News

Dear JCOGS family,

These High Holy Days are like no other.  Your High Holy Day taskforce has been hard at work planning for these unprecedented experiences.  We have planned.  We have surveyed the community.  We have reworked our plans based on your feedback.  And now we are eager to share the JCOGS High Holy Day schedule of events with you.

Inspite of the hardships at this time, we are truly humbled and excited.  This year will include beautiful music, members reading Torah, and poignant prayers.  It will include words from Rabbi David that meet this moment in history.  We will sing, schmooze, cast our sins away in the water, hear the shofar, and play out the story of Jonah.  We will remember lost loved ones and also celebrate simchas in our lives.  There will be some special surprises too. While we will be holding the majority of our services virtually this year, we will be offering points of connection in person on both Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.

To be fully inclusive in this season, JCOGS is not requiring any tickets for this year’s High Holy Days.  If you have not yet renewed your membership, please do so as soon as possible.  Finances should not be a barrier to membership. If dues present a financial hardship or if you need a payment schedule, please complete your renewal online and JCOGS will be in touch to discuss alternative arrangements confidentially. 

You are also invited to acknowledge and remember your loved ones during this High Holy Day season while supporting JCOGS through the Yizkor Book of Remembrance.  The monies raised help support our continual holy work as a community.  Please complete this form with the deadline of Friday, September 11. 

Finally, Rabbi David will be away next week, Tuesday through Friday, devoting time to preparing for the High Holy Days, then back for that Friday night service.  Rabbi Rim Meirowitz will be our emergency rabbi those days. He is the first point of contact for pastoral needs, including if someone is unwell or in need of support, and you can contact him directly at 617-835-2861 or rabbirim@gmail.com. 

Hope to see you tonight at 6pm, as we launch this month of Elul leading to the High Holy Days with some special opening reflections on resilience from our members and the hearing of the shofar!

Rav brachot, many blessings for health, renewal, and a return to our truest selves.

Rabbi David Fainsilber and the High Holy Day Taskforce: Susan Bauchner, Willa Bruckner, Rachel Funk, Aron Temkin, and Claudia Woodward