Temple Beth El follows the tradition of Reform Judaism, observing all festivals. Our services are open to innovation and strike a harmonious chord with tradition.

Our Sisterhood Gift Shop offers ritual items for all of these holidays and the advice to go with them.

View a calendar of Jewish holidays (Hebcal Interactive Jewish Calendar)

High Holy Days: Erev Rosh Hashanah, Rosh Hashanah, Kol Nidre, and Yom Kippur
High Holiday services are the most popular services of the year at Temple Beth El. To make sure that we have space for all our our members, reservations are required. Courtesy tickets are offered to members in good standing, their families visiting from out of town, members of other UJR congregations, and college students. Tickets are available to out-of-town friends and non-members for a fee.

In addition to our adult services, we offer a children's program for children in kindergarten through 4th grade on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur mornings. The program includes a High Holiday service, activities, stories, arts and crafts, games, and outdoor break time. There is a fee for this service, and advanced reservations are required.

We offer childcare for preschoolers ages 2 to 4 on both Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur mornings, for a fee. Reservations are required.

We hold Tashlich services, symbolizing the casting of one's sins into the sea, on Rosh Hashanah at three locations: Rio Del Mar Beach, Natural Bridges Beach, and the San Lorenzo River in Felton.

Our High Holiday Food Drive benefits the Second Harvest Food Bank and the Santa Cruz AIDS Project. This mitzvah project adds a dimension of spiritual connectedness to our surrounding community during this holy time of year.

Rosh Chodesh
This celebration at the new moon marks the beginning of each Jewish month. All women are invited to celebrate this ancient ritual of renewal through song, stories, art, and learning.

Sukkot
The Festival of the Tabernacles is observed at Temple Beth El with the building of a sukkah (booth) and a service. Synagogue groups celebrate this harvest festival with lunch or dinner in the sukkah. Your family can also reserve the sukkah for use during the holiday.

Simchat Torah
Marking the end of the Holy season, this holiday is celebrated with a lively family service. The entire Torah scroll is unrolled, the concluding lines of Deuteronomy are read, and the reading of Genesis begins again. Children especially enjoy the rejoicing of the Torah, which includes dancing in the Sanctuary aisles, and a parade with the Torah Scrolls. Our kindergarten and 4th grades celebrate their consecration into our formal Temple School and Hebrew School programs.

Chanukah
This festive holiday is observed mainly in the home with the lighting of a chanukiah, or holiday menorah, and, in some families, the exchange of gifts. Our Chanukah Shabbat service is always a lively celebration for members of all ages. Members bring their family menorahs, and the sanctuary is aglow with the many candles.

Tu B'Shevat
On the new year of the trees we celebrate renewal, awareness, and our connection to nature. For the past few years, our synagogue has celebrated the modern ritual of a Tu B'Shevat Seder.

Purim
This colorful holiday retells the story of Esther, a Jewish woman chosen as queen of a gentile kingdom, who saved her people from a villainous anti-Semitic death plot. Temple Beth El's celebration includes a service with the reading of the Purim Megilla (the Book of Esther) in Hebrew and English and a Purim Spiel, a comical rendition of the traditional story. Members often come in costume and socialize over hamentashen, the three-sided pastry traditionally associated with the holiday.

Passover
Passover (Pesach) is a home-based holiday centered around a dinner service (seder) that retells the story of the Exodus from Egypt. Traditional foods include matzah, bitter herbs, and charoset, a mixture of apples, nuts and honey. Dietary restrictions are observed, and a Yiskor memorial service is held on the seventh day. Temple Beth El often hosts a Community Seder on the second night.

Shavuot
This springtime festival commemorates the traditional date of the Giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai.