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High Holy Days

All are Welcome!

Since its founding in 1985, Bet Ha’am has committed to being a house of worship where all feel welcome. We invite you to join us for any Bet Ha’am service or event, including High Holy Day worship.  We hope that you–Jewish or non-Jewish, Mainer or guest visiting from away–will join us at this time of community celebration.

This year non-member family units will be charged a flat fee of $150 to attend one or all the services. Please bring your name tag as well as a picture ID to all the services that you attend. You will not be able to attend without that picture ID.  Non-members need to register either by a phone call to the office or via the link below and will be expected to pay the fee at that time. Please note, if this fee is a financial hardship for any family, please contact the office, 207-879-0028 to talk with the Rabbi or David Stein, our synagogue President. Once registered, non-members will receive a unique QR code by email that is their admission ticket. Please bring that to all attended services. Non-members will also have an opportunity to register in person on the day of the service. Non-members must also bring a picture ID to services. Our goal is to have non-members registered ahead of time if at all possible to make the service days go as smoothly as possible. The $150 is for a family unit to attend as many services as desired. Please note, any out of town family members who are members of their local synagogues can have this fee waived. Please call the office at (207)879-0028 and ask for Jeremy or Teri to verify this wavier.

For the full High Holy Schedule and more information click Here

If you are looking to register/get tickets for High Holy Days. Please Click Here

We'll usher in the High Holy Days with Selichot on Saturday, September 28, 2024. 

For those wishing to enjoy a contemplative style service featuring readings, music, and meditation, a pre-recorded service co-led by congregants Jane Sloven and Sharon Newman will be available to watch at your convenience by clicking here. 

Each year, we offer three services to mark the start of the Jewish New Year: An evening service for the start of the holiday(Wednesday, October 2, 2024), then a family and a traditional service on Rosh Hashanah day(Thursday, October 3, 2024).

This solemn day begins with Kol Nidre(Friday, October 11, 2024). We hold both a family and traditional service in the morning, and continue our worship in the afternoon with a service for meditation and healing, study sessions, Yizkor, and Neilah. We break-the-fast with a community potluck(Saturday, October 12, 2024).

We celebrate this fall festival in our the congregation’s sukkah (temporary shelter), which is decorated by the religious school children. Our sukkah will be available on a drop-in basis. Fulfill the mitzvah of eating something larger than an olive in a sukkah and bring a biodegradable decoration to share.

Erev Simchat Torah and Consecration take place a week after Sukkot. For the Simchat Torah service, we read the end of the Torah and the beginning, then dance to the music of the Casco Bay Tummlers. At the end of the evening, children who are new to the religious school are blessed for the start of their religious education.

Support Bet Ha’am’s Annual Food Drive! In light of our current COVID-19 restrictions, we are sponsoring our annual food drive by donations of cash rather than donations of food. While we are sad not to collect actual food, writing a check for the amount you would have spent on food donations maximizes the impact of your gift: For the same amount of money, agencies can buy up to eight times the amount of food you can purchase by yourself.
 
Please donate online or make your checks payable to Bet Ha’am and write "food drive" on the memo line. We will divide the donations evenly between these organizations:
 
  • South Portland Food Cupboard
  • Project FEED at Woodford Congregational Church
  • Jewish Family Services Pantry
  • MAZON: The Jewish Response to Hunger

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