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Yom Kippur and the Gift of Forgiveness
Yom Kippur has meant different things to me throughout my life, but while in the process of getting a divorce, the acts of atonement and forgiveness have taken on new significance.
Yom Kippur in Vietnam
Yom Kippur, 1965, I was a Navy medical officer stationed aboard a destroyer off the coast of Vietnam.
Why do Jewish Holidays Begin at Night?
On the Jewish calendar, holidays begin in the evening, at sundown, and they continue through the next day.
I plan to attend Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur services this year for the first time. Will I be expected to donate money during the service, like in a church service? If so, what’s the "right” amount?
You will not be expected to give money during the Rosh HaShanah or Yom Kippur services. In fact, it is customary to not exchange money on Shabbat or major Jewish holidays.
Rosh Chodesh
Throughout history, the Jewish people have had a connection to the moon. Other ancient cultures revered the sun. A smaller nation, we saw ourselves in the small moon. Just like God, the moon would always return providing us with the safety of its protective light.
How My Kippah is Both a Symbol of Pride and a Target for Hate
When we arrived in Israel, I removed it my kippah. I’d become comfortable wearing it in Toronto, but in Israel, I feared being questioned about my Jewish choice.
My (Privileged) Struggle to Find Meaning in Jewish Peoplehood
Weeks after I prayed at the Western Wall at the start of the new Hebrew month of Adar II, I still struggle to find meaning in the concept of Jewish peoplehood.
Making a Way Out of No Way
And in Acharei Mot, we read:
“The Eternal One spoke to Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron who died when they drew too close to the presence of the Eternal. The Eternal One said to Moses, ‘Tell your brother Aaron…’” (Lev. 16:1-2)