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?
5778 Rosh HaShanah Sermon Roundup
I hope you will enjoy all these sermons and find them as meaningful as I did. You can – and should – get the full context by reading the linked sermon.
A Poem for Tashlich: “Stale Bread and Old Sins”
Tashlich (to cast), a ritual practice of Ashkenazi and Sephardic Jews, customarily takes place on the afternoon of Rosh HaShanah near a natural body of water.
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.
How to Prepare Yourself and Your Congregation for the High Holidays
For the Jewish community, the balmy days of summer are far from relaxing, perhaps never more so than this year, as we grappled with the meaning of the events in Charlottesville,
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.