Holiday Hours

2024 – 2025 HOLIDAY HOURS

Labor Day
• Monday, September 2, 2024 | Building Open

Rosh Hashanah
• Wednesday, October 2, 2024 | Building Closes 6pm
• Thursday, October 3, 2024 | Building Closed
• Friday, October 4, 2024 | Building Closed

Yom Kippur
• Friday, October 11, 2024 | Building Closes 6pm
• Saturday, October 12, 2024 | Building Closed

Sukkot
• Thursday, October 17, 2024 | Building Closed
• Friday, October 18, 2024 | Building Closed

Shemini Atzeret / Simchat Torah
• Thursday, October 24, 2024 | Building Open
• Friday, October 25, 2024 | Building Open

Thanksgiving
• Thursday, November 28, 2024 | Building Closed
• Friday, November 29, 2024 | Building Closed

Hanukkah
• Wednesday, December 25, 2024 – Thursday, January 2, 2024 | Building Open (except Christmas Day and New Year’s Day)

Christmas
• Wednesday, December 25, 2024 | Building Closed

New Year’s Day
• Wednesday, January 1, 2025  | Building Closed

Martin Luther King Jr. Day
• Monday, January 20, 2025 | Building Open

Passover
• Saturday, April 12, 2025 | Building Closes 6pm
• Sunday, April 13, 2025 | Building Closed
• Monday, April 14, 2025 | Building Closed

End of Passover
• Saturday, April 19, 2025 | Building Open
• Sunday, April 20, 2025 | Building Open

Memorial Day
• Monday, May 26, 2025 | Building Open

Shavuot
• Monday, June 2, 2025 | Building Open
• Tuesday, June 3, 2025 | Building Open

Juneteenth
• Thursday, June 19, 2025 | Building Open

Independence Day
• Friday, July 4, 2025 | Building Open

Hanukkah:
Chanukah is the eight-day Festival of Lights. It recalls the fight of the Maccabees for religious freedom. We light the menorah for eight nights to commemorate the victory over the Grecco-Syrians and rededication of the Temple.

Lag B’omer:
Lag B’omer, the 33rd day of the Omer count is a festive day on the Jewish Calendar. It is celebrated with outings (on which children traditionally play with bows and arrows), bonfires, and other joyous events. Many visit the resting place of the great sage and mystic Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, the anniversary of whose passing is on this day.

Passover:
The Passover Seder recreates the story of the Jews’ exodus from Egypt. Many customs and rituals are associated with Passover. The Haggadah is used to tell the story of the exodus, everyone drinks four cups of wine, and a festive meal follows the Seder. Chametz, leavened products derived from wheat, barley, oat, spelt or rye, is forbidden throughout the holiday of Passover. All fruits and vegetables, as well as all kosher cuts of meat and kosher fish, are allowed during Passover as they are kosher for Passover. Proper greeting: “A Zisen Pesach”

Purim:
Literally “lots,” Purim is a holiday that comes in the middle of the Hebrew month of Adar. On Purim, we read the Scroll of Esther (Megillat Esther, often referred to as the Megillah), which tells the story of how the intervention of Queen Esther and Mordechai saved the Jewish communities of ancient Persia from certain annihilation. We celebrate this rescue with high-spirited revelry, including wearing costumes of the main characters in the Megillah, exchanging gifts of food, giving charity (Tzedakah) to those in need, and baking and eating Purim pastries called Hamantaschen. We attend Purim carnivals where the whole family can enjoy this holiday together.

Rosh Hashanah:
The Jewish New Year begins the 10-day period known as the High Holidays, the Days of Awe. We use this time to think about the past year and resolve to improve what needs improvement in the coming year. The blowing of the shofar (ram’s horn) serves as a wake-up call to begin the process. Proper greeting:  “L’Shana Tova”.

Shabbat:
The Jewish day of rest begins at sundown on Friday evening and ends at twilight on Saturday evening. It is a time to enjoy spiritual contemplation, the company of family members, nature and relaxation. It is an opportunity to feel renewed and ready for the coming week. Proper greeting:  “Shabbat Shalom”.

Shavuot:
Shavuot, which means the “Festival of Weeks,” occurs seven weeks after Passover. It is a three-fold celebration that commemorates the receiving of the Torah at Mount Sinai, the harvesting of wheat in the land of Israel, and the ripening of the first fruits in Jerusalem. On Shavuot the slaves who left Egypt were made into free people by the receiving of the Ten Commandments.

Shemini Atzeret:
The eighth day of Sukkot, a day of solemn assembly, is a holiday on which prayers for rain are recited. A memorial service is also held.

Simchat Torah:
Simchat Torah is associated with Sukkot, but is an independent, joyous holiday. On Simchat Torah, the cycle of reading from the Torah ends and begins again. In each synagogue, the Torah scrolls are taken out and carried around in processions.

Sukkot: 
Preparations for Sukkot begin right after Yom Kippur with the building of the sukkah, a temporary booth made of branches of wood. This harvest holiday emphasizes the values of hospitality, the rewards of work and our trust in G-d. It reminds us of the period of time the Jews wandered in the desert after leaving Egypt. Proper greeting:  “Chag Samayach”.

Tisha B’Av:
(The Fast of the Ninth of Av) A day of mourning to commemorate the many tragedies that have befallen the Jewish people, many of which coincidentally have occurred on the ninth of the Jewish month of Av.

Tu B’shevat:
Tu B’Shevat, the 15th of Shevat on the Jewish calendar the day that marks the beginning of a “new year” for trees. This is the season in which the earliest blooming trees in the land of Israel emerge from their winter sleep and begin a new fruit-bearing cycle.

Yom Kippur:
The Day of Atonement occurs on the 10th (last) day of the High Holidays. It is a day of fasting, prayer, inner contemplation and a collective confession of sins. It is also a day of optimism, full of the promise of forgiveness and improvement of our behavior in the coming year. Proper greeting: “L’Shana Tova” or “Have a Safe and Easy Fast”.