High Holy Days 5787/2026
The High Holy Days are the spiritual highlight of the year. The holidays provide an opportunity to learn more about the Jewish tradition and to share our heritage with newcomers. We invite you to observe the High Holy Day season with us. We have many programs, services, and celebrations—during the last months of the year 5786, Av and Elul, through the Days of Awe, and concluding with Sukkot and Simchat Torah. Some occasions are solemn, some are fun; some are for children, some for adults, and some are for everyone.
Explore these pages to see what is coming up in the High Holy Days 2026/5787 holiday season. As we gather together in reflection and joy, let us embrace the spirit of community and renewal. Each moment spent in prayer and celebration strengthens our bonds and enriches our lives. Join us as we embark on this sacred journey, filled with hope and inspiration for the year ahead.
Ending the Year: Av & Elul
Har Zion is celebrating the end of the Hebrew 5786 during the Hebrew months of Av and Elul, July 26, 2025, to September 22, 2025. Ranging from adult education to our yearly Shofar Walk, there are things for everyone. The festivals in the month of Av include both the solemn Tisha B’Av, the 9th of Av, begins on the evening of August 12, 2025. On Erev Tisha B’Av, we will remember the Destruction of the Second Temple and other tragedies in Jewish history. And a week later, on Tu B.Av, the 15th of Av, we will celebrate the Jewish Valentines day.
And music takes center stage this year, with the screening of a Yiddish silent movie with live piano accompaniment. (As a silent movie should be watched!) And we have two short concerts in Music Week, featuring music from the Romantic Era and from the Baroque Era, featuring local artists. (Mostly from Har Zion!)
The month of Elul is particularly inspirational, as we sound the shofar every day in Elul in our daily minyan. The climax of the month of Elul is Selichot. The Selichot service, in 5786 on Saturday, September 13, is a solemn evening service that ushers in the beginning of the High Holy Days. Har Zion’s service combines the traditional soulful liturgy of Selichot with the accompaniment of classical musicians to open the themes of the holiday. We share dessert on the patio (weather permitting).
Information and registration for all special services and programming at Har Zion during the months of Av and Elul is here: Ending the Year: Av and Elul
The Days of Awe
While we have separate information for Rosh Hashanah and for Kol Nidre/Yom Kippur (linked below), for your convenience, there are separate pages with full schedules for the Days of Awe:
- The schedule of the main services: Main High Holy Days Services and Programming at Har Zion
- The schedule of Har Zion’s offerings for children and youth (which includes services and childcare/supervision): Main High Holy Days Services and Programming at Har Zion
Rosh Hashanah
Rosh Hashanah is the Jewish New Year — a time of prayer, self-reflection and t’shuvah. We review our actions during the past year, and we look for ways to improve ourselves, our communities, and our world in the year to come. In 2026, in the diaspora, Rosh Hashanah is observed from sundown on Friday, September 11, though sundown on Sunday, September 13.
Details and registration for Rosh Hashanah services and programming are here.
Kol Nidre
Our Kol Nidre services are solemn, majestic, and beautiful, creating a moving and profound beginning to the holiest day of the Jewish year. We ask God to forgive us for promises we make in the coming year that we may not be able to keep. Kol Nidre is at sundown on Sunday, September 20.
Yom Kippur
The Day of Atonement, Yom Kippur, is the holiest day of the Jewish calendar. It marks the end of the 10 days of repentance and is spent in fasting and prayer. Sounding the shofar signals the holiday’s end. Observant Jews do not eat, drink (including water), bathe or wear anything made of leather. Yom Kippur, is observed on Monday, September 20, concluding at sundown. Worshippers are invited to Break the Fast at the temple at the conclusion of the Yom Kippur evening service.
Details and registration for Kol Nidre and Yom Kippur services and programming are here.
Sukkot and Beyond
Sukkot
The week-long harvest festival of Sukkot commemorates the dwelling of the Israelites in tents during their 40-year journey in the Sinai desert. Many families build their own sukkah, in which it is customary to eat meals, sleep and shake the lulav, a palm frond bound together with myrtle and willow branches, and the etrog, a type of citrus. Sukkot 5787 is observed from Friday evening, September 25, to Friday, October 2. There are a number of services and programs during Sukkot, including our special community Shabbat meal, Salmon in the Sukkah.
Details and registration for Sukkot programs are in About Sukkot.
Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah
Simchat Torah marks the end of the annual Torah reading cycle and the beginning of the cycle for the coming year. It is celebrated with singing, dancing, and merry processions of people carrying Torahs and children waving flags. Simchat Torah 5786 is observed from sundown on Tuesday, October 14, to sundown on Wednesday, October 15.
In the diaspora, Simchat Torah is preceded by Shemini Atzeret, in 5786 on Tuesday, on October 2. Shemini Atzeret is one of four times a year when Yizkor, the Jewish memorial service, is recited; minyan is replaced by a festival service.
Details for Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah services are here.