High Holy Days 5784 (2023)
All Hands Open Doors
It is a tenet of the Kolot community that our High Holy Day services, an important time of spiritual renewal and community, be open to all. This is made possible only by your support. Kolot’s High Holy Days services are free, but we do ask that you make a donation when you register below to help cover the cost of our beautiful venue and offerings. Your gift will ensure that we can keep our doors open, now and always.
We suggest donations of $360/person ($720/couple) for non-members, and $180/person ($360/couple) for dues-paying members. It takes all hands to open Kolot’s doors, so please give more if you can, less if you must. Make your gift here or when you register below.
Register for High Holy Days with Kolot
Registration for in-person services is now closed.
We have reached seating capacity for our Kol Nidre and Yom Kippur services and so registration for in-person High Holy Day Services with Kolot is now closed. The Kol Nidre service will be streamed into The City Tech Theater atrium and there will be some overflow seating made available, but we cannot guarantee seats for walk-ins at this time. Unfortunately we are unlikely to be able to accommodate walk-ins on Yom Kippur and encourage you to instead register for our virtual services below. We also invite you to join Kolot for Sukkot! Learn more about our many fun Sukkot offerings and RSVP in the accordion calendar below.
Accessibility
We are so excited to be back at the beautiful, physically accessible Theater at City Tech for this year’s High Holy Days, and to once again be livestreaming all of our main services via our YouTube channel for those who can’t be with us in-person.
Kolot is committed to expanding access to our services for all members and guests. As a matter of disability justice in the era of COVID, masking will be required while inside City Tech.
We want to hear from you about other access needs you may have, if you would like to share. What would help make High Holy Day services accessible to you? Please reach out to Executive Director Brett Reid Parker at BrettParker@kolotchayeinu.org to discuss any accessibility needs, and we will do what we can.
Avodah (Volunteer)
Avodah (prayer in action, work of the heart, and service to the community) refers to volunteers who support the High Holy Day services in several very important ways. We need your help to keep Kolot welcoming and accessible to all, so please sign up! Volunteering through Avodah is a wonderful way to connect with other Kolotniks and guests, and to live into our values, one of which is keeping our High Holy Day services open to all. All hands are needed to build community!
Please note that this year all Avodah volunteers will be asked to attend an orientation/get-to-know-you session during the first week of September. More info on that will come soon, but tasty treats will definitely be provided!
Honor a Loved One with a Machzor Nameplate
We also offer a special way to honor those who have touched your life: a nameplate affixed in our beautiful High Holy Day prayer books (machzors), which were so generously gifted to us all by Bob and Glenn Usdin in honor of their parents and long-time Kolot members Martha and Marvin Usdin z’’l. By purchasing a nameplate you can memorialize the names of loved ones and express gratitude for the gifts their lives have brought, both past and present, and keep them connected to our sacred community.
Please purchase your nameplate(s) by September 4 for inclusion in the machzors for the 5784 High Holy Days!
Kolot’s Digital Yizkor Book
We are honored to remember your loved ones through our digital Yizkor book, where we collectively name those we have lost, and hold their memories close during one of the holiest moments of the year.
If you wish, we invite you to bring photos of the loved ones that you are honoring (either printed out or on your phone) to Yom Kippur Yizkor services.
High Holy Days 5784 (2023) Schedule
Click here to download our Schedule at a Glance PDF
All services were located in-person at the Theater at City Tech (with Main Services livestreamed) unless otherwise stated.
-
At Park Slope Jewish Center
9:30 pm - 12:30 am - Service and Music
Enter the Days of Awe with a deeply reflective prayer service and gorgeous music with local Brooklyn synagogue communities, rabbis, cantors and other sacred partners.
-
7:30 - 9:30 pm - Main Service
-
9:30 am - Breakfast
10:00 am - Childcare (ages 0-6)
10:30 am - 1:30 pm - Main Service
11:00 am - 12:00 pm - Youth and Family Service (ages 6 to 10)
The musical, interactive Youth and Family service is led by Ty Citerman and Amanda Miller, and is geared towards school age youth. We welcome all families with younger children, though five and under must be accompanied by a responsible family member or adult. This will be a family-friendly space for all ages.
-
In Prospect Park
10:30 am - Shofar Service and Tashlich Ritual Offering
Join us for a shofar service in Prospect Park followed by a short walk together to Tashlich. You are welcome to bring your own picnic lunch to eat in the park after services! Check our website (or your inbox if you registered ahead of time) for rain updates by 8 a.m. the morning of as we will cancel in the event of severe weather.
Location: South lawn of the Prospect Park Picnic House. You can find this location by entering the Park where 5th Street intersects with Prospect Park West, crossing the drive, and walking to the other side of the Picnic House. Keep an eye out for a large group!
Streaming Rain or Shine: Whether we are able to be in the park (we hope so!) or not, we will be sharing the Shofar Service via Zoom.
-
7:00 - 9:00 pm - Main Service
-
10:00 am - Childcare (ages 0-6)
10:30 am - 1:30 pm - Main Service
11:00 am - 12:00 pm - Youth and Family Service (ages 6 to 10)
The musical, interactive Youth and Family service is geared towards school age youth. We welcome all families with younger children, though five and under must be accompanied by a responsible family member or adult. This will be a family-friendly space for all ages.
2:00 pm - 3:00 pm - Adult Learning Offering
Join us to learn from leading members of 13th Forward, a coalition of advocates, grassroots organizations, and impacted people working to end worker exploitation and brutality within New York’s prison labor system, of which Kolot is also a member. Hear directly from, and ask questions of, Wilfredo Laracuente, an educator and formerly incarcerated leader, and Andre Ward, Associate Vice President of The David Rothenberg Center for Public Policy at The Fortune Society. Together we will explore Jewish teachings around teshuva, labor and enslavement.
3:00 - 3:30 pm: Adult Learning Offering with Interim Rabbi Sami
Isaiah and the High Priest: Allies or Antagonists
The High Priest seems to work in the (internal) arena of purity and holiness; Isaiah calls compellingly for Justice and Compassion. Let’s look at whether these parallel strands of Yom Kippur oppose each other — or perhaps they challenge and complement — inviting each of us to find our way through this day and beyond.
3:30 - 4:30 pm - Contemplative Chant/Music Space with Rabbinical Student Hadar Ahuvia
5:00 - 7:30 pm - Yizkor / Neilah / Havdalah
If you wish, we invite you to bring photos of the loved ones that you are honoring (either printed out or on your phone) to Yom Kippur Yizkor services.
7:30 - 8:30 pm - Mini Break-fast
On Kol Nidre and Yom Kippur we invite you to engage in quiet conversation or contemplation to honor the holiness of this day. You are also invited to forego leather if possible, and wear clothing that helps you enter the day with intention.
-
At Kolot’s Sukkah in Prospect Park
In front of Litchfield Villa - 95 Prospect Park West, Brooklyn, NY 11215
5:30-6:30 pm - Crafting for All Ages
6:30-8:30 pm - Community Celebration with Clergy
Kolotniks of all ages are invited for Sukkot celebration, song, and decoration-making. Join Rabbi Miriam Grossman, Interim Rabbi Sami Barth, Cantor Lisa B. Segal, and Kolot staff for lulav-shaking, song, and celebration at our Sukkah in Prospect Park.
-
At Kolot’s Sukkah in Prospect Park
In front of Litchfield Villa - 95 Prospect Park West, Brooklyn, NY 11215
1:30-3:30 p.m.
Enjoy some good food and queer vibes for the first day of Sukkot! Join queer and trans Kolotniks for a potluck lunch in the sukkah.
-
At Kolot’s Sukkah in Prospect Park
In front of Litchfield Villa - 95 Prospect Park West, Brooklyn, NY 11215
10:30 am to 12:30 pm - Meet and Greet in the Sukkah
Has spending the High Holy Days with Kolot gotten you interested in membership at Kolot Chayeinu? This is the event for you! Come to this gathering in the Sukkah hosted by Kolot's Membership Engagement Committee to hear from clergy, staff, and current members about what membership at Kolot offers and get any questions you may have answered.
-
At Kolot’s Sukkah in Prospect Park
In front of Litchfield Villa - 95 Prospect Park West, Brooklyn, NY 11215
7:30 - 8:45 pm - Singing Circle
Join Cantor Lisa in the Kolot Sukkah for the first of our monthly Singing Circle gatherings! This Circle is open to Kolot members (you can bring a guest), and is led by the Cantor and each other. This is a space to learn new melodies and sink into song as an energizing and contemplative spiritual and communal practice. No need to sign up!
-
At Gethsemane
6:30 – 8:00 pm - Simchat Torah at Kolot
Join us for communal celebration and dancing with Torah for ALL AGES to celebrate the beginning of a new Torah cycle. Kolot’s celebration will feature the music of Ty Citerman (guitar), Ira Temple (accordion) and Eleonore Weill (pennywhistle/flute/recorder),, with song and kavanot from Cantor Lisa and Interim Rabbi Sami plus Torah chanting with congregants. This is the amazing moment when we un-scroll the whole Torah, so we need the help of the entire congregation!
At Grand Army Plaza
(Rain Location: Union Temple House of CBE, 17 Eastern Parkway)
8:00 pm: Ma’ariv - evening prayer service begins
8:30 pm: Hakafot (DANCING WITH THE TORAHS!) begin
10:30 pm: Live Chanting of Torah verses
11:00 pm: Kiddush - lifting a glass and sanctifying the moment
11:30 pm: Conclusion - closing prayers and announcements
Kolot's next chapter starts now–with you!
Make this the year you become a member and find your place in this vibrant, diverse and sacred community, our Kehila Kedosha, where all hands are needed. Our Fair Share Dues policy reflects, honors, and supports the economic diversity of our community.