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Making the High Holidays Inclusive and Meaningful

As the High Holidays approach once again, we have created a number of resources for individuals and congregations to utilize as we mark these most important days in the Jewish calendar. We know we will be a stronger, more vibrant Jewish community when we fully incorporate the diversity that is the reality of modern Jewish life. We hope that each of these materials will help your High Holiday experiences and programming serve a wide range of identities and help you create communities of belonging.

The Binding of Isaac: What if God Had Approached Sarah First?

In a scant 19 lines, Genesis Chapter 22 reports that God once instructed Abraham to offer his son Isaac as a burnt offering. This notorious incident, known as the Akedah or the Binding of Isaac, is read every Rosh HaShanah and has inspired an unknowable number of sermons, essays, artworks, and interpretations.

An Elul Letter of Gratitude to our Clergy, Administrators, and Educators

Rabbi Emily Langowitz

Every year I look forward to this time as a reset button, and a chance to truly evaluate who I am and who I am becoming. I also know, from my time as a congregational rabbi, that for those of us working in the Jewish world, Elul takes on its own strange character.

Rosh HaShanah Candle Lighting

The candles are lit before the blessing is recited.

The Honey Bee and the Apple Tree: A Rosh Hashanah Story

Aron Hirt-Manheimer

A Conversation with Author Rabbi Joseph. B. Meszler on his new book.

Stuff

Lynn S. Denton

This is not going to be a sad story, I promise. But it does start out with the process of going through my parents’ condo after their passing.

Northeastern University’s Answer to Food Insecurity – A Community Fridge

Danny Stein

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.

Blame Ourselves, Not God

Rabbi Rick Jacobs

Blaming God for such tragedies is theologically problematic; blaming God for failed human policies is blasphemous. This idea is worth considering as we cope with the devastating aftermath of the multiple disasters confronting us.

Why The Man Who Coined the Term “Genocide” Is Turning in His Grave

Aron Hirt-Manheimer

Genocide has been in the news lately. On March 17^th, Secretary of State John Kerry declared, “In my judgment, Daesh (ISIS) is responsible for genocide against groups in areas under its control, including Yazidis, Christians, and Shia Muslims.” But unless the world’s most powerful nation fulfills its legal and moral obligation under the Genocide Convention, thousands more men, women, and children will fall victim to the crime that once had no name.

Lessons of Nuremberg: Stand Up to Hate and Remember Its Victims

Irwin Cotler (JTA)

Yom Hashoah arrives this year on the eve of two historic anniversaries: the 80th anniversary of the coming into effect of the Nuremberg Race Laws, which served as prologue and precursor to the Holocaust, and the 70th anniversary of the Nuremberg Trials, which served as the foundation for the development of contemporary international human rights and humanitarian law. We must ask ourselves two questions: What have we learned? What must we do?