Rethinking the Holy Days
I’ve come to the conclusion we need to change the date of Simchat Torah. Our Jewish festivals must be re-envisioned as inspirational community gatherings of joyful spiritual Jewish celebration. Every single festival needs to be a time of great community involvement and meaning.
10 Jewish Reasons To Quit Smoking
Rosh HaShanah is over, and it’s time to start acting on your new year’s resolutions.
Simultaneous Joy and Pain: The Wisdom of the Counting of the Omer
This year at our Passover seder, I experienced something deeply powerful which I had not felt in the context of Passover before.
It's Elul: 6 Ways to Get Ready for the High Holidays
The Music of the Shofar Service
Tekiah! Teruah! Shevarim! Tekiah Gedolah!
3 Prayers for the Jewish New Year
Rosh HaShanah, the Jewish new year, begins Sunday, September 29, at sundown. As we prepare, emotionally and spiritually, for these Days of Awe, we offer three prayers for the season.
High Holiday Lessons from ‘Orange Is the New Black’
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.
Ask Yourself These "Audaciously Hospitable" Questions During Elul
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.
Buon Anno, Shanah Tovah, Happy New Year: My Rosh HaShanah in Milan
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.
Leonard Cohen: Life, Death, and the Days of Awe
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.