Shabbat Shalom ~ Parashat Ki Tavo 2026

Dear WJC family,

We often think about “The High Holidays” as a single unit. Indeed, there is much that Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur share. But there are also important differences, and during the month of Elul, we begin preparing for each holiday in its own way.

One key aspect of Rosh Hashanah is the mitzvah to hear the shofar. We have been preparing for this by sounding the shofar each morning, giving ourselves the opportunity to become familiar with its sound and to appreciate more fully the mitzvah when Rosh Hashanah arrives.

Yom Kippur centers on confession, repentance, and forgiveness. Judaism does not expect us to be perfect. Instead, it gives us a way to acknowledge when we have fallen short, take responsibility, make amends, and begin again. We have an entire day each year dedicated to this work.

We will soon begin to enter into the Yom Kippur process together. On Saturday night, September 5, beginning at 8:30, we will gather as a wider Lower Westchester Jewish community at WJC for our Selichot service, our first communal experience this year of connection, confession, and renewal.

Many of you attended this service when we hosted it last year, and I heard from many of you how meaningful it was: a room full of song, spirit, and community, with favorite prayers and melodies of the season. As Rabbi Dalton once remarked, our Selichot service is what many people say they wish the High Holiday services could be.

Yes, it is Labor Day weekend, and some of you may be away. If so, I encourage you to find a synagogue wherever you are and attend Selichot services there. You’ll be glad you did.

But if you are home on September 5, I hope you’ll find yourself at WJC, adding your voice to what has become a highlight of the year for many of us.

If you’d like to get ready to sing, here are a few videos featuring music we’ll encounter that night:

L’ma’ancha/HaNeshama Lakh

Shaa’re Shamayim

Vahaviotim

Machnesei Rachamin

B’Rogez

Meanwhile, we’re getting ready to observe the last Shabbat of our summer routine: Friday evening at 6:30, Shabbat morning beginning at 9:15, with lots of participation from our lay leaders, and Mincha beginning at 7:15.

As summer begins to give way to the new rhythm of the year, I look forward to entering this season of reflection, song, and renewal together.

Shabbat Shalom,

Cantor Goldberg