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Where to celebrate Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur in New York City this year

This story will be updated throughout Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.
(New York Jewish Week) — Labor Day Weekend signals two things: The end of the summer and, for the Jewish community, the onset of the High Holidays.
On Rosh Hashanah, a two-day holiday that begins on the evening of Sept. 15, Jews usher in the New Year of 5784. Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, begins with the Kol Nidre service on the evening of Sept. 24 and continues through sundown on Sept. 25.
Not a member of a synagogue or not sure how you’re going to mark the holidays this year? Not to worry. The New York Jewish Week has put together a list of local options, ranging from traditional synagogue services and family-friendly programs to volunteer opportunities and comedy shows. Our selection spans boroughs and price points, though all are open to the public.
Whether you celebrate the High Holidays with a festive meal, praying in shul with fellow Jews or listening to a concert of liturgical music, there’s no shortage of ways to spend the Days of Awe in New York City. Keep scrolling to learn more.
Is your synagogue or Jewish organization hosting High Holiday services or events that are open to the public? Send an email to jgergely@jewishweek.org with the details if you’d like us to add it to our list!
High Holiday services in Manhattan
Temple Emanu-El’s downtown campus offers programming curated for families with young children, including honey tasting, music, crafts and food. (Temple Emanu-El)
Ohel Ayalah
Ohel Ayalah is hosting in-person services for both days of Rosh Hashanah, Kol Nidre and Yom Kippur at the Marlene Meyerson JCC Manhattan. The traditional, egalitarian service is aimed at Jews in their 20s and 30s who are not already connected to a Jewish community. The service is free and open to the public, though pre-registration is recommended.
JCC Harlem
Rabbi Mira Rivera, one of our 2023 “36 to Watch” honorees, will lead in-person services open to the public at JCC Harlem this year on each day of Rosh Hashanah, as well as on Kol Nidre and Yom Kippur. Tickets start at $18 for family services and $36 for standard services. JCC Harlem and Embrace Harlem will also host a “wine down” walk and tashlich (casting one’s “sins” into a body of water) in Morningside Park on Sept. 17 at 4 p.m., with tickets starting at $54 per family.
B’nai Jeshurun
The Upper West Side congregation will host a number of offerings for their Aviv community, which they describe as “Jewish young adults in their 20s and 30s, professionals and students, singles and couples, all committed to creating a Jewish life.” Aviv programming includes an Erev Rosh Hashanah dinner, Rosh Hashanah day one morning services, Kol Nidre, Yom Kippur and Break Fast. Tickets are $36 per service per meal for non-members. Learn more here.
92NY
This year, the Upper East Side community center is hosting in-person services for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. There will be a family service for those with children under 6; a youth service for kids ages 6-12 and a main service for adults. A combined all-access ticket costs $299, while individual services cost $95. Buy tickets and learn more here.
Temple Emanu-El
The Upper East Side’s Temple Emanu-El will host a range of High Holiday services open to the public this year. Rosh Hashanah services for families with young children at the Helen Mills Theater in Chelsea will include honey tasting, music, crafts and food. The ticket for this service starts at $220, and is part of a package that includes access to the teens, young families and “participatory singing” services throughout the holidays. There will also be a Young Professionals Rosh Hashanah Shabbat Dinner on Sept. 15 for $45 per person. Many of the services will be livestreamed for the public on Facebook and Youtube. See the full schedule here.
Lab/Shul
Experimental Jewish community Lab/Shul is back at the Tribeca Performing Arts Center this year with High Holiday offerings centered around the theme of “Havaya,” which they translate to “Everpresence” or “Existence.” Per Lab/Shul’s website, the services will be “meaningful, musical and meditative celebrations that fuse our oldest liturgies with contemporary art, engaging learning programs, and communal conversations.” The services are “all ages, all backgrounds, god-optional, artist driven, everybody friendly.” Tickets are $110 per service or $370 for all-access; they will also be livestreamed for free. Register here.
High Holiday services in Brooklyn
Dirah
Dirah, a Chabad-affiliated organization and open-to-all community in Carroll Gardens, is hosting High Holiday services this year at Hannah Senesh Community Day School. Their website describes the offerings as “engaging and explanatory services [that] will blend contemporary meditations & messages with timeless melodies and traditional prayers.” Tashlich will be held at the Gowanus Canal. No membership or fees are required to attend. Learn more here.
Egalitarian Sephardi and Mizrahi services
Jews for Racial & Economic Justice has organized egalitarian Sephardi and Mizrahi services for Erev Rosh Hashanah, Kol Nidre and Neilah (Yom Kippur afternoon), which will take place in the social hall of Park Slope’s Congregation Beth Elohim. The services will be led by musician Laura Elkeslassy, a New York Jewish Week “36er” from 2022. There is a suggested ticket price of $36 per service. Learn more here.
Congregation Beth Elohim
Congregation Beth Elohim will host several services open to the public, including a free, all-Hebrew service for Israelis led by Rabbi Josh Weinberg. Rabbi Matt Green will lead Brooklyn Jews, “an experimental community for young Brooklynites looking to enter the Jewish conversation through art, text, politics, food and ritual,” for services at CBE in Park Slope and at the Union Temple House of CBE in Prospect Heights. Tickets are $40 per service or $140 for an all-access pass.
East Midwood Jewish Center
Want to spend the High Holidays in the same sanctuary that Mrs. Maisel and her family prayed in? Get tickets to attend services at East Midwood Jewish Center, a Conservative, egalitarian synagogue in the heart of Midwood, Brooklyn, which was used as the location for all the synagogue scenes in the beloved Amazon show. Non-member tickets cost $200 for either the sanctuary or Zoom, covering all holidays, and all services led by Rabbi Cantor Sam Levine. There are multiple kids services and activities, for children 12 and under, all free of charge. Learn more here.
Romemu Brooklyn
Join Romemu Brooklyn, a “growing, dynamic, and Neo-Hasidic congregation,” for High Holiday services focused on the theme of “looking up.” The main “looking up” musical service will be led by Rabbi Scott Perlo and Hazzan Basya Schecter. Other offerings include an Erev Rosh Hashanah concert featuring music and stories, family services for children under 6 and a one-hour service, “Kids Rock the High Holy Days,” for elementary school-aged kids. The services will take place at The Arches, an event space and outdoor garden in Crown Heights. Tickets range from $49-$99, with an option to buy an all-access ticket to all services for $297. Learn more here.
High Holiday services in Queens
Malkhut
Malkhut, a progressive Jewish spiritual community in Western Queens, is hosting free and open-to-the-public High Holiday services this year at CUNY School of Law in Long Island City centered on the theme “Enough.” Register and find more information here.
Ashreynu
Ashreynu, a pluralistic, musical congregation based in Astoria, is hosting free services open to the public. The first day of Rosh Hashanah will be at the synagogue while the second day will be at Ralph Demarco Park. RSVP and find the full schedule here.
High Holiday services in the Bronx
Hebrew Institute of Riverdale
The Hebrew Institute of Riverdale, also known as The Bayit, is offering “guest seats” to the public for the High Holidays. The synagogue is “open Orthodox,” which they define as “serving the entire Jewish community by warmly embracing all Jews, regardless of affiliation, commitment, orientation, race, or background.” In addition to services at The Bayit, there will also be an outdoor minyan in partnership with Century Minyan. Tickets for the Bayit service start at $350 for the entire High Holiday season; tickets for the outdoor minyan start at $225. Register and find the full schedule here.
High Holiday services in Staten Island
Congregation B’nai Israel
Join Congregation B’nai Israel, a Conservative synagogue in Staten Island, for services this year. Tickets start at $100. Email office@sicbi.com to register in advance.
Beyond the synagogue services
Rabbi Steven Blane will lead the Sim Shalom Jewish Universalist Online Synagogue’s High Holidays services at the Bitter End jazz club. (William Alatriste)
The Nosher’s gluten-free holiday baking class
On Sept. 6 at 7 p.m., our partner site The Nosher will host a holiday baking class focusing on all the delicious ways to make your favorite treats gluten-free. The class will be taught by Orly Gottesman, a “36 to Watch” honoree and the owner and chef at Modern Bread and Bagel and Thyme and Tonic. Tickets for the online event start at $25.
Reverse tashlich with Repair the Sea
Join Repair the Sea on Sunday, Sept. 10 for their annual “Reverse Tashlich”: a day of volunteering doing waterfront cleanup. Several New York area synagogues are organizing clean-ups; check out the full list and register to join them here.
Monajat album release party with Galeet Dardashti
In a new album, singer Galeet Dardashti has reimagined the tradition of Selichot, the prayers of repentance said in the lead up to the High Holidays. Dardashti has put together an album of original songs inspired by recordings of the Jewish prayers of her late grandfather, the Persian singer Younes Dardashti. In collaboration with the Neighborhood: An Urban Center for Jewish Life, Dardashti is releasing this album at Littlefield NYC on Sept. 9 at 7 p.m. Tickets start at $18. Learn more here.
Marlene Meyerson JCC Manhattan
The Marlene Meyerson JCC Manhattan on the Upper West Side will host a number of ways to engage in and prepare for the High Holidays. On Sept. 12, join Rabbi Miriam Herscher and Rabbi Adam Huttel for “The Healing Shofar: A Night of Remembrance,” a free virtual class about grieving the loss of a loved one. On Kol Nidre, the JCC will host an orchestral concert with Israeli cellist Elad Kabilio featuring liturgical and secular music. Get tickets for $25. There will also be a “pay-what-you-wish” tashlich service on Sept. 19 at Riverside Park. Visit their website for more info.
Workers Circle
The Workers Circle will host hour-long Zoom events on the first day of Rosh Hashanah and on Yom Kippur. The Rosh Hashanah session will be a “joyous musical celebration of unity, action, and renewal” and will include readings and performances by Jewish educators and Yiddish musicians. The Yom Kippur session will feature similar performances with an aim to “sing, share stories, reflect on the past year, and together commit to critical activism to make our world a better and more beautiful place for all.” Tickets are $25 for Workers Circle members and $36 for non-members; click here for info.
Shofar Across Brooklyn
UJA-Federation New York has once again teamed up with several synagogues and communities in Brooklyn to put together the “Shofar Across Brooklyn,” a free, out-of-doors way to listen to the blowing of the shofar on Sept. 17 at 4:30 p.m. in various neighborhoods throughout the borough. Check out the map to find the location closest to you.
The Sway Machinery concert with Congregation Beth Elohim
Jeremiah Lockwood will be performing with his band, The Sway Machinery, for an immersive musical experience titled “The Dream Past: A Sonic Conjuring.” The concert, which will focus on cantorial revival music and draw upon High Holiday liturgy, will take place Sept. 21 at 7:30 p.m. It is hosted by Congregation Beth Elohim and will take place at Union Temple House in Prospect Heights. Tickets start at $18.
Rosh Hashanah at The Bitter End
Join Sim Shalom, a Jewish universalist synagogue, for their annual concert and jazz-heavy services led by Steven Blane, a musician and rabbi, and featuring a jazz quartet, held Sept. 16 at The Bitter End in the West Village. Sim Shalom will also be hosting online services for all the services throughout the holidays, including a livestream of The Bitter End concert. Tickets for The Bitter End concert start at $149; access to services online also start at $149.
Bowl Hashanah with Rabbi Daniel Brenner and Jeremiah Lockwood
Rosh Hashanah returns to Williamsburg’s Brooklyn Bowl this year with musical performances led by Jeremiah Lockwood, Antibalas’ Jordan McLean and others, plus a traditional Torah service led by Rabbi Daniel Brenner. Tickets for the Sept. 16 service start at $60. Learn more here.
Yom Kippur comedy show
Prepare for the Yom Kippur fast by laughing alongside Jewish comics at West Side Comedy Club. Orli Matlow hosts “The Days of HA: A Jewish High Holidays Comedy Show” on Sept. 20 at 9 p.m. Comics include Ariel Elias, Eitan Levine, Josh Gondelman and Dana Friedman. Get tickets for $10 here.
Famous Jewish food of New York tour
Get ready for the Yom Kippur fast by filling up on all of New York’s best Jewish food, including bagels, pastrami and lox, with Scott Goodfriend, who leads Ultimate Food Tours around New York City. He is hosting a special tour of Jewish food and history on the Upper East Side on Sept. 24 at 2 p.m. Get tickets for $90.
Looking for more?
In addition to the guide we’ve put together, be sure to check out UJA-Federation New York’s “Find-A-Service” list of High Holiday services across the city and surrounding areas, which includes services open to non-members at a range of ticket prices. (UJA-Federation is a funder of 70 Faces Media, the New York Jewish Week’s parent company.) Chabad Lubavitch also has a portal on their website to locate a Chabad-run service happening near you. For those that can’t make it to in-person services this year, our partner site, My Jewish Learning, has put together a list of virtual options of every service this High Holiday season.
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The post Where to celebrate Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur in New York City this year appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
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After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War

Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.
Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.
“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”
GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’
Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.
“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.
“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.
“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.
After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”
RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL
Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”
Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.
“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”
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Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests

A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.
People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.
“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”
Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.
On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.
Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.
On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.
“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.
Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.
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Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan

Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.