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High Holy Days

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At Or Ami, we believe that you should be able to wake up on Rosh Hashanah or Yom Kippur and have a home to worship at and a family to worship with.

For nearly fourty years Or Ami has offered free, walk-in services to meet the needs of our membership and of Jews who do not have a place to pray on the High Holidays.

Rabbi Ahuva Zaches leads the Or Ami High Holy Day services. We extend our warmest welcome to you, your friends and family members to share the High Holy Days with us.

Below you will find the schedule of services and other important information about Or Ami’s High Holy Days.

Please contact the Or Ami office if you have special seating requirements such as those necessitated by a person with disabilities.

 


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Community Selichot

TBD

Rosh Hashanah

 

Sunday, October 2, 7:30 pm – Erev Rosh Hashanah Service & oneg reception
Monday, October 3, 10:30 am – Rosh Hashanah Service & oneg reception

Monday, October 3, 3:00 – 4:00 pm – Family Service & Tashlich
Tashlich
for all ages
Congregation Or Ami 9400 Huguenot Road, Richmond, VA 23235

Yom Kippur

Tuesday, October 11, 7:30 pm – Kol Nidre Service
Wednesday October 12
10:30 am – Yom Kippur Morning service
3:00 pm – Family Service
4:00 pm – Yom Kippur Meditation
5:00 pm – Afternoon Yizkor and Concluding Service followed by a community Break-the-Fast


 

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Location and Parking

All services will be held at the Weinstein JCC, 5403 Monument Avenue, Richmond VA 23226 unless otherwise noted in the schedule. There is considerable parking at the Weinstein JCC. Additional parking is available in the neighborhood across the street from the JCC. Please be courteous when parking so that we continue to be good neighbors and be careful when crossing Monument on foot.

 


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Sing. Dance. Pray.
Spend meaningful time with your children.

Rosh Hashanah Family Service & Tashlich

Monday, October 3, 3:00 – 4:00 pm
Or Ami 9400 Huguenot Road, Richmond, VA 23235

Join Rabbi Ahuva and Rabbi Barnea at Or Ami for a fun and exciting afternoon service tailored to kids (of all ages).

Yom Kippur Family Service

Wednesday October 12, 3:00 – 4:00 pm – Family Service
Weinstein JCC Monument Avenue

Join David Goldsmith and Rabbi Barnea for an hour of storytelling and song


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Jewish Meditation on Yom Kippur Afternoon

Meditation can foster concentration, awareness, wisdom and compassion. Meditation is a tool that, when infused with Jewish language, intentions, and texts, is transformed into Jewish meditation. Practicing Jewish meditation is a way to find stillness, a sense of peace, and a deeper connection to that which is greater than ourselves. Jewish meditation also brings an awakened and clearer state of mind to three fundamental arenas for attention. As it says in Pirkei Avot: The world rests upon three fundamental pillars- Torah, Avodah and Gemilut Hassadim, or acquiring wisdom, the service of the heart and deeds of loving-kindness.

This year’s Yom Kippur experience will include Jewish Meditation lead by Lisa. It will be on Wednesday October 12 at 4:00 pm at the JCC.


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Yizkor Memorial Books

Honor your parents

Honoring our parents is core to Judaic values. Yizkor (“remembrance”) is a service performed four times a year to honor parents and other loved one who have passed. Our tradition at Or Ami is to place names of the departed in a book and read the names aloud during Yom Kippur. We are continuing this tradition this year.

Getting names published in the Or Ami Yizkor Memorial Book

Fill out the online form to request that names be added to this year’s memorial book and to make a voluntary donation.

Voluntary Donations

Your voluntary donation in honor of your loved one is part of Jewish tradition. A voluntary donation of $18 for one name or $36 for more than one name helps to offset the costs of printing the Yizkor book and is an investment in what makes the Jewish community thrive in Richmond. Donations can be made online or by contacting the Or Ami office.


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Babysitting

Professional Babysitting will be available on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. A donation of $5 per child is suggested.

We encourage families of young children to take advantage of this service so that parents may embrace the feeling of being part of our kehilah kadoshah (our sacred community).


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Break- the – Fast with Or Ami

We will have our annual Break-the-Fast following Neilah services on Wednesday October 12. A SignUp Genius request should show up in your emailto allow you to pick something to bring.

  • Items need to arrive plated and ready for serving
  • Please put your name on any dishes or serving utensils that you want returned
  • Disposable utensils and serving dishes are preferred
  • We welcome casseroles (eg: kugel), whitefish, etc but please remember that we cannot heat anything
  • If you will not be attending the Break-the-Fast, please try and send in your item

We hope you will join us for this wonderful conclusion to our holiday services.

 

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Support the VA Food Bank

Hunger is an equal-opportunity problem. It doesn’t limit its impact to one demographic group, one cause, one type of neighborhood, or even a single season.
FeedMore is Central Virginia’s hunger-relief leader made up of the Central Virginia Food Bank, Meals on Wheels Serving Central Virginia and the Community Kitchen. Working together to efficiently and effectively fight hunger to enhance lives in our community, FeedMore’s programs provide hunger relief to our region’s most vulnerable populations, particularly children, families and seniors.

FeedMore serves…

  • Local children who need a nutritional foundation to learn and grow
  • Central Virginia families struggling to provide for themselves
  • Your senior neighbors who need food and services for health and independence
  • Our region’s most vulnerable people

How can you help?

  • Throughout the Holy Days, bring canned and dry goods to services and deposit them in the clearly marked FeedMore boxes located in the lobby of the Weinstein JCC
  • Donate to the FeedMore Virtual Food Drive. Ninety-five cents of every dollar you spend goes directly to FeedMore’s comprehensive hunger-relief programs. Your donations, big or small, help us nourish the community and empower lives.
  • Learn more about hunger in our community.

 


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Giving to Or Ami

Every year Congregation Or Ami performs an exodus by moving our temple and our people from our home on Huguenot Road to the Weinstein JCC on Monument Avenue. No, this does not happen on Passover. It happens just before Rosh Hashanah and continues through the end of Yom Kippur.
Or Ami firmly believes that it is our obligation to host open High Holy Day services for anyone in the Richmond area who needs a home for the holidays. We do this at no charge to the community or our membership.This is a very large effort with a large number of people needed to bake, move chairs, set up, take down, read Torah, and a number of other things. It’s a mitzvah to help.

How can I help?

Donate your time. If your can do anything mentioned above or just want to ask what you can do, contact the Or Ami office.Donate funds. Hosting the High Holy Days is core to who we are as a community. It takes considerable funds to make this happen every year. Please consider making a monetary donation to help.

  • Give online now
  • Donation boxes will be in the lobby of the Weinstein JCC during Rosh Hashannah and Yon Kippur for your convenience.
  • You can also make a donation while visitng Or Ami (a secure donation slot is in the hallway outside of the office) or by contacting the Or Ami office.