High Holy Days at-Home Resources

We have put together some ideas for enhancing our experience of High Holy Days.  Feel free to wander amongst the ideas and play with options.

Ideas for Turning Your Physical Space Into a Sanctuary

Book of Life

Days of Awe(some!) @ Home

A Guide for the New-ish to the Holy Days that are Jewish

Build your own Sukkah

Sukkot @ Home Guide


Ideas for Turning Your Physical Space Into a Sanctuary

Clothing.
Wear something that feels special to you.

Decorate.
Move things around.  A big part of holy days in Judaism is making a distinction, making things different.

  • Make your own bima flowers – freshly picked, plants, drawings, and/or photos.
  • Hang up/display things that are inspirational to you
  • Ritual objects, if you have them, to participate from home. (If you don’t have them, you can sanctify daily objects.)
  • Candlesticks, Kiddush cup, Shofar, Challah, Havdalah set, kippah, tallit, Machzor, apples & honey.

Gather a few items that are meaningful and/or inspirational to you to have within view and/or arms’ reach, such as:

  • Books (on Judaism, ethics, and/or anything that lifts you up and/or helps you go deeper)
  • Photos (of loved ones, loved places, past, present, and future)
  • Objects (items which hold meaning, evoke memory, of people or places or events)

Book of Life

The prayer we recite on the High Holy Days, “B’rosh Hashanah”, says: “On Rosh Hashanah, it is written, and on Yom Kippur it is sealed.” But what is written, and what is sealed? And by whom? At least part of the writing and inscribing is ours.

Take some paper and fold it in half. This is your book of life. Your book. Take a moment or two, or longer, to inscribe yourself, all your hopes and dreams and wishes and plans for the coming year. For yourself, for your loved ones, for your community, for the world. You can do it in one sitting, or change it over the High Holy Days (until Simchat Torah!).

You can use images, words, drawings. You can write it, or whisper it, or visualize. When you’re done, if you like, you can fold up your book and put it somewhere safe, where you can refer to it over the coming days and year.

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