A little more understanding can make a tender season feel less lonely.

The High Holidays can bring the grief and uncertainty of infertility into sharper focus. There are traditions centered around family, children, hope, and the passage of another year. For someone facing infertility during the High Holidays, all of these experiences can feel difficult.

Supporting in This Sacred Season was created for the people who love them.

Supporting Someone Facing Infertility During the High Holidays

This companion Tikva Toolkit offers practical guidance for navigating services, holiday meals, family gatherings, and rituals with greater awareness and care. It explores what it can mean to respect someone’s boundaries, offer support without putting them on the spot, protect their privacy, and make room for grief without trying to make it disappear.

You may not know exactly what this season feels like for someone you love, and you do not need to. This companion Tikva Toolkit offers practical guidance for navigating services, holiday meals, family gatherings, and rituals with greater awareness and care.

It explores what it can mean to respect someone’s boundaries, offer support without putting them on the spot, protect their privacy, and make room for grief without trying to make it disappear.

Because there is no perfect thing to say. Often, what matters most is knowing that someone sees you, remembers what you are carrying, and is willing to walk beside you without asking you to make the experience easier for them.

The toolkit also includes reflection prompts for supporters who want to think more deeply about their own expectations, emotions, and role while supporting someone experiencing infertility during the High Holidays.

What You’ll Find Inside

• Why the High Holiday season can feel especially tender during infertility
• Practical ways to offer support during services, meals, gatherings, and rituals
• Guidance around boundaries, privacy, child-centered moments, and difficult conversations
• Examples of language that can unintentionally create pressure
• Reflection prompts for examining your own expectations and emotions
• Space for personal reflection
• A closing blessing for supporters entering the new year alongside someone they love

Who It’s For

Infertility affects approximately 1 in 6 people worldwide. For anyone who loves or supports someone facing infertility, including family members, friends, community members, and others who want to approach the High Holiday season with greater sensitivity and care.

Looking for more support this season? Explore Yesh Tikva’s High Holiday Collection, or connect directly with someone through the Yesh Tikva Support Line.

Tags: High Holidays, Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, infertility, Jewish infertility, infertility support, supporting a loved one, family and friends, reproductive grief, Jewish holidays, Sukkot, Simchat Torah