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Last year, we talked about it being a High Holidays like no other. And this year we are faced with the same opportunity – to create something that has never before existed. 

Meet 88-year-old Murray, an astounding man. Quiet, sometimes reserved, Murray became my father-in-law 31 years ago, when God softly whispered to me, “Don’t wait.” I confess I didn’t appreciate him fully until recently. 

Elul, the Hebrew month that precedes the High Holidays, is traditionally a time of both rejoicing and somber reflection when we take stock of our spiritual selves and our lives. Elul rituals prepare us for the many acts of repentance and forgiveness that are hallmarks of the upcoming Days of Awe, starting with Rosh HaShanah.

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.

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.

Recuperating from a broken ankle this summer, I had time to catch up on my binge streaming. One of my current favorites is the popular Netflix series Orange Is the New Black, which began streaming its seventh and final season on July 26.

These questions are intended to honor all of us by helping to identify and acknowledge our missteps so that we may, ultimately, do better going forward. Additionally, celebrating our successes empowers us to move closer to the diverse, equitable, and inclusive communities we seek to build.

Although my husband, Don, and I have lived in Jerusalem for six years, I can’t tell you much about the High Holidays in Israel because we’ve been spending them in Milan.

After his father died, 9-year-old Leonard Cohen folded a message into one of his father’s bowties and buried it. All his work, Cohen later said, grew out of that act.