Highams Park & Chingford Synagogue
UPCOMING HIGH HOLIDAYS 2018
Rosh Hashonoh 9th - 11th September
Rosh Hashonoh in our shul is traditional with all the ‘whites’ on the Ark, Bimah and the Sefer Torahs. We have traditional tunes for the services led by our long time community Chazan Jonathan Benjamin and Rabbi Kahan as well as some more modern tunes.
There are page number guides through the service, and ‘mitzvohs honours’ are organised through our Shames Albert Shless. Our Gaboim/ wardens take care of all the call ups, and Rabbi Kahan also blows the Shofar.
There is of course a well-attended and popular Children’s service that takes place in the Rabbi’s house (back to back with the shul) with Ruth.
Following the evening service, we have our popular ‘Honey Cake Mini Kiddush.’
We are also following the second day service with a full on Rosh Hashonoh 'Honey Cake Kiddush.'!
Yom Kippur 18th - 19th September
Yom Kippur is clearly the highlight festival in our community, with services that last throughout the day till the fast goes out.
We begin on Yom Kippur evening with the Kol Nidrei service. This service has a uniquely warm atmosphere to it. There are the old traditional tunes together with the more modern tune thrown in. The KN service is an ideal intro to the grand ‘all day service,’ that looms over us.
Our very comfortable seats are put to good use on YK particularly for those who indeed stick it out in shul literally all day. However, we do tend to have a break of anything between 30 minutes to an hour during the latter part of the day.
Of course, the YK climax is always memorable with final recitation of verses as well as the final shofer blast, which heralds the end of the service.
Succos & Simchas Torah 23rd September -2nd October
Succos – AKA the ‘Festival of Joy’ is always focused round the shul Sukah (not the one on the left), which has traditionally been beutifully decorated by the Ladies Guild of the community. These days however the Rabbi’s family have the honours of getting the Sukah up to speed.
The services are similar to Shabbos with some Yom Tov additions. The leining is shorter, and during the first 2 days there is a procedure that we go through with the mitzvah of the ‘Four Species’.
The climax of this Yom Tov, is Simchas Torah which gives the community a great opportunity to show appreciation to individuals who have given of themselves to the shul by appointing two members as Choson Torah & Choson Bereishis.