Jewish holiday help, please?

[Anonymous]

I appreciate the thought OP.

If RHbis on Sept 20, by 2pm I'm out of the office. I have to get a large holiday meal on the table, everyone fed, clean up, and be in Shul by 6. There's a lot going on. Ill take off the 21st and the 22nd but I'm more observant than many.

10 days later is Yom Kippur which is the holiest day of the year. I'll take off the full day before and the day of. I take off the day before because I host dinner for the night before and break fast at the end of the holiday--I need the full day to cook both meals.

Just as an FYI, the other big holiday is the 1st sedar of Passover. It's like putting together Thanksgiving dinner. I tKe off the start of that holiday as well.

Again, this is so considerate of you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There's a range of practices but if you want to find the widest sweep, don't schedule anything after noon on the 20th, or at all on the 21st and 22nd. All Jewish holidays start at sundown the night before the official date listed on the regular calendar. Therefore Rosh Hashana starts around 6 or 7 pm on the 20th. More observant people -- even those who only attend services on the High Holidays -- may leave work around 2 or 3 to get home early for a festive meal before going to synagogue. And then be in synagogue each of the next two days. Same story for Yom Kippur except it is the evening before plus one day.

Reform Jews don't do the second day, and that is most Jews around here.

OP. Thanks for being thoughtful.

Plenty of people celebrate the second day and would not be at work. The second day is very different than the numerous smaller holidays that only very observant people would take off. Also, from a practical standpoint, I do think day of the week matters a bit, since if people are traveling, they will take more time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There's a range of practices but if you want to find the widest sweep, don't schedule anything after noon on the 20th, or at all on the 21st and 22nd. All Jewish holidays start at sundown the night before the official date listed on the regular calendar. Therefore Rosh Hashana starts around 6 or 7 pm on the 20th. More observant people -- even those who only attend services on the High Holidays -- may leave work around 2 or 3 to get home early for a festive meal before going to synagogue. And then be in synagogue each of the next two days. Same story for Yom Kippur except it is the evening before plus one day.

Reform Jews don't do the second day, and that is most Jews around here.

OP. Thanks for being thoughtful.

Plenty of people celebrate the second day and would not be at work. The second day is very different than the numerous smaller holidays that only very observant people would take off. Also, from a practical standpoint, I do think day of the week matters a bit, since if people are traveling, they will take more time.

It's very kind of OP to consider the holiday. Asking for consideration for the week for travel is too much. In that case, it just needs to be treated as a person taking vacation. Work still goes on even with people on vacation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There's a range of practices but if you want to find the widest sweep, don't schedule anything after noon on the 20th, or at all on the 21st and 22nd. All Jewish holidays start at sundown the night before the official date listed on the regular calendar. Therefore Rosh Hashana starts around 6 or 7 pm on the 20th. More observant people -- even those who only attend services on the High Holidays -- may leave work around 2 or 3 to get home early for a festive meal before going to synagogue. And then be in synagogue each of the next two days. Same story for Yom Kippur except it is the evening before plus one day.

Reform Jews don't do the second day, and that is most Jews around here.

OP. Thanks for being thoughtful.

Plenty of people celebrate the second day and would not be at work. The second day is very different than the numerous smaller holidays that only very observant people would take off. Also, from a practical standpoint, I do think day of the week matters a bit, since if people are traveling, they will take more time.

It's very kind of OP to consider the holiday. Asking for consideration for the week for travel is too much. In that case, it just needs to be treated as a person taking vacation. Work still goes on even with people on vacation.

I didn't say anything about people taking the whole week, and I agree to an extent that there is a difference between time before the holiday to travel and the holiday itself. But I am not sure I agree OP is being "very kind," at least as that could be I interpreted. No one views it as "very kind" when major work events are not held on or around Christian holidays. Work certainly goes on during Jewish (and other minority) holidays, but I do think there is an obligation to avoid some sorts of major work events when you know a significant number of people will be out observing the most important holiday of their year.

[Anonymous]

I think it is very kind of OP to consider minority holiday observances. Thank you, OP!
If it helps, think of Jewish holidays like Christmas, which starts Christmas Eve and ends Christmas Night.

[Anonymous]

Do people take off for sukkot?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Do people take off for sukkot?

I do for the first two and last two days but I'm Orthodox.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do people take off for sukkot?

I do for the first two and last two days but I'm Orthodox.

Yes. Most of us do not. If I were planning something I would think hard about who was coming and maybe even ask point blank if I thought someone might be observing, but otherwise, I think succot is fine. 1.5 days for Yom Kippur, 2 for rosh hashanah, 4 for succot, and 4 for Pesach is a lot of days.

[Anonymous]

I'm not Jewish, but I teach in a school with a large Jewish population and we anticipate many absences on the second day of RH every year. I don't plan anything that day that can't be easily learned at home.

[Anonymous]

I am trying to schedule a meeting for September 2017 and the only dates available seem to be 9/28-9/29 in terms of budget and space. Yom Kippur begins at Sundown on 9/29 and our meeting wraps up by noon on 9/29. Attendees (not sure how many are Jewish) may have to drive 3-4 hours or fly back home to DC. Is it appropriate to have the meeting on these dates?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am trying to schedule a meeting for September 2017 and the only dates available seem to be 9/28-9/29 in terms of budget and space. Yom Kippur begins at Sundown on 9/29 and our meeting wraps up by noon on 9/29. Attendees (not sure how many are Jewish) may have to drive 3-4 hours or fly back home to DC. Is it appropriate to have the meeting on these dates?

A religious Jew would not attend if they can't be home by sundown on the 29th.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Do people take off for sukkot?

I do not know anyone who takes off for Sukkot. If your co-workers are Orthodox, then they would take off, but the vast majority of Jews do not take off, and many reform Jews barely know when it is.

Being able to leave early for the first night of Passover is important too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am trying to schedule a meeting for September 2017 and the only dates available seem to be 9/28-9/29 in terms of budget and space. Yom Kippur begins at Sundown on 9/29 and our meeting wraps up by noon on 9/29. Attendees (not sure how many are Jewish) may have to drive 3-4 hours or fly back home to DC. Is it appropriate to have the meeting on these dates?

A religious Jew would not attend if they can't be home by sundown on the 29th.

Even non-Orthodox often take off the afternoon in order to prepare for the holiday, including eating a big meal before the fasting begins just before sundown.

Candle-lighting time is 6:34 pm that day in DC, and synagogue services (major one where you have to go early to get a seat) starts about an hour before that. So ballpark, Jews need to be showered, fed, unpacked, laundry done, kids taken care of - everything they need done until late Saturday night - by 4:30 pm. So it's technically possibly to drive 3-4 hours before this IF there is no traffic but this is one time of year people don't want to cut it close. Nobody is going to try to fly anywhere right before Yom Kippur.

I'm not orthodox but this would be a big problem for me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am trying to schedule a meeting for September 2017 and the only dates available seem to be 9/28-9/29 in terms of budget and space. Yom Kippur begins at Sundown on 9/29 and our meeting wraps up by noon on 9/29. Attendees (not sure how many are Jewish) may have to drive 3-4 hours or fly back home to DC. Is it appropriate to have the meeting on these dates?

A religious Jew would not attend if they can't be home by sundown on the 29th.

Even non-Orthodox often take off the afternoon in order to prepare for the holiday, including eating a big meal before the fasting begins just before sundown.

Candle-lighting time is 6:34 pm that day in DC, and synagogue services (major one where you have to go early to get a seat) starts about an hour before that. So ballpark, Jews need to be showered, fed, unpacked, laundry done, kids taken care of - everything they need done until late Saturday night - by 4:30 pm. So it's technically possibly to drive 3-4 hours before this IF there is no traffic but this is one time of year people don't want to cut it close. Nobody is going to try to fly anywhere right before Yom Kippur.

I'm not orthodox but this would be a big problem for me.

Not religious either but yes, the overwhelming majority of Jewish people would be really irritated to have to travel on erev Yom Kippur. Just don't do it. It's our most religious day of the year.

[Anonymous]

OP -

I fully appreciate the effort you are making to settle this early, so thank you.

You got a lot of information and not all of it is consistent. Perhaps I am adding to the chaos.

Kol Nidre services (Yom Kippur Eve) generally start at 6:00. You have to be home early enough to dress, eat and drive to services and you have to be on time. So most people leave early.

I wouldn't schedule anything from noon of the sun down day through the day on the calendar. If you are unsure about what to do with the second day of RH, just ask them.

I would not travel by airplane on the 29th because of the risk I would arrive home after six. I would have to leave this meeting on the 28th.