Here is a collection of material you won’t see anywhere else, showcasing our online High Holiday services from 2020 and 2021 (5781 and 5782) and the amazing talents of our Havurah community.

High Holidays 5782/2021

Services

Erev Rosh Hashanah
Rosh Hashanah - First Day
Rosh Hashanah - Second Day
Rosh Hashanah - Family Service
Erev Yom Kippur
Yom Kippur Morning, Torah and Musaf
Yom Kippur Evening
 

Co-Presidents' Messages

Erev Rosh Hashanah - Loree Devery
Erev Yom Kippur - Ben Walters
Message from the Co-Presidents (text)
 

Drashot

Rabbi Benjamin: Erev Rosh Hashanah | Rosh Hashanah - Second Day | Erev Yom Kippur Video / Text | Yom Kippur
Rabbi Joey: Rosh Hashanah - First Day

"Mini"-Drashot

Rosh Hashanah
Robert Trachtenberg video
Elle Smith video
Eric Flamm video
Laine Schipper video
Edward Hershey video
Elianne Lieberman video
Poem by David Fuks read during Shofar Service: The Shofar's Sound
Poem by Fran Payne Adler: The Breasted God

Yom Kippur
Bija Gutoff video
Holly Telerant video
Ben and Michael Anderson-Nathe video
Sarah Loose video
Beth Hamon  video
Cassandra Sagan video

Elul Offerings and On Demand Media

Azazel... What's Up with That? A High Holidays Podcast
David Fuks and Bija Gutoff present a lighthearted conversation about Yom Kippur, in podcast style!

Jewish Soul for the New Year
A collection of Jewish pieces, performed by cellist Diane Chaplin

Tikkun Olam Cluster Avinu Malkenu
video | text

Elul Cooking Class with Chef Jenn Louis
video  | recipes
 

High Holidays 5781/2020

Message from the Presidents (Text)

Miriam Reshotko, Co-President's Rosh Hashanah Video Address

Ben Walters, Co-President's Yom Kippur Video Address
 

Services and Drashot

Rosh Hashanah

Erev Rosh Hashanah Service | Day 1 Rosh Hashanah Service | Rosh Hashanah Family Service | Day 2 Rosh Hashanah Service

Erev Rosh Hashanah Drash, Rabbi Benjamin Barnett

Rosh Hashanah Day 1 Drash, Rabbi Benjamin Barnett

Rosh Hashanah Day 2 Drash, Rabbi Benjamin Barnett

Yom Kippur

Erev Yom Kippur Service | Yom Kippur Morning, Torah and Haftarah Services | Yom Kippur Family Service | Deepening Into Yom Kippur Contemplative Service | Yom Kippur Evening Services

Erev Yom Kippur Drash, Rabbi Benjamin Barnett

Erev Yom Kippur Drash, Deborah Eisenbach-Budner (text)

Yom Kippur Morning Drash, Rabbi Benjamin Barnett
 

Music and Mix Tapes

Violin for Kol Nidre

Andrew Ehrlich presents the haunting, beautiful melodies of Yom Kippur.

Havurah Virtual Choir

The Havurah Virtual Choir is a group of singers who came together this year to produce music using the magic of digital tools! These songs appear in our services and are available here for you to enjoy. Produced by Enie Vaisburd and edited by Enie Vaisburd, Megan Koler, and Beth Segal.

Havurah Virtual Choir Sings Ya'aleh

Havurah Virtual Choir Sings Avinu Malkeinu

Havurah Virtual Choir Sings Shehecheyanu

Fun Music Videos for the Family

Shabbat Shibbity - produced by Steven Mesulam, sung by Steven Mesulam and Rachael Duke

Ufros Aleinu - produced by Steven Mesulam, sung by Steven Mesulam and Rachael Duke

Avinu Malkenu - produced by Steven Mesulam, sung by Steven Mesulam and Rachael Duke

Tree of Life - produced by Steven Mesulam, music by Richard Silverman

Groovy music videos for the whole family, produced by Steven Mesulam, with singing by Steven Mesulam and Rachael Duke. Videos will download to your device.

Harp and Violin for Yom Kippur

Video

With Shera Sinell and Andrew Ehrlich. Enjoy these tunes that Shera and Andrew have played at Yom Kippur over the years.

Mixtape: Contemplative Cello

MP3: Stream or Save | Read the Program

Cellist Diane Chaplin plays soothing, meditative music on her cello. The cello is the instrument most like the human voice, and the rich, burnished sound resembles someone singing a nusach. These Jewish melodies and introspective musical meanderings are the perfect thing to play while you meditate or find quiet time during Elul and the High Holidays.

MixTape: Family Music

ZIP | PDF

Featuring Steven Mesulam and Rachael Duke. Edited by Megan Koler. These family-friendly Jewish tunes are straight from our beloved Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur family services. Listen to them together and sing along!

MixTape: Songs of Turning

ZIP | PDF

Featuring Ilene Safyan, Margie Rosenthal, Barbara Slader, Ken Lerner, Beth Hamon, Chaim Wolin, Rabbi Benjamin, Justin Carroll, Barry Lavine. Edited by Megan Koler.

Since 1978, we’ve come together to celebrate the High Holidays. Each year, we have been fortunate to return, raising our voices together in song and prayer, as we usher in the New Year. This year we won’t be able to be together in the same way. But we can still sing the melodies of the High Holidays that have brought us together as a community, year after year.

MixTape: Morning Songs

ZIP | PDF

Featuring Ken Lerner, Chaim Wolin, Maria Lisa Johnson, Susan Brenner, Natalie Lerner. Edited by Megan Koler. A collection of songs and melodies from a traditional morning service. Enjoy this on your own, with family, or with friends with whom you gather.
 

Jewish Ritual How-To

DIY Tashlich

An Eco-Sensitive Alternative Tashlich Ritual for Those Unable to Access Flowing Water

Booklet for Performing Tashlich at Home

If you’re planning to do Tashlich on your own, you don’t need feel bound by traditionalism: Because Tashlich is not explicitly mentioned in the Torah or the Talmud, there’s no formal liturgy. If you can’t get to a flowing body of water like a river or a creek, you can use any body of water, even the bathtub. Here you’ll find a booklet from High Holidays at Home.com and an article from ritualwell.org to help build your own ritual.

Your Home Sanctuary for the High Holidays: Preparing Your Mikdash M'at

By Bija Gutoff. Originally published in the Sept. 2020 issue of Hakol, this article helps us bring more of the sacred into our homes ahead of the High Holidays.

A Reconstructionist Havdalah

Video: Watch or Save | PDF

With music composed by Diane Chaplin & Howard Patterson.

Our rabbis teach that on Shabbat, we are given an extra soul. At Havdalah we relinquish that extra soul, but hope that the sweetness and holiness of the day will remain with us during the week. Join Diane, Howard, Andrine de la Rocha, and David de la Rocha as they sing the blessings with a cup of wine, a box of spices, and a beautiful braided Havdalah candle.

Hear the Shofar

Video

Featuring Howard Patterson, Andrine de la Rocha, and Diane Chaplin.

“With horn-playing and Shofar blasts, trumpet your praise before the One Who Is.” –Psalm 98

Howard Patterson, Andrine de la Rocha, and Diane Chaplin will explain the calls of the shofar and discuss how to produce the various sounds. They will also talk about the background and history of the shofar and give insights into how it has been used in Jewish culture through the centuries.

For the Family

Apple and Honey Celebrate Simchat Torah - with Keren McCord and Oren Kosansky

Apple and Honey Celebrate Rosh Hashanah - with Keren McCord and Oren Kosansky
 

Drashot

Rabbi Benjamin Barnett
Erev Rosh Hashanah Drash

Rosh Hashanah Day 1 Drash

Rosh Hashanah Day 2 Drash

Erev Yom Kippur Drash

Yom Kippur Morning Drash

Deborah Eisenbach-Budner, Education Director
Erev Yom Kippur Drash, Deborah Eisenbach-Budner (text)

Frances Payne Adler
Video | Text

Sandy Ramirez
Video | Text

Linda Appel
Video | Text

Robert Trachtenberg
Video | Text

Bija Gutoff
Video | Text

David Lewis
Video | Text

Elden Rosenthal
Video | Text

Harriet Cooke and Joel Beinin, Yom Kippur Afternoon
Video
 

Tikkun Olam

Meet Tikkun Olam
A friendly info-session with reps from the various Tikkun Olam (social action) committees that took place on Rosh Hashanah Day 1, 2020/5781.

Tikkun Olam Discussion 2020/5781
Our Tikkun Olam committees lead a discussion on the environment and social justice.

Recordings of Elul Offerings

Social Action Poetry Class

Video: Speaker View | Gallery View

Led by Herman Asarnow and Frances Payne Adler, this was a class about social action poetry—poetry of witness that breaks silence, raises awareness and powers social justice. Here is video of the final class, on Oct. 1, 2020.

Me and White Supremacy

Video: Speaker View | Gallery View

On Sunday, Aug. 30, Havurah members who participated in the IMIrJ Countering White Nationalism cohort this spring shared how they are using Layla Saad’s book, Me and White Supremacy, to provide structure and accountability as they explore their individual histories and complicity in perpetuating white supremacy.

Jewish High Holiday Cooking: Modern Recipes and Classics

Aug. 25 Demonstration: Speaker View | Gallery View | Recipe PDF

Sept. 8 Demonstration: Speaker View | Gallery View

Jenn Louis brings us chicken soup from around the world, with recipes from her upcoming book, The Chicken Soup Manifesto.

Spiritual Vocabulary and Preparation for Roth Hashanah and Yom Kippur

Video: Speaker View | Gallery View

Havurah's Education Director Deborah Eisenbach-Budner helps us look deeply into what High Holidays are about--through the Hebrew language and its spiritual vocabulary.

Elul Mindfulness and Meditation

Sept. 1 Video: Speaker View | Gallery View

Sept. 22 Video: Speaker View

Every Tueday at noon (PST) during the month of Elul, Rabbi Benjamin offered teaching and guidance in practice devoted to this season of Teshuvah, Returning and Renewal.

Immigration, Refugees and Sanctuary in Word and Image

Video: Speaker View | Gallery View

To encourage our collective reflection in preparation for the High Holidays the Havurah Shalom Sanctuary Committee presents poetry, literature and art on the themes of immigration, refugees and sanctuary.