Hannah’s Prayer: Seeking Wholeness in the Face of Mental Illness
As the blast of the shofar awakens our souls this High Holiday season, so, too, can it awaken us to the pleas of people who suffer with mental illness.
Why the Un’taneh Tokef Scares Me and What We Can Do About It
The Un’taneh Tokef scares me. The tragic ends it describes – famine and thirst, flooding and drought – all are imminent possibilities in today’s world.
Repairing the Fallen Walls: What Isaiah 58 Means on Yom Kippur 5778
Now more than ever, we need spiritual voices of all faiths teaching us messages of justice and compassion. From a Jewish religious perspective, what does "repairing the fallen walls" mean?
On the Virtue of a Bent Finger: A Challenge for the Days of Awe
At recent years’ Days of Awe services, I could swear I saw index fingers popping out all over the place – fingers of accusation, not of ownership or responsibility.
Using the Un’taneh Tokef as a Guide to Living
On Rosh HaShanah it is written; on Yom Kippur it is sealed. But there’s an awful lot that happens in the middle.
5 Books to Help You Prepare for the High Holiday Season
The real preparation for the upcoming Days of Awe is the work I need to put into myself. To be the best model for my congregants, I must practice what I preach.
On Chocolate and Children: High Holiday Reflections
Our daughter-in-law gave birth to our first grandchild. A couple of months later, On the Chocolate Trail was published. Each whispers of mortality and immortality.
On Yom Kippur, Hearing Isaiah’s Prophetic Voice at the Kotel
On Yom Kippur, Isaiah’s powerful prophetic metaphors call us to reflect upon the moral and spiritual shortcomings that stand in the way of the Jewish people’s progress.
5 Things to Avoid on Yom Kippur in Favor of a Spiritual Workout
To devote ourselves to an accurate accounting of the soul, it is customary to refrain from five specific activities related to our bodies on Yom Kippur.
Cry No More, a Prayer for Yom Kippur
This prayer is about having compassion for ourselves while repairing the damage we’ve done to self and others. I wrote it after my first Yom Kippur in Jerusalem, my first in Israel as an oleh chadash (a new immigrant).