BRATTLEBORO — At sundown on Wednesday, Sept. 28, Jewish people will welcome Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish new year 5772.
Rosh Hashanah marks the beginning of a sacred period known as the Days of Awe, a time of reflection and introspection that culminates ten days later on Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, observed this year on Oct. 8.
During these days, marked by contemplation, confession, and prayer, Jews around the world assemble in synagogues to pray and reflect upon the past year. Individuals ask for forgiveness from family and friends and seek reconciliation for any wrongful acts they may have committed. Tradition teaches that once this is accomplished, forgiveness from God will follow.
The Days of Awe are regarded as a time of judgment, when Jews seek atonement and pray to be inscribed in the Book of Life for another year.
The Yom Kippur service begins at sundown on Friday night, Oct. 7, with the beautiful and haunting Kol Nidre prayer, and continues for 24 hours spent in prayer, contemplation, repentance, and fasting. One part of the day's prayers on Saturday is Yizkor, a special service during which people remember their departed loved ones as well as those lost in the Holocaust.
Ne'ilah, the final service at 6 p.m., speaks of the Gates of Heaven slowly closing as the last prayers of atonement are offered to God. Through the ages, Jews have been comforted by the belief that if they really strive to make themselves better than they were in the past, God will forgive them and grant them life.
Julie Strothman, President of Congregation Shir Heharim (the Brattleboro Area Jewish Community), announces that Rosh Hashanah services will begin at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 28, and will continue the next day at 9:30 a.m. at the West Village Meeting House, off South Street in West Brattleboro.
A second-day Rosh Hashanah service will take place at the synagogue at 151 Greenleaf Street on Thursday morning at 9:30. Yom Kippur services will be held at the West Village Meeting House, beginning at 7 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 7, and continuing the next morning at 9:30. The Ne'ilah service that closes Yom Kippur begins at 6 p.m. on Saturday.
All the services will be led by Rabbi Tom Heyn, the spiritual leader of the congregation. Members and their guests, as well as non-member visitors and students at area schools, are welcome to attend.
Although tickets are not required for admission and no one will be turned away for any reason, the congregation depends upon donations to help cover the costs of the services.
Guests are asked to make a donation of $100 for each person attending for one holiday or $180 for each person attending both. Donations are not requested from children under the age of 18 or students in residence at area schools. Guests who make donations and later decide to become members will have their donations credited toward their membership dues.
To register for services, donations can be sent in advance to BAJC, P.O. Box 2353, Brattleboro, VT 05303. For more information, visit www.bajcvermont.org, call 802-257-1959, or e-mail info@bajvcermont.org.