High Holy Days
Celebrate the High Holy Days 5786 with Wimbledon Synagogue
Each year, as the days shorten and autumn approaches, we find ourselves called back into rhythm with the heartbeat of our tradition. The High Holy Days are more than sacred dates in the calendar. They are an invitation to pause, to breathe, and to rediscover the possibility of change. Our tradition calls this teshuvah — not only repentance, but return. Return to our truest selves, return to our values, return to God.
This year especially, when the world around us can feel unsettled and unyielding, we may be tempted to think that nothing has shifted. Yet our faith reminds us that renewal is always near, sometimes hidden in the smallest acts of kindness or the quietest moments of reflection. These Days of Awe are our chance to notice those signs of hope, to gather as a community that listens, prays, sings, and begins again together.
We warmly invite you to join us at Wimbledon Synagogue as we usher in 5786. Whether you sit with us in the sanctuary or connect through our YouTube livestream, you will be part of a congregation that journeys side by side, with joy, honesty, and hope.
Below you will find the outline of this year’s services and celebrations. A full schedule and further details will follow soon. Please mark the dates, share them with loved ones, and prepare to step into the new year with us.
On behalf of everyone at Wimbledon Synagogue, may your preparations be thoughtful and gentle, and may this season open for you the possibility of renewal and sweetness.
Shanah Tovah u’Metukah — a good and sweet year to us all.
Rabbi Adrian M. Schell
High Holy Days 2025 | 5786
Selichot Saturday, 13 September – 18:30
Rosh Hashanah
Monday, 22 September – Erev Rosh Hashanah – 19:00
Tuesday, 23 September – 1st Day – 10:00
Wednesday, 24 September – 2nd Day – 10:00 (followed by Tashlich)
Shabbat Shuvah
Friday, 26 September – 19:00
Saturday, 27 September – 10:30
Yom Kippur
Wednesday, 1 October – Kol Nidrei – 19:30
Thursday, 2 October – Services from 10:00
until the end of the fast at 19:26
(Includes Torah Study, Yizkor, and Neilah)
| Guests and Tickets Members can order their ticket via the online link sent by email. If you are new to Wimbledon, visiting for a holiday, or would “just” like to join us for services, or if you’d like to bring guests or family members, please get in touch with the synagogue office in advance at office@wimshul.org. Student Tickets / Progressive Judaism High Holy Days ticket scheme Our Progressive Judaism High Holy Days ticket scheme for those aged 18-26 – operating across all Progressive (Liberal/Reform) synagogues – gives students and young adults the opportunity to find Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur services near them. Please click here for the registration form, and fill out one form for each person who is requesting a free ticket (deadline 9 am on Friday, 5 September). Please note: For security reasons, everyone must have a ticket to attend in person. |
Children and Youth Services and Activities
We will run special family services throughout the High Holy Days. Please contact Agi for further information at youth@wimshul.org.
To make a booking for the crèche, you can use the following link: office@wimshul.org
G’mar Chatimah Tovah: may you be sealed for good in the Book of Life in which we are inscribed on Rosh Hashanah and sealed on Yom Kippur………….and since it is impossible for me to greet each and every one of you I take this opportunity – and indeed my last one as your Chair – of wishing you a happy and healthy New Year.
I would love of course to add some words of joy that it was “all quiet on the Middle Eastern front” but at the time of writing I fear that Shalom (peace) seems no nearer unfortunately.
This has also prompted me to stray away a little from the usual division of charities selected for our Kol Nidre Appeal and I hope you will allow me so to do. Please continue reading here …
Our New Machzor – Seder Ha-T’fillot: Days of Awe
Last year, we stepped into the High Holy Days with something new in our hands and on our lips. Our new Machzor, Seder Ha-T’fillot: Days of Awe, was introduced for the very first time — and from the very first page, it felt like home. The feedback was overwhelming. People spoke of the clarity of its layout, the beauty of the translations and poems, the accessibility of transliteration, and the way it gives everyone, from the most seasoned davvener to the newest visitor, a place to find their voice.
Like our Shabbat Siddur, the Machzor is multi-vocal. It holds the familiar prayers, alongside contemporary reflections, essays, and poetry that speak to our time. It uses inclusive language, offers signposting throughout, and provides space for both personal reflection and communal song. Many have said that this new Machzor transformed the way they experienced Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur — not as observers, but as participants on a journey of return and renewal.
We encourage each household to have their own copy. It deepens the experience of prayer to hold a book that is yours — to make notes, to place bookmarks, to carry with you from year to year. Copies are available for £45, and we also warmly invite you to consider donating a copy for use in the synagogue at the special price of £40. Donated sets can include personalised bookplates, allowing you to honour a loved one, mark a special occasion, or give anonymously.
Owning your own Machzor is a way of carrying the Days of Awe into your own life, even beyond the synagogue walls. It is a companion for prayer, worship, and study, and a gift to future generations.
To order your copy, or to donate one to the synagogue, please contact Jackie at jackie@wimshul.org.
| Live Stream This year, we will once again be live streaming all our services on YouTube. To join us on a computer or smartphone, simply follow the link below. If you would like to watch on a Smart TV or other device, open the YouTube app and search for the Wimbledon Synagogue Channel. We recommend subscribing to our channel and enabling the service reminder, so you’ll receive notifications when services go live. https://www.youtube.com/@WimShul |
| Office Opening Times We are here for you during normal office hours, except for the following days when the office will be closed: Rosh Hashanah, first day Rosh Hashanah, second day Yom Kippur Sukkot Simchat Torah |
Service Schedule 5786/2025
For inquiries, please contact the Synagogue office by email: office@wimshul.org
Sukkot and Simchat Torah
Monday, 6 October – Erev Sukkot – 19:00
Tuesday, 7 October – Sukkot Festival – 10:30 (at Weybridge)
Friday, 10 & Saturday, 11 October – Chol haMoed Shabbat Services
Monday, 13 October – Erev Simchat Torah – 19:00
Tuesday, 14 October – Shemini Atzeret & Simchat Torah – 10:30