Holidays at TOS

The Torah teaches, “These are the set times of the Eternal, the sacred occasions, which you shall celebrate each at its appointed times.” Here at Temple Ohabei Shalom, we celebrate the full range of Jewish holidays as a community. Click below for information about each holiday.
 

High Holidays (Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur)
Our services for the High Holidays (yomim nora’im, “the Days of Awe”) are marked by the grandeur of the occasions in our awe-inspiring Sanctuary, yet are made close to us by the opportunities for reflection and communal participation. We are able to accommodate the entire congregation at one time, eliminating the need for early and late services. Services are led by Rabbi Franken and Cantor Schloss, accompanied by a professional octet which has been a valued part of services at Temple Ohabei Shalom for many years. We celebrate two days of Rosh Hashanah.

Our congregation also participates in Tashlikh (literally, “casting off”), where the community will go down to a local river and throw breadcrumbs in the water to represent the wrongdoing that we wish to cast off. Tashlikh occurs on the afternoon of the first day of Rosh Hashanah. 2010 High Holidays


Three Pilgrimage Holidays (Sukkot, Pesach, Shavuot) We mark the three pilgramage holidays (sh’losh r’galim) with the appropriate holiday services. There is are evening and morning services for the first day of Sukkot and for Shavuot. We mark Kabbalat Torah (receiving of the Torah, or “Confirmation”), the graduation ceremony for our Hebrew High School students on the evening of Shavuot. There is a morning service for the first day of Pesach (Passover). Torah is read at each of these morning services.

Following the custom of the Reform Movement in the United States, we celebrate Sukkot and Pesach for seven days and Shavuot for one day. On the seventh day of Sukkot and Pesach and on the day of Shavuot, our morning service includes yizkor (memorial service).

Hanukkah and Purim Hanukkah is a time of joy and liberation. We mark it at Temple Ohabei Shalom with a special service on the Shabbat evening during Hanukkah.

Purim celebrates our deliverance from those who would have destroyed us. It is a mirthful holiday, which we celebrate here with a rollicking service, reading from the Megillah (the Scroll of Esther), and the presentation of a Purim shpiel (Purim play).

Yizkor We are obligated to remember those who have gone before us. Here at Temple Ohabei Shalom, we hold a yizkor (memorial service) four times a year, on:

Yom Kippur afternoon
Morning service for the seventh day of Sukkot
Morning service for the seventh day of Pesach
Morning service for Shavuot.