The ‘twice-a-year’ Jew. A contemporary product of declining affiliation rates and rising secularism across an enlightened post-modern western civilization? Hardly. Over 80 years before a woman would be formally ordained as a rabbi in 1972, the “Girl Rabbi of the Golden West” Ray Frank preached the following Kol Nidre message in a Spokane, Washington synagogue in 1890:
“Do not persuade yourself that coming to shul once or twice a year, or fasting for twenty-four hours, will make you a good Jew. Do not comfort yourself with the belief that God will, at the eleventh hour, accept your tithe, which you pay because you must. For three hundred and sixty-three days you are content to go your way, doing as you please, piling up the coin of the United States, and congratulating yourself that your credit is good. You never give a thought to the One from whom all blessings come until reminded that Rosh Hashanah is here and Yom Kippur will follow.”
Brutal! Pretty much any rabbi who shared that message nowadays would be without a job the following day, or more likely that very afternoon. Here at the Jewish Community of Japan, we welcome twice-a-year’s, once-a-year’s and people who read the above and asked “What is a shul? Did the rabbi’s phone autocorrect from school?” Whatever your theology, practice, dogma, creed or lack thereof we look forward to welcoming you to our High Holiday services and meals either in-person, online or some combination of the two.
Wishing each of you a happy and a healthy sweet new year. Shana Tova!
Services
Friday night Kabbalat Shabbat will begin on Zoom at 5:00pm.
Next Kiddush available for sponsorship is Shabbat Sukkot 9/25.
Events (Please note revised times)
Erev Rosh haShana
Monday, September 6th
Services: 5:30pm – 6:30pm
Dinner: 6:30pm – 9:00pm
Rosh haShana Day 1
Tuesday, September 7th
Services: 10am – 12:30pm
Shofar Blowing: 11:30am
Lunch: 12:00pm – 2:00pm
Tashlich at Arisugawa Park (UPDATED)
Tuesday, September 7th
4:00pm – we run out of stale challah
Rosh haShana Day 2
Wednesday, September 8th
Services: 10am – 12:30pm
Shofar Blowing: 11:30am
Lunch: 12:30pm – 2:30pm
Shabbat Shuva
Date: Saturday, September 11th
Gala Kiddush sponsored by the Nadler Family in honor of Peter’s mother, Marta Nadler
Time: 10:00am – Noon
Kiddush: Noon – 2pm
Erev Yom Kippur
Wednesday, September 15th
Pre-fast meal: 3:45pm – 4:45pm
Kol Nidre: 5:00pm – 6:30pm
Yom Kippur
Thursday, September 16th
Services: 10:00am – 12:30pm
Yizkor: 11:00am
Mincha, Neilah and Maariv: 4:00pm – 6:30pm
Break-the-fast nosh: 6:30pm – 7:30pm
Erev Sukkot
Monday, September 20th
Services: 6:30PM – 7:00PM
Dinner in the Sukkah: 7:00PM – 9:00PM
Sukkot Day 1
Monday, September 21st
Services: 10:00AM – 12:00PM
Lunch in the Sukkah: 12:00PM – 2:00PM
Erev Shabbat Chol HaMoed
Friday, September 24th
Services: 6:30PM – 7:00PM
Dinner in the Sukkah: 7:00PM – 9:00PM
Shabbat Chol HaMoed Sukkot
Saturday, September 25th
Services: 10:00AM – 12:00PM
Lunch in the Sukkah: 12:00PM – 2:00PM
Shmini Atzeret and Erev Simchat Torah
Tuesday, September 28th
Services and Dancing with the Torah: 6:30PM – 8:00PM
Simchat Torah
Wednesday, September 29th
Services: 10:00AM – 12:00PM
Announcements
Mazal Tov to Megumi Moss on being featured in the September New York Times article “Japan Needs a Lot More Tech Workers. Can It Find a Place for Women?”
おかえりなさい (Okaerinasai) to the Miller Family.
In the following weeks and months, we will roll out several new features in the newsletter including a message from the board, featured members, a Japanese column and member recipes. If you would like to volunteer for any of the above, please reply to this e-mail.
Parshat Nitzavim
Candle Lighting: 5:48pm
Shabbat Ends: 6:43pm
Rosh haShana Day 1
Candle Lighting: 5:43pm
Rosh haShana Day 2
Candle Lighting: 5:39pm
Havdala: 6:37pm
Shabbat Shalom and Shana Tova,
Rabbi Andrew Scheer