By Susie Davidson
Advocate Correspondent
There’s a place for you during the High Holy Days.
What to do, where to go, where to sit. Questions like these seem to perpetually overshadow any well-intentioned observance of the upcoming High Holy Days. For the affiliated and active, as well as the merely curious Jews, such questions loom large each year. This is especially true for the young adults, who may be at college, or settling into new careers, or far from home, or simply establishing new lives in the Boston area. Some will go home for Yom Kippur but no other part of the holidays, as few can afford the expense or time to spend the entire season with family. And with busy lives, even fewer can plan and pinpoint holiday activity in advance.
For those who fall into any or all of these categories, the High Holiday Ticket Match could be for you. Sponsored by CJP’s The Network in partnership with the Synagogue Council of Massachusetts and JewishBoston.com, the program offers a matchmaking process for seats for young adults aged 22-45 in the Greater Boston area (first-time participants are prioritized). Participants (young adults 22-45) select the service that bests meets their needs through a form on JewishBoston.com. According to Karen Nahary, Program and Development Officer of the CJP Young Adult Initiative, services are either free or offered at discounted prices of $18 or $36. Synagogues, minyanim and prayer groups in over 47 communities, all pinned onto an interactive online map posted on JewishBoston.com, are participating this year. “We are grateful to all of them, for creating a welcoming community during the High Holy Days,” said Nahary, who said that all synagogues and minyanim in the Greater Boston area are invited to join in by offering free or reduced-rate tickets to their High Holiday services.
After checking out the various locales, seat-seekers can register online, then sit back and wait for a contact with details on services, times, and how to procure tickets. It’s also a great opportunity for young Jews to check out sites a little further from home, where they might make new connections and enjoy a totally different experience.
The Ticket Match remains a very popular program. “This program has been one of the most effective ways to reach out to those who might otherwise be separated from the community, and to introduce them to the warmth of meaningful Jewish life that congregations offer year round,” said Nahary. As of August 31, 136 registrations had been completed, and another 247 tickets had been requested .
“The High Holiday Ticket Match was originally a program of GesherCity,” Nahary explained, “and we have been proud to carry on the tradition, as GesherCity became a program of CJP and the online functions moved to JewishBoston.com.”
CJP also supports The Riverway Project Open Door Ticketless High Holy Day services. “These are free services open to all young adults in the community,” said Nahary, who noted that as space is limited, registration is requested, but no tickets are required.
The Network is an initiative dedicated to connecting young adults aged 22-40 to over 50 different Jewish organizations and groups in the Greater Boston Jewish community. Hurried and over-extended subscribers can receive Quick Pick events and News in their inboxes every Monday. Offerings include intimate events as well as larger open house parties, volunteer ambassador opportunities to help make connections to one another as well as to CJP and its myriad partner organizations. Both on-site Network Connectors (who are also available for one-on-one consults) and meet-ups held prior to larger community events can help newbies to acclimate and settle in. Those new to Boston receive a free “’Welcome” packet from CJP that includes tickets to a CJP event, JCC discounts and a free two-week trial membership, and information about CJP and Hebrew College programming.
Contact The CJP Network at TheNetwork@cjp.org.