Let’s face it — your couch is just not the same as a pew in the sanctuary. (For one thing, your couch is more comfortable.) But nothing we do from a distance can replicate sharing an experience with 1,300 people in our beautiful and holy sacred space. Click through the slideshow for some ideas on how to observe the High Holy Days at home.
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Pick up your Mahzor
Need a prayer book? A tallis? A yarmulke? A yahrzeit candle? We’ve got you covered! There will be a table outside the sanctuary from Monday, September 14 – Friday, September 18, 8:30 AM – 12:30 PM to pick up one of our custom HHD-To-Go bags.
If you can’t make it to pick up a HHD-To-Go Bag, but would like a prayer book, please email us at hhd@cbebk.org. -
Get cooking
Make special holiday meals in advance, as you normally would, or perhaps as you never have before. We pray that 5781 will contain major causes for celebration. Let’s fête its arrival with all of the pomp it deserves.
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Make your parade sign
We’re closing off part of of 8th Avenue, and hope you will join us — wearing masks, of course — to hear the shofar from the steps of our sanctuary, and to greet each other with a safely distant L’Shanah Tovah! Make a poster with your family’s name and your wish for the new year.
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Find beauty in nature
Please send us new pictures of the natural world as you see it now - a follow up to our “Yotzeir Or” photography project from the spring.
We will compile your photos into a slideshow to be shown during the Torah service on the First Day of Rosh Hashanah. Send your photos to clergy@cbebk.org by Thursday, September 17! -
Make sacred space
Mark off a space in your home to be your Mikdash Me’at, your miniature sanctuary. Look around your home for objects, hangings, lighting, and books that will make your Mikdash Me’at feel sacred. Here are some fun coloring pages to beautify your space.
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Dress up
When Rosh Hashanah morning arrives, get dressed up. It’s a big day. Maybe pick out a special outfit for the kids too.
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Choose your service(s)
As always, we’ll be offering tot services, family services, Brooklyn Jews (20s/30s) services, and main sanctuary services. If you’re not sure which one is best for your family, it’ll be easier than ever to move from one to another. Don’t hesitate to move around to find the right fit.
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Join Us on Zoom
We can have up to 1,000 screens for the main sanctuary service, 1,000 for the family service, and 1,000 for Brooklyn Jews. You can always watch all of the services streaming on Facebook Live, but if you want to see hundreds of fellow CBE members and you’re up for turning on your computer’s camera, we invite you to join us on the inside to have that community feel during services. Please just one screen per household in Zoom for the sanctuary service. Don’t forget to click here to register!
Want to feel like you’re at CBE while you’re at home? Click here for a Dropbox folder filled with CBE imagery to use as your Zoom background. -
Put away your phones
Need we say more? -
Participate
This is not a spectator sport. It will be easier than ever this year to feel like your clergy are putting on a show, and all you have to do is sit back and watch. But we all know that High Holy Days are not a show. These days have the potential for profound personal transformation, but that’s only possible for those who apply themselves, who turn inward and do the work. That’s why we will, throughout the service, ask you to sing and pray along, to write comments we can read out loud, to “come up” for aliyot, and to greet one another. Your participation is what it’s all about.
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Make a Rosh Hashanah Seder (Yes, a Rosh Hashanah Seder)
On Erev Rosh Hashanah, at the conclusion of services, stay on the Zoom for our 10 minute Rosh Hashanah seder to start your meal. You’ll need special items for your seder plate. Find the seder guide at this link. After the seder you can peel off for dinner or stick around for breakout groups, sharing your meal with the community for Rosh Hashanah.