Shabbat Services
When most people think of holidays, they think of annual celebrations, but in Judaism there is one holiday that occurs every week – the Sabbath. Known in Hebrew as Shabbat and in Yiddish as Shabbos, this holiday is central to Jewish Life. As the great Jewish writer, Ahad Ha-Am has observed: “More than the Jewish people has kept the Sabbath, the Sabbath has kept the Jewish people.” The Sabbath truly has been a unifying force for Jews the world over.
We hold regular services to celebrate Shabbat. These are held in a mixture of Hebrew, French and English, and usually followed by a community Kiddush.
Men and women tend to sit together, and both may be counted in the minyan and called to the Torah. We regularly hold kosher Shabbat dinners at the synagogue, which are usually well-attended. We invite speakers to come and talk to us on a range of different themes.
On Shabbat morning we meet either for a service or for a study brunch (Torah Brunch).
You can join our services also online over video conference (zoom).
If you are a newcomer, please, write an email to info@jewish.lu, we will let you know time and other relevant details.
Holidays
People often say: “The Jewish holidays are late this year” or “The Jewish holidays are early this year.” In fact, the holidays never are early or late; they are always on time, according to the Jewish calendar. Unlike the Gregorian (civil) calendar, which is based on the sun (solar), the Jewish calendar is based primarily on the moon (lunar), with periodic adjustments made to account for the differences between the solar and lunar cycles. Therefore, the Jewish calendar might be described as both solar and lunar. The moon takes an average of 29.5 days to complete its cycle; 12 lunar months equal 354 days. A solar year is 365 1/4 days. There is a difference of 11 days per year. To ensure that the Jewish holidays always fall in the proper season, an extra month is added to the Hebrew calendar seven times out of every 19 years. If this were not done, the fall harvest festival of Sukkot, for instance, would sometimes be celebrated in the summer, or the spring holiday of Passover would sometimes occur in the winter.
Religious Holidays
| Festival | 2023/2024 (5784) | 2024/2025 (5785) |
|---|---|---|
| Rosh Hashanah | 16 September | 3 October |
| Yom Kippur | 5 October | 12 October |
| Sukkot (1st Day) | 30 September | 17 October |
| Shemini Atzeret – Simchat Torah | 7 October | 24 October |
| Hanukkah (1st Day) | 8 December | 26 December |
| Purim | 24 March | 14 March |
| Pesach (1st Day) | 23 April | 13 April |
| Pesach (7th Day) | 29 April | 19 April |
| Shavuot | 12 June | 2 June |
Why Prayer
Prayer is a beautiful way to calm our spirit and centre our heart in a moment of gratitude and self-reflection. It allows us to disconnect from the stress of day-to-day life and brings us to something greater and more important. Through prayer, we identify our desires and articulate our values.
We believe in the importance of prayer and ritual, through which individual and community seek ever anew to experience God’s presence, to draw spiritual sustenance from their religious heritage and to dedicate themselves to their responsibilities.
Prayer Book
What if I am new?
Welcome! We love new faces and are glad you are here. We know it is not easy to step into a new place, so we will be there for you and make it a bit easier to dip that toe in. We welcome you to share your thoughts with us about our services, classes, and work together to grow as a whole.
Never been to our synagogue?
Start with our FAQs.
Use our contact form here.
With regards to security, we cannot allow attendance of new comers without prior registration. We hope for your understanding.