High Holydays Family & Teen Programming

We have a wonderful team of service leaders, youth musicians and songleaders, and childcare professionals providing youth and family programming for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. On each holiday there will be two family services, one for children ages 5 and younger, and one for 1st-7th graders. We also have a teen program for our post-B'Mitzvah-aged members. For families with siblings spanning both family services, please pick the service that will best suit your family (siblings of any age are welcome at either family service)!

In order to ensure we have enough staff to provide childcare for all who need it, you must preregister kids and teens — you can register your kids here.

Childcare is provided after both the Shorashim (families with children 5 years old and younger) and the Family Service (families with children in 1st-7th grade), enabling parents to join the main service for the Torah service and Rabbi Toba's talk. Childcare will include a hardy snack and activities connected with High Holyday themes. On Yom Kippur, childcare will also be provided in the evening starting at Mincha. 

Please read on for details!

Rabbi Emily Mathis (she/her)
Shorashim and Kol Nidre Service Leader

Rabbi Emily Mathis has served communities across much of the Jewish spectrum, most recently in Cambridge and on Boston’s North Shore. Prior to her work in Jewish settings, Emily directed programming in the fields of environmental education, urban gardening and family literacy. In addition to her rabbinic work, she is a family herbalist, and can generally be found in the kitchen working on her next project and drinking coffee. She and her spouse, Hali Diecidue, live in West Newton with their three girls (22, 12, and 5.5) and one labradoodle.
 

Earnest Arky Solomon (he/they)
Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur Family Service Leader

Earnest Arky Solomon is honored to be the Education Director and is eager to support CDT in creating inclusive, meaningful, and justice oriented Jewish learning opportunities. In addition to working at CDT, Earnest is a SVARA Teaching Kollel fellow, which equips trans and queer teachers to lead empowering Talmud learning communities. Earnest received an M.A. in Jewish Studies at the Graduate Theological Union and a B.A. in Near Eastern Studies at UC Berkeley. Earnest draws on his education to create learning experiences rooted in history, storytelling, cultural arts, and social justice. Prior to moving East, Earnest ran an outdoor Jewish religious school in the Oakland Redwoods and a Jewish farming program at URJ Camp Newman. Earnest is married to Emma Arky Solomon and they enjoy playing board games, studying Torah, spending time with their two cats, and working to build a more equitable world. 
 

Ora Gladstone (she/her)
Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur Family Service Songleader

A member of CDT since (almost) it’s inception Ora is very active with Tikkun Olam initiatives and work related to recognizing and focusing on issues related to race and economic justice inequality. She was the assistant director of the Hillel at Brandeis for over 2 decades and spent another decade heading up an interfaith dialogue at MIT while teaching music and employed as the music therapist for the Waltham Schools. Her fully grown up kids are “graduates" of CDT and the family as a whole splits it’s alliance with Boston Workers Circle. She is delighted to be using her music skills again these yamim noraim working with Earnest on the High Holydays Family Service.

Hannah Limov (they/she)
First Day Rosh Hashanah Teen Program Leader and Second Day Rosh Hashanah Nature Service Leader

Hannah is deeply excited to be joining the CDT community for the High Holydays and throughout the year as the 5th grade Sunday teacher, 8th grade program leader. They are a first year rabbinical student at Hebrew College, having spent the past 8 years living and working in western North Carolina in a variety of social work positions and at various synagogues. She received her BA in Environmental Studies and Cultural Anthropology from the University of Colorado Boulder and their MSW from Western Carolina University. They believe that Judaism holds powerful wisdom for healing our hearts, minds, and the world;  and loves to adventure in the woods, dig their hands into soil tending to plant babies, sing off key with friends, and cuddle her extremely adorable and weird kitties Lily and Padfoot.

coco (corine) rosenberg (they/themme)
Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur Teen Program leader

coco is thrilled to be joining the CDT community as the Youth Group Coordinator for 5783. An artist, educator, organizer, and care worker, coco is passionate about building joyful community, connecting with our creative selves, and following youth leadership as we build a more just world together. corine holds a B.A. from the University of Michigan in Social Theory and Practice, an Ed.M. from the Harvard Graduate School of Education in Arts in Education, and is finishing their certification as a nurse aide. Beyond their work as an educator and organizer, coco loves sci-fi (especially Star Trek and Octavia Butler), foraging and herbalism, hiking, and building queer and disabled community ritual.