High Holy Days 2026 | 5787
Experience the spirit of the Holy Days with us at Temple Beth-El.
Join our warm, inclusive community as we reflect, renew, and reconnect during this sacred season. Whether you're a lifelong member or joining us for the first time, there's a place for you here.
Prepare your heart and mind for the High Holy Days with a daily Elul reflection, offering inspiration and spiritual grounding throughout the month leading up to the Days of Awe. Sign up for the daily email here.
Worship Schedule
Selichot Dinner & Program
Saturday, 9/5 | 7pm
Havdalah & Selichot Service
Saturday, 9/5 | 9pm
Erev Rosh Hashanah
Friday, 9/11 | 7pm
Rosh Hashanah Family Service
Saturday, 9/12 | 9am
Rosh Hashanah Morning Service
Saturday, 9/12 | 10:30am
*Tashlich will follow services
Kever Avot Cemetery Memorial Service
Sunday, 9/13 | 1pm | Beth-El Memorial Park
*Austin Highway
Kever Avot Cemetery Memorial Service
Sunday, 9/13 | 3pm | Temple Beth-El Cemetery
*Palmetto / Crockett Street
Yom Kippur, Kol Nidre
Sunday, 9/20 | 7:00pm
Yom Kippur Family Service
Monday, 9/21 | 9am
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Yom Kippur Morning Service
Monday, 9/21 | 10:30am
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Yom Kippur Symposium
Monday, 9/21 | 1pm
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Yom Kippur Afternoon Service
Monday, 9/21 | 2:30pm
Yizkor, Memorial Service
Monday, 9/21 | 4:30pm
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Neilah - Concluding Service
Monday, 9/21 | 5:30pm
*Break the Fast hosted by Sisterhood, follows
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Erev Sukkot Shabbat & Service
Friday, 9/25 | 6:30pm
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Sukkot Morning Service
Saturday, 9/26 | 10:30am
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Atzeret Yizkor Service
Friday, 10/2 | 10:30am
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Erev Simchat Torah Shabbat & Service
Friday, 10/2 | 6:30pm
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Simchat Torah Service
Saturday, 10/3 | 10:30am
Guest Passes
A High Holy Days Guest Pass will provide you with the opportunity to attend all worship services. Whether you're visiting family or are a community member seeking a place to celebrate the High Holy Days, we are honored to welcome you to Temple Beth-El. We invite you to join our community for this sacred season by requesting a guest pass online.
Memorial Plaques
Honor the memory of a loved one with a Memorial Plaque in the Wulfe Sanctuary. Each plaque is engraved with the individual's name and date of death, creating a lasting tribute within our sacred space. Those memorialized on a plaque are remembered in perpetuity through inclusion in our Yahrzeit Memorial list, the annual reading of their name during the Shabbat service closest to their yahrzeit, and inclusion in our Book of Remembrance for Yom Kippur.
Temple Beth-El is pleased to offer childcare for infants through age 7, allowing parents and caregivers to fully participate in High Holy Day services. Children ages 8 and older are encouraged to attend worship with their families. Register for babysitting services here.
One of our cherished High Holy Day traditions is our annual Food Drive. Pick up a brown paper bag on Rosh Hashanah, fill it with nonperishable food items, and return it on Yom Kippur to help support neighbors facing food insecurity. Thanks to the incredible generosity of our congregation, last year's drive provided the equivalent of 33,361 meals for the San Antonio Food Bank!
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If you'd like to make a monetary gift towards the High Holy Day Hunger Drive, click here.
Help create the warm, welcoming atmosphere that defines Temple Beth-El by serving as a High Holy Days greeter. Whether you're welcoming familiar faces or first-time guests, your presence helps everyone feel at home. Sign up for one service or several—every smile makes a difference. Sign up here.
Need a letter for your child's school? We provide a downloadable High Holy Day religious observance letter that you can submit to your child's school to notify them of their absence. Download it here.
Yom Kippur Symposium Speakers
Saturday, September 21st at 1pm
Steve Kovner
Steve and Elaine and their two sons, Nathan and Michael, first joined the Temple when they moved here from New Orleans in 1990. Steve is a retired consulting mechanical engineer who designed HVAC and plumbing systems for commercial and institutional facilities for over 40 years. In 1994, he and two partners established MS2 Consulting Engineers, a firm that provides mechanical, electrical, and plumbing engineering design. Steve was the mechanical engineer and principal-in-charge of the mechanical, electrical, and plumbing design for the Campus of the San Antonio Jewish Community in 1999, and the Temple Beth-El Additions and Renovations in 2002. Steve has continued his involvement as a volunteer with the Temple’s building and maintenance programs. He is currently chair of the Temple’s Building, Grounds and Technology Committee. Steve enjoys delivering Meals on Wheels from the Temple and playing pickleball. Steve and Elaine enjoy spending time with Nathan and his wife Meredith, Mike and his wife Amy and three grandchildren.
Bobbie Malone
Bobbie Malone grew up in San Antonio, then lived in New Orleans, where she earned a PhD in American History from Tulane University. Her dissertation became Rabbi Max Heller: Reformer, Zionist, Southerner, 1860-1929. After directing the Office of School Services at the Wisconsin Historical Society, where she wrote on state history for classrooms, she retired and wrote the biography of her favorite childhood author/illustrator, Lois Lenski: Storycatcher. She and her Country Music historian husband, Bill, first teamed up to write Nashville’s Songwriting Sweethearts: The Boudleaux and Felice Bryant Story. They enjoyed coauthoring, so followed with Traveler: The Musical Odyssey of Tim O’Brien and Riders In The Sky: Romancing the West with Music and Humor. They just finished Hillbilly Hit Parade: DJs in the Shaping of Country Music, which will be published next fall.
Jeffrey Rollman
Jeff Rollman is a paramedic, educator, and public health professional who serves as an Assistant Professor of Emergency Health Sciences at UT Health San Antonio. His teaching and research focus on prehospital medicine, injury prevention, and improving care for older adults and underserved communities. Originally from SoCal and Pennsylvania, he is grateful to now call San Antonio and Temple Beth-El home.
Robyn Rosen
Robyn Rosen has spent 35 years working in education. She graduated from Bradley University with a degree in Elementary Education and earned her master’s degree in Science Education from National-Louis University in Chicago. She began her career teaching elementary school in Illinois and later taught future educators as an adjunct professor at both National-Louis University and the University of Texas at San Antonio. From 2002 to 2009, Robyn and her husband, Scott, owned and operated Mad Science of Las Vegas, which grew to become the third most successful Mad Science franchise in the world. After moving to San Antonio, Robyn returned to the classroom and has spent the past 17 years teaching in Judson ISD. She was named a Distinguished Educator at Metzger Middle School in 2018–19 and received Judson ISD’s Golden STAAR Teacher Award in 2022. Since 2016, Robyn has served as director of CreativKids SA Summer Camp at Temple Beth-El, a free summer program serving children in the surrounding community. Robyn and her family joined Temple Beth-El in 2011, and she taught Religious School for seven years. She and Scott recently celebrated their 33rd wedding anniversary and have two adult children, Zachary and Ashley.