Home

Welcome to City Shul!

Our Mission: We create pathways to explore and live an engaged, connected Jewish life.

Please click HERE.

For the High Holidays, starting with Selichot on September 9, we use Gates of Repentance, CCAR Press. To create an inclusive experience, each adult should have a copy of the prayer book, including those who are watching the service on our live stream.

This is the Prayer Book that we use exclusively for High Holiday services, and a pdf of this book is not available. If you have a copy of this book from past City Shul High Holiday services, you do not need to purchase a copy. 

Please note that we do not provide prayer books and there are no loaners or book sales at services.

Please bring your book to every High Holiday Service.

Copies of this book can be purchased HERE for $20 each. If you are purchasing tickets for High Holidays you can purchase your prayer books directly on the form.

Your book will be ready for you to pick up when you arrive at your first service. 

This year on first day Rosh Hashana, our Hazzanit will sing as usual. We will read Torah as usual, and I will give a sermon as usual. But it is Shabbat— so something will be very different indeed. We will not hear the stirring sounds of the shofar that morning. Yes I know how much we will miss it. And I know how convenient it would be if we just went ahead and blew it for those who only come the first day.

The truth is, friends—Shabbat “trumps” even the shofar on Rosh Hashana. The weekly predictable, quiet spirituality of Shabbat, the simple candles-wine-and-challah supersedes the drama and majesty of the once-a-year shofar service. There is a principle in Judaism from the Talmud (Zevachim 89a): “Tadir v’she’eino tadir, Tadir kodem” which means —  something commonly done always takes precedence over something less commonly done. That is why, for example, when one puts on a tallit and a kipa, the kipa goes on first—kipa is worn every day all day (more common) and tallit is worn only 6 days a week and only in the morning (less commonly done.) The every-week-ness of Shabbat is actually more precious than the precious once-a-year sound of the shofar.

Call it “the silent shofar.” It has its own message to give us: that the consequence of the shofar blowing—a renewed commitment to a more Jewish life—is actually more important than the hearing of the shofar blowing. We will study texts and writings about the silent shofar during Selichot on September 9. And then, we do have a very meaningful—and fun!—second day Rosh Hashana on Sunday when we will blow more than one shofar, more than one time, with our famous surround-sound-shofar at Palais Royale.

The midrash says that when Rosh Hashanah falls on Shabbat, it is G-d who actually blows the shofar and not us. We have to listen very hard to hear it in our hearts. May we hear that silent call loud and clear during this year’s special and meaningful Shabbat Rosh Hashana. Shana Tova!

Rabbi Dr. Elyse Goldstein

rabbi@cityshul.com

www.cityshul.com

If you know of anyone who is too ill or shut-in to be able to attend our outdoor service on second day Rosh Hasahana, please notify the Rabbi HERE and we will arrange a shofar to be blown for them at their residence.

All Event Info can be found here.

To learn more about youth and teen learning, click here.