SHAZOOM ONLY 6:30 PM August 21, 2026
KETIVAH VECHATIMA TOVAH – A GOOD WRITING AND SEALING!
OUR HEARTS ARE WITH THE PEOPLE OF ISRAEL AND ALL THE VICTIMS OF CONFLICT
From “Mishkan T’filah / A Reform Siddur” CCAR, New York 2007, p.98
SIM SHALOM tovah uv’rachah, chën vachésed v’rachamim, alëinu v’al kōl Yisraël ‘amécha, [v’al kōl yoshvëi tëvël, v’imru: Amën.]
GRANT PEACE, goodness and blessing, grace, kindness, and mercy, to us and to all Your people Israel [and all who inhabit the earth, and let us say: Amen.]
SHAZOOM ONLY
We will meet for Shazoom ONLY this coming Friday evening, August 21, 2026. Please see the Shazoom and Observances schedule through September 2026 below.
Read this week’s Torah Portion, Ki Tëtzë (When You Go Out), at https://www.sefaria.org/Deuteronomy.21.10-25.19, and Haftarah at https://www.sefaria.org/Isaiah.54.1-10.
Zoom continues updating its security and performance features. Making sure you have the latest version of Zoom, please join us online this coming Friday evening:
Shazoom – Erev Shabbat Service
Time: Aug 21, 2026 06:30 PM Arizona
To join Shazoom click on the following link [you may need to copy it into your browser]: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/72510500854?pwd=Z3VQZWF4U1BBZytNYmh3aHFTWkFDZz09
Meeting ID: 725 1050 0854
Passcode: 4NrMk0
Hint: The last character of the password is the number zero.
YAHRZEITS/ANYOS
This coming week, 9 Elul through 15 Elul, we lovingly remember:
Viola Aragon
First Anyos – Aunt of Mary Caron
Those victims of the Sho’ah (Holocaust) who died at this time of year.
“ZICHRONAM LIV’RACHAH” – MAY THEIR MEMORIES BE FOR BLESSING.
From URJ https://urj.org/what-we-believe/resolutions/refugees-and-sanctuary
“When a stranger sojourns with you in your land, you shall do him no wrong. The stranger who sojourns with you shall be to you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself for you were strangers in the land of Egypt.” Lev. 19:33
ELUL CUSTOMS
It is customary to blow the shofar every morning (except on Shabbat) from Rosh Hodesh Elul (the first day of the month) until the day before Rosh Hashanah. [Reciting] Psalm 27 every day from Rosh Hodesh Elul through Hoshanah Rabbah on Sukkot (in Tishrei). [Reciting] selichot (special penitential prayers) [starting with a special service the Saturday night] immediately before Rosh Hashanah, or, if starting [then] would not afford four days of selichot, then the [Saturday night] one week prior [Ashkenazi Reform tradition] or every morning during the entire month of Elul (Sephardi tradition). [In addition, visiting] the graves of loved ones throughout the month in order to remember and honor those people in our past who inspire us to live more fully in the future.
Another social custom is to begin or end all letters written during the month of Elul with wishes that the recipient have a good year. The standard blessing is {“Ketivah Vechatima Tova”} (“a good writing and sealing [of judgement]”), meaning that the person should be written and sealed in the Book of Life for a good year. Tradition teaches that on Rosh Hashanah, each person is written down for a good or a poor year, based on their actions in the previous one, and their sincere efforts at atoning for mistakes or harm. On Yom Kippur, that fate is “sealed.”
PSALM 27
- One thing I ask of the Eternal One, only that do I seek:
to live in the house of the Eternal One all the days of my life,
to gaze upon the beauty of the Eternal One, to frequent God’s temple.
- God will shelter me in God’s pavilion on an evil day,
grant me the protection of God’s tent, raise me high upon a rock.
- Now is my head high over my enemies roundabout;
I sacrifice in God’s tent with shouts of joy,
singing and chanting a hymn to the Eternal One.
HIGH HOLY DAYS 2026/5787
This year Rosh Hashanah takes place beginning the evening of Friday, September 11 to Sunday, September 13, 2026. The Reform Movement normally observes one day. Yom Kippur begins the evening of Sunday, September 20 (Kol Nidrë) through Monday, September 21, 2026. Temple Kol Hamidbar will NOT be holding High Holy Day services either in person or online.
Various congregations within the Reform Movement provide online resources to anyone interested in participating in services. In some cases, registration and/or a password is required. You may want to visit the following websites for their latest information on the High Holy Days and how to access them.
Kol Ami (formerly Temple Emanu-El and Congregation Or Chadash), Tucson, AZ
Temple office (520) 327-4501 or https://www.katucson.org/
Congregation Or Ami, Calabasas, CA
High Holy Days 2026 | Or Ami or https://coa.livecontrol.tv/
Temple Sinai, Oakland, CA
Temple Office 510-451-3263
https://www.oaklandsinai.org or High Holy Days 5787 – Temple Sinai
The Union for Reform Judaism https://reformjudaism.org/jewish-holidays/rosh-hashanah/how-find-high-holiday-community-wherever-you-are
Ketivah Vechatima Tovah – A Good Writing and Sealing!
L’shalom,
–Ruben
PS – Shazoom and Observances Schedule through September 2026 (Arizona Time Zone):
August 21, 2026 – Shazoom ONLY at 6:30 pm
August 28, 2026 – Shazoom ONLY at 6:30 pm
September 4, 2026 – Shazoom ONLY at 6:30 pm
[September 5, after nightfall, Leil Selichot]
[September 7, Labor Day US]
September 11, 2026 – NO Shazoom
September 11, 2026, Friday PM – Erev Rosh Hashanah
[September 12–13, Saturday-Sunday – Rosh Hashanah (mostly one day in Reform)]
September 18, 2026 – Erev Shabbat Shuvah (TBD)
[September 19 – Shabbat Shuvah (Shabbat of Return)]
[September 20, Sunday – Erev Yom Kippur – Kol Nidrë]
[September 21, Monday – Yom Kippur]
September 25, 2026 – Erev Sukkot (TBD)
[September 26-October 2, Saturday-Friday – Sukkot]
[October 2, 2026 – Erev Shabbat (TBD)
[October 2-3, Sh’mini Atzéret (Eight Day of Assembly) and Simchat Torah (Rejoicing in the Torah); Reform Movement combines as in Israel]