We are so excited to welcome in 5784 with you! Join us on erev Rosh Hashanah and Day 2! Registration closes Thurs. Sept. 14th
This year, Rosh Hashanah Day 1 falls on Shabbat. When this happens, we don’t blow shofar on Day 1. So we decided to have our communal celebration on Day 2. We invite you to make Day 1 an extra special shabbes and to really lean into rest. Then join us on Day 2 for a day of joy and renewal!
More details and registration below – help us plan by letting us know when you plan to join us!
Health, Weather & Accessibility Info:
Help us take care of each other! Please sign our health equity brit (covenant) before coming to in-person CJC gatherings. We highly recommend masking, given the new COVID variant.
All Rosh Hashanah gatherings will be in or near outdoor pavilions. In the case of rain, we will still meet, protected by the pavilion roof. In the case of severe weather, we will let you know if we decide to cancel.
Seating will be a combination of picnic benches, folding chairs, and blankets and pillows on the ground. We invite you to bring anything that will make sitting more comfortable and accessible for you.
Both locations have onsite parking with paved sidewalks from the parking lot to the pavilion. Unfortunately, neither location is accessible via public transit. We will do our best to arranges rides – let us know if you need one in the form below!
Erev Rosh Hashanah Potluck Dinner
Friday, September 15th | 6:00-8:00pm | Tuxedo Park (here)
Join the Cleveland Jewish Collective to welcome in Rosh Hashanah! We will begin by lighting candles, blessing grape juice and challah, and eating apples with honey. We will provide these ritual foods, and we invite you to bring a vegetarian dish to share with the group.
Some people in our community are Gluten Free, Dairy Free, or allergic to nuts – please keep these dietary needs in mind as you decide what to bring, so that everyone has at least one thing they can eat. Please list ingredients so that people know what they are able to eat.
All ages are welcome! There is a playground nearby, and we will also have some crafts and toys available.
Rosh Hashanah Day 2
Sunday, September 17th | 10am-4pm | Old River Farm Picnic Area (here)
Join us on the second day of Rosh Hashanah for as much of the day as you like.The morning will be geared toward adults, but little ones are welcome to play on the nearby playground. We will also have some crafts and toys available. The afternoon will be geared toward all ages – everyone from babies to elders are most welcome!
***10:00-11:30am Adult Learning***
Traditionally, Rosh Hashanah is a day full of prayer. But the prescribed liturgy doesn’t work for all of us – the prayers are long, in a language many of us don’t know, and often use God language that can be alienating. Whether you describe yourself as agnostic, believer, atheist, or unsure, we invite you to join us as we learn about some of the prayers that are unique to Rosh Hashanah. What, if any, resonance might these prayers hold for each of us? How might our experience of prayer shift or deepen through our learning?
***11:30am-1:00pm Adult Prayer***
Join us for an abbreviated Rosh Hashanah service, during which we will blast the shofar and embody what we’ve just learned.
The learning and prayer are meant to enhance each other, but feel free to come to either or both parts.
***1:00-2:00pm Potluck lunch***
CJC will provide apples, honey, grape juice, and challah. We invite you to bring a vegetarian dish to share with the group.
Some people in our community are Gluten Free, Dairy Free, or allergic to nuts –please keep these dietary needs in mind as you decide what to bring, so that everyone has at least one thing they can eat. Please list ingredients so that people know what they are able to eat.
***2:00-3:00pm Magical Ma’agal: Embodied Music & Movement Circle with Yoshi Silverstein, Mitsui Collective***
As we circle into the new year, this session will bring us together in joyful singing, dancing, drumming, and the mystical Jewish magic of circle-making. Appropriate for all ages, with different parts available for all to play and participate in.
***3:00-3:30pm Shofar & Tashlich***
Join us as we head to the water. We will blow shofar to wake us up to the new year. Then we will symbolically cast away our mistakes from the past year into water. Appropriate for all ages.
Accessibility note: the river is down a short grassy incline and dirt trail.
If you prefer to do tashlich on your own, we will also send out digital instructions.
***3:30-4:00pm We Are the Water with Laurel Simkoff, CJC member & early childhood educator***
Join us for an Intergenerational discussion and sensory spiritual experience, down by the water.
As we reflect on the past year and set our intentions for the year ahead, we will discuss what it means to claim our position in the water cycle. This is a kid-friendly activity that will involve age-appropriate meaningful discussion and hands-on experiences, including sensory exploration of water.
Accessibility note: the river is down a short grassy incline and dirt trail.