Rosh Hashanah 2026/5787

Erev Rosh Hashanah: September 11th

5:45 pm: Erev Rosh Hashanah Dinner (Pre-registration for this event is required… Walk-ins cannot be accomodated)

Details for this meal will be sent directly to those who registered.

6:45pm: Registration Table Open

Please plan to arrive early to visit the check-in table when you arrive to pick up your printed name tag.

7:15pm: Erev Rosh Hashanah Traditional Service

This Erev Rosh Hashanah service will feature mostly Hebrew liturgy and traditional melodies, as we sink into the New Year together. It will be co-led by Rabbi Rachel Nussbaum and Rabbi Jonah Steinberg.

7:15pm: Erev Rosh Hashanah Muscial & Contemplative Service

Our alternative Erev Rosh Hashanah service will be led by Rabbi Jay LeVine with Kohenet Traci Marx, offering a joyous and warm musical welcome into the High Holidays.

Rosh Hashanah, Day 1: September 12th

8:15am - 11:15am: Registration Table Open

Please visit the check-in table when you arrive to grab your pre-printed name tag and to pick up a schedule, map, and other materials (if you joined us for Erev Rosh Hashanah, please bring your name tag back!).

9:00am - 9:50am: Morning Yoga

Join us for an all-levels yoga class. We will spend 50 minutes together bringing awareness to body, mind, breath, and heart, renewing, and resting. All are welcome!

Materials: Please dress in comfortable clothing and bring a yoga mat, a blanket/beach towel, and block, if you have them.

9:00am - 9:50am: Text Study

Join Rabbi Jay for a morning text study on a selection from Talmud. All backgrounds and levels of previous learning are welcome!

9:00am - 11:00am: Rosh Hashanah Family Service & Programs

Join Rabbi Rachel Nussbaum for a meaningful and energetic prayer service designed to cover all the "greatest hits" of the liturgy for Kavana youth, accompanying adults, and families.

Following the service, Director of Education Rachel 'RLO' Osias and a team of Kavana teaching staff will lead an additional hour of interactive, theme-based activities for families. Youth will be divided into three learning cohorts: preschoolers, early elementary (K-2) and older elementary (3-5) children. Hands on arts & crafts meets prayer study and discussion!

10:00am - 1:30pm: Traditional Morning Service

Kavana’s special Pesukei D'zimra – "dawn chanting" – features beautiful melodies to ease us into the day. Then, we’ll continue with a full Shacharit/Morning Service for Rosh Hashanah, followed by the Torah service (~11:15-12:30), and Musaf with its themes of Malchuyot, Zichronot, and Shofarot. Please note that the Shofar will not be sounded in the Tradition Service on RH day 1 this year due to Shabbat (it will be blown on RH day 2 and all are welcome to return to hear it). Our RH day 1 service will be led by Anna Boiko-Weyrauch, Elisha Pianko, Rabbi Jonah Steinberg and Rabbi Rachel Nussbaum, and will feature community participation in the Torah service and communal singing throughout.

10:30am - 1:30pm: Musical and Contemplative Morning Service

Led by Kohenet Traci Marx and accompanying musicians, we dedicate this time to drop into a deep return to the self, to the Divine, and to our interconnectedness with all of life, that we and our world may be renewed in this new year. We will lean into key morning prayers and the Rosh Hashanah liturgy as well as explore the themes of new beginnings and teshuvah (return to the heart) more freely. And we will sound the shofar! This space aims to be feminist, counter-oppressive, inclusive and welcoming. *Please note that this service will include an abbreviated Torah service.

10:30am - 11:30pm: Meditation

Join Rabbi Jay LeVine for a guided hour meditation through reflection and presence.

11:15am - 12:15: High Holidays Unpacked: A Text Study for Middle Schoolers

Join Kavana educators for an engaging, hands-on text study to explore the deeper meanings of the Jewish High Holidays. Using group discussions, thought-provoking questions, and interactive activities, we’ll discover how these holiest-of-holy days connect to our lives today. Join us and be ready to think, learn, and build community.

11:15am - 12:15pm: High Holidays Unpacked: A Text Study for High Schoolers

12:30pm - 1:30pm: Writing your Teshuva

Led by Stacy Lawson; on Rosh Hashana we are closing out the year. Hopefully we have been contemplating and working towards fulfilling the requirements of making peace with those whom we have wronged. In this session, we will go through a four step practice in writing and contemplation to complete our teshuva by attending to our inner selves. Please show up with the list of regrets that you generated, pen/pencil, and a pad of paper to explore the inner dimension of teshuva. What is is that we will do from here forward to insure that we do not fall back into habitual and harmful patterns of speech and thought. And, what do we do if we can't quite get to that point?

1:30pm - 2:30pm: Art Integration

Rabbi Jay LeVine will lead an art-making session using the Jewish Studio Process, focusing on themes of Creation and Renewal. No art experience or expertise required. Willingness to be spiritually playful is recommended.

Rosh Hashanah, Day 2: September 13th

8:45am - 9:45am: Registration Table Open

If you joined us for Erev Rosh Hashanah or Rosh Hashanah Day 1, please bring your name tag back! If this is your first day at services, check in at our registration table to get your name tag.

9:00am: Traditional Morning Service

This service will follow the same outline as the traditional services for the first day, but we will begin an hour earlier (at 9am) and move through all the components of the service -- Pesukei D’Zimra, Shacharit, Torah, Shofar, and Musaf -- in a more streamlined way. We look forward to hearing the shofar sounded during both the Torah service and in Musaf. Leaders will include Rabbi Jonah Steinberg, Rabby Jay LeVine, and Rabbi Rachel Nussbaum, with much community participation during the Torah service and communal singing throughout.

1:00pm - 2:00pm: Tashlich

Meet Rabbi Jay by the water in Downtown Seattle for a tashlich ritual and bring-your-own picnic lunch!