Ask the Expert: Why are High Holiday tickets so expensive?

Affordable alternatives inside and outside the synagogue.

By MJL Staff

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Question: My wife and I decided not to buy High Holiday tickets this year because they’re so expensive. What can we do to mark the holidays at home, on our own?
–Norman, Chicago

Answer: Every year as the High Holidays approach I hear people grumbling about the price of tickets. And it’s true, at some synagogues it’s upwards of $500 a head. But why is it so expensive? It’s only a few hours, right?

First of all, in most synagogues, High Holiday tickets are included in membership fees. So, if you join the synagogue as a member, there’s no need to pay for tickets. It’s only if you want to go without paying membership fees that your tickets are so costly. Think about it like a membership to a gym, or health club. If you only go three times a year, then yes, what you pay is a lot per visit. But if you regularly visit your gym, then the monthly fee probably breaks down to only a dollar or two per visit. And the gym needs your membership fees to pay for machines, classes, maintenance, etc.
 
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Check out Jvillage’s High Holiday+    page.

Find out even more about the High Holidays with our High Holidays + Spotlight Kit.

Susan Talks About Saying Goodbye with Poetry - A Jewish Mourning Story

When Susan’s husband, Morton, passed away, a group at her synagogue stepped up and offered support during an incredibly difficult time. People from the Jewish community gathered together, read his poetry - his prayers - as they all remembered him together. It was a beautiful, nontraditional farewell.

Berlin Just Hosted the Biggest Shabbat Meal Ever

By Zachary Solomon for Jewniverse

The logistics of a big Shabbat meal can be a bit daunting—especially so when over 2,000 Jewish men and women attend.

On a recent evening in Berlin, exactly 2,322 Jews converged for what is now, officially, the world’s largest Shabbat meal of all time. So speaks the holy scripture of the Guinness Book of World Records. That’s right: Berlin beat out Tel Aviv, which last summer fed a mere 2,226 hungry souls.

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I Don't Care About Jewish Tribal Loyalty — And That Doesn't Make Me Anxious

Paul Golin, Opinion for The Jewish Daily Forward

The angst some American Jews feel over Jewish identity is captured beautifully in a recent essay by Gal Beckerman . As the outgoing opinion editor for the only national Jewish newspaper, he’s certainly had his ear to the ground. But it’s a very specific section of the ground: those who bother reading and debating in Jewish newspapers.

I know those folks. I work regularly with synagogue leaders, Jewish clergy, and others at Jewish communal organizations, and don’t disagree with the description of a “gut-churning, fraught, panicked and uncomfortable state…. of not really knowing anymore what it means to be a Jew.”

But that’s not how I feel. And I don’t think it describes how the majority of American Jews feel. Perhaps it’s just the majority of the 30% who are deeply engaged in the organized Jewish community.

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What Makes Wine Kosher?

From coffeeshoprabbi.com

Periodically I will hear someone say that a food is kosher because “a rabbi said a prayer over it.” Not true. Kashrut is a complex topic, so I’ll tackle in it manageable “bites.”

Since Shabbat is coming, let’s start with wine.

•     Kosher wine is wine that has been produced and handled only by Sabbath-observing Jews, and for which all ingredients were also kosher.
•     You can tell if wine is kosher by looking for the hecksher (rabbinical mark) on the label.
•     The rules for kosher wine go back to ancient times, when wine was used to worship idols. To avoid wine that has been tainted by idol worship, kosher wine must be handled only by observant Jews. This includes the servers who pour the wine.

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