Galilee Diary: And a Happy New Year
The Lord spoke to Moses, saying: Speak to the Israelite people thus: In the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you shall observe complete rest, a sacred occasion commemorated with loud blasts.
Yom Kippur: A Personal Reflection
by P.J. Schwartz
(Originally published in Ten Minutes of Torah)
Yom Kippur
Discovering Israel Beyond Its Borders
Growing up in rural Massachusetts, Judaism held a much different context in my life than it does now. Until college, I did Judaism, mimicking the motions of being a "good Jew." I didn't combine milk and meat in my house because my father told me not to.
More Than Words on a Page: Social Justice in our Prayer Books
Baal t’kiah
Literally, “master of t’kiah,” meaning “one who sounds the shofar.”
Bein adam laMakom
Literally, “between a person and God.” Refers to the religious or ritual mitzvot, or sacred obligations. The Mishnah teaches that the day of Yom Kippur atones for sins between a person and God.
Bein adam lachaveiro
Literally, “between a person and their fellow.” Refers to ethical, moral, or social mitzvot that govern relationships between and among people.
Cheit
A Hebrew term for “sin.” Cheit is a Hebrew archery term meaning “missing the mark.” A section of High Holiday liturgy is the Al Cheit, a confession of ways in which we “missed the mark” during the past year.
L’shanah tovah
Literally, “for a good year.” This is a customary greeting for Rosh HaShanah. Also, “shanah tovah.”