Celebrating an Historic Rosh Chodesh with Women of the Wall
I woke up bright and early on Monday morning to head to the Western Wall with my students, participants in the NFTY-EIE study abroad program in Israel. At 7:00 a.m.
An American Teenager Helps Make History at the Western Wall
Rarely does a 16-year-old Jewish girl from suburban Massachusetts get the chance to look back on her day and recognize that she helped make history. She didn’t just talk about it or write about it; she actually experienced it, and all before 9:00 a.m.
Jew Against Jew: A Prayer After Violence at the Kotel
This is a prayer for Jews to love one another.
The Torah That Made History
It finally happened.
After a 26-year struggle, Women of the Wall read from a full size Torah scroll in the women's section of the Kotel.
More Than Words on a Page: Social Justice in our Prayer Books
When I left for college my freshman year, I was nervous about exploring a new Jewish community. However, I immediately felt at home as I walked into my university’s Hillel’s Conservative Friday night services and saw the Siddur Sim Shalom, the prayer book I had grown up with.
The Season of Healing
The High Holidays are a time of introspection and self-assessment in anticipation of repentance, forgiveness, thanksgiving and rejoicing. It is a season of healing.
Can my fiancé and I get married between Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur?
Although Jewish weddings may take place on the days in between the Jewish High Holidays, it is generally discouraged because during that period, also known as the Days of Awe, we are focused on the solemn themes of the season.
A New Moment to Come Together Against Islamophobia
This week, the Jewish community celebrates Rosh Chodesh Tammuz, a holy day that continues through today.* While we in the Jewish community are celebrating a new month, the Muslim community is observing Eid al-Fitr, one of two Muslim festival holidays commemorating the end of the holy month of Ramadan and the beginning of the month of Shawwal.
This confluence of celebrations is bound to happen because both Judaism and Islam follow a lunar calendar. But even the fundamental fact that both faith traditions follow a lunar calendar is an important reminder that we have more in common than what makes us different. The coinciding holidays remind us to celebrate the similarities of our faith traditions, exploring the values, teachings, or practices that unite us.
A Brief History of the Kol Nidrei Prayer
For most North American Jews, the haunting melody of Kol Nidrei surely is the piece of liturgy that best represents Yom Kippur, prompting us to delve deep into our souls.
The Taste of Salt: A Poem for the Days of Awe
Read a new poem Stacey Robinson created for this High Holiday season.