Reserve Your High Holiday Experience Today

Dear fellow member of Harvard’s Jewish community,

I hope this message finds you and those close to you well as we approach a new year, together.

In two weeks our community will gather in the rhythms of the waning sunlight, and nurture hopes of a renewed year, as our ancestors have done for dozens of generations, stretching over hundreds of years. While rich with history, celebrating these holidays with the Harvard Jewish community is much more than nostalgia.

Participating in Harvard’s High Holiday services means being present for the birth of the future. This is true not only in the sense that the new year, pregnant with possibility (ha-yom harat olam, the liturgy says, “today is pregnant with eternity”), begins on Rosh Hashanah – that is true in every service.

Participating in Harvard’s High Holiday services means hearing students lead their community in prayer and reflection – often for the first time in their lives. You are hearing the voice – literally – of a new generation, one finding itself and making itself heard not only online and in opinion pieces, but in new renditions of traditions, new understandings of ancient stories, and new interpretations of timeless, haunting melodies.

Get Your High Holiday Tickets Now

And by participating in Harvard’s High Holiday services, you are not merely in the audience – you are lending your support, through your presence, to the leap that students are taking. As they prepare sermons that approach the kaleidoscopic complexities of today’s world through the lens of the Torah, or sound the shofar’s piercing blast into crowded ears – your presence communicates to them that they are not alone in this endeavor, but are joining a community of energy and purpose.

This is your invitation not just to attend services, but to support and be inspired by the next generation of Jewish leaders as they come into their own, creating something equal parts eternal and contemporary. You’ll hear students grapple with the deepest questions of meaning and purpose, watch them connect timeless wisdom to present realities, and witness the beautiful continuity of Jewish tradition passing from one generation to the next.

To reserve your seats, and for information about services, please visit our website at hillel.harvard.edu/high-holidays. As always, no one will be turned away for inability to pay – the generosity of our community ensures that these experiences are accessible to all.

I look forward to celebrating these sacred days with you and together renewing not only the year, but our community and our people.

Shanah tovah,

Rabbi Jason Rubenstein

Executive Director