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The Rosh Hashana service seems custom built for those who prefer arriving fashionably late to the synagogue. The introductory prayers, while beautiful, do not nearly approach the weight attached to the blowing of the shofar which is heard much later in the liturgy.
Why delay blowing the shofar? The obvious answer would be human nature. Worship services are loaded with prayers that are just plain nicer when the pews fill up. Mourner’s Kaddish as a conclusion gives people who are running late more time to show up. Same with Yizkor, the four-times yearly intonation of the deceased when leaning on the next person over for emotional support is practically its own ritual.
It would then follow that shofar would fall into a similar category. But did the rabbis really arrange the order in such a way to maximize or even incentivize dilly dallying to shul giving even the most punctually challenged an opportunity to hear the tekia, shvarim and terua blasts?
That would be a convenient answer, and is probably the most widely believed until today, but it wouldn’t be the truth. Delaying the shofar blowing is actually a bit sinful if not a full-on transgression which are the kinds of things we tend to avoid on Rosh HaShana.
There is a concept in Jewish law which states that when presented with the opportunity to fulfill a mitzvah/commandment, we are not permitted to dither for even one moment. So how did the shofar service get pushed not by minutes but hours into the nether reaches of the late morning?
The answer is alluded to in the canonical Babylonian Talmud and explicitly recorded in the less studied Jerusalem Talmud (more accurately called the Palestinian Talmud but not going there).
At an unspecified time and place in Jewish history, blowing the shofar was forbidden by law. Guards were placed by the government outside the synagogue to ensure compliance. A synagogue blew the shofar blasts regardless early in the morning service, the guards came in, mistook the shofar blasts for a war call against the sovereign and massacred the entire congregation.
The following year, the rabbis made an enactment to delay the blowing of the shofar for two reasons. The first being that the guards were known to be lazy and would often abandon their post halfway through the service. The second being that even if the guards were still at their posts, they were more likely to see that the shofar blasts were merely a component of a peaceful gathering and thus be less likely to intervene.
Now that police departments throughout the world are more likely to be found protecting a synagogue’s congregants than enforcing anti-Semitic laws, wouldn’t it make more sense to switch the timing for shofar back to the beginning? A similar question was posed by rabbis in France over 1,000 years ago. The answer they gave is no due to an ever present fear that the ‘bad old days’ can return at any moment.
With a sunnier outlook, keeping the delay enhances everyone’s Rosh HaShana by having the sanctuary’s pews be a bit more crowded when that beautiful stillness envelops the synagogue prior to the blasting of the ram’s horn ushering in a new happy, healthy and hopefully much sweeter new year.
Services
Kabbalat Shabbat
Friday, September 27th
6:00pm Services
7:00pm Dinner by reservation
Erev Rosh Hashanah
Wednesday, October 2nd
Services: 6:30pm
Dinner with reservation: 7:30pm
Rosh Hashanah Day 1
Thursday, October 3rd
Morning Service: 9:00am
Lunch with reservation: 1:00pm
Tashlich at Arisugawa Park (across from National Azabu Supermarket): Meet at the Bridge over the Pond by the front entrance: 16:00
Evening Service: 6:00pm
Dinner with reservation: 7:00pm
Rosh Hashanah Day 2
Friday, October 4th
Morning Service: 9:00am
Lunch with reservation: 1:00pm
Kabbalat Shabbat Shuva
Friday, October 4th
Services: 6:00pm
Dinner with reservation: 7:00pm
Shabbat Shuva Parshat Ha’azinu
Kiddush open for sponsorship (likely HH leftovers if left unsponsored)
Saturday, October 5th
Services: 10:00am
Kiddush: 12:00pm
Erev Yom Kippur
Friday, October 11th
Before-the-fast meal with reservation: 3:45pm
Kol Nidre: 6:00pm
Yom Kippur
Saturday, October 12th
Services: 9:00am
Yizkor: 11:30am
Mincha and Neilah: 4:00pm
Break-the-fast meal with reservation (generously sponsored): 6:00pm
Erev Sukkot
Wednesday, October 16th
Services: 6:00pm
Dinner in the Sukkah by reservation: 7:00pm
Sukkot Day 1
Thursday, October 17th
Services: 10:00
Lunch in the Sukkah by reservation: 12:30pm
Maariv Services: 6:00pm
Dinner in the Sukkah by reservation: 7:00pm
Sukkot Day 2
Friday, October 18th
Services: 10:00
Lunch in the Sukkah by reservation: 12:00pm
Kabbalat Shabbat Chol haMoed Sukkot
Friday, October 18th
Services: 6:00pm
Dinner in the Sukkah by reservation: 7:00pm
Shabbat Chol HaMoed Sukkot
Saturday, October 19th
Services: 10:00
Lunch in the Sukkah by reservation: 12:00pm
Shmini Atzeret Evening
Wednesday, October 23rd
Services: 6:00pm
Dinner in the Sukkah by reservation: 7:00pm
Shmini Atzeret Morning
Thursday, October 24th
Services: 10:00
Lunch in the Sukkah by reservation: 12:30pm
Erev Simchat Torah Service
Thursday, October 24th
Services and Dancing with the Torah: 6:00pm
Pizza, refreshments and drinks to follow
Simchat Torah
Friday, October 25th
Services: 10:00
Kabbalat Shabbat
Friday, October 25th
Services: 6:00pm
Dinner by reservation: 7:00pm
Shabbat Parshat Beresheet
Kiddush open for sponsorship
Saturday, October 26th
Services: 10:00am
High Holiday/Sukkot Reservations: https://jccjapan.jp/high-holidays-2024/
Friday Night Dinner Reservations: https://jccjapan.jp/shabbat-meals-sign-up/
Events
Unlock Your Inner Self: Enneagram Personality Workshop
Sunday, September 29th 12:30pm-5:30pm
10/7 Commemoration Event
Monday, October 7th 6:00pm
Dream Apart Jewish Role Playing Game
Sunday, October 13th 1:45pm-5:45pm
Book talk with Eva Izhak Niimura
Friday, Oct 18th 8:00pm
Silent Tears – The Last Yiddish Tango (live performance)
Sunday, December 8th Time TBD
Event Registration Page: https://jccjapan.jp/event-registration/
If you have an idea for an event or a topic you would like to share with others, please visit our website: https://jccjapan.jp/event-committee-inquiry/
Announcements
Our Yom Kippur break-the-fast meal has been generously and anonymously sponsored in honor of Ambassador Rahm Emanuel and Amy Rule. Please make sure to sign up so we know how much food to prepare. It’s kind of the only event the whole year where running out of food is a literal and potentially medical disaster.
There are very likely errors in the above schedule. It’s just a monster with the 3-day Yom Tovs where holidays bleed into Shabbat nearly every weekend. If you find an error, please reply to this e-mail. We do not have a bug bounty program. Bugs are (mostly) not kosher.
Save the date (10/9) for Coffee and Kvetch! Feeling like you need a little boost to make it through the week? Join us for a much-needed **Jewish Parents Coffee** on **October 9th at 10 AM at Hiroo Towers**! It’s your chance to relax, recharge, and bond with other parents of Jewish kids navigating life in Japan, from **elementary school adventures** to **high school drama**. We’ll provide the coffee (and maybe a bagel or two), you provide the stories and good spirits. Please RSVP to Blair at bperilman@gmail.com
Tokyo was selected as the host city for this year’s BBYO Convention of Jewish Teens in Asia. Building off the success of the chapter’s inaugural laser tag event, our teens and their parents are planning a jam-packed itinerary for participants from Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Singapore and Taipei. If you would like to register, help out, contribute or learn more please reply to this email.
Yiddish Club with Jack Halpern: Please contact Jack at jack@cjki.org if you are interested to join. All levels are welcome, from beginner to advanced. Much more than just language, the club’s monthly meetings explore Yiddish culture as well.
Shabbat Nitzavim-Vayelech
Candle Lighting: 5:12pm
Havdala: 6:07pm