High Holy Days Logistics Information
High Holy Days Logistics Information
High Holy Days Services and Events
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Erev Rosh HaShanah and Oneg
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Fri, Sept 15, 7:30 pm
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Rosh HaShanah
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Sat, Sept 16, 10:00 am
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Rosh HaShanah Youth Program
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Sat, Sept 16, around 11:00 am
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Tashlich (Shoreline)
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Immediately after RH service
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Rosh HaShanah 2nd Day Service (at Etz)
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Sun, Sept 17, 10:00 am
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Rosh HaShanah Seder & Potluck (at Etz)
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Sun, Sept 17, 12:15 pm
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Food Drive
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Sun, Sept 24, before Kol Nidre
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Kol Nidre
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Sun, Sept 24, 7:30 pm
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Yom Kippur
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Mon, Sept 25, 10:00 am
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Yom Kippur Youth Program
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Mon, Sept 25, around 11:00 am
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Yizkor
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Mon, Sept 25, 1:00 pm
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Mincha, Neilah (closing), and Break Fast
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Mon, Sept 25, 6:00 pm
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High Holy Days Logistics
Planning Your Arrival at the JCC
All HHD services and events will be held at the Oshman Family JCC, 3921 Fabian Way, Palo Alto, on the second floor of the Goldman Sports & Wellness Complex, unless otherwise noted. Nametags are required for admission. For security purposes, only pre-registered guests will be allowed on the JCC campus.
Please plan your arrival to allow for adequate time for parking and making your way to the sanctuary, as services will begin on time.
Limited parking is available in the JCC parking lot and garage. Parking attendants will be available to direct you in the parking areas.
Purple parking permits are mailed with name tags. Place your permit on the dashboard of your car to permit you to pass through security and allow parking attendants to direct you to our area of the parking lot. If it is absolutely necessary that your household arrive in more than one car, please come to Etz Chayim during office hours to get an additional parking permit.
If you have preferential parking needs, for example, mobility issues, strollers and/or equipment for young children, please arrive early and stop at the security gate or ask a parking attendant for instructions.
Accessibility
The JCC is wheelchair accessible with elevators available from the garage to the first level of the JCC campus and to our services on the second floor of the sports complex. If you have other special needs, please contact the office at 650-813-9094.
Name Tags
Name tags are required for admission into all our services and events. In the current security environment, this will be strictly enforced.
We suggest that you keep your name tags in your car after each service so you do not forget them at home. At the end of each service, we will collect name tags that you're finished with for the year for future reuse.
Welcome Table
Our Welcome Table volunteers can assist you with missing name tags, lost & found, first aid kits, emergency medical situations and directions to rooms.
Information Displays
Be sure to check the information displays, located on the 1st floor of the sports complex, about Yom Kippur classes, upcoming Etz Chayim events, and more.
Ushers
Identified by a purple ribbon on their name tags, ushers are available to help you find your way to services, hand you a prayer book, assist in seating, and answer other HHD questions.
Zoom Links and Information
Zoom links and other information about accessing and troubleshooting online services will be shared via email.
During High Holy Days Services
Machzorim (prayer books) are provided at the entrance of the sanctuary. All Machzorim have Hebrew, English, and English transliteration for your convenience.
If you would like to lead a reading from the bimah
You will have the ability to sign up online in advance of the service.
You will have the ability to sign up online in advance of the service.
Tallitot and kippot will be available at the door. You are welcome to bring your own. Ritual garments are welcomed, but not required at Etz Chayim, whether sitting in the congregation or on the bimah.
The Reflections booklet is our supplemental collection of readings to inspire us during this time of self-reflection. Our Yizkor memoriam to loved ones who passed away this year and those we wish to remember are included in the booklet. This readings supplement will be available at each service for private introspection, although the Yizkor list will only be read during the Yizkor service, which takes place at 1 p.m. on Yom Kippur day. If you take home a Reflections booklet during Rosh HaShanah, remember to bring it back with you to use for Yom Kippur services.
Electronics: To create a special prayer environment for in-person services and as a courtesy to those who are observing the sanctity of the day, we request that all cell phones and other electronic devices be left at home or in the car unless you are a medical professional on call. If you must make a call, please walk outside.
Fragrances: Please do not wear fragrances to services as a courtesy to those with allergies or those observing the sanctity of Yom Kippur.
High Holy Days for Children
Supervised children of all ages are welcome at HHD services. We suggest bringing a book or other quiet object to occupy your children during services. Please do not bring electronic toys and media players.
Children’s programs are scheduled during portions of both Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur mornings. During other parts of the service, children should sit with their parents. If children need to take a short break from the service, parents may take them to the play structure outside. Babysitting will not be available.
Youth Programs for Ages 3-11
Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur offer us opportunities to celebrate life, reflect on how we live our lives, and to learn about significant Jewish values and traditions including tzedakah, forgiveness, gratitude and paying attention to the people and the world around us. In our Children's Programs for Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur, we will hear stories, sing songs, do activities, games and artistic projects exploring these themes. Children will also have a chance to hear the shofar. A small snack will be served at both Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur programs. All programming will be outdoors on the field behind the Administrative Building. Programs begin at 11:00 am and continue through the end of the Morning Service. Adults should come pick up their children immediately after the conclusion of the service.
Additional High Holy Days Programs and Events
Socializing - Join us for these opportunities to eat and greet:
- Congregational Oneg after Erev Rosh HaShanah services. Those on Zoom can join a virtual Oneg.
- Rosh HaShanah 2nd Day Seder and Potluck after the RH 2nd Day service.
- Break-the-fast after Neilah services (challah, fruit and beverages).
Tashlich is a special ritual in which Jews symbolically cast away their sins during Rosh HaShanah by throwing bread crumbs into a flowing body of water. Join our leaders Marion Rubinstein and Jonathan Salzedo for this beautiful outdoor ceremony immediately after Rosh HaShanah services, at approximately 1:30 p.m.
Directions from the JCC to Tashlich on the San Antonio Road Bayfront:
- Exit the JCC parking garage onto San Antonio Road, make a U-turn at the first stoplight to head east on San Antonio Road
OR - Exit the garage near the JCC entrance, where you entered, and turn left onto Fabian Way, then left onto Charleston Avenue and left onto San Antonio Road heading east.
- Follow signs to highway 101, cross 101, and continue to the end of the road at Terminal Blvd.
- Park your car.
- Walk past the gate at San Antonio Road and Terminal and continue along the trail towards the Bay for seven minutes, just past the utility building, to the platform that overlooks the Bay.
- Note: it can be windy, so bring a sweater or jacket.
Food Drive
On Erev Yom Kippur, bring your bags filled with non-perishable food items to the drop off locations in the JCC parking lot and garage no later than 8 p.m. All food donations placed in the barrels will be given to the Ecumenical Hunger Project or Jewish Family and Children’s Services. You can also deliver food donations to the barrel in Etz Chayim’s lobby before the High Holy Days.
Yom Kippur Afternoon Activities
There will be assorted workshops and film screenings between the morning & afternoon services. A schedule will be available at the JCC.
Glossary of High Holy Day Terms
Aliyah / Aliyot – An honor given to selected congregants who recite the blessing before and after the Torah is read.
Neilah– The concluding service of Yom Kippur, just as the sun is setting, meaning "the locking" (of the heavenly gates), suggesting that we must hurry and get in our last words before the gates of prayer are closed.
Shamash – Defined as the synagogue caretaker; on the High Holy Days, the Shamash distributes daily reading assignments to congregants.
L’Shanah Tovah Tikatevu (or Shanah Tovah) – A traditional High Holy Day greeting meaning “May you be inscribed (in the Book of Life) for a good year."
Wed, April 24 2024
16 Nisan 5784
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Wed, April 24 2024 16 Nisan 5784
