The High Holiday season is some of the most beautiful, special, and sacred time on the Jewish calendar. This October, each Shabbat presents a unique opportunity to connect with a different holiday or aspect of the High Holiday season. We enter this special time on Tuesday, September 3 with Rosh Chodesh (the beginning of the Hebrew month of) Elul, the last month of the Jewish year. Then we officially begin the High Holidays with the Days of Awe: Rosh Hashana (the Jewish New Year) on Wednesday, October 2;  Shabbat Shuva on Friday, October 4; and Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement) on Friday, October 11. The holidays continue with Sukkot, Shemini Atzeret, and Simchat Torah.

Elul, the last month of the year on the Jewish calendar, is often marked as a sacred time to set intentions and prepare for the new year and High Holidays. To help folks connect to this special time, we’re offering our hosts the opportunity to tap into our Permission to Unplug program during the month of Elul. Permission to Unplug helps us explore how we can take on a modern tech-free mindset to connect to Shabbat. To learn more, check out our Elul and Permission to Unplug page.

Host a Shabbat dinner with OneTable this week and any Friday night during the High Holidays. Post your dinner today to get started. (If you’re not a OneTable host yet, sign up here.) 

This year might feel different. The events of and following October 7 were both shocking and horrific, leaving many of us in deep grief, perhaps anger, and in a state of identity turmoil. It’s been a challenging year, one that has led some of us to reassess our worldview and grapple with unfamiliar emotions — fear, betrayal, and a profound sense of uncertainty. For those of you who want to utilize the High Holiday portal to address and engage with October 7 or commemorate the anniversary, we’ve created A New Year, A Changed World: A High Holidays Guide For After October 7.