Judaism Your Way

High Holidays

Join our open tent for High Holidays at the Denver Botanic Gardens!

High Holidays 2024/5785

Rosh Hashanah:
Wednesday & Thursday, October 2-3, 2024

Yom Kippur:
Friday & Saturday, October 11-12, 2024

We were thrilled to return to the Denver Botanic Gardens for High Holiday services! We welcome in a new year with community under our open tent. Our schedule of services includes a mixture of in-person and livestreaming events, so you can share the importance of these holidays with loved ones near and far. All are welcome here!

We strive to be an open tent, welcoming and embracing everyone who seeks a connection to Jewish life. We respect and include all the ways to be and do Jewish. We are a community with a wide variety of lived experiences, perspectives, and opinions. To maintain a maximally inclusive environment, Judaism Your Way does not issue statements, take positions, or advocate for any political issue. We believe the Jewish High Holidays are an opportunity for us to connect and celebrate, across all of our differences.

2024 Schedule of Events

Rosh Hashanah

Wednesday, October 2

  • 6:30 pm MT: Erev Rosh Hashanah (In-Person & Livestream)
    Get your High Holiday season started as we welcome the New Year through song, poetry, and light. 

Thursday, October 3

  • 8:30 am MT: Rosh Hashanah Family Service (In-Person & Livestream)
    Welcome in the New Year with family, music, and stories. This service is geared towards children seven and under. Though it is designed for young children, all are welcome!

  • 10:00 am MT: Rosh Hashanah Service (In-Person & Livestream)
    Join us for an uplifting and sacred blending of traditional and contemporary High Holiday prayer, poetry and music.

  • 1:30 pm MT: Jewish Yoga (Livestream Only)
    Meditate and move through your Rosh Hashanah afternoon with Ariela HaLevi. Discover the wisdom of your body through a Jewish lens. 

Yom Kippur

Friday, October 11

  • 6:30 pm MT: Kol Nidre / Erev Yom Kippur (In-Person & Livestream)
    Gently enter into a 25-hour period of reflection, compassion, and forgiveness on one of the most sacred nights of the Jewish calendar.

Saturday, October 12

  • 8:30 am MT: Yom Kippur Family Service (In-Person & Livestream)
    Begin Yom Kippur with your family in our open tent! In an age-appropriate way, we will celebrate with music, dancing, and stories. This service is geared towards children seven and under. Though it is designed for young children, all are welcome!

  • 10:00 am MT: Yom Kippur Service (In-Person & Livestream)
    Through prayer, song, and learning we will join together as we come home to our best selves.

  • 1:30 pm MT: Jewish Yoga (Livestream Only)
    Meditate and move through your Yom Kippur afternoon with Ariela HaLevi. Discover the wisdom of your body through a Jewish lens.

  • 5:00 pm MT: Yizkor Service (In-Person & Livestream; Off-site in Wellshire neighborhood; limited in-person seating)
    An opportunity to gather in community and remember our loved ones who are no longer living. This thirty-minute service will feature readings and moving music. Please bring a rock with you to commemorate your deceased loved one(s).

  • 5:45 pm MT: Neilah Service (In-Person & Livestream; Off-site in Wellshire neighborhood; limited in-person seating)
    Come together in community as we ceremonially close out Yom Kippur. This service will be very musical and will conclude with Havdalah, the ceremony marking the end of Shabbat and Yom Kippur, and a final shofar blast. 

Support High Holidays

Did you know? It costs an average of $18 per person to run High Holiday services. Please consider making a minimum gift of $18 to keep our High Holiday services free and open to all.

Judaism Your Way strives to create maximally inclusive High Holiday services for all spiritual seekers. Although our services are free of charge, they are not free of expense. To keep and expand these offerings Judaism Your Way needs your financial support. Your generous contributions help us keep the tent open to provide innovative, joyful, and inclusive Jewish programming at the High Holidays and all year round. Please consider making a meaningful donation to keep our community thriving, free, and accessible to anyone who seeks a connection to Jewish life.

  • $18 The average cost per person to run the High Holidays
  • $54 – Help a young family celebrate Shabbat
  • $72 – Offset the cost of High Holiday machzors and supplies
  • $118 – Enhance our livestreaming capabilities to increase access for individuals looking for a virtual experience
  • $250 – Provide lifecycle support (wedding, funeral, Be Mitzvah, baby naming) for families
  • $365 – Spend a dollar a day to support the work of Judaism Your Way for an entire year and help create a maximally-inclusive, joyful Jewish experience for all
  • $540 – Support our Hannukah, Passover, and Shabbat holiday programming all year long
  • $1,000 ­­– Become a High Holiday sponsor! Click here to learn more about the benefits of sponsorship

Additional Information

A mixture of in-person and livestreaming events

Our services include a mixture of in-person and livestreaming events at the Denver Botanic Gardens and online. Most events are offered both in-person and online, the primary exception being our simulcast of our High Holiday yoga which is livestream only for both Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. Make sure to check out our schedule of events for detailed information on how to participate in each service.

Seating options under our open tent for in-person services

Each in-person service will be held under our open tent at Denver Botanic Gardens, with professional livestreams of the service on a jumbo screen in the amphitheater bowl outside the tent with picnic-style seating and inside Mitchell Hall (an indoor, temperature-controlled venue with chairs). There is no reserved or guaranteed seating except for High Holiday Sponsors.

Yizkor and Neilah services off-site for a more intimate experience

You asked and we listened – this year we are offering Yizkor and Neilah as live services which will happen in person (along with livestream) in a more intimate setting. In-person attendance for these services will be limited, so make sure to register early. The specific location details will be shared upon registration.

Accessibility and inclusivity measures

Creating a space where all are welcomed and included is of the utmost importance to us.

There will be many measures in place to ensure inclusion. Look for special signage or ask a volunteer for assistance if needed for all of the following access needs: Hearing, Sight, Physical Space, and Restrooms.

Please click here to review our full What You Need to Know guide for more detailed accessibility and inclusivity measures.

Safety and health precautions

In an effort to continue to keep High Holidays safe and secure, expect to see a few changes implemented at this year’s services. We ask in advance for your patience, understanding, and attention to communications we share to ensure a smooth and sacred experience for all.  

For any health and safety restrictions or protocols, please check directly with the Denver Botanic Gardens. If you are experiencing symptoms of illness, please honor the health and well-being of others and consider joining us through the livestream service instead of attending in person.

Please click here to review our full What You Need to Know guide for additional information.

A space to make connections across differences

Judaism Your Way strives to be an open tent, welcoming and embracing everyone who seeks a connection to Jewish life. We respect and include all the ways to be and do Jewish. We are a community with a wide variety of lived experiences, perspectives, and opinions. To maintain a maximally inclusive environment, Judaism Your Way does not issue statements, take positions, or advocate for any political issue. We believe the Jewish High Holidays are an opportunity for us to connect and celebrate, across all of our differences.

Deli Cooking Class

Join us for a fun Jewish High Holiday Deli Cooking Class, taught by the chefs at Rosenberg’s Bagels!

Selichot Sound Healing

A unique and sacred sound meditation experience, devoted to compassion and forgiveness.

Cooking from Around the World

Get a taste of the High Holiday season and learn to make round challah and other Rosh Hashanah treats at this virtual cooking class

High Holidays are made possible in part by support from:

Alaris Properties, LLC

Barry and Gay Curtiss-Lusher

David Frank

Marty, Beth, Josh and Pamela Gold

K & S Franks

Amy and Howard Cantor

Diane and David Oppenheim

Lynn Robinson and Larry Bass

Scott Robinson

Eric Sondermann and Tracy Dunning

Kathleen and William Heilbronner

Jim and Galina Esterby

George and Mary Sissel

What Makes Judaism Your Way Unique?

The Torah of Inclusion™ at work during High Holidays:

  • We welcome everyone, from all spiritual backgrounds or none, Jews, their loved ones, Jewish allies, spiritual seekers, and those that are new to the Jewish space.
  • Our rabbinic leadership represents several different streams of Judaism.
  • Our services are built around our community and integrate readings, moments of reflection, and contemporary music in a meaningful experience.
  • For High Holidays, we use an original machzor (prayer booklet) that combines fresh English translations of traditional Hebrew prayers, poems and writings from other faith traditions.
  • We offer shorter High Holiday services to acknowledge and honor participants’ desire to pray in community and find balance in their busy lives.

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