BIDDEFORD — Congregation Etz Chaim in Biddeford has announced its 2019 High Holiday schedule for Jewish services.

Cantor Beth Strassler will be leading services for Congregation Etz Chaim, which is at 36 Bacon St. in Biddeford.  The second day of Rosh Hashanah, Tuesday, Oct. 1, will feature music from composer Dr. Morton Gold of Springvale.

Strassler will lead the opening service for Rosh Hashanah, which will be at 6:30 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 29. Rosh Hashanah services continue with a morning service at 9:15 a.m. Monday, Sept. 30 and a Torah Service at 10:15 a.m. and then on Oct. 1, the morning service will be at 9:15 and a Torah Service is scheduled for 10:15 a.m.

The holiday known as Rosh Hashanah is the Jewish New Year and falls on the first and second days of the Jewish month of Tishri in September or October.

The Mishnah, the core work of the Jewish Oral Torah, sets this day aside as the new year for calculating calendar years and Sabbatical and jubilee years.

Prayer services for Rosh Hashanah are typically longer than on a regular Shabbat or other Jewish holidays, and include the blowing of the shofar, an ancient musical horn made of ram’s horn.

Yom Kippur is the Jewish festival of the Day of Atonement and in the Hebrew calendar, the ninth day of Tishri is known as Erev Yom Kippur (Yom Kippur eve). Yom Kippur itself begins around sunset on that day and continues into the next day until nightfall, and therefore lasts about 25 hours.

On Yom Kippur many attend synagogue for most of the day. and there are five prayer services, one in the evening, sometimes known as Kol Nidre from one of the main prayers, and four others consecutively on the day.

Yom Yippur services begin with Kol Nidre at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 8 and continue Wednesday, Oct. 9 with a morning service 9:15 and a Yizkor service at 11:15 a.m.  An afternoon service will start at 4:30 p.m. and the congregation’s Community Break Fast starts about 6:15 p.m. Oct. 9.

Yizkor, a special memorial prayer for the departed, is recited in the synagogue four times a year, following the Torah reading on the last day of Passover, on the second day of Shavuot, on Shemini Atzeret and on Yom Kippur.

Parking for all services at Congregation Etz Chaim is available in the lot next to Biddeford Police Station.

For more information, visit etzchaimme.org.

Copy the Story Link

Comments are not available on this story.