The High Holy Days are almost upon us and here is everything you need to know.
Yes, we’ll be on Zoom this year again.
For registration to events, please visit the events page here and fill in the form for access to the services. This year, all our High Holy Day services will be held on Zoom. With that comes the additional behind-the-scenes admin of admitting new guests, and we’d like to make sure that our paying members and Friends of Beit Luria are admitted first and presented with Honors.
We continue to do the best we can to keep our fees as low as possible. Your membership fees make these events possible.
The links to all services will be made available prior to the event start.
Honours and readings.
Did you know that it is the tradition in accepting your honour or reading, a donation is made to the Shul in return? Whether is R18 or R18000, every bit helps our Shul grow.
Our Chair, Lisa, will be contacting all those who have been allocated a reading or any other form of honour over the High Holy Days. Please expect an email message or a call from her in due course, and please respond as quickly as you can, so that the honour can be reallocated if needed. You can reach our wonderful Lisa via her email address [email protected]
Congregation video.
Typically we would have loved to have celebrated these High Holy Days with everyone in person. Given the pandemic and our ever-growing community members who are not based in Johannesburg, we’re instead planning a video collage. Please take part in this by making a 10-30 second video clip of you and your loved ones sending Shana Tova greetings to everyone, in your own unique style.
Please email the video clips to our team at [email protected] for editing and compiling.
How to follow Zoom services online
- Sign up for an account by downloading the Zoom app to your phone or computer
- In order to keep up with readings, you’ll need a copy of Mishkan Hanefesh, our Machzor (prayer book for the High Holy Days). You are welcome to use the free online flipbook version of the Machzor, kindly made available by the CCAR (Central Conference of American Rabbis). A better alternative would be to purchase your own set (separate volumes for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur). These are available from our friends at the Beit Emanuel office for R700 per set. Please get in touch with Morgana on 087 188 9000 or email address [email protected]
Fees and Donations
Membership fees alone do not, unfortunately, cover the entire costs of running a synagogue – even an online one – which includes salaries and operational costs such as funding our Cantors, Torah scroll insurance, internet connection and premium digital subscriptions to keep services going as professionally as we have so far.
It is traditional to settle outstanding shul membership fees prior to the Days of Awe. We know that many of our members are feeling the pinch, but if you are in a position to settle your outstanding fees, it will help take much of the strain off the shul’s finances.
Even if you are all paid up, it is never too early or too late to make a donation towards Beit Luria’s High Holy Days Appeal, and it’s surely never been needed more than during this, our second year under one form of lockdown or another. We encourage our members to give generously, but within your means. Whether that means R18 or R18,000, any and all donations will be gratefully accepted and acknowledged.
To make donating as painless as possible, we have several payment mechanisms available, which can all be accessed from our Giving page here.
This year, we have two additional areas for which we would like to find funding. Both relate to the reality that for some time to come, our services will have to take place digitally:
- Exploring new and more sophisticated forms of musical presentation, adapted to an online environment.
- Upgrading our technology to enable us to deal with the complexities of streaming hybrid services (partly in person, partly online) in a more user-friendly manner.
We so look forward to sharing these meaningful High Holy Days with you, and if you’re not already a member or friend of our shul, please consider becoming one officially. We welcome all who are interested in being part of the wonderfully warm and unique Beit Luria approach to Progressive Judaism of our Synagogue.