High Holiday Seating Policy

High Holiday Seating

We are so grateful, this year and every year, that we are able to celebrate the High Holidays together with such a beautiful, energetic mixed multitude of folks. We are grateful for our members and their loved ones; for our annual high holiday guests and for those coming for the first time; for our teens and our elders and our children. We are grateful for the energy that comes with a big gathering, and how it feeds us in intangible ways. 

And, as is true of most large gatherings, it is helpful to have a shared understanding of expectations, norms, and policies that are in play. At the High Holidays, one of the most challenging areas is around seating and, more specifically, policies around holding seats. As a community, we are trying to balance honoring our members and welcoming our guests, while also recognizing individual needs and respecting and appreciating the common good.

With that in mind, we kindly ask you to honor the following guidelines related to holding seats at High Holiday services.

1. Generally speaking, CBH members may hold up to 4 seats for family and friends beginning one hour prior to any given service. If these loved ones have not yet arrived 10 minutes past the start of the service, you may be asked to relinquish the held seats for others who are present.

• However, volunteers on a particular day may mark their held seats (up to 4 seats per volunteer) when they arrive to volunteer, even if that is earlier than the one hour timeframe; and
• A seat may be held longer for a person who is attending a youth service for a portion of the morning but will be returning to the sanctuary.

2. Seat reservations do not carry over from service to service. Any signs holding seats will be removed at the end of each service.

3. If you plan to hold a block of seats at several services, please consider moving around the sanctuary so that different people have an opportunity to rotate through the front/center rows.

We understand that extraordinary circumstances may merit exceptions, and in such cases, we will be flexible with the policy - but please understand that this is to be reserved for truly unusual situations. If you would like to request an exception, please contact Amy Robertson or Rabbi Josh.

We appreciate you and look forward to seeing you!