We are in FULL SWING over here preparing for the High Holy Days. Digital Marketing Director Molly Flanagan, Cantorial Soloists Rachel Rothman and Max Winer, Lecturer Kimberly Duenas, KITS Creativity Club leaders Sheryl Aronson and Wendy Stiver, and I have all been working to bring you an experience that is thoughtful, moving, empowering, and ultimately (hopefully) transformative. We all want you to have a great new year and are here to help you make it so. 

Please help us help you by reserving your tickets in advance via: keepingitsacred.com/highholidays (schedule below as well)

If you can, a financial contribution is most welcome to help us continue to deliver these kind of meaningful programs to all who wish to attend regardless of financial situation. keepingitsacred.com/our-future

This year, we will be hosting our Tashlich program and all Yom Kippur programs (Kol Nidrei, YK AM, Yizkor, and Ne'ilah) in person AND online. So, if you plan to attend any of these in person, please email me at rabbimiller@keepingitsacred.com separately so I can make sure you have the information you need. 

You don’t need to purchase Machzors (High Holy Day Prayerbooks) if you are tuning in online but you may like to have them. And those who will attend in person will likely want them. There’s a special discount at: https://www.ccarpress.org/shopping_product_detail.asp?pid=50288

using code HHD5785 (only good through today)

Our Rosh Hashanah seder will be a “host your own” seder as it will take place over zoom. After you register, you will get a list of items to include on your seder table (if you choose to do that). It is perfectly alright to opt out of collecting the items — whichever is most meaningful to you. We will be happy to gather with you!

We would love to include the names of your loved ones in our Yizkor/Remembrance service. Please send names of loved ones and death dates so we can include them. On that note, please feel welcome to send us your birthday and anniversary dates as well so that we can mark those special times throughout the year. Please send them to mflanagan@keepingitsacred.com. 

Through caring carefully to each of these details in advance, we are preparing to give our souls the space to transform on the holy days.

This is how we’re #keepingitsacred…

Together, we’re #keepingitsacred...

Rabbi Heather Miller

Founder, Keeping It Sacred

And please print the following image to save on your fridge

so you can be sure to remember our programs:

HIGH HOLY DAY PRAYERBOOKS

SALE! TODAY IS THE LAST DAY! September 16, 2024 get your own set of High Holy Day prayer books from the CCAR Press for just $40.50! These are the volumes we use at Keeping It Sacred because of their clear English translation, user-friendly transliteration, and moving poetry. Use code: HHD5785
Available at: https://www.ccarpress.org/shopping_product_detail.asp?pid=50288

SEND US YOUR IMPORTANT DATES

The Jewish tradition is a tradition of marking time. We remember holy days and ritualize historical events. Personally impactful dates are important, too. So in our community, we celebrate birthdays & anniversaries and honor yahrzeits monthly at services, and read from be our Names of Remembrance list at Yizkor/ Remembrance Services. So please, send us your significant dates to mark together as a community to mflanagan@keepingitsacred.com. This is how we’re Keeping It Sacred. 

RABBI MILLER’S “RESOULUTIONS”

The High Holy Days are coming and we have the perfect book to get you ready- Rabbi Miller’s RESOULUTIONS: A Practical Guide for Self- Repair. 5 stars with 12 reviews! Available everywhere books are sold. For more information, check out: keepingitsacred.com/the-book.

A BIT ABOUT … THE NEW YEAR

A bit about... is a new web series from Keeping It Sacred that explores a bit about various holy days in the Jewish tradition. Whether you're new to Judaism or have been celebrating these holy days for years, these episodes are designed to be accessible, relevant, and empowering. This episode explores the New Year. Listen on Spotify here.

REFLECTIONS AND EXPECTATIONS: HIGH HOLY DAYS WITH KITS

Join us for the High Holy Days!

Our Founder, Rabbi Heather Miller will bring texts, traditions, and teachings from the wisdom of the Sages into relevance today. And this year, she will again be joined by the talented and good-hearted Cantorial Soloist Rachel Rothman. Rachel holds her Master’s degree in Vocal Performance from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and fuels her spirituality and Judaism through music.

The entire lineup of services will be offered online including a Rosh Hashanah Seder, and a Morning Rosh Hashanah Service, as well as a hybrid (in person and online) Tashlich Service, Kol Nidrei Service, a Yom Kippur morning service, Yizkor, and Neilah service (See below to sign up). As always, services will be free of charge to all who wish to attend, but your contributions allow us to uphold this value of keruv/accessibility. As you reserve, please consider a meaningful gift to help us cover the costs of running this transformational programming and helping to support all of the sacred work we do.

MORE about Cantorial Soloist Rachel Rothman:

We are so blessed as a community to have the exquisite heartfelt musicality of Cantorial Soloist Rachel Rothman co-lead us this High Holy Day Season. She holds her Master’s degree in Vocal Performance from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. She has spent summers performing with opera festivals in Italy, and currently has an in-demand vocal studio where she teaches voice lessons privately. And, Rachel feels lucky to fuel her spirituality and Judaism through music. Rabbi Miller has known Rachel since 2008 and shares, “Rachel is an incredible talent, with a soul of sincerity, sensitivity, and sensibility. She is a gifted prayer leader with a range from participatory song to high art, having a voice trained by camp song leaders and conservatory instructors alike. I am incredibly excited to again co-lead this season's worship experiences with Rachel.”

Please join us for the High Holy Days-- gather in community for:

MAZAL TOV, HANNAH AND KYLE!

Recently, under a clear blue sky and swaying palm trees, standing before a panoramic view of the Pacific Ocean, Hannah and Kyle exchanged vows in San Clemente, CA. The bride and groom’s brothers furnished the rings before the couple shared words and declared, “I am my beloved’s, and my beloved is mine.” Guests took special delight in a Polaroid picture album making station where they could express their excitement and love for the couple in words and photos. A night of dancing followed. The entire Keeping It Sacred community wishes Hannah and Kyle a hearty Mazal Tov!

SHABBAT OF APOLOGY

Join us September 27th for Shabbat of Apology, as it is the last Shabbat before the new year. It is a special time for reflection and spiritual repair. Rabbi Miller and Max Winer will lead the community with Jewish thought and sacred song the last Friday of every month. Rabbi Miller is our rabbi! And, Max Winer is a storyteller, song leader, and musician who uses these creative expressions to help create community, facilitate learning, and inspire a love of Judaism. All are welcome to join us in person or online. Register HERE.

KITS CREATIVITY CLUB

Enjoy a chance to hang out with other Keeping It Sacred community members, get to know each other better, and create. Bring your favorite form of creativity to work on, Art, Baking, Craft, Dance, etc. and share inspiration.  Some weeks will include someone teaching how to do a project/technique, other weeks will be purely socializing while we do our own things. 

We are in the month of Elul, which is a time of reflection about who we have been, who we want to be in the coming year. On Sept. 22, we will continue to explore how we can each do something every day to spread kindness, joy, beauty, peace, and hope into our communities. Each of us has a role to play in tikkun olam. 

We will ground our exploration in the image of the pomegranate- hundreds of seeds of possibility! Bring paper, colored pencils or markers or whatever you have! 

Our next meeting is: September 22nd at 9am PT/ 12pm ET. REGISTER HERE!

SPIRITUAL GENTLENESS BOOK CLUB!

Are you interested in holding spiritual space for healing through reading and community? Then please consider joining the new KITS Spiritual Gentleness Book Club (SGBC) led by members Ashleigh and Tracy. The SGBC will explore books in bi-monthly meetings, with topics and discussions centered on the questions that arise for those who are new to Judaism. With a collaborative approach to book discussion, we envision this book club as a place to make new friends, have nuanced and meaningful discussions, and deepen our relationships with Judaism.

Our next session will meet September 23rd at 2:30pm PT | 5:30pm ET, register here. We will be reviewing beyond part 2 (chapter 4 on) of Here All Along by Sarah Hurwitz! Enjoy this amazing work and let's talk 9/23!

WRITING YOUR BOOK WITH ERIN SUMMERS NORMAN

Erin Summers Norman's first book, "The Lemay Leveller" was published in 2015. After not feeling satisfied with the results, Erin withdrew publishing rights in 2018 and started her revised book from scratch. She is now finishing her new release, "Samizdat." Samizdat means "self-publishing" in Russian, with an emphasis on social justice. The importance of authentic self-expression is integral to the book, which includes much of Erin's own memoirs and reviews how her father's war experiences in Vietnam shaped her own life and work. Erin found her father’s Jewish birth family in 2018 which led to Erin's own subsequent conversion with Rabbi Miller's help! REGISTER HERE!

CHESHVAN ROSH CHODESH RACIAL JUSTICE BOOK REVIEW

At Keeping it Sacred, we observe Rosh Chodesh, the start of each new month, with a Racial Justice Book Review. Each month we examine new material. September 5, we begin a new book: We Refuse, by Kellie Carter Jackson-- see her on CBS talking about this book HERE-- we are excited! (And bonus: she was a professor of our own Molly Flanagan when a student at Wellesley College!) REGISTER HERE! 

Check out dates below for upcoming Rosh Chodesh where we will review We Refuse:

• 11/7 Rosh Chodesh Cheshvan: Chapter 1

• 12/5 Rosh Chodesh Kislev: Chapter 2

• 1/2 Rosh Chodesh Tevet: Chapter 3

• 1/30 Rosh Chodesh Shevat: Chapter 4

• 2/27 Rosh Chodesh Adar: Chapter 5

SOCIAL JUSTICE IN OUR TEXTS: “STUDY BREAK” WITH LAASOK

Immigration. Climate change. Marriage equality. LGBTQ+ inclusion. Voting and civic engagement. Respect for fellow human beings.

What does Judaism teach us about creating a just society?

Each month, September through June, we will take a one-hour “study break” to learn about an aspect of social justice in Jewish texts. This series is being taught by a variety of wonderful teachers, and will meet on Monday afternoons (3pm ET / noon PT) throughout the year.

Organized by LAASOK, the liberal Beit MIdrash (“House of Study”). This program is co-sponsored by a number of organizations, including LAASOK, Keeping It Sacred, the Central Conference of American Rabbis, Dayenu: A Jewish Call to Climate Action, and Kirva. Register at laasok.org/current-offerings/#justice

LGBTQ+ JEWS OF COLOR IN JEWISH SPACES SURVEY

This survey is a pivotal step in gaining a better understanding of the unique lived experiences of LGBTQ+ Jews of Color within Jewish spaces.

Your input will inform the creation of initiatives, resources, and programs designed to enhance the lives of LGBTQ+ Jews of Color. Additionally, it will empower the broader Jewish community to become agents of change and better allies to the LGBTQ+ Jews of Color in the community.

Take the survey here.

HEALING CIRCLE & TALMUD TEXT STUDY EVERY THURSDAY

JOIN our healing circle holding space for all looking for prayers for healing. This and EVERY THURSDAY -- at 10:30am PT/1:30pm ET.

Immediately following that: at 11am PT/2pm ET, join us as we jump into a conversation with the rabbinic sages of old. We enjoy studying a page of Talmud every day and reviewing together every Thursday, adding our perspectives and the relevance to our own lives as we go along. We enjoy participation from participants across the world who span the spectrum of race, gender, class, age, and connection to Jewish thought.

The rabbis could never have imagined such a wonderful group considering their thoughts!

What people say:

"Yesterday's class was superb!! I remain impressed by so many things that you do! You are able to keep us on track, share (some of) your knowledge with us, make all sorts of connections to the Jewish and secular worlds, and meet each of us where we are! Kudos to you!!"

"Talmud study has opened a window to that world for me. I love the anthropology and sociology of it all."

"The minority opinions may someday count as much as the majority opinions. It reminds us that things change the Halacha changes and we change each year that we read it."

"We have the opportunity to compare the Halacha we are practicing today with the one they were writing and studying in the Talmud... It has been very interesting how things have evolved how we keep the tradition in our own way."

"I feel very close to this amazing group and I'm grateful to Rabbi Miller for conducting it."

To join, please register HERE. Also, DM Rabbi Miller on Facebook HERE to be added to the closed, secret group where we question and discuss. And look for us on Instagram daily HERE.

START THE COUNTOWN!

We are now officially only 1,000 pages away from completing our study of the Talmud! Our community has been studying a page each day since January 5, 2024- and the beat goes on….

LET'S CONNECT ON SOCIAL MEDIA

Join us online at: keepingitsacred.com, Instagram accounts @hearabbi and @keepingitsacred, our Facebook pages HERE and HERE, YouTube Channel HERE and podcasts everywhere. Join us there for updated Talmud posts, Torah commentary, inspirations and invitations to gather online and in person.

Whether you found us through a friend, neighbor, a listserve or browsing the internet, we are glad you're here!

If you are a subscriber, you are a member! We have no membership dues!

UPCOMING EVENTS:

iCal USER? 

If you use iCal and would like the complete Keeping It Sacred calendar added to your calendar, click HERE. This way you won't miss an opportunity to connect via our LIVE activities. 

EVERY DAY

Please enjoy TWO seasons of our 7-episode web series People Keeping It Sacred and our Jewish Holiday series called "A Bit About..." both available on YouTube HERE and via podcast on your favorite podcast player including: PocketCasts, Breaker, RadioPublic, Apple + Podcasts, Spotify and more HERE.

ONGOING: SPIRITUAL COUNSELING

Rabbi Miller is available for 1-on-1 spiritual counseling; pay what you can. Topics are based upon the participant and can include your personal theological understanding of coronavirus, spiritually making space for others in your home, the spirituality of isolation and finding your way back to sacred connection. For more information, click HERE. Brazil time/ 6:30pm London-time. Register for this program HERE. 

9/19 HEALING CIRCLE

Join us as we gather every Thursday for a Prayer Circle. Lift up names of those who are ill, and join together for support and community. All are welcome. 10:30am PT/ 1:30pm ET/ 3:30pm Brazil time/ 6:30pm London-time. Register for this program HERE. 

9/19 PAGE-A-DAY OF TALMUD DAF YOMI GROUP MEET-UP

Thursdays at 11am PT/ 2pm ET/ 4pm Brazil time/ 7pm London time, join us as we review the past week's Talmud readings in sacred international community. No experience necessary, but be ready for some *interesting* discussions. Bring what you know about Torah, but also what you know to be true from your own life. Your insights are appreciated. Register for this program HERE.   

9/22 CREATIVITY CLUB

Enjoy a chance to hang out with other Keeping It Sacred community members, get to know each other better, and create. Bring your favorite form of creativity to work on, Art, Baking, Craft, Dance, etc. and share inspiration. REGISTER HERE.

9/23 SPIRITUAL GENTLENESS BOOK CLUB

Are you interested in holding spiritual space for healing through reading and community? Then please consider joining the new KITS Spiritual Gentleness Book Club (SGBC) led by members Ashleigh and Tracy! We will be reviewing Here All Along by Sarah Hurwitz for our third meeting, with special guest Rabbi Heather Miller! REGISTER HERE.

9/26 HEALING CIRCLE

Join us as we gather every Thursday for a Prayer Circle. Lift up names of those who are ill, and join together for support and community. All are welcome. 10:30am PT/ 1:30pm ET/ 3:30pm Brazil time/ 6:30pm London-time. Register for this program HERE. 

9/26 PAGE-A-DAY OF TALMUD DAF YOMI GROUP MEET-UP

Thursdays at 11am PT/ 2pm ET/ 4pm Brazil time/ 7pm London time, join us as we review the past week's Talmud readings in sacred international community. No experience necessary, but be ready for some *interesting* discussions. Bring what you know about Torah, but also what you know to be true from your own life. Your insights are appreciated. Register for this program HERE.   

9/27 SHABBAT OF APOLOGY

Join us September 27th for Shabbat of Apology, as it is the last Shabbat before the new year. It is a special time for reflection and spiritual repair. Rabbi Miller and Max Winer will lead the community with Jewish thought and sacred song the last Friday of every month. Rabbi Miller is our rabbi! And, Max Winer is a storyteller, song leader, and musician who uses these creative expressions to help create community, facilitate learning, and inspire a love of Judaism. Register HERE.

9/30 WRITING YOUR BOOK WITH ERIN SUMMERS NORMAN

REG

10/2 HIGH HOLY DAY PROGRAMMING

Erev Rosh Hashanah Seder

6pm PT/9pm ET (60m) Celebrate the birth of the world by breaking bread together as one beautifully diverse human family. Please register for this program: HERE. 

10/3 HIGH HOLY DAY PROGRAMMING

Rosh Hashanah

10am PT/ 1pm ET (75 min) Celebrate the birth of the world in gathered community. Please register for this program: HERE. 

10/4 HIGH HOLY DAY PROGRAMMING

Second Day Rosh Hashanah with Jewtina y Co.

10am PT/1pm ET, we will celebrate the Second Day Rosh Hashanah with Jewtina Y Co. Gain the tools needed for spiritual growth with Kimberly Dueñas & Jewtina y Co. REGISTER HERE.

10/6 CREATIVITY CLUB

Enjoy a chance to hang out with other Keeping It Sacred community members, get to know each other better, and create. Bring your favorite form of creativity to work on, Art, Baking, Craft, Dance, etc. and share inspiration at 9am PT|noon ET. REGISTER HERE.

10/6 HIGH HOLY DAY PROGRAMMING

Tashlich Service & Beach Hangout

11AM LIVE from the beach in California, join Rabbi Miller in person or via LIVESTREAM for a special Tashlich Service and KITS family hangout. Gather in community and start the year with spiritual renewal. Please register for this program: HERE.

10/7 REFLECTING ON OCTOBER 7 AND EVERYTHING AFTER TOGETHER

Join your Keeping It Sacred community to mourn the events of October 7 and the devastation that continues. Together, we will hold space for our grief and our pain and find ways to bravely whisper our hopes for the region.  Rabbi Miller will facilitate the sharing beginning at 9am PT/noon ET. REGISTER HERE!

10/10 HEALING CIRCLE

Join us as we gather every Thursday for a Prayer Circle. Lift up names of those who are ill, and join together for support and community. All are welcome. 10:30am PT/ 1:30pm ET/ 3:30pm Brazil time/ 6:30pm London-time. Register for this program HERE. 

10/10 PAGE-A-DAY OF TALMUD DAF YOMI GROUP MEET-UP

Thursdays at 11am PT/ 2pm ET/ 4pm Brazil time/ 7pm London time, join us as we review the past week's Talmud readings in sacred international community. No experience necessary, but be ready for some *interesting* discussions. Bring what you know about Torah, but also what you know to be true from your own life. Your insights are appreciated. Register for this program HERE.   

 
10/11 HIGH HOLY DAY PROGRAMMING

Kol Nidrei/Erev Yom Kippur

7pm PT/10pm ET (75 min) Enter into the holiest day of the year with the soul-work of reflection and repair. For more information and to register, please visit: HERE.

10/12 HIGH HOLY DAY PROGRAMMING

Yom Kippur Day

10am PT/1pm ET (75 min) Focus on the texts, melodies and actions needed to rejuvenate the soul in community not bound by geographic limitations. For more information and to register, please visit: HERE.

10/12 HIGH HOLY DAY PROGRAMMING

Yom Kippur Yizkor Remembrances 

Noon PT/3pm ET (45 min) Gather in community to remember loved ones we have lost but hold dear in our hearts this and every year. For more information and to register, please visit: HERE.

10/12 HIGH HOLY DAY PROGRAMMING

Yom Kippur Ne'ilah & Virtual Break-the-Fast

5:45pm PT/8:45pm ET (60 min) Rejoice in the conclusion of the day. For more information and to register, please visit: HERE.

10/17 HEALING CIRCLE

Join us as we gather every Thursday for a Prayer Circle. Lift up names of those who are ill, and join together for support and community. All are welcome. 10:30am PT/ 1:30pm ET/ 3:30pm Brazil time/ 6:30pm London-time. Register for this program HERE. 

10/17 PAGE-A-DAY OF TALMUD DAF YOMI GROUP MEET-UP

Thursdays at 11am PT/ 2pm ET/ 4pm Brazil time/ 7pm London time, join us as we review the past week's Talmud readings in sacred international community. No experience necessary, but be ready for some *interesting* discussions. Bring what you know about Torah, but also what you know to be true from your own life. Your insights are appreciated. Register for this program HERE.   

10/20 CREATIVITY CLUB

Enjoy a chance to hang out with other Keeping It Sacred community members, get to know each other better, and create. Bring your favorite form of creativity to work on, Art, Baking, Craft, Dance, etc. and share inspiration at 9am PT|noon ET. REGISTER HERE.

10/24 HEALING CIRCLE

Join us as we gather every Thursday for a Prayer Circle. Lift up names of those who are ill, and join together for support and community. All are welcome. 10:30am PT/ 1:30pm ET/ 3:30pm Brazil time/ 6:30pm London-time. Register for this program HERE. 

10/24 PAGE-A-DAY OF TALMUD DAF YOMI GROUP MEET-UP

Thursdays at 11am PT/ 2pm ET/ 4pm Brazil time/ 7pm London time, join us as we review the past week's Talmud readings in sacred international community. No experience necessary, but be ready for some *interesting* discussions. Bring what you know about Torah, but also what you know to be true from your own life. Your insights are appreciated. Register for this program HERE.   

10/25 SIMCHAT TORAH SHABBAT

Join us for Shabbat — Rabbi Miller and Max Winer will lead the community with Jewish thought and sacred song the last Friday of every month. Rabbi Miller is our rabbi! And, Max Winer is a storyteller, song leader, and musician who uses these creative expressions to help create community, facilitate learning, and inspire a love of Judaism. Register HERE.

10/31 HEALING CIRCLE

Join us as we gather every Thursday for a Prayer Circle. Lift up names of those who are ill, and join together for support and community. All are welcome. 10:30am PT/ 1:30pm ET/ 3:30pm Brazil time/ 6:30pm London-time. Register for this program HERE. 

10/31 PAGE-A-DAY OF TALMUD DAF YOMI GROUP MEET-UP

Thursdays at 11am PT/ 2pm ET/ 4pm Brazil time/ 7pm London time, join us as we review the past week's Talmud readings in sacred international community. No experience necessary, but be ready for some *interesting* discussions. Bring what you know about Torah, but also what you know to be true from your own life. Your insights are appreciated. Register for this program HERE.   

11/3 CREATIVITY CLUB

Enjoy a chance to hang out with other Keeping It Sacred community members, get to know each other better, and create. Bring your favorite form of creativity to work on, Art, Baking, Craft, Dance, etc. and share inspiration at 9am PT|noon ET. REGISTER HERE.

THANK YOU!

You are a cherished member of this community and we love to hear from you-- what questions do you have? Reach out to rabbimiller@keepingitsacred.com or via phone at 818-312-8388 anytime to let us know what you’re finding meaningful, inspiring and what you’d like to see.

Together, we're #keepingitsacred...

And now on Spotify, Google Podcasts, Breaker, RadioPublic, PocketCasts!

We'd love for you to forward this to a friend to invite them to join us, too!