Welcome to The Jewish Center of The Moriches
The Little Temple with The Big Heart
High Holidays
Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur
The High Holy Days begin with Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, and culminate with Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement.
The sounding of the shofar is an essential and emblematic part of both Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.
This sacred season invites reflection, repentance, reconciliation, and renewal.
High Holiday 2026 Schedule
High Holiday Dates 5787 (2026)
Selichot
Selichot reflection and Kabbalat Shabbat September 4, 2026
Saturday Evening, September 5, 2026 (20 Elul 5786)
Erev Rosh Hashanah
Friday, September 11, 2026
29 Elul 5786
Rosh Hashanah – First Day
Saturday, September 12, 2026 (1 Tishrei 5787)
Rosh Hashanah – Second Day
Sunday, September 13, 2026 (2 Tishrei 5787)
Erev Yom Kippur (Kol Nidrei)
Sunday, September 20, 2026 (9 Tishrei 5787)
Yom Kippur
Monday, September 21, 2026 (10 Tishrei 5787)
Preparing for the High Holy Days
The Hebrew month of Elul is a time of reflection and spiritual preparation for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. During these weeks, we look thoughtfully at the year that has passed, consider our relationships with God and with one another, seek forgiveness where it is needed, and prepare ourselves for renewal in the year ahead.
The sounding of the shofar during Elul calls us to pause and awaken. It invites us to begin teshuvah—often translated as repentance, but more deeply understood as a return to our best selves, our community, and the values by which we hope to live.
As Rosh Hashanah approaches, we gather for Selichot, a service of reflective prayers and familiar melodies that introduces the High Holy Day themes of forgiveness, compassion, and renewal.
Whether you attend services every year, are returning after time away, or are joining us for the first time, the Jewish Center of the Moriches welcomes you to share this meaningful season with our community.
Our most recent services, including our Selichot learning service, led by Cantor Star Wahnon, have been conveying the importance of the preparation before the High Holidays arrive.
For the week leading up to Rosh Hashanah, we will provide a 7 day countdown, with themes that are important to think about before the Days of Awe arrive. We look forward to reflection, study, and preparation as the renewal arrives along with the High Holidays.
Counting Down to Rosh Hashanah
Hineini is a small but powerful word in the Torah.
Abraham says it when God calls to him. Moses responds this way at the burning bush. Samuel answers the call with the same word.
It means more than simply "I'm here."
It suggests: I am present. I am listening. I am ready.
Before teshuvah - before deciding what we need to change — we can begin simply by paying attention.
As we stand on the threshold of Rosh Hashanah, practicing gratitude can be a powerful part of teshuvah. When we notice what is good, we are more able to let go of what is harmful, to repair what needs fixing, and to move forward with a more open heart.
Today, let us pause and give thanks — for the people, experiences, and opportunities that have shaped this year, in ways large and small.
Teshuvah literally means "to return" — to turn toward what is right, what is good, and who we want to be.
It is not simply about regret, but about change.
No matter how far we may feel we have strayed, the path back is open.
Jewish tradition reminds us that we can always return - to our values, to our better selves, to the commitments and relations hips that give our lives meaning.
Teshuvah gives us the opportunity to make a different choice, to repair what we can, and to move forward with a more open heart.
Relationships
Teshuvah does not end with looking inward. It eventually asks us to look across the table, across the room, or across the years at another person.
Jewish tradition recognizes that some wrongs cannot be repaired simply through prayer. When we have hurt another person, we must turn toward that person. We may need to acknowledge what happened, apologize without qualification, listen, or try to repair what can still be repaired.
Relationships are not only about repairing harm. These days before Rosh Hashanah are also an opportunity to tell someone thank you, 1 miss you, I value you, or I love you while we still have the chance to say it.
Our lives are richer when we turn toward one another.
QUESTIONS FOR TODAY
Is there someone I need to apologize to — or truly listen to?
Is there a relationship I have neglected that deserves another chance?
Is there something kind or important I have left unsaid?
Forgiveness does not change what happened.
It changes what we carry forward.
During these days of reflection, we can ask whether anger, resentment, guilt, or an old injury is still occupying more of our lives than it deserves. Some wounds require time. Some relationships require distance. Yet there may also come a moment when holding tightly to the hurt costs us more than releasing some part of it.
We may also need to seek forgiveness. A sincere apology begins not with explaining ourselves, but with recognizing another person's hurt and accepting responsibility for our part in it.
And perhaps the most difficult forgiveness is sometimes forgiving ourselves — not erasing responsibility, but accepting that teshuvah allows us to learn, change, and continue.
QUESTIONS FOR TODAY
Is there something 1 am carrying that I am ready to put down?
Is there someone whose forgiveness
I need to seek?
Can I acknowledge one of my own failures without allowing it to define me?
Now we can ask a different question:
What do I love? What do I want to draw close to?
Sometimes returning is not about correcting something that went wrong.
Sometimes it is simply coming home to what truly matters — the people we love, the community that sustains us, the values that guide us, the traditions that connect us across generations, and, for some, our relationship with God.
In the busyness of life, even what is most important can drift to the margins. Elul invites us to turn back with open hearts.
Intention: Purpose, Direction, Becoming
Life will not always follow our plans. There will be joys and challenges, the unexpected and the unknown.
Kavanah is not about controlling what happens, but about choosing who we want to be -- and how we will meet whatever comes.
Our days are limited. That is not a reason for despair, but a call to live more intentionally.
When we number our days, we can give our time to what truly matters -- the people we love, the values we hold, the work that needs to be done, and our relationship with God.Life will not always follow our plans. There will be joys and challenges, the unexpected and the unknown.
Reflections as We Approach Yom Kippur
Two reflections on how we see others—and how we see ourselves.
Tickets
Individual and Family members of the Jewish Center of the Moriches are entitled to High Holiday seats as part of their member benefits. Members can purchase seats for additional family members at a greatly reduced price.
Non-members can reserve High Holiday seats for $190 per person. Pay via the donation tab on this website or send a check to JCM, PO Box 127, Center Moriches, NY 11934.
Additional donations are greatly appreciated! Please make a donation or join as an annual member of the Jewish Center of the Moriches. The temple is here for the community, because of the support of community members like you!
High Holiday Appeals
Kol Nidre Appeal
As we prepare for Yom Kippur, we pause during Kol Nidre to remember those who are no longer with us and to honor their memory through our Book of Remembrance. We invite you to support the Kol Nidre Appeal with a memorial donation, helping the Jewish Center of the Moriches continue this meaningful High Holiday tradition for generations to come. Donations may be made by check or online.
When donating through our website, select "Kol Nidre" as the Purpose for the donation.
Support Our 80th Anniversary Appeal
For generations, the Jewish Center of the Moriches has been a place to celebrate, learn, pray, and support one another through life's most meaningful moments. Your gift to the 2026 Anniversary Appeal helps preserve that legacy by strengthening our congregation, caring for our synagogue, and ensuring that we remain a vibrant and welcoming Jewish community.
Every contribution, large or small, makes a difference and helps sustain the little temple with the big heart for today's members and for generations to come. We invite you to read this year's Anniversary Appeal and consider making a gift in support of our shared future.
High Holiday Greetings Scroll
Each year as the High Holidays begin, the Jewish Center of the Moriches continues one of its most cherished traditions by displaying our High Holiday Greetings Scroll in the synagogue lobby.
The Greetings Scroll recognizes members who wish to extend warm High Holiday wishes to the entire congregation while supporting a cherished annual tradition. We are proud to continue this longstanding custom.
There is no minimum contribution—and certainly no maximum. In recent years, most donations have ranged from $25 to $50, and every donor is recognized on the Greetings Scroll.
If you would like to participate, please complete the form below and return it to Farra Isaacson as instructed. Please print your name exactly as you would like it to appear on the Greetings Scroll.
Contributions help support our weekly Oneg Shabbat receptions following Friday evening and Saturday morning services, as well as our annual Yom Kippur Break-the-Fast immediately following the Neilah service. The Break-the-Fast is a wonderful opportunity for members and their guests to gather, wish one another Shanah Tovah, and reconnect with friends and family.
Thank you for helping preserve this meaningful tradition and support the Jewish Center of the Moriches.