Elul is Calling
During the month of Elul, we are invited to listen deeply. Each weekday morning, we are invited to hear the cry of the shofar, marking the beginning of our spiritual journey toward the High Holy Days.
Cheshbon HaNefesh and Accounting for our Social Media Usage
It seems that the more time we spend with technology, the more we understand the benefit to our lives, and the ways our minds are warping to accommodate the new demands of digital dependency.
A Liberatory Elul Journey
The month before the High Holidays, Elul, is a time of spiritual preparation and t'shuvah. This year, as we conclude a Shmita, or sabbatical year, after focusing on taking time to pause, rest and reflect, I feel a sense of urgency and the need to act.
Northeastern University’s Answer to Food Insecurity – A Community Fridge
This Elul, what comes to mind as I think about my own growth and what empowers me towards religious action is the work of Northeastern University’s Community Fridge.
The URJ Reflection Project: Go Deeper on “The Spiritual”
As part of the URJ Reflection Project, a new set of offerings and experiences for the High Holidays in a time of social distance, we’ve also developed three short essays that allow you to go deeper into the essence of Jewish wisdom that grounds these rituals.
How to Get into the High Holidays State of Mind
It's a challenge and necessity, especially during this pandemic, to set boundaries between work time and family or personal time, between home office and home. How do we do that, emotionally?
The Year of Lost and Found: Elul in the Time of Coronavirus
Elul, our spiritual countdown to Yom Kippur, is different this year - and for many of us, this time of coronavirus has been a year of lost and found. But what have we gained?
Two New Films, "An American Pickle" and "Palm Springs," Reflect High Holiday Themes
Both films show us ways to examine our flaws and make amends, either with the people we’ve wronged or for the ways we’ve scorned the sacrifices of those who came before us.
Introducing a Meaningful New Way to Reflect This High Holiday Season
If the High Holidays were to be pared down to their very essence, what are some words and phrases that might come to mind?
Belonging. Connection. Memory. An accounting of the soul.
These are just some of the words that drove the creation of the URJ
The URJ Reflection Project: Go Deeper on “The Setting”
At its heart, this is a religion which holds dear the idea of connection – of belongingness. To each other, to self, to your understanding of God. What you bring matters.