Dear Friends,

“Who will live and who will die?” The powerful words of Unetaneh Tokef, will take on a whole new meaning this year. The sense of uncertainty is stronger than ever. Will schools operate or be forced to close down? Will our business get by or will we file for bankruptcy? Will we manage our mental wellbeing and physical health, or will it deteriorate as we remain isolated and homebound? And of course, the question hanging over each of us, will we stay Covid-free or will we contract the dreaded illness? We are preparing for these High Holidays with a sense of uncertainty and humility unlike ever before. We do not know which direction trends will be heading when we blow the Shofar this Rosh Hashana and we also do not know for certain what our institution will look like a year from now. For all these things and more, we pray to our Father in heaven for a better year.

However, the High Holidays are also a time to reflect on the good of this past year. If you are reading this letter, you have been blessed with another year of life and hopefully, another year of accomplishments. As the rabbi of Ner Tamid, I look back on this year with pride. The year started with a bang as we had some wonderful and unique programming, and our regular shul crowds were the largest I can remember since I joined. Though we shifted gears dramatically in March, my pride in what we have accomplished as a community over these past few months has not diminished in the slightest. We have offered engaging and uplifting programming by email, Zoom, and social media. We have creatively found ways to connect to one another and create a semblance of normalcy with drop-off and take-home kiddushes and so much more. And, we have stepped up as a community, as many people have donated generously of their time and resources to ensure that our beloved shul and community remains operational through these challenging times. As strange as this may sound, despite our physical distance, I feel like our community has only grown and become stronger during these past months.

Below you will find information for our High Holiday services. You will also see an option to contribute to the shul through our operations appeal as well as other opportunities. We need your help today more than ever. There is much uncertainty as to our future, but we are also inspired by what we’ve grown into; we are an even stronger community that cannot be held apart or held back from growth, even by a global pandemic. If you are blessed to be in the position to do so, please donate generously to this campaign to keep Ner Tamid strong.

The final sentence of Unetaneh Tokef reminds us that “repentance, prayer, and charity” have the ability to alter the Divine decree. May G-d see our sincerity and generosity and bless us all with a sweet new year.

With much love,

Yisrael Motzen

#NerTamidStrong Appeal

$12,000 Ner Tamid Pillar|$5,000 Ner Tamid Supporter|$1,000 Friend of Ner Tamid

$500  $360  $180  $100  $54

High Holiday Information

To accommodate our regular crowd, we will host four services every morning of Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur. Two of these services will take place under a large canopy in our parking lot. To give enough time for everyone to participate and for a deep clean between services, all services this year will be abbreviated. Rosh Hashana morning services will take approximately 2 hours and Yom Kippur morning services will take approximately two and a half hours. The rabbi will speak at every service.

Masks must be worn while on shul premises. If you are in a high-risk population, please check in with your primary care doctor to ensure that it is safe for you to attend. There will not be groups this year and children under the age of 9 will not be allowed to attend. To maintain proper social distancing, all attendees are expected to remain by their seat during the entirety of the services other than using the restrooms.

Below you will find four options of minyan packages to choose from. There are no assigned seats within each option, and it will be first come, first serve. All seats will be placed six feet apart. If you are living with someone under the same roof and therefore do not need to be socially-distanced, please let us know so we could reserve seats that will be placed together for you.

Indoor Option 1 

Shacharis through Mussaf starting at 7 AM

Indoor Option 2

Shacharis through Mussaf starting at 9:45 AM

Outdoor Option 1

Shacharis through Mussaf at 8 AM

Outdoor Option 2

Shofar/ Yizkor through Mussaf from 11 AM – 12:15 PM

*Please note that scheduling and place of service are subject to change due to government restrictions and crowd size*

High Holiday Pricing

$160 per seat|$240 non-member price|$160 virtual seat*

$500 High Holiday Sponsor**|$50 High Holiday Gift**

*If you are unable to attend services this year, please consider purchasing a ‘virtual seat’ to support our shul. We will send you Rabbi Motzen’s sermons before the holiday begins.

**The High holidays are a significant part of the shul’s revenue. This year, the costs to run our High holidays are higher and we are anticipating a smaller crowd. Please consider donating generously. 

If you are unable to pay the full amount, please reach out to nertamid613@comcast.net