***Note time changes below. Erev Rosh Hashana Services begin at 6:00pm. Simchat Torah Night begin at 5:15pm. Please register for High Holidays ASAP https://jccjapan.jp/high-holidays-2024/ ***
The calendar for 5785 will be immensely complicated on the personal and communal levels with one exception.
Rosh Hashana’s falling out on Wednesday night means that (outside of Israel) three out of the first four weeks of the year contain a phenomenon known as the 3-Day Yom Tov which translates into a cavalcade of meals, prayers and more meals that begins midweek and doesn’t end until nightfall on Saturday.
Just the phrase ‘3-Day Yom Tov’ sends shivers down the spine of anyone with limited vacation days, who has the responsibility to cook or dreadfully both. In the words of longtime JCC baker Toyo Izaki on hearing of the impending 3-Day Yom Tov “Shinjaranai.”
Skip ahead to December and, not the Jewish calendar’s fault here, the first candle of Hanukkah will be lit on the evening of December 25th, the supposed birthday of the world’s most famous Jewish carpenter. This rare phenomenon was coined as Chrismukkah by Seth Cohen of the mid-2000s television drama ‘The O.C.’
For us here in Tokyo, the timing is a bit tricky since so many people fly abroad to visit relatives during end-of-year holidays. On the plus side, you get an opportunity to light Hannukah candles with the Gantze Mishpacha / Whole Family back home. A rare treat for folks who live overseas.
Not done yet, 5785 keeps the party going with a Saturday night seder. While seders falling over weekends is great for community attendance, what to eat for the Shabbat immediately preceding becomes a logistical nightmare for a day that is not quite Passover but still kind of almost Passover.
The chief conundrum revolves around what to make the hamotzi blessing over on Saturday morning when neither matzah nor challah can be consumed (the answer is egg matzah and we already have it in stock). Furthermore considering cooking is prohibited on Shabbat, everything has to be prepared well in advance and then heated up immediately following nightfall to satiate the dozens if not hundreds of tourists who can’t wait to tell their friends back home about the seder they enjoyed in Tokyo but oh, why were the matzah balls kind of cold?
To round things out in a non-linear fashion, if you happen to be in Jerusalem in mid-March you get to celebrate an even rarer occurrence than Chrismukkah called Purim Meshulash meaning Three-Day Purim for reasons that you’ll probably read about in a newsletter after the mercury dips during some lousy Smarch weather (obscure Simpsons reference if you caught it).
For Jerusalemites, Purim Meshulash makes up for the 3-Day Yom Tovs dotted around the rest of 5785. For those of us closer to the Western Hemisphere than the Western Wall, it’s just another reason to hop on that nonstop El Al flight from Narita.
If you’re still reading, consider attending rabbinical school because that was a lot and we didn’t even talk about Shavuot (Sunday night-Tuesday night. Boring).
The exception I referenced above where the rabbis who established the calendar in the 4th Century CE gave us a break? Yom Kippur’s Kol Nidre will be chanted on Friday night this year with the main event all day Saturday leading to one less awkward conversation about whether to pull the kids out of school.
We hope you join us for all of the above, especially the always celebratory post-Yom Kippur break-the-fast meal which this year is being sponsored in honor of Ambassador Rahm Emanuel and Amy Rule for their enduring commitment to the Jewish Community of Japan.
Services
Erev Rosh Hashanah
Wednesday, October 2nd
Services: 6:00pm
Dinner with reservation: 7:00pm
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: 4:00pm
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
Rosh Hashana Leftovers Kiddush Sponsored by Everyone Who Doesn’t Finish their Gefilte Fish
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 in honor of Ambassador Rahm Emanuel and Amy Rule: 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: 10:00am
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: 10:00am
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: 10:00am
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: 10:00am
Lunch in the Sukkah by reservation: 12:30pm
Erev Simchat Torah Service
Thursday, October 24th
Services and Dancing with the Torah: 5:15pm
Pizza, refreshments and drinks to follow
Simchat Torah
Friday, October 25th
Services: 10:00am
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
Dream Apart Jewish Role Playing Game
Sunday, October 13th 1:45pm-5:45pm
Book talk with Eva Izhak Niimura
Friday, October 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
Thank you to Michael Sloyer of Upbuild and everyone who attended Sunday’s Unlock Your Inner Self: Enneagram Personality Workshop. The reflective nature of the class was exactly what the sages had in mind when advising ‘cheshbon hanefesh’ / ‘accounting of the soul’, in the days leading up to Rosh HaShana and Yom Kippur.
Don’t forget Eruv Tavshilin this Wednesday night, before Sukkot and Shmini Atzeret! For details, see April 2022 newsletter.
Thank you to everyone who found the inadvertent errors in last week’s newsletter dates and times. We will continue to kaizen.
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, 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.
Rosh Hashana
Candle Lighting Night One: 5:05pm
Candle Lighting Night Two: 6:00pm
Shabbat Haazinu
Candle Lighting: 5:02pm
Havdala: 5:57pm
Candle lightings for Night Two and Shabbat from a pre-existing flame