Observing Tisha B'Av: Finding Meaning as a Reform Jew
My first summer at URJ Camp Harlam I was given the task of leading a service for Tisha B'Av. I grabbed a Gates of Prayer out of the camp sifriyah (library) and simply followed its lead.
Opening the Door, at Passover and Always
There is a moment during the N'ilah service on Yom Kippur that stays with me, always. I want to say that it haunts me, but that's really not the right image. It's more a flooding, a rushing-out-and-rushing-in-at-the-exact-same-moment kind of thing.
What Does It Mean To Be Holy?
In the democratic society of Israel, we with struggle the concept of what it means to be am chofshi b'artzeinu, "a free people in our land." We ask, "What does the responsibility of freedom require from us?" Every year, it seems the answers are less obvious and the search to find them be