High Holidays 5786

The Yamim Noraim have always been a deeply meaningful time for our shul, and we continuously strive to make both our davening and the experience of our members as uplifting as possible.

Over the past several years, we have been blessed with tremendous growth in the number of members and families who wish to spend the Yamim Noraim at CBY. Baruch Hashem, we have been able to accommodate more people each year, reaching over 1,700 seats last year.

Of course, that growth comes with significant logistical challenges; our physical space simply isn’t designed to hold that kind of volume. Please know that we will do our absolute best to accommodate every member’s seating requests to the best of our ability. There will inevitably be cases where we cannot do so despite those efforts – the volume of requests and our physical constraints make it logistically impossible to do so – and we ask for your flexibility and understanding in those instances.

The online reservation form for the 5786 High Holiday Seating will open on Wednesday, July 30th at 12:00 pm (below).

We ask that you review this document thoroughly before submitting your High Holiday Reservation Form. Should you have any questions, please contact Elysia Stein at estein@bnaiyeshurun.org.

Minyan Options:

• Beis Medrash (Nusach Sefard)
• New Main Shul
• New Members Minyan*
• Old Main Shul
• Sephardic Minyan (Nusach Moroccan) - for reservations at this minyan please click HERE.
• Social Hall
• Tent Minyan

* Recognizing that our newer members are often closed out of the more established minyanim, we are offering a new minyan this year, with priority seating given to newer CBY members. This minyan will take place in the basement of a member’s home adjacent to the shul and will be considered on-site (for purposes of Rabbinic presence, High Holiday babysitting, security, etc.)

Reservations:

Reservations will be processed exclusively via an online form through the CBY website, which will open on Wednesday, July 30th at 12:00 pm. Immediate online payment (via credit card, debit card, or e-check) will be required to submit the form. If you intend to pay via charitable trust, donor advised fund, unapplied credit on your account, or some other specialized manner you must contact Galina Staroff at galina@bnaiyeshurun.org before accessing the reservation form.

As you complete your reservations, please keep in mind:

• While our seating committee always strives to sit families together, please understand that this poses increasing logistical difficulty as the number of requested seats increases.
• Accordingly, if you increase the number of seats requested over last year’s reservations, please understand that these added seats will be placed at the discretion of the Seating Committee based on availability.
• Please only reserve seats for children ages nine and above.
• We are pleased to announce we will once again offer High Holiday babysitting/groups for children (Pre-K through 4th grade) by advance registration. Stay tuned for this sign up.
• Seats are non-transferable.
• Re-selling seats is strictly prohibited and may result in forfeiting the right to purchase seats next year.

The reservation form will only be accessible to members in financial good standing, having cleared all past-fiscal year obligations or arranged a financial plan with Elysia Stein. Please understand, if you have an open balance from prior to June 1, 2025, and have not made arrangements, you will not be able to access the reservation form when it opens.

Members requiring financial assistance — for seats or other obligations — should contact Elysia Stein. As always, we will make every effort to assist our members with full confidentiality. As a reminder, financial arrangements are based on the shul’s fiscal year (beginning June 1st) and must be renewed annually.

Timeline and Pricing:

• Early Bird Pricing: Full Members through Wednesday, August 13th - $175
• Full Members: Beginning Thursday, August 14th - $250
• Affiliate Members: Accepted beginning Wednesday, September 3rd - $300
• Seats for Yom Kippur only: Accepted after Rosh Hashanah (based on availability) - $115

Cancellations and Refunds:

• Cancellations made before Wednesday, August 27th will receive a 35% refund (as credit on your CBY account).
• Any cancellations after this date place significant strain on the Seating Committee and seats become difficult to fill. Accordingly, no refunds will be issued after this date.

We ask that you please respect these policies and do not pressure the Shul office or Seating Committee to make any exceptions to these deadlines or refund policies. Additionally, not being seated in a minyan location of your choice is not grounds for a refund.

We thank you in advance for your understanding as we strive to create the most meaningful Yamim Noraim possible for each of our members. We know that not all will be perfect, but please know that we will do our absolute best. Baruch Hashem, we are a thriving Kehillah with thousands(!) joining together in Tefillah on the Yamim Noraim. There is power in that collective communal prayer – one that can be heard in the heavens no matter the seat and no matter the minyan. We wish you all in advance a Ketivah V’Chatima Tovah and a new year filled with health and blessings for you, for our community, and for all Klal Yisrael.

Thank you,

CBY High Holiday Seating Committee