the shofar and inspirational messages from our rabbis. Wear comfortable clothing, bring your own portable seating, and stay for activities and optional picnic lunch.

Interested in reading the digital prayer book at home? Please click the button for access to our digital Rosh Hashanah Prayer Book.

Read the Prayer Book PDF Here

1pm Community Tashlich
Location: Lafayette Reservoir

We invite all members of Temple Isaiah to come together at the Lafayette Reservoir for a Tashlich ritual led by our clergy at 1pm. This is an opportunity to symbolically “cast away our sins” at a body of water and prepare our hearts for the year to come.

1:30pm Rosh Hashanah Teen Service
Location: Temple Isaiah

Led by Rabbi Miller, our Youth Director and members of our teen community, our teens will engage in an informal, meaningful Rosh Hashanah experience.

Reverse Tashlich
Sunday, September 17, 10:30am-12pm, Martin Luther King Jr. Regional Shoreline, Damon Slough, Oakland
Join your Isaiah community, Rabbi Lawrence, and Joy Plummer as we channel the energy of Rosh Hashanah into the mitzvah of protecting our seas and marine life. Reverse Tashlich reimagines the traditional Jewish ritual of Tashlich to confront the modern issue of marine pollution. Traditionally observed on Rosh Hashanah, Tashlich involves symbolically casting away sins or mistakes into a body of water, seeking forgiveness and a fresh start. In our ritual (based on one developed by Repair the Sea-Tikkun HaYam), instead of casting our sins into the water, we will remove our sins from the water by taking out plastic and other debris.
 
This activity is perfect for families and school-aged kids. We will sing together, share words of renewal, and spend the day together in a spirit of interconnectedness with the natural world and with each other.

Click here to RSVP.

Shabbat Shuva and Healing Service
Friday, September 22, 2023 at 7:30pm
Locations: Sanctuary and YouTube

Mussar & Meditation: The Genesis of Teshuvah with Rabbi Lawrence
Saturday, September 23, 2023 at 10:30am
Location: Beit Knesset and on Zoom
Click here to RSVP to help with preparations.
Join Zoom Meeting at https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84554459878
Meeting ID: 845 5445 9878
Passcode sent by email only

Come together for a special Mussar and Meditation exploring the middah, sacred character trait, of teshuvah, repentance, literally “return,” as we channel the uplift of Rosh Hashanah and prepare ourselves to enter Yom Kippur. We will share together in a fresh reading of teshuvah’s creation story, the story of Cain and Abel, and immerse in the ways our tradition can guide us toward generosity, strengthen us in our candor and sense of responsibility, and renew our feeling that we always have the power to make change. Together, we will feel how Shabbat Shuvah, the Shabbat of Return between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, can help us return to our innermost essences. Join us for a morning of spiritual chanting, silent meditation, learning, and sharing from the heart. No prior experience with Mussar or meditation is needed.

Yom Kippur Schedule

Yom Kippur Schedule

Kol Nidre: Sunday, September 24, 2023
4:45pm Kol Nidre Children’s Program
Location: Chaiken Family Talmud Torah Center

While parents and older children attend the early Kol Nidre service with their families, we invite Temple Isaiah members’ children in preschool (potty trained) through 4th grade to attend a Kol Nidre Children’s Program in the Talmud Torah Center. The children will eat dinner and participate in an interactive and educational Yom Kippur program. Registration is required. Click here to register by deadline Thursday, September 21 at 5pm. Questions? Contact (925) 284-9191. The Kol Nidre children’s program is funded by the Charles and Ellen Emold Memorial Fund.

5pm Kol Nidre Services
7:30pm Kol Nidre Services
Locations: Temple Isaiah Sanctuary, South Lawn and YouTube
Sermon: Rabbi Jill Perlman.

The Kol Nidre service with two times to choose from includes the haunting melody of the Kol Nidre (All Vows) prayer sung by Cantor Korn and the choir. It is traditional to don tallitot (prayer shawls) during this service and to wear white throughout Yom Kippur. Utilizing our machzor, Mishkan HaNefesh, this service will be led by our clergy team.

Interested in reading the digital prayer book at home? Please click the button for access to our digital Kol Nidre Services Prayer Book.

Read the Prayer Book PDF Here

Yom Kippur: Monday, September 25, 2023
9am Yom Kippur Service
Locations: Temple Isaiah Sanctuary, South Lawn and YouTube
Sermon: Rabbi Noach Lawrence.

Gathering in our Sanctuary, we will use our machzor, Mishkan HaNefesh to guide us as we face our transgressions and seek forgiveness during the Day of Atonement. The music of our choir and Cantor Korn add to the majesty and awe of this most holy day. The service includes a Torah service and will be led by our clergy team.

Interested in reading the digital prayer book at home? Please click the button for access to our digital Yom Kippur Morning Services Prayer Book.

Read the Prayer Book PDF Here

9am Yom Kippur Teen service
For 8th through 12th Graders
Location: Adult Lounge.

Led by Rabbi Miller, our Youth Director, and members of the teen community, including a service and informal programming on the themes of Yom Kippur.

9am Yom Kippur Tot service
Location: Lafayette Reservoir

12-1pm Yom Kippur Neshamah Yoga with Kendra Fried
Locations: CCJDS Makom and Zoom
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/9833609998
Meeting ID: 983 360 9998
Passcode sent by email only.
Join for a special seated session of Neshamah Yoga for Yom Kippur.

12-1pm Yom Kippur Art Experience with Joani Share
Location: Temple Courtyard between Temple House and Talmud Torah Center
After Yom Kippur, we return to our regular life. Let us ready ourselves for Shabbat with the opportunity to make our own Shabbat challah covers. There are no skills or art experience required. All you need is a willingness to play with colors, and you will go home with a personal cloth challah cover.

12:30pm Yom Kippur Family Service
Locations: Temple Isaiah Sanctuary, South Lawn and YouTube

1-2pm Grief Support Group with Rosemarie Frydman
Location: Library
Gather with others for a chance to process the loss of loved ones in our lives.

2-3pm Annual Yom Kippur Healing Circle with Jeanette Gross
Locations: Beit Knesset and Zoom
Join Zoom Meeting at https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89867305515
Meeting ID: 898 6730 5515
Passcode shared by email only
Each Yom Kippur between Temple Isaiah’s morning and afternoon services we hold a Sacred Chant Healing Circle to deepen and enrich this long day of prayer and fasting. We pray for ALL in need of healing, including ourselves, sharing names of loved ones either silently or out loud.

2-3pm The Book of Jonah: This Book can Change Your Life with Rabbi Perlman
Location: Adult Lounge
The Book of Jonah is traditionally read on Yom Kippur afternoon. Come and learn with Rabbi Perlman about the depth and profound life lessons found within Jonah’s story, its connection to the high holy days, and how it might resonate with you.

3:15pm Yom Kippur Yizkor Service
Locations: Temple Isaiah Sanctuary, South Lawn and YouTube

During the Yizkor (Remembrance) service, we will remember our departed loved ones and pray that their memories will be for loving blessings.

Interested in reading the digital prayer book at home? Please click the button for access to our digital Yom Kippur Yizkor Prayer Book.

Read the Prayer Book PDF Here

4pm Yom Kippur Afternoon Service (Jewish Journeys)
This year’s speakers are Joyce Stenson, Jasmine Tarkoff, and Cantor Leigh Korn.
Locations: Temple Isaiah Sanctuary, South Lawn and YouTube

We will continue this new and beloved Isaiah tradition of sharing our Jewish journeys.

Interested in reading the digital prayer book at home? Please click the button for access to our digital Yom Kippur Yizkor Prayer Book.

Read the Prayer Book PDF Here

5pm Yom Kippur Neilah Service
Locations: Temple Isaiah Sanctuary, South Lawn and YouTube

Our final community gathering for Yom Kippur will be a moving service known as Neilah. We will conclude the day with a final sounding of the shofar followed by breaking-the-fast.

Interested in reading the digital prayer book at home? Please click the button for access to our digital Yom Kippur Neilah Prayer Book.

Read the Prayer Book PDF Here

Breaking-the-Fast
Location: Social Hall
Click here to RSVP and sign-up for potluck item(s).

Click here for the optional donation form for the breaking the fast potluck.

Festivals

Festival Schedule

Our month of Holy Days continues with the celebration of the harvest in our Sukkah and dancing with the Torah scrolls on Simchat Torah.

Lulav and Etrog Orders
Regular Sets: $36.95
Prime Sets: $40.95 (Etrog and lulav are bigger and better quality than regular sets)
Deadline to Order: September 7, 2023.
Click here to order.
Questions? Contact Katana at (925) 283-8575, email .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

Erev Sukkot Shabbat
Friday, September 29, 2023
5:30pm Community Sukkot Dinner in the Sukkah
6:30pm Festive Sukkot Service in the Sukkah and on YouTube
We’ll celebrate the first night of Sukkot with an inter-generational community dinner in the sukkah including the ritual of waving the lulav & etrog. After dinner we continue with a festive celebration of Sukkot with prayer, joyful singing and study.

Shabbat Morning Sukkot Service with Torah Reading
Saturday, September 30, 2023 at 10:30am
Locations: Temple Isaiah Sanctuary and YouTube

Gaga Sukkot Celebration
Saturday, September 30, 4-7:30pm

Jennifer Lang on Living in Israel
Monday, October 2 at 7pm in the Sukkah
Click here for details and to RSVP.

Simchat Torah Shabbat
Friday, October 6, 2023
5:45pm Dinner in the Social Hall
6:30pm Simchat Torah Shabbat Celebration in the Sanctuary and YouTube followed by oneg.

Come sing and dance with the Torah scroll and DJ’s Denon and Doyle, as we celebrate restarting our cycle of Torah readings. All ages come together to celebrate this fun and important holiday on Shabbat!

Simchat Torah/Sh’mini Atzeret Shabbat Service with Yizkor
Saturday, October 7, 2023 at 10:30am
Locations: Temple Isaiah Sanctuary and YouTube

Honoring Our Loved Ones

Honoring Our Loved Ones

Please be sure to mark your calendars and take advantage of the following opportunities to honor your loved ones this year.

Hamakom Simcha Path
Deadline: Friday, August 4, 2023
Hamakom is our beautiful garden with meditation labyrinth and brick simcha path to commemorate celebratory events. We hope our members will consider engraving bricks on the Simcha path as fun, and permanent ways to celebrate their families’ and our community’s celebrations in honor of a bar or bat mitzvah, birth, wedding, anniversary, and more. This is also a wonderful opportunity to join together with family, friends or with your Havurah to honor simchas as a group. Please place your order by the deadline to be included in the simcha path by the High Holy Days. Questions? Please contact Lisa Taylor at the Temple office at (925) 283-8575, email .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

Order Form

Memorial Plaques
Deadline: Friday, August 25, 2023
A wonderful way to remember your loved ones in perpetuity is to have their names inscribed on our Memorial Wall. Names of our dear ones on the Sanctuary memorial plaques are forever included in the “Perpetual Memory” section of the Yizkor Book. Should you wish to purchase a memorial plaque to honor your beloved departed, please contact Lisa Taylor at the Temple office at (925) 283-8575, email .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

Order Form

Temple Isaiah Yizkor Book: A Book of Remembrance
Deadline: Friday, August 25, 2023
Yizkor is the part of the service on Yom Kippur day in which we remember our loved ones. Temple Isaiah is publishing our annual Yizkor Book of Remembrance for the High Holy Days. If you would like your names and the names of your beloved departed included in the book, please click below to complete the form. We cannot guarantee any names received after the deadline. In the spirit of Tzedakah, we ask that you make a donation to the Yizkor Fund when completing the form. To help avoid errors, please clearly enter the full names of the departed (In Memory of), and full names of family/friends (Remembered By) that you wish to include in the Yizkor Book of Remembrance. Those who had their names included in the book last year were sent a letter by mail to confirm your listing. May their righteous memories be for a sweet and loving blessing. Questions? Please contact Lisa Taylor at the Temple office at (925) 283-8575, email .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

Order Form

Mishkan HaNefesh

Mishkan HaNefesh

Mishkan HaNefesh prayerbook sets can be purchased online here or borrowed from Temple Isaiah. Email .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) or call (925) 283-8575.

Mishkan HaNefesh ebooks can be viewed on any device using the free Amazon Kindle app.
Click here for the Rosh Hashanah machzor as a .pdf
Click here for the Yom Kippur machzor as a .pdf