Anti-Zionist, traditional egalitarian, community led Rosh Hashana day 1 + 2 services

Our service will be a lay-led traditional egalitarian minyan. A traditional egalitarian minyan is one where all people can participate equally regardless of gender identity, there is no rabbi leading (the community leads), and we pray using the traditional liturgy in Hebrew with minimal changes or abbreviations. This means that there will be "stage directions" (i.e. we continue on page X, please sit/ stand/ continue on your own quietly), but the leader will only occasionally give interpretations. Melodies will be chosen by the service leaders, but will mostly follow Ashkenazi customs and tunes. Our leaders, Torah readers, and drash (sermon) givers are members of our community, not just professional rabbis or cantors. We will not use microphones or other amplified sound and you are welcome to sit closer to the front if you are hard of hearing. We encourage active, songful participation and curiosity even if this type of prayer space is new to you. We will also have spaces for folks to schmooze and snack outside of the prayer space.

There are many reasons why people might feel hesitant to enter a Jewish/prayer space, and we know that including unabridged and traditional liturgy can create a higher barrier for understanding. Our machzorim (prayer books) contain complete English translation alongside the original text and we will have selected prayers in transliteration, and humming along is always encouraged even if you don't know the words. We also believe that for anyone, of any level of Jewish literacy or education, the High Holidays season requires spiritual preparation. We encourage you to get in the mindset of the New Year and cheshbon hanefesh (literally: accounting of the soul) through listening to the melodies we will use for the service and familiarizing yourself with some of the themes of the day. Here are some resources we recommend: JVP Ritual Guide 5786, Halachic Left Essays for Yamim Noraim, and B'Sefer HaChaim 5787 playlist.

Our space rental will amount to $1,400. In addition to snacks, printing, air purifiers, and N95 masks, we anticipate spending about $1,000 on event supplies. All of our ticket revenue beyond these costs will be donated to mutual aid fundraisers in Palestine. We are committed to keeping costs low for this Rosh Hashana gathering by being completely led by volunteer leaders so we can have accessible ticket prices, and donate a significant amount of our communal wealth to mutual aid efforts.

We are a group of anti-Zionist organizers committed to building the Jewish community that we are proud to be a part of. We looked around and saw that many of the options for Jewish community passively normalize or actively cheer on Zionism and its projects. As a traditional service, we will not be changing the liturgy (including references to Zion, Israel, and Jerusalem), but will offer some political framing for our prayers, and have a fiery and politicized D'var Torah (sermon). Tzedaka, or righteous giving, is one of the tenets of Rosh Hashana and we are committed to donating proceeds from ticket sales to mutual aid in Palestine, once the costs of the event are met. Last year we were able to collectively give $2,923 to mutual aid efforts in Gaza and the West Bank, and hope to give even more this year. We are creating a holy space where we can be our unapologetically anti-Zionist and Jewish selves and pray for a Free Palestine. If you are not anti-Zionist but are okay with being in a space where that is the norm and/or are unlearning Zionism, you are also welcome to join us!

Everyone is welcome and embraced in our minyan regardless of religious, cultural, racial, or ethnic background; and both our planning team and larger community encompass a wide range of experiences including Jews of Color, Sephardi/Mizrahi Jews, and folks of multiethnic backgrounds. Our guiding values include opposition to the white supremacy that dominates many Jewish spaces, and we are committed to building a community where People of Color belong. Our machzorim (prayer books) were generously donated to us by a community member, and follow Ashkenazi liturgy that will guide and structure our prayer. You are welcome to bring your own machzor (or bring extra to share!) if you want to. Our organizers and service leaders have different Jewish traditions and backgrounds, so we may have some Sephardi piyutim (lyrical poems) and melodies interspersed within a mostly Ashkenazi liturgical structure. We acknowledge that while we may have many different people in the room, Ashkenazi customs will be more prominent in this service. If you are a Torah reader or come up for an aliyah (are called up to bless the Torah), we encourage you to chant in whatever traditional trope/nusach/melody you would like! When you register, please sign up to read Torah or join our Davening Team if you are excited to contribute to our service in a leadership role. We welcome people of many different Jewish backgrounds to help shape our ritual.

You are welcome to bring ritual garb (tallit, kippah, kittel), reading material (it's a long service!), or fidgets. Please do not bring phones into the prayer room (or keep them stored in your bag with the sound off).

There is minimal street parking in the neighborhood, and we have lots of room for bike storage. The location is accessible by public transportation (close to 12th St. BART and the 6, 12 and 18 bus lines). There is a paid outdoor parking lot two blocks away, though we cannot guarantee space availability.

Yes. Please indicate your access needs when you sign up so we can best accommodate you. This building is made accessible via a wheelchair lift around the back of the building, through the basement. The wheelchair lift requires the use of electricity and a second person to operate it, so one of our greeters will help you if you need to access this entrance. Once inside, you can use the elevator to access the rest of the building. We will have volunteers available throughout the day to support with accessing the wheelchair lift.

KN95 masks are required indoors, except while eating or drinking. Those leading ritual or reading Torah may choose to unmask while leading. If you prefer to only unmask outside, you are welcome to step outside to eat/drink (we will have a few tables set up outside). We will have some masks available at the entrance, but we request that you please bring your own! We will also have air filters in the prayer room, and there are windows that open slightly for additional ventilation. Please stay home if you feel sick or have had a Covid exposure in the last week. Thank you for helping to make our service more accessible by masking!

Wear whatever feels comfortable for you. Please be mindful that our host venue is a Muslim prayer space, so modesty is encouraged and you will need to remove your shoes in the prayer space. Traditionally, people often dress up for Rosh Hashana, and some wear new clothes to signify the new year, or dress in white. Some people may cover their head when they pray with a kippah or scarf.

You are welcome to arrive and leave whenever you like! If you have a role in our service (i.e. reading from the Torah), please arrive on time. We have a schedule of our service outlined here with estimated timing.

Getting an aliyah is an honor in which you get to be the messenger for the congregation to bless the Torah, and you are blessed in the process. When you are honored with an aliyah (there are seven total), you get up from your seat and approach one of the gabbaim (the people standing next to the Torah) and tell them your Hebrew name, if you have one. You also can choose what gendered language you want the gabbai to use for you (ben= masculine, bat= feminine, m'beit= non-gendered), you will also tell the gabbai your parents' Hebrew names if you'd like. Then, either wear your own tallit or borrow one for the aliyah, take the tzitzit (tassels) and kiss them where the reader points for you to touch, and then kiss. Then you will call out the blessings to begin the aliyah. You will then stay near to the Torah for that entire aliyah, or section of Torah that is chanted by the reader, until you finish with the closing blessings. After your aliyah, please stay near to the Torah and readers until the next person who gets an aliyah is finished.

There are many times throughout the service where we open the ark and rise in body and/or spirit to honor the Torah and give the prayers our full attention. We will ask different members of the congregation to honor us by being the one to open the ark. When it is your turn, please be prepared to approach the Torah and open the doors when we reach the page number that is specified on your honor card. Stand facing the Torah and ark until the leader reaches the page number on which it is specified to close the ark on your honor card. Please face the Torah and ark when it is your turn, even if your back is to the congregation, to show the Torah respect.

As a lay-led minyan, we need volunteers to step up to make this possible! Opportunities to plug in are included in our sign-up form. If you would like to help out in other ways that are not listed, or would like to be involved in similar events in the future, please contact one of our organizers.