Do you observe the High Holidays without going to shul?

Many American Jews only go to synagogue on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. Others, including some regular synagogue-goers, avoid shul on those days, preferring to pray, fast, atone and otherwise reflect on their lives in a more private setting.

Last week, JTA correspondent Tom Tugend spoke to a handful of such people who won’t be in synagogue this weekend (read article). An editor at the Los Angeles Times says he takes long walks instead of joining his community in prayer. A UCLA professor who regularly attends Shabbat services says that on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur he leaves before services are concluded because he finds the liturgy outdated, inaccessible and not very spiritual.

Do you attend High Holiday services? If so, why? Is it to satisfy your own spiritual needs? To feel part of the Jewish community? To set an example for your kids? Because it’s a commandment? If you don’t go, do you observe these days in other ways you find more meaningful? And — here’s the clincher — do you feel guilty about it?