Yom Kippur Blessings: For Starting Observance of the Day
On Yom Kippur, we share a holiday meal called seudat mafseket, the concluding meal before the fast begins. We begin the meal with haMotzi, the blessing over the challah
Ugandan Fall Harvest Fruit Salad
This salad uses the three most eaten fruits in Uganda: bananas, mango, and jackfruit.
Moroccan-Inspired Vegetable Couscous
This Moroccan-inspired dish is a perfect way to reap the bounty of wonderful vegetables available during the Sukkot season. It also makes a beautiful, edible centerpiece for your dinner table in the sukkah.
Turkish Stuffed Grape Leaves (Dolmas)
Stuffed grape leaves and cabbage are ubiquitous - and used with great variety - in the cuisines of the Jews throughout the Diaspora. In this dish, the combination of sweet spices along with pine nuts and raisins demonstrates a strong Arab influence.
The Shofar Blasts as a Metaphor for Life
If, as the Talmud tells us, the blasts of the shofar are meant to remind us of crying, (Babylonian Talmud, Rosh Hashanah 33A – specifically of Sisera’s mother – but that is another subject!), then I would offer the following.
What Children Can Teach Us at Rosh HaShanah
A deep spiritual life is hard to find. While opportunities abound for spiritual connections (yoga, meditation, retreats and the like), for most of us it doesn’t come easy.
The Nudge of Selichot
After 10 weeks of swimming, biking, walking at the ocean's edge, and rationalizing that it's too hot for tennis, Saturday night Selichot services appear on my calendar as the call back from the freedom of su
#BlogElul 2013: Who’s In?
Although we’re barely into the dog days of August, the High Holidays are fast approaching. The first of Elul, the Hebrew month that precedes Tishrei and the start of Rosh HaShanah, begins at sundown this Tuesday, which means that Wednesday, August 7th is the first of Elul.