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Jewish Life & Celebrations

Rosh Hashanah

How do Humanistic Jews Celebrate the High Holidays?

Rabbi Adam Chalom

© 2004 by Adam Chalom, Kol Hadash Humanistic Congregation, and the Society for Humanistic Judaism. All rights reserved. Originally published as a brochure by the Society for Humanistic Judaism.

Humanistic Judaism demands some creativity and innovation to celebrate Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur. For many years, secular Jews in fact abandoned them as un-redeemable, holidays that were Jewish but too unchangeably pious and theistic to preserve. Today, Humanistic Jews celebrate the High Holidays for a variety of reasons:

- They are a powerful way to connect with Jewish Life and have become one of the strongest public signs of Jewish Identity.

- They provide an opportunity for reflection on our actions of the year before and resolution for improved conduct in the year ahead.

- The celebration of a Jewish New Year in addition to the general New Year shows our commitment to Jewish Identity.

- The High Holidays, with their symbols that remind us of times past like the Shofar and the melody of Kol Nidre, make us feel connected to our past in a powerful way.

How do Humanistic Jews celebrate the High Holidays? Many recall the origins of the holiday as part of the holiday, celebrating the changes and developments in Jewish life throughout history. Some of the symbols and metaphors, like the kapporet ritual and the fear of judgment, have been dropped, but there is a variety of practice for the other symbols. Some Humanistic Jews fast, some are comfortable using the metaphor of the Book of Life, and others celebrate the High Holidays in their own, innovative way. In general, Humanistic Jews also have dropped the concept of being judged by the cosmos in favor of judging ourselves and making good our obligations to others. Most importantly, the High Holidays provide the opportunity to celebrate what makes us Humanistic Jews. Just as the traditional High Holidays celebrated the fundamental beliefs of traditional Jewish religion that God will judge and keep alive those who behave, so too our Humanistic High Holidays can celebrate our commitment to Humanistic Judaism. In this way, we preserve our connections to our past and celebrate ourselves at the same event. And that is really the essence of Humanistic Judaism.

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