Address:
Community Unitarian Universalist Congregation, 468 Rosedale Ave, White Plains, NY 10605. The building is handicapped accessible.
Rosh Hashanah: Saturday, September 12, starting at 6 PM
Refreshments will be served after the service. There is a $10 charge for non-members with tickets purchased
in advance, or $15 per person at the door.
You can join our congregation using this link in order to avoid these and future charges.
Humanistic Rosh Hashanah
Humanistic Jews see Rosh Hashanah as a time for renewal, reflection, and new beginnings. Our focus is on the affirmation of human power and human dignity. Rosh Hashanah is a time to consider the possibilities for change, improvement, and happiness that we can create for ourselves as human beings. Acknowledging human courage and independence, we can achieve human dignity. Humanistic Jewish communities have adapted many of the ceremonies that are part of the rabbinic celebration of Rosh Hashana. As the first day of the Jewish year, Rosh Hashana marks a turning point, a separation between what was and what will be. It offers a time for Humanistic Jews to pause in their daily lives and reflect on their behavior and renew their commitment to their highest values. The creative liturgies used by Humanistic Jewish communities on Rosh Hashana reflect these themes.
Yom Kippur: Monday, September 21, starting at 5:30 PM
There will also be a performance of Max Bruch’s Kol Nidre by Prof. Ruth Levy-Schudroff
Please email the names you would like mentioned at Nizkor (a humanistic version of Yizkor) to info@wchj.org
The service will be followed by break-the-fast refreshments. There is a $20 charge for non-members with tickets purchased
in advance, or $25 per person at the door.
You can join our congregation using this link in order to avoid these and future charges.
What is Yom Kippur?
For Humanistic Jews Yom Kippur is a time of continued reflection, a time to examine human behavior. History has taught human beings to rely on themselves for creating change in our society. Adapting the form of our meditations to the content of our message, Humanistic Jews make Yom Kippur a celebration of inner strength and a time of self-forgiveness. Yom Kippur has a special significance for Humanistic Jews. It is the culmination of our examination of our behavior begun on Rosh Hashana. Yom Kippur is a time to reflect on the moral quality of our values and behavior. Introspection and goal setting are traditional behaviors on the High Holidays. There are three key elements to the Humanistic and rabbinic liturgies for Yom Kippur: teshuva, tefilla, and tsedaka.
Teshuva is a Hebrew word, usually translated as “repentance”, but which actually means return. For Humanistic Jews teshuva is the action of returning to our values and ideals, renewing our commitment to the highest standards of our ethics. Tefilla is traditionally translated as “prayer”, but comes from a word that means self-reflection. For Humanistic Jews tefilla directs us toward self-evaluation. Tsedaka usually means “charity”, but the deeper meaning tells about what kind of human beings we wish to be: tsadikim, or people who embody the highest ideals of the Jewish people.
Teshuva, tefilla, and tsedaka return to our ideals, self-reflection, and putting our ethics into action are the cornerstone of the Humanistic celebration of Yom Kippur.
For more information, please call Dmitry Turovsky at 914-356-2753 or email info@wchj.org