High Holidays
Stream High Holiday services now!
Welcoming the New and the Now!
High Holidays 5784 / 2023
Rosh Hashanah:
Friday & Saturday, September 15-16, 2023
Yom Kippur:
Sunday & Monday, September 24-25, 2023
We are thrilled to return to the Denver Botanic Gardens for High Holiday services! We can’t wait to be together again with you – welcoming in the new and the now under the open tent, both in-person and online. Our schedule of services will include 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 under our open tent, whether you live in Colorado or elsewhere.
As always, we strive to make High Holidays open and welcoming to all and there is no cost to attend our services, but we kindly ask that you register to join us. Registering ensures you receive up-to-date information about how to access in-person and livestreaming services and allows us to plan appropriately within capacity and health and safety limitations. We are not able to guarantee seats in specific locations/times. Seating for in-person events is first-come, first-seated.
Do you have more questions? Click the button below to review everything you need to know for in-person services, including Health & Safety Protocols.
Schedule of Events
Yom Kippur
Sunday, September 24
- 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.
Monday, September 25
- 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 and Yizkor Service (In-Person & Livestream)
Through prayer, song, and learning we will join together as we come home to our best selves. This service will include Yizkor, where we remember experiences of loss, as well as an opportunity to hear the Shofar, a final wakeup call to the new and the now! - 1:00 pm MT: Jewish Yoga (Livestream Only)
Meditate and move through your Yom Kippur afternoon with Alec Sarche. Discover the wisdom of your body through a Jewish lens, utilizing the High Holiday theme of “the new and the now.” - 2:00 pm MT: Jewish Meditation (Livestream Only)
Led by Rachel Balows, this Yom Kippur meditation will guide you through how to fully focus your mind and body to the now so that you are ready to journey through all the new in the coming year. - 6:00 pm MT: Neilah / Closing Service (Livestream Only)
Join us from the comfort of your home as we conclude High Holidays together by sharing in the closing words of Yom Kippur and the final shofar blast.
Deepen Your High Holiday experience
Thursday, September 21
- 7:00 – 8:00 pm MT: Jewish Tools for Repairing Relationships
Join Rabbi Caryn Aviv for an online exploration of Jewish spiritual tools and texts to engage in the process known as teshuvah. Teshuvah is when we engage in the courageous work of repair, we can experience healing and a return to our integrity.
Support High Holidays
As always, there is no cost to attend our services, but we kindly ask that you register to join us.
At Judaism Your Way, we strive 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 all year round. Please consider donating at one of the suggested levels below to help keep our community thriving, free, and accessible to anyone who seeks a connection to Jewish life.
- $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! Underwrite our signature free High Holiday services and help keep them accessible to all
What to Expect This Year
Our theme for this year is welcoming the new and the now!
Celebrating together at the Denver Botanic Gardens is guaranteed to be a magical experience. Here is what you can expect:
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, but meditation, yoga, and Yom Kippur Neilah/Closing Service are online only. Make sure to check out our schedule of events for detailed information on how to participate in each service. New this year, deepen your experience of High Holidays with some additional High Holiday programs.
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.
One service, one spiritual team
We are offering one service hosted by our entire spiritual leadership team under our open tent.
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
To support the safety of our community during High Holidays, we are implementing many security measures throughout the Denver Botanic Gardens.
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.
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.
High Holidays are made possible in part by support from:
Enjoy Our Rosh Hashanah Services:
If you are interested in viewing our Rosh Hashanah Services, they are available on-demand.
Rosh Hashanah
Friday, September 15
- 6:30pm MT: Erev Rosh Hashanah (In-Person & Livestream)
Get your High Holiday season started by focusing on the new and the now as we welcome the New Year through song, poetry, and light.
Saturday, September 16
- 8:30 am MT: Rosh Hashanah Family Service (In-Person & Livestream)
Welcome in the New Year with joy, 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. We’ll explore how to focus on the new in the coming year and be present in the now. - 1:00 pm MT: Jewish Yoga (Livestream Only)
Meditate and move through your Rosh Hashanah afternoon with Alec Sarche. Discover the wisdom of your body through a Jewish lens, utilizing the High Holiday theme of “the new and the now.” - 2:00 pm MT: Jewish Meditation (Livestream Only)
Led by Rachel Balows, this Rosh Hashanah meditation will guide you through what it means to focus on the new and at the same time stay present in the now.
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