You are invited to start the High Holy Days with Temple Emanu-El, with our Selichot Movie & Discussion followed by our service.  We are excited to have Cantor Star Trompeter joining us this year for the High Holy Days. This is a wonderful opportunity for you to meet and hear her lead with Rabbi Magat.

The Selichot Service a time for reflection that will help prepare you spiritually for the upcoming holidays.  Selichot are penitential prayers said before and during the High Holy Days and other fast days throughout the year.  We begin and end the season of repentance with the same words, calling out to the compassionate God who we hope will accept our prayers. The prayers are read and meditations considered as individuals are encouraged to reflect on the past year and the changes they wish to make in the upcoming one.

Starting at 6:00pm, we will be watching the movie "There is Another Way", followed by a discussion in the Temple House with an Oneg. 

In the midst of darkness, we discover who we truly are. There is Another Way tells the story of a group of visionaries who refuse to surrender to violence and injustice, and in doing so show that another path is possible - for them, for us, and for all humanity. As we are all faced with essential questions about who we are, will we choose collective liberation, where the needs, rights, and safety of all are prioritized - in which our humanity comes first, knowing that no one is free until everyone is free.

Combatants for Peace, nominated for two Nobel Peace Prizes, is an extraordinary bi-national group of former enemy combatants - Israelis and Palestinians - working together during an ongoing armed conflict. Faced with the devastation and escalating violence of October 7th and the war in Gaza, the very core of the movement must face great challenges and show that there is another way. The first question they have to face is their own belief…is this possible?

Learn more about the film here

Then at 9pm, we will have Selichot Services in the Sanctuary, and have it streamed for those watching online.

Click here to watch services live.  

Register below to attend Selichot Service with Rabbi Magat at Temple Emanu-El.