The bookends of the Jewish High Holy Days will be observed at Temple Mizpah, 849 Chestnut St., beginning with Rosh Hashanah on Sept. 15 and ending with Yom Kippur, which starts at sunset Sunday, Sept. 24.

Rosh Hashanah, the beginning of the Jewish new year, will be observed at 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 15, and at 9:30 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 16. Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, will be observed at 7 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 24.

Monica O’Desky, the cantor at Temple Mizpah, described the High Holy Days as the bookends of a period of instrospection.

“I think of this time almost like you can look at a tax return,” O’Desky explained.

A time of introspection may not be as neat as a tax return, she said, but should be a time to examine what you did with your life the previous year. What worked well and what didn’t? 

“What should I carry forward to the new year and what actions, traits, attitudes should I leave behind?” are questions to ponder, O’Desky said. Also, each person should ask whether an apology is owed to someone and then carry that out.

“We are required to ask for forgiveness from others three times,” O’Desky said, “but they are not required to forgive us.” 

Often left out, but important, O’Desky said are actions and attitudes for the self. Did I do enough self-care? Was I overindulgent? Am I treating myself as a being made b’tzelem Elohim–in the image of God?

“We remember those who came before us and those whose lives enable us to reach this time and hope to be worthy of their efforts,” O’Desky said. “It’s a complicated time that causes many mixed emotions.”