High Holidays 5787 / 2026

Rosh Hashanah

Friday, September 11

• • • Kaleidoscope Rosh Hashanah Kids Program**: 6:00-7:00pm
    • Kaleidoscope Rosh Hashanah Seder** (for people of color, Sephardi and Mizrahi Jews, and our loved ones): 7:00-9:00pm
    • Home-hosted Erev Rosh Hashanah Dinners (times vary)

Saturday, September 12

• • • Main Morning Service*: 9:30am-1:30pm followed by community kiddush**
    • Family Service (ages 0-5 with caregivers): 9:30-10:30am followed by family kiddush**
    • Youth Service (grades K-7, caregivers welcome but not required): 9:30-10:30am followed by family kiddush**
    • Childcare available 9:30am-1:30pm

Days of Awe

Sunday, September 13

• • • Kaleidoscope and Queer Space Families Picnic**: 1:30-3:30pm (for people of color, Sephardi and Mizrahi Jews, and/or queer folks and our loved ones)
    • Tashlich & Tekiyat Shofar (Casting Upon the Water & Shofar Service)**: 4:00-5:00pm

Yom Kippur

Sunday, September 20

• • • Kol Nidre (Yom Kippur Evening) Service*: 6:45-9:00pm
    • Childcare available 6:30-9:15pm

Monday, September 21

• • • Main Morning Service*: 9:30am-1:30pm (Yizkor/Remembrance Service at approximately 12:00pm)
    • Family Service (ages 0-5 with caregivers): 9:30-10:30am
    • Youth Service (grades K-7, caregivers welcome but not required): 9:30-10:30am
    • Afternoon Learning Spaces: 1:45-6:00pm
    • Ne’ilah (Closing) Service & Havdallah*: 6:20-7:45pm
    • Break-fast**: 7:45-9:00pm
    • Childcare available 9:15am-2:00pm and 6:00-8:00pm
    • Quiet spaces available 9:30am-6:00pm

*Program will also be streamed via Zoom
**Program will be held outside

All location details and Zoom links will be emailed to registered participants. For family and youth programming, if your family has children across age groups and wishes to attend as a family, feel free to choose the program that works best for your family.

Save the date for upcoming High Holidays!

Sukkot

• • • Friday, September 25 – Friday, October 2: Hang out or schedule a meal to host in the NSP sukkah!
    • Saturday, September 26, 11:30am-1:30pm: Community Potluck

Simchat Torah

• • • Saturday, October 3, 6:00-9:00pm: Simchat Torah Service and Celebration

NSP is a volunteer-driven community, and participation from our community is an essential part of making High Holidays run smoothly. Please sign up here to volunteer.

Rabbi Yosef Berman (he/they) is the rabbi of the New Synagogue Project. Rabbi Yosef grew up outside Kansas City and received his Bachelor of Arts from Wesleyan University in Connecticut. Rabbi Yosef was ordained in 2010 by the Rabbinical School of Hebrew College, an unaffiliated and pluralistic seminary in Boston. Following ordination, he served for five years as the Rabbi of Temple B’nai Israel in Revere, Massachusetts. He has also worked as a farmer, chaplain, community organizer, and advocate for justice, safety, and equality for Palestinians and Israelis. He is the co-founder of Ruach Guild, a skill development and support group for activists who provide spiritual care to social justice movements and organizations. He is passionate about Torah and joyful Jewish observance, gardening, ultimate frisbee, and the power of community to create both personal and societal transformation.

Batya Levine (they/them) uses song as a tool for cultivating healing and resilience in their work as a communal song leader, musician, shaliach tzibur (Jewish prayer leader) and cultural organizer. They believe in the liberatory power of song to untie what is bound within us, and sustain us as we build a more just and beautiful world. Batya is a co-founder and the Director of Programs at Let My People Sing!. Batya offers song, ritual, and workshops in a variety of communities, and they compose original music made of Ashkenazi yearning, queer heart-medicine, and emunah (faith/trust). Batya is also a lover of the ocean, queer dance parties, and puns.

We are committed to making High Holiday Services Programming accessible and inclusive for all who wish to attend. This includes people who are neurodivergent, D/deaf, hard of hearing, blind or low vision, or who have learning or other kinds of disabilities not listed. Please read below for more details about how we’re planning to meet certain needs. If you have any access needs that aren’t met by what’s detailed here, please email operations@newsynagogueproject.org, so that we can work to meet them.

ASL Interpretation & CART Captions

CART captioning will be provided for all livestreamed High Holiday events. ASL interpretation will be provided for all main services on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, including Kol Nidre, Ne’ilah, and Tashlich & Shofar Service. For all other High Holidays events, such as children’s services, NSP will work to accommodate all requests, pending the availability of Hebrew/English sign language interpreters. 

You will be able to request ASL for events on the registration form. Please submit ASL requests by August 21, if possible.

Prayer Book & Text Formats

For in-person services, we will use bound, printed machzors or prayer books, as well as a printed supplement. All non-English prayers and songs will be fully transliterated and translated. Page magnifiers will be available, as well as digital versions of the texts for e-readers. For Zoom services, a complete machzor/prayer book will be linked in the chat, along with a pdf supplement. If you need an alternative way of accessing text or prayers, let us know on the registration form, or email operations@newsynagogueproject.org.

Physical Accessibility

All indoor services will be held in a building that is fully wheelchair accessible. All spaces that we will use, including bathrooms and outdoor areas, can be accessed by ramps or elevators. The location is in Petworth and is accessible by bus and 1 mile from metro. Outdoor events will be hosted at sites that have wheelchair accessible restrooms, and are a short distance from paved parking areas. More details will be sent to registrants for specific events. No walking or standing is required for indoor services. Outdoor events may require walking short distances, and seating may be limited. 

Gender Inclusivity

Gender-inclusive restrooms are available at all indoor services.

Scent Sensitivity

For in-person services, we ask all attendees to avoid using products with strong scents as much as possible. Please note we do not have a way to enforce compliance with this request. If you have additional needs or requests around scent sensitivity, please let us know on the registration form or email operations@newsynagogueproject.org.

COVID Precautions

At NSP, we work to ensure that all members of our community can participate meaningfully and safely in community spaces. Through a host of community health practices, we aim to both meet the different needs of our community. Participants at NSP events commit to respecting and trusting others in their assessments of their needs. Our COVID policy is one part of our accessibility and disability justice work, it is part of how we care for and about one another.

In pursuit of keeping each other as safe as possible, attendees to NSP High Holidays programming must adhere to the following guidelines guidelines, per our community health and participation protocols as of April 1, 2025, online here:

• • • Everyone above b-mitzvah age will take rapid COVID tests before or upon arrival (provided by NSP). 
    • For adult services and indoor community spaces, masking is required for most people ages 13 and up. If you have a health need that prevents masking, take care of yourself and refrain from masking. 
    • Children’s spaces and services are mask-optional.
    • There will be outdoor and indoor mask-optional spaces during services and at other times during holidays.
    • Participants at NSP events commit to respecting and trusting others in their assessments of their needs.

Do I have to be a member of the New Synagogue Project to attend High Holiday services?

No! Everyone is welcome to join our services and programming, regardless of membership status. If you are not yet a member, we hope that you will consider joining!  Learn more here or e-mail membership@newsynagogueproject.org to set up a time to talk about membership. 

How can I become a member of the New Synagogue Project?

Click here for more details on NSP membership.

Are services going to sell out?

We do not anticipate reaching capacity for the space in which we’ll be gathering for in-person services. However, we will close registration on August 21, so we encourage you to sign up soon! August 21 is a hard deadline we adhere to in order for our safety and security team to have the time needed to keep our community safe and for our volunteer and staff team to plan for a smooth and meaningful High Holidays, so please make sure to register on time!

Are there deadlines to register for services?

Yes! Registration for in-person services will close on August 21. Registration for Zoom services will remain open.

How much do tickets cost?

All NSP High Holiday programming is available regardless of one’s ability to contribute financially. You will have the option to make a suggested tax-deductible donation when you complete the registration form, and we ask community members with greater financial privilege and power to support our community and its diverse membership by providing what they can, proportional to income.

Will services be livestreamed?

Yes! Main services for Rosh Hashanah, Kol Nidre, Yom Kippur Morning, and Ne’ilah will be livestreamed via Zoom. Register for the livestream above and you will receive a link to join the Zoom at least one week before the event. 

When can I expect to receive the locations and/or links for NSP High Holiday services?

Emails with locations, links, and other event details will be sent out to registrants at least one week before each event. If you have not received an email 48 hours before the event, reach out to highholidays@newsynagogueproject.org.

What safety precautions are you taking for High Holidays?

Our community’s safety during the High Holidays is of the utmost importance, and is something we have been working to address in a number of ways. For the High Holy Days, we remain committed to our values of creating an environment that is inclusive, empowering, comfortable, and safe. NSP’s safety team has prepared risk assessments and emergency response plans for High Holiday services. The safety team also includes skilled de-escalators trained in community safety and medics who will be on-site during services and other High Holiday events. In accordance with the policy of our host location for large events, a MPD officer who is a member of their congregation will be present during our High Holidays, off-duty in plain clothing, as a security guard. Our safety team leads are communicating and coordinating with the security guard, though if you would like to know who he is, let us know. Our on-site safety team strives to create an affirming, welcoming, and safe space for everyone. If you have any questions or concerns, please reach out to Lauren@newsynagogueproject.org. 

Are donations to New Synagogue Project tax-deductible?

Yes. The New Synagogue Project is a 501(c)3 and donations are tax-deductible.

Will prayer books be provided?

Yes! For in-person services, we will use bound, printed machzors, or High Holy Day prayer books, as well as a printed supplement. For online services, a complete machzor, or High Holy Day prayer book, will be linked in the chat, along with a pdf supplement. All materials will include full translation and transliteration of prayers and songs. 

Can I volunteer to support High Holiday services and programming?

We love volunteers! If you are interested in volunteering for any of our services or programming, please sign up here.

Who should I contact with access needs that aren’t already being addressed?

If you have any access needs that aren’t met by the list on the access page, please email operations@newsynagogueproject.org so that we can work to meet them. Please reach out by August 21 to ensure we can do our best to meet your needs. 

Will there be childcare at High Holiday Services?

Yes! Childcare will be provided for all main services (Rosh Hashanah morning services and Yom Kippur Kol Nidre, morning, and Ne’ilah services). If you have questions about childcare, please let us know at highholidays@newsynagogueproject.org.

What should I do if I have a question that’s not on this list?

Email our High Holidays Team at highholidays@newsynagogueproject.org