Rosh Hashanah 2013: Temple Beth Torah Has Roots in Centreville

A Chantilly jewish congregation with its roots in Centreville will celebrate one of the faith's high holy days this week. 

Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, begins Wednesday night according to the Gregorian calendar. 

The Jewish New Year is always 143 days after Passover. This is the earliest the new year has occurred since 1899.   
Wednesday night marks the beginning of the Jewish year 5774 and is the first of the Jewish High Holy Days, also known as "Days of Awe." The new year is followed by a 10-day period of reflection leading up to Yom Kippur, a holy day of fasting and spiritual atonement. 

Temple Beth Torah in Chantilly is among the thousands of Jewish synagogues that will observed the new year this week. 

The foundation of the congregation started in Centreville in 1994, where it was originally called the Centreville Area Jewish Community, Irwin Kaplan president of Temple Beth Torah said in an earlier Patch report. 

That was when two local Jewish families placed an ad in a local newspaper seeking other Jewish families with whom to share holidays and traditions.
The congregation initially had no house of worship and instead met in members homes, Kaplan said. 

The congregation moved to its current location in Chantilly in 2010, its first permanent home. 

Wednesday at 8 p.m. is the Erev Rosh Hashanah Service, according to the synagogue's website. 

Those wishing to attend Rosh Hashanah or Yom Kippur services must complete a registration form available for download at the Temple Beth Torah website. 
The price is $50 for each service for Temple Beth Torah members and $150 for non-members, according to the website. 

The temple's Rosh Hashanah service for children is 9 a.m. Thursday.  It is followed by the Rosh Hashanah for service at 10 a.m., according to the website. 
The temple is located at 4212-C Technology Court in Chantilly in an industrial park off at Paradise Valley Road and Route 50. 

Patch editor Karen Goff and former Patch freelancer Mary Rosenthol contributed to this report.