Yom Kippur

Events
Traditions
Community Voices
Recipes
Crafts & DIY
Community News
Arts & Culture

Jewish person in a tallith prayer shawl against dramatic sky

Tradition

How To Make Yom Kippur Meaningful Even If You Don’t Fast

By Rabbi Jen Gubitz

Tradition

Rosh Hashanah Resources

By JewishBoston

Jew(ish)

The Art of the Apology

By Judy Bolton-Fasman

Sunset in desert. A Nubian ibex on the edge of Makhtesh Ramon Crater in Negev desert, Israel

Young(ish)

Podcast: The Origin Story of Yom Kippur

By JewishBoston

Dark backgrounds, structures, textures and patterns with copy space for creative and format-filling design in black optik

Jew(ish)

What It’s Like To Be a Jewish Prisoner on Yom Kippur

By Kara Baskin

Events

High Holy Days 101: Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur

Aug 27, 7:00 pm

Free

Temple Israel of Boston

Thursday, August 27 7:00pm - 8:00pm

See event description for location

Requires registration Free

Top Pick

Yizkor: Remembering Loved Ones Who Died by Suicide

Sep 16, 6:30 pm

Free

Jewish Family & Children’s Service

Wednesday, September 16 6:30pm - 7:00pm

See event description for location

Requires registration Free

Yom Kippur Services for Families With Young Children

Up Next: Sep 20, 4:30 pm

Temple Israel, Boston

Yom Kippur Children's Program for Families with Young Children

Free

Temple Israel of Boston

Sunday, September 20 4:30pm - 5:15pm

Temple Israel477 Longwood AvenueBoston, MA 02215

Requires registration Free

Community-Wide Yom Kippur Services 5787

Up Next: Sep 20, 5:30 pm

Temple Israel, Boston

Screenshots from recordings of 5786 HHD services, including Yom Kippur and Rosh Hashanah

$118

Temple Israel of Boston

Sunday, September 20 5:30pm - 7:15pm

Temple Israel477 Longwood AvenueBoston, MA 02215

Requires registration $118.00 - $360.00

Yom Kippur at Washington Square Minyan

Up Next: Sep 20, 5:45 pm

384 Harvard St, Brookline

$118

Washington Square Minyan

Sunday, September 20 5:45pm - 8:30pm

384 Harvard St384 Harvard StBrookline, MA 02446

Requires registration $118.00

Family Yom Kippur Services 5787

Up Next: Sep 20, 6:00 pm

Temple Israel, Boston

image of shofar (horn) on white prayer talit. Rosh hashanah (jewish New Year holiday), Shabbat and Yom kippur concept

$118

Temple Israel of Boston

Sunday, September 20 6:00pm - 7:30pm

Temple Israel477 Longwood AveBoston, MA 02215

Requires registration $118.00 - $360.00

Top Pick

Yom Kippur at The Vilna

Up Next: Sep 20, 6:15 pm

The Vilna Shul, Boston's Center for Jewish Culture, Boston

$25

Vilna Shul, Boston’s Center for Jewish Culture

Sunday, September 20 6:15pm - 8:00pm

The Vilna Shul, Boston's Center for Jewish Culture18 Phillips StBoston, MA 02114

Requires registration $25.00 - $75.00

Yom Kippur Services and Break-Fast

Up Next: Sep 20, 6:30 pm

Longwood Towers, Brookline

Significance of shofar kippah in jewish religious practices during synagogue festivals holy days

$136

YJP Boston

Sunday, September 20 6:30pm - 9:00pm

Longwood Towers20 Chapel StBrookline, MA 02446

Requires registration $136.00 - $3,600.00

Yom Kippur With Rabbi Darby Leigh & Molly Bajgot

Up Next: Sep 20, 7:00 pm

Kerem Shalom, Concord

$360

Kerem Shalom

Sunday, September 20 7:00pm - 9:00pm

Kerem Shalom659 Elm StConcord, MA 01742

Requires registration $360.00

Top Pick

Young Adult Yom Kippur Services 5787

Up Next: Sep 20, 7:00 pm

Temple Israel, Boston

Free

Riverway Project

Sunday, September 20 7:00pm - 8:45pm

Temple Israel477 Longwood AvenueBoston, MA 02215

Requires registration Free

Traditions & Rituals

maple autumn golden yellow leaf with heart shape in middle.sunlight sunshine sun.leaf on asphalt woman legs feet sneakers white,tree trunk.lot of leaves foliage on ground

9/30/2025 Top Pick

Remembering an Abusive Partner: A Yizkor Meditation

For those recalling a partner who mistreated them, Yizkor can evoke complicated emotions, with meditations often leaving little space for conflicted memories.

By Jewish Family & Children’s Service

Rainbow colored yarmulke over rainbow flag

9/8/2025 Top Pick

Shana Tova From JQY

For many in the LGBTQ community, the High Holidays can bring up many different feelings. Wherever you are this season, you’re not alone.

By JQY

9/23/2024 Top Pick

Resources for Jews Who Need To Eat on Yom Kippur

Together, we are creating a Jewish culture of dignity, meaning and belonging.

By A Mitzvah to Eat

Sixteen Miles Out Unsplash Candles Candlelit Vigil

9/20/2024 Top Pick

A High Holidays Guide For After October 7

By OneTable

Diana Kotrova Unsplash Pomegranates High Holydays Rosh Hashanah

9/20/2024 Top Pick

Shabbat Shuva Guide

This guide will help you host a Friday night dinner on Oct. 4, the first Shabbat of the Hebrew year, just before Yom Kippur.

By OneTable

Megs Harrison Unsplash Shofar Yom Kippur High Holydays

9/20/2024 Top Pick

Pre-Yom Kippur x Shabbat Guide

No matter how you honor Yom Kippur, this guide will take you through a meal that combines elements of Shabbat and Yom Kippur to begin the holiday with intention.

By OneTable

9/12/2024 Top Pick

Memory and Hope: Rituals for Tishrei 5785

By Shalom Hartman Institute’s Ritual Center

9/30/2022 Top Pick

Yom Kippur Fasting Exceptions

Is it safe for seniors to fast on Yom Kippur?

By Dana GitellFor Hebrew SeniorLife

Voices From Our Community

Pile of tri-color fresh table grape bunches on the market

9/25/2025 Top Pick

What Will Ripen

A surprising encounter with a hidden grape arbor on the eve of Rosh Hashanah gave me a new perspective on an old blessing.

By Dan Brosgol

9/19/2025 Top Pick

Standing Together This High Holiday Season

By Rabbi Marc BakerFor Combined Jewish Philanthropies (CJP)

A winding road meanders through a foggy autumn forest. Golden and orange leaves adorn the trees, creating a mysterious and serene atmosphere under the soft, diffused light.

9/11/2025 Top Pick

Rosh Hashanah 5786: A Prayer For Uninteresting Times

By Dan Brosgol

9/8/2025 Top Pick

A Prayer for the New Year, 5786

As we enter the new year, this powerful prayer invites us to release our fear, seek healing, and find the strength to forge a path toward peace.

By Bruce BlackFor Ritualwell

8/21/2025 Top Pick

Out of Sight

Re’eh presents us with blessings and curses; we’ve got more than enough of both right now. This week, the challenge is to see the whole picture.

By Dan Brosgol

9/30/2024 Top Pick

Jews on What Gives Them Hope in Challenging Times

By Kara BaskinFor JewishBoston

Tamar Davis speaking about Omer at a Run for Their Lives weekly gathering in Newton Centre (Courtesy photo)

9/27/2024 Top Pick

Unimaginable Loss & Unwavering Hope: Reflections for the High Holidays

By Tamar Davis

Food & Recipes

9/12/2025 Top Pick

Set the Table: Rosh Hashanah Catering Made Easy

By Kara BaskinFor JewishBoston

9/11/2024 Top Pick

High Holiday Recipes That Cater to Food Allergies

By Kara BaskinFor JewishBoston

9/27/2022 Top Pick

Fig Tarte Tatin With Honey

By Chanie ApfelbaumFor JewishBoston

9/23/2022 Top Pick

Shawarma Chicken Pita Pockets With Honey-Roasted Carrots

By Dini KleinFor JewishBoston

Tzimmes Chicken with Apricots, Prunes, and Carrots

9/19/2022 Top Pick

Where to Order Kosher Food in the Boston Area

By Kara BaskinFor JewishBoston

Hawaij Roast Chicken Tagine With Chickpeas, Zucchini, Olives and Butternut Squash

9/15/2022 Top Pick

Roast Chicken Tagine With Chickpeas, Zucchini & Butternut Squash

By Johanna RothenbergFor JewishBoston

Crafts & DIY

PJ Library Guide for Jewish New Year_cropped

9/2/2022 Top Pick

A PJ Library Family Guide for Starting the Jewish New Year

“A Time to Grow” has myriad creative ways to connect with the High Holidays, including crafts, step-by-step celebrations, blessings and more!

By PJ Library

8/22/2021 Top Pick

Tashlich Nature Pouch Craft Project

By Renee HenrichFor JewishBoston

9/16/2020 Top Pick

How to Create Sacred Spaces at Home

By Ashley M. JacobsFor JewishBoston

9/9/2020 Top Pick

My House Is Now a Synagogue?

Explore how to make and use sacred space in your home with the creators of Haggadot.com.

By Rebecca Missel

Apple, honey and shofar for the Jewish New Year, Rosh Hashana.

9/9/2020 Top Pick

High Holidays@Home

Download a simple Rosh Hashanah seder and Yom Kippur guidebook or mix and match to create your own holiday gathering.

By Haggadot.com

9/2/2020 Top Pick

“Here for” the High Holidays

“Here for,” powered by OneTable, is a new community-wide platform supporting home-hosted and virtual gatherings from Rosh Hashanah through Simchat Torah.

By Here for

9/2/2020 Top Pick

High Holidays at Home: PJ Library Family Guide

This beautiful new PJ Library guide explores ways for your family to connect with the High Holidays at home.

By PJ Library

8/28/2020 Top Pick

High Holidays-Inspired Workbook

This is your super personal High Holiday workbook, filled with goodies for you to reflect and set intentions for this new year.

By Custom & Craft

9/18/2019 Top Pick

Four Ideas for Tashlich With Kids

Rabbi Jodi Seewald Smith shares her ideas.

By Kara BaskinFor JewishBoston

Community News

9/18/2025 Top Pick

High Holiday Crowds Mean an Extra Emphasis on Security

By Dan SeligsonFor CJP Communal Security Initiative

10/7/2024 Top Pick

Boston Rabbis Reflect on the Year Since the October 7th Attack

Local rabbis reflect on the emotional weight of the Oct. 7 attacks and how the High Holidays offer a path to healing and resilience for the Jewish community.

By Stephanie Brown & Darryl C. MurphyFor WBUR

Close up of shofar ,Hebrew prayer book and apple on a table- symbols for

8/23/2021 Top Pick

A Hybrid High Holidays

By Rich TenorioFor JewishBoston

10/4/2020 Top Pick

Jewish Congregations Found Ways to Connect During High Holidays

Newton synagogues and temples are especially busy during Yom Kippur, and while worship spaces were mostly empty this year, congregations found ways to connect.

By The Boston Globe

10/4/2020 Top Pick

Local Synagogues Celebrate High Holidays With Drive-in Services

These types of services will still be beneficial long after the pandemic ends.

By The MetroWest Daily News

9/21/2020 Top Pick

“In It Together” With Rabbi Marc Baker

He talks about CJP’s efforts during the pandemic to help congregations adapt to socially distanced worship and other challenges.

By WGBH

LEXINGTON MA. SEPTEMBER 15: Rabbi Howard Jaffe will be holding Rosh Hashanah worship over the computer from his home on September 15, 2020 in Lexington, MA. (Staff Photo By Nancy Lane/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald)

9/16/2020 Top Pick

Massachusetts Jewish Community Gears up for Virtual High Holidays Amid Coronavirus Pandemic

Jewish congregations are gearing up for unprecedented holidays this month amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

By The Boston Herald

9/16/2020 Top Pick

High Holiday Ticket Match 2020

CJP is here to help you find your community for the High Holidays.

By Combined Jewish Philanthropies (CJP)

9/16/2020 Top Pick

Prayer Amid Pandemic: Jews Adjust to Worshiping

“Judaism has always evolved,” said Rabbi Laura Abrasley of Temple Shalom in Newton. “We may be at another crossroads.”

By The Boston Globe

Arts & Culture

8/11/2026 Top Pick

New Children’s Books Bring the High Holidays to Life

A bumper crop of new kids’ books about the High Holidays is hitting shelves in 2026, surprising close observers of Jewish children’s literature.

By Penny SchwartzFor Jewish Telegraphic Agency

9/22/2024 Top Pick

Embodying the High Holiday Season

Explore grief, healing and communal action through artist Charlie Dov Schon’s “Be the Change” tzedakah box sculpture, “Collective Grief.”

By Laura Conrad MandelFor Vilna Shul, Boston’s Center for Jewish Culture

9/12/2022 Top Pick

A Nuanced Look at Repentance, Forgiveness and Atonement

By Judy Bolton-FasmanFor JewishBoston

8/24/2021 Top Pick

Jewish Studio Project Nurtures Creativity as Spiritual Practice

The organization innovates a new approach to Jewish creativity—one in which art is not just for artists and Jewish texts are not just for scholars.

By Judy Bolton-FasmanFor JewishBoston

9/16/2020 Top Pick

Four New Children’s Books to Brighten up the Jewish New Year

Having to deal with quarantine and perhaps school at home, families can take pleasure in turning the pages of these crisp new reads.

By Jewish Telegraphic Agency

9/10/2020

Musical Days of Awe: Interview With Rachel Panitsch

Musician Rachel Panitsch shares her thoughts on music, the great outdoors and rituals.

By Vilna Shul, Boston’s Center for Jewish Culture

9/4/2020 Top Pick

Five Tunes for Atonement

Five songs that fill me with awe leading up to the High Holidays.

By Joey BaronFor Vilna Shul, Boston’s Center for Jewish Culture

Artist- painter working on painting in studio with art supplies around him

8/12/2020 Top Pick

Inspired 5781: More Art, More Awe

Virtually accessible art that excites, inspires and steeps us all in the essence of the Days of Awe.

By Laura Conrad MandelFor Vilna Shul, Boston’s Center for Jewish Culture

9/9/2019 Top Pick

The Art of the Apology

By Judy Bolton-FasmanFor JewishBoston

Yom Kippur

Yom Kippur 2026 begins at sundown on Sunday, September 20. Also known as the “Day of Atonement,” it is considered Judaism’s holiest day.